Tea Story

HGTTB i had the last cup of this one a few days ago. It wasn’t bad but i’m also wondering if it was missing some of the ingredients that make up the tea. Always trickey with heavier teas. It wasn’t bad…but it didn’t make me swoon with delight. just a nice cup for the evening!

This is going to sound idiotic, but this brew tastes only like overly sweetened milk. I know its called milky fruit, and I should have seen this coming. I do not taste any fruit only the milky part. Others may enjoy this tea but I do not. This is a beautiful tisane though, it looks like trail mix. I thought of maybe just brewing some of my trail mix to see if it would taste similar.

I mistook this for a lightly roasted oolong so I brewed with very hot water. I now know that this is a green tea, hahah, but it was still amazing. In the package the floral smell almost went pungent and I was wary of this brew. I brewed in my gaiwan and the floral notes calmed out and brightened. The aroma of this was spectacular! I was transported to a sweet and sunny garden. It was a nice escape from my regular “winter wonderland.” The taste was sugared and like nectar. The brew is a brilliant jade and glistening.This is a very good tea and I will be gathering some in the future.

Thank you Roswell Strange for the share but unfortunately I am getting none of the lychee you got when it came to this tea. What am I getting? Peas. Lots and lots of peas. It’s actually not bad but in general, when I reach for a cup of tea, that’s not the flavor I am reaching for.

Nope… I taste neither jasmine or lychee. I just taste dill…. I am… so grossed out right now. It hurts my stomach. yuck. I steeped it for 2 mins. 1 tsp. I can’t drink the rest…. _

I… uh…. I’m not tasting Lychee or Jasmine. Just lots of vegetal notes. Maybe hints here and there but I feel like I’m imagining them.

Hidden Gems TTB #16

This looks like one of those fruit blends that Teavana is so fond of: lots of chunks of dried fruit, plus some little white chunks that I can’t identify…freeze-dried yogurt, maybe? I tried to get a good mix of everything in my cup, but I wasn’t super impressed with the flavor. There was no milkiness that I could detect, and the flavor was just a generic fruit blend; I really couldn’t pick out any specific types of fruit. Not a fan of this one!

Hidden Gems TTB #1

There are so many amazing-looking teas in this box, but I’m limiting myself to herbal tisanes at this time of night. This one is super delicious! Not a generic citrus flavor, but a very distinctive juicy grapefruit taste with just the right amount of tartness. I’m enjoying it hot tonight, but I’m guessing it would be a wonderfully refreshing iced tea in the summer.

Sipdown (114)!

Supernatural Spoilers

So, tonight’s episode was kinda intense, right? Right. I’m conflicted – I mean it was angsty and there were great moments between the brothers (and I loved all the Crowley stuff) but is that really it for Demon!Dean? Three episodes and we’re done? I know there’s still the whole Mark of Cain thing like Cas pointed out at the end – but surely “curing” Dean cannot be that simple. There HAS to be more to this.

And, if there’s not, I’m going to be so sad and disappointed because the Demon!Dean set up just had so much promise, and he really was set up to be this seasons “Big Bad” – and that would have been just fantastic. But no. I guess not…?

Anyway – this is the tea I chose to drink while watching the episode! Thanks again to Anlina for passing the sample along in my Secret Pumpkin parcel. Despite the fact this is a green blend, I was very excited to try it because of the lychee – which I could clearly smell when I opened the package earlier today to split it so VariaTEA can try it too. It was very juicy, and the floral aspects of the lychee were already exaggerated and complimented by the addition of the jasmine even before steeping.

Once steep, that held true though: the lychee flavour was definitely present and sweet with drawn out floral notes both from the fruit itself and the jasmine. The green base was smooth and light as well, just contributing a faint vegetal “snap pea” kind of quality to the overall flavour. Very much in the background. Jasmine is a very soothing and calming flavour, and it definitely “pacified” me in a way.

This was labelled brown rice, but I’m fairly certain it’s actually roasted buckwheat. It doesn’t look or taste like rice.

It’s warm and toasty tasting, quite dry, no sweetness. Quite nice, though I find myself wishing for it to be a little bit malty. It was a good cup to accompany dinner.

Mmm. Fruity and floral. The jasmine and lychee are very distinct. I’m not sure what the green tea base is – it’s a bit woody and not my favourite, but overall, this is a lovely tea.

The lychee flavour is very similar to the one I’ve experienced in lychee congou teas.

This is one of those rare wonderful tisanes that are loaded with hibiscus and rosehip, and the tartness works perfectly to give the grapefruit flavour an authentic punchiness. I don’t drink this often enough, but it’s wonderful and I love it.

Oh, I’m ever so pleased to have this back in my cupboard. The smell of it is incredible – intensely tangy and citrus, with the distinctive tart-bitter of grapefruit.

There’s a lot of hibiscus tart at the beginning of the sip, and then the grapefruit notes build and last through the finish.

This is one of my favourite fruit tisanes ever. Far better than anything else I’ve tried that’s supposed to be grapefruity.

