Teaopia

I don’t know what all these other reviews are going on about, because this tea is delicious. Warm, comforting, and it actually tastes how it should. (Unlike David’s version of this tea, where the smell is leaps and bounds better than the brewed tea itself.)

If you have a chance, I’d recommend giving this one a try.

Well, this one is tolerable once you add some honey and milk to it. I’m not really pleased with it and I’m very glad I only have a small bag of it. Without the additives, I can smell the spices – really getting the cardamon, clove and pepper, although it is quite…earthy? Not sure if that’s the word, but it has a earthy/dirt road smell to it. Not really sure how to describe it. Anyway, I tossed some honey into it, milk and have been sipping on it. To be honest, I was only drinking it because it was there, and I was in the middle of the gold medal match for fencing. Well, the match is over, and the mug is still half full of this stuff. I’m looking at it warily, not really sure I want to even bother with the rest of it. I guess that would mean it’s a fail. Ok, onwards to something else.

Made this as a proper latte on the stove. Added some cinnamon to garnish, honey to sweeten, and even though I used skim milk, it’s still decently creamy. Well, as creamy as you can get with skim milk lol. Not as spicy as I would like, but still good.

Still on my chai kick lol. Ok, so I tried this one again, except I added another spoonful of tea (I used 4 scoops for 2 cups of water) and I also brewed it for only 3mins 45seconds. One of the things I noticed and forgot to mention in the last brew was that I think I might have over brewed it a tiny bit. It was just slightly bitter tasting.

This next brew was even better. I tasted the brew prior to adding anything to it, and found it to be quite nice. I only added a tiny bit of honey to compliment it, and of course lots of milk – so it’s similar to a latte. Really good! In fact, I’m raising my rating of it too. My partner tried a sip of it and he thought it was good too (he’s not really into flavoured teas, so I guess this is a good sign) The only kicker in all of this? When I bought this, I only went with a small bag of it. Whoops. Anyone have any other good chai recommendations for me? ;)

More Olympics watching, and apparently I’m really craving chai at the moment lol. So I went for Teaopia’s (RIP) Masala Chai. I like my tea pretty strong, and so I added extra tea as I’m making a pail of this stuff again in my big pottery tea/beer stein. I brewed it for 4mins, and the result is a sweet spicy brew. I wish now I had tried a sip prior to drenching it all in milk, but I can do that next time. Anyway, it was a nice balance of spices I thought – cloves and cinnamon really came up for me, which is quite nice. I think next time I will add a bit more tea, as it was a bit on the mild side for my taste, once I added a wee bit of honey and a healthy splash of milk to it. Regardless, it’s still sweet and yummy and I think a bit of adjustment will make it even that much more enjoyable.

I really enjoyed the smell of the leaves in the tin, although I was a little surprised by the slightly sweet scent I got. As a straight green tea, I wasn’t expecting sweet.

Good thing since there isn’t a hint of sweet once the leaves are steeped. the wet leaves have lost most of their scent and the tea is hardly scented at all which is fine.

I primarily drink flavored teas so rating and describing this one is a little harder to do. I would drink it again, absolutely. Just maybe not on a Friday morning. Maybe it’s more of a Monday morning, “Oh God, there’s so much week left!” tea.

It does have a nice, delicate flavor. It isn’t overpowering or bitter. I’m ok with it, but not wowed.

This smells just like the natural calming supplements I take. Mango & peach!
I found this lost some of it’s flavour once steeped, even though I always add extra leaves. It still had a nice taste, slightly fruity & herbal.
And it definetly had the calming effect I was after. Glad this is one Teavana is keeping.

This is a nice, fruity Summer tea that’s lovely hot or iced. There’s something a little hibiscus-y about the taste that I’m fine with, but that might turn some drinkers off.

This tea looks and smells better than it actually tastes which is disappointing. I have a feeling that despite all of the dried fruit in the mix, this tea gets most of its flavour artificially….

I got some of this thanks to Kittenna! It smells do yummy while brewing. It was actually cool enough to do some hot brewing yesterday and this morning do I took advantage while I could!
At first sip, this seemed to me like something a coffee drinker might enjoy, though it is lighter than coffee. It’s nutty and desserty with a sweet profile. Quite nice. While this is nicely done, it’s not my favorite nutty sweet tea. Perhaps the darker oolong base is working against my taste buds. The base is roasty and adds to the nuttiness, but it’s not too interesting.

On an unrelated note, I’m hungry. :(

One of my all-time favourite teas! Now that Teaopia has been bought by Teavana, I wonder if they can replace it?

