Teaopia

Picked up my Teaopia order from Purolator today because apparently they wanted a signature (boo!) But…. I got it! Yay! Starting off with the tea I was most excited about, based on Steepster reviews. The other teas are mostly herbals for icing.

In the bag, this one smells quite caramelly and nutty. Just like dessert! Mmmmmm… It’s pretty similar when steeped, with a bit of a woody aroma (bark, stick-like??). Maybe that’s the oolong? The flavour is pretty bang on though, nutty and creamy, with a lovely aftertaste of oolong. I know this one’s loaded with artificial flavour, but I’m really liking it! Yay Steepsterites for good reviews that convinced me to buy this tea! Yum… definitely want another cup of this tonight. I feel like this is a good one to curb those dessert cravings.

ETA: Oh creamy nut oolong, there is just something about you that is so freaking delicious. Second infusion loses a bit, but is still hitting the mark for me. 2 minute infusion at 90C this time. Yum. I’m not sure the creamy nut flavour will last for a third, just the woody oolong base, I’m suspecting. (Got a good half third infusion and fourth infusion.)

The smell of this tea was incredibly offputting, as I cannot stand lavender… but I had this free sample, and felt obliged to atleast give it a shot.
Surprisingly, the first cup wasn’t so bad. The smell was sharp and acrid but the taste was mostly of honey/chamomile. I was halfway sold at that point!
The second cup was the same, followed by a distinct bitterness at the end… so much that I couldn’t bear to finish the cup. I ended up with some nausea as well.
Too many twists in this story :P

What is this madness? It tastes exactly like the pina coladas that I had in the Caribbean!

I cold brewed this one, the first tea that I have had a spare second to review since I started work (my internship is killing me a little bit, mornings come much too early).
Anywho, this tea is fantastic! At first its a little bitter (i’m guessing the hibiscus?), but then its amazingly sweet and coconutty. The colour threw me off a little bit, it is bright deep red, but the taste is unmistakably pina colada.
Just got a shipment from teavivre hoping to have a spare second to review some of them soon, but its not looking promising (of course i’d have more time if I stopped going away to visit my university friends on the weekend…)

Another thank you to IndigoBloom for this lovely Sample!

My experience with White Tea is very limited. The White Tea’s in the past have been from Teavivre, and Puripan (now known also as TeaO2) which have been super good tea’s indeed.

I steeped the furry green nettle-like leaves for 2.5 minutes in 160F water Western Style (wanting a large brew for my glass pot).
The wet green leaf aroma was super spinachy, more than any tea I’ve had to date and like steaming artichoke hearts when you’re scooping out the choke.
On the first sip my whole mouth had a gentle pop rock sensation. The salty, lightly spinach flavored tea had a juicy, mineral and slightly bitter taste. The bitterness was not a bother but I don’t really like bitterness. I added sweetening which even with a tiny bit tempered the bitterness without covering up the flavor. Note that the tea’s astringency increases as the it cools.
I wish I could agree with the other reviewer comments on Peach and Floral flavor/scent. Digging deep, I could not find those flavors anywhere! Maybe sweetened, ah yes, that is when the dessert quality came out and was delightful. I thought it tasted more like a Cream Cookie than a Peach though.

As a straight up White Tea, this was a mild, vegital variety that was best hot. Not a candidate for iced tea! It’s low caffeine (nice plus). Sweetened the tea can double as a dessert tea.

Every chance I get to try all the various types of tea is a fantastic experience for me! (although the worm pooped tea that Scott has he can keep to himself!)
Thanks again I-Bloom

Thank you IndigoBloom for this generous Sample!

My first evah Pu-erh was DAVIDsTEA Chocolate Orange. I fell in love! As time went on…I learned to adore unflavored Pu-erh, Pu’er, Puer, Pu’erh’s! (You get what I mean!)
True love none the less. I now drink less flavored Pu-erh but on occasion I go there for a dessert treat and I like to bottle it to drink cold. Pu-erh is wonderful for controlling your food cravings when you need to drop some pounds.

When I steeped this new flavored Pu-erh, I could smell a spiciness even though there isn’t spice added. The orange blossom and orange peel adds a little something extra to the scent. The taste is not very orangy but there is a bitterness at the end from the peel. I found a seed in my brew basket. There isn’t a typical musty, earthy Pu-erh flavor either. The dark chocolate, coffee and orange blossom-vanilla flavor make up the cup.

To compare this Pu-erh to DAVIDs would be way off. They are so very different. Only the name is close like two people with the same name from different Canadian families.
I still prefer my first evah Pu-erh.

This is a good flavored Pu-erh (sans seed) though. And, Teopia is the ONLY Canadian Tea Company I’ve ever actually been inside of at Metropolis Mall in Vancouver, B.C. last Sept. Fantastic Service!!! I bought my first loose leaf tea in my life there, Pumpkin Spice!

This is my favourite tea, even with all the flavours out there. It’s very calming. Add some extra leaves when you’re sick and watch your sinuses clear & allow your throat to be soothed. Fantastic!

This is the first honeybush tea I ever tried, and despite its wonderful smell I was still worried about how it would taste due to its relation to rooibos. Thankfully not only were my worries unfounded (homeybush tastes nothing like rooibos) but HONEYBUSH ROCKS!!

That’s pretty much all there is to this tea. It tastes like what I’ve learned honeybush tastes like (sweet, but not sickeningly so) with a pleasant fruity twist. Shortly after I bought this tea I got Autumn Breeze online from Teaopia ($3 for 50 grams plus 20% off…I so should have bought more than the 200 grams I did buy) and I find that they taste so similar that they’re pretty much interchangeable.