I picked this up today because it sounded different from anything I have in my cupboard.

The loose tea is very pretty. The ingredients list a vague “tropical fruits”, which is kind of annoying. It looks like tropical fruits is dried pineapple, papaya and maybe mango or guava?

It’s very tart, tangy, and a bit sweet. There’s a taste of pineapple and a bit of creaminess on the finish.

The more this cools the more I like it. There’s a distinctive flavour at the beginning of the sip that I can’t quite identify but that makes this unique, which only came out once my cup went from hot to warm. It kind of makes me think of the taste of artificial sweetener, except it’s pleasant instead of disgusting.

Definitely need to try this one iced.

It’s been a long week with lots of tea, had to see if I couldn’t unwind with a decaf. I didn’t open the bag until I got it home. Usually I’m smell conscious with tea, though I thought it was fresh smelling straight from the bag.
Initially, on the trek through the forest there are dank smells and surroundings are woody, so too was this tea, like stopping dead in your tracks on a trail because you’ve spotted deer. I steeped it long as it was not changing color right away as a normal red tea.
Further, deep in the woods on the path there are glimpses of astringency and a tonal cadence very english breakfast. I like the sweet taste and mellow but full mouthfeel. Its probably best to drink it slowly despite my urge to slurp it down.
Further still, winding up the trail to the summit of this tea experience is my own realization that I was drinking far too much tea and coffee this past week.
I sat up late one night waiting for sleep when I had the image of loose leaf teas being cupped someone at a different time zone. I then figured well it’s ‘tea time someone’ I brewed up only hot water, drank a full glass and sat in my bed with a new mystery novel. The mind races and anything could happen if Ceylon could be made decaffinated.
End of story

Perfect herb tea for the morning. I like this tea for the caffeine kick I always get.If you like an earthy flavoured tea, this is no doubt the one to give a try. It will lift the spirits any time of day. It also mixes well with anything, form orange peels, to lemon grass, choice is yours. I just love that light woody and grassy flavour.I’ve also completely given up coffee because of this tea, and my stomach has never been happier.

This tea is very light in flavour with floral aroma, very enjoyable and does not need sweetening. Very low astringency with the wonderful earthy green tea taste.Increase temperature (slightly) and steep time for multiple infusions as second cup is noticeably weaker than the first.If you are new to green teas and are looking for something smooth and light, this is the perfect choice. Once euthanasia is legal, I volunteer and drown myself in this brew, it’s absolutely amazing.

A unique flavour that’s not necessarily bad, but you’ll likely drink this more for the health benefits than for the taste. It’s very light with an undertone of spice, but to be honest. Lapacho provides a very good base for the flavours, so worth adding your favourite ones, either Vanilla or any dry fruit you like. The brew is light-bodied, with hints of spice, and a bit smoky and earthy finish.
It is very good hot, but also very refreshing as either Iced or left cooled in the fridge.
If you’re new to Lapacho you should definitely try. It’s not only really tasty – but very good for you too!

This white tea is very smooth and light in flavour, ever so slightly sweet, nice floral scent, very clean, just the kind I like. I enjoy drinking this tea any time of the day but specially in the evening when I don’t need the caffeine boost any more.

Usually lasts 2-3 infusions which helps spread the cost. Also great as a base for herbal complement if you wish for some extra flavour in your healthy boosting brew. I think this would make a very nice iced tea too.
It even reminds me of drinking honey out of a flower…well okay, I might be exaggerating a bit now.

Full strength of black tea with purely rose petals added. A delightful and inspiring infusion blend with petals and high quality black tea.While there is not that many rose petals in this particular rose congou tea, it still has the beautiful fragrance of roses and black tea, and a warm, medium-bodied,
almost coppery flavour with the taste of rose petals.Fresh tasting with a hint of sweetness. I could drink this every day.It does make for a lovely sweetened cup of tea.The rose flavour is there but it’s not overpowering.

Where Rooibos is lightly sweet and fruity, Honeybush is a stronger, bolder version. Seems to be a very neutral tea, neither acidic or astringent. The taste is a little more rounded. It’s a very interesting flavour, almost a bit pine-y, and both light and soothing. Sooo good! It’s my favourite of the red teas. It also tastes great iced.

The resulting tea is bright, floral, lemony and herby— tasting, strangely, exactly the way the Greek countryside smells in the spring and summer. Taken with a little honey it is warming and comforting. This does seem like the type of herbal that you would want to drink when suffering or trying to stave off a cold and also seems like it might settle your stomach. It’s one of the most delicious herbal teas around.It also makes a nice evening brew, as it’s caffeine-free and very soothing. Delicious natural medicine! It also has a great potential as a Detox cleanser – highly recomended.

It was my first incursion into pu erh. It’s fairly mild, but the earthiness is still there, nice and smooth flavor. Great for multiple infusions, mellowing even more each time. The scent of the unbrewed leaf is a little off-putting, however once it’s brewed it’s more mild. Worth a try if you’ve never had one, but it’s defenitely not for everyone. It’s great replacement for your usual cup of coffee, and much healthier for sure.