Every time I smell this tea I can’t turn it down; it smells like heaven and fluffy almond cookies! I wish the cherry would come through a little stronger, but even so, as it is, it is absolutely wonderful.

It also makes an absolutely beautiful latté – if you like a very sweet tea, as well, a shot of vanilla will take this concoction to new heights!

Either way – this blend is perfect on chilly autumn or winter days! A sweet pick me up! (Too bad Teavanna never did anything with it.)

Every time I had this tea in-store I found it bitter, but when I made it at home, it was PERFECT. Instead of being bitter with a flowery aftertaste, it was just flowery and sweet. I absolutely love this one when it’s brewed right (or wrong…?) but when it goes wrong, it’s kind of painful. Glad I took a chance on the aftertaste I loved, since now I’m enjoying it with every sip in the privacy of my home!

Evidently this has something related to catnip in it, because I left a dry filterbag full of it sitting on my kitchen counter while I ran to my bedroom, and my cats dragged it onto the floor, chewed it open and ecstatically rolled around in it.

Sheesh!

The problem with the whole concept of a “cold” tea, is how can you rate it if you can’t taste much? This is…kind of minty, kind of lemon-y, kind of ginger-y, kind of sweet. I don’t know. It’s pleasant enough. Does it help? Heck if I know! I just know that I’m bummed I can’t try the 52teas Butterbeer that just arrived; but I don’t want to waste it!

In the meantime, I need to decide on tins of tea to buy for Mum’s store. It’s going to have to be DAVIDs, because that’s closest. She said 4-5 teas, so I told her I was thinking:

- a lighter black
- a dark black
- a flavoured black (she wants flavoured ones)
- a flavoured green (since DT’s straight greens aren’t that good in the first place, no point in getting one) Edit: Actually, I’m saying that because I don’t like green tea that much, and none of DT’s have won me over. Maybe I should consider a straight green after all…
- something with no caffeine, maybe a rooibos

So then I’m thinking:

- not sure, not Nepal Black because it’s so hard to scoop and I don’t want people putting their fingers in the tins
Edit: David’s Breakfast, maybe?
- Assam Banaspaty
- Read My Lips
- ?? Daydreamer maybe, if it’s still in stores?
- ?? Rooibos de Provence?

I need to decide soon! If you guys have recs for these categories that you think have broad appeal, let me know!

Edit: Oooh, maybe I could also talk Mum into including a sixth and make it Kanpe?

Based on my previous review, I suppose this means that the Olympics are a special occasion. The only other option is that Monday (and me being late for work) is a special occasion. The Olympics happen less often so I’ll give them credit for my dusting off of the tin of White Pear.

I still enjoy it, but after exploring other tea options, I’m finding that maybe I don’t love it as much as I’d remembered.

Still nice and light, but I don’t taste as much pear (perhaps this could be blamed on the dusty tin).

Maybe I’ll try icing it tonight to see if I like that better.

I remember really liking this one, so much that I’ve been saving the remaining sample I have for a special-ish occasion.

I’m going to try it iced this weekend I think. I’ll pretend I’m celebrating the 100th Anniversary of the Stampede without actually attending the event. Seems special to me.

I didn’t mind this tea. It was good, but I expected a bit more citrus flavor. I finished the sample I had, but I don’t think I’ll be looking for more of it.

I didn’t mind this tea, but I really drank it to help me sleep.

It worked. Every night that I had a cup (or two) before bed, I slept like a rock so it was absolutely worth it.

I don’t think I steeped this one long enough the first time. In the tin, it smells delicious so maybe when I steep it longer I’ll get more flavor out of it.

Not bad for a fruit tea though.

Got this in a sampler from Teaopia. It’s not bad overall, but it’s really just a slightly sweet green tea, nothing really special.

I’m done the tin now, but I suspect it may have made a pretty good iced tea. I won’t be buying it to test the theory.

I will say the bits of fig in the loose tea were tasty.

I really enjoyed this vanilla tea. In the tin, it’s got a great vanilla scent. Brewed, it’s got a great, light vanilla flavor complimented by the Rooibos tea. Definitely a favorite.

I’m not normally a fan of Earl Gey but I do enjoy the Creamed Earl Grey.

It smells great in the tin and the creaminess softens the slightly bitter edge I find in black teas. I like it and will probably keep some on the shelf for my father in law, but for me, it’s not really a must drink.

This tea was my introduction to Oolong teas.

I’ve got a bit in a sample tin that I’m scared to use until I find out if I can get some more. Which doesn’t really make any sense because if I don’t drink it, it’s like I’m already out, right? Right.