I’m not finding myself very eloquent this review, or at least less eloquent than usual, and for that I sincerely apologise. So here’s my final thoughts: this tea re-steeps very well (for at least three cups), its great cold (although I prefer warm for all my tea), and I can be lazy with how hot the my water is (in fact boiling is what’s needed) as well how long my leaves steep (no bitter taste ever).

Now to answer if I’ll re-buy this tea: if I didn’t have 150 grams Autumn Breeze remaining the answer would be absolutely yes. As it stands unfortunately unless it goes on sale before/after the change over, I’ll be saving my money for other teas that I stand a higher chance of running out of.

Enjoying this today in a bone china teacup, while I watch Downton Abbey. Not exactly proper English tea, but I’m enjoying it as something different. ;) A small splash of milk and a few grains of white sugar complete it. Not quite as bitter with the addition of the milk and sugar, and the caramel is really apparent today. It’s an ok tea, and I don’t love it, which is good since Teaopia is gone, and I don’t think this one is on the super list that Teavana is keeping. I just wanted a different black dessert tea. I think that I love the smell of this tea more than the actual taste. I will use up my stock of it and see if it grows on me.

ETA: I’ve bumped my rating up a notch because with the milk and sugar, it is a much nicer tea experience. I also went and double checked and sure enough, Teavana is going to keep this tea. So if you love it, you can still get it :)

I’ve tried this a couple of times now. Sorry, forgot to log it ;)
Dry, this smells AMAZING! Super buttery and softly sweet, very similar to caramel popcorn.
I was pretty excited to try this. I don’t normally drink my black teas straight up, but I thought I would try it this way first and see if I liked it. I wasn’t thrilled with the first batch, which I think I oversteeped (4.5mins) as I found it quite bitter. That being said, my friend quite liked his cup, (his was steeped 4mins) and said it was only slightly bitter. He doesn’t normally drink tea, and he quite liked it, so go figure ;)

Today, I decided to brew it for 3minutes, and add a few pieces of rock sugar to see if that would help bring out the caramel. Huge improvement. Only very slightly bitter,yet has a mildly sweet, caramel finish.

I’m enjoying it enough on it’s own now, so I think I’ll hold off on adding milk until another time and see how that tastes.

If I had tried this tea before the Sweet Temptation from Tsaa… this would have definitely gotten a higher rating from me.
However, ST is superior in so many ways! It requires no additions (either milk or sugar) and has a cleaner, smoother flavour.
This one is a bit to astringent, and rougher around the edges. Also, the flavour is not as deep or complex.
Oh well. sighs It’s pretty good otherwise :)

This tea is amazing. Seriously, it is. The chocolate flavour isn’t muted or overwhelming, and the same goes for the orange. It’s a magnificent balance of flavouring, and the pu-erh base isn’t too strong, either.

To be honest, the best way I can describe it is that it’s like drinking Terry’s Chocolate Orange – no, I am not kidding. It is that good.

My only issue is that the flavour could stand to be enhanced a little bit more, but a little bit of agave nectar should be able to take care of that with no trouble.

I think the rooibos over powers all the other flavours in this tea. If you can get past the rooibos, you can taste a hit of strawberry & a slight amount of cream. I find even the dry notes smell mostly of rooibos as oppose to strawberry.

A very citrus tea that would be fantastic if it didn’t have a Mate base. Anyone who is a fan of Mate and citrus will love this tea. You can distinctly taste the orange & lemon flavours throughout the tea.

Just not a tea that is for me.

I have only sipped this tea hot, but adore it cold. Especially tasty with a bit og vodka added. YUM!

Mehhhhh. I had hoped for more intensity in the flavour. More punch, more chocolate, more… heck even more rooibos flavour would have been helpful. Also, it tasted flowery. I guess that was the clove?
Even with milk and agave, this did nothing for me. sadness.

Oh hey this is amazing!! not exactly what I was after… but really good nonetheless!
With milk and sugar, it was just like banana pudding, with a hint of chocolate for good measure. Now, this would have garnered a rating of 94 if it was like that on it’s own, but I had to add TWO packets of sugar to get that flavour. I never add that much sugar…
And thus, sadly, I must downgrade the rating here.
Still, I am tempted to buy some. I’m on a dessert tea kick lately, I dunno what’s gotten into me. It wasn’t long ago that I hadn’t touched a dessert tea in months! Ah well.
Now, I am on the hunt for a great chocolate herbal tea (rooibos or otherwise).
Trouble is, I don’t want any other notes besides chocolate to mess with it. That means no mint, no spice… or banana. I just want CHOCOLATE! You’d think that wouldn’t be so hard to find. I’ve had no issues finding caffeinated chocolate teas… le sighs
Stay tuned for my note about my teaware purchase!! YAY!!!

I received this sample from Indigobloom…thank you!

My fibromyalgia pain has been kicking my butt the last week with aches but nothing I can’t handle. When I’m irritated during the night with this problem, a lovely Pu-erh sounds so good in the morning…well…I just can’t explain how good it is and settling on the stomach.
The bright gold and orange Teaopia bag was like sunshine today…PU-ERH for BONNIE…PICK ME! And I did!

My only Teaopia experience was last September after the great Alaska Cruise with my granddaughter Schey and her best friend. We spent a few days in upstate Washington at a condo and I drove to Metropolis Mall in Vancouver, B.C. which had a friendly Teaopia Store. (We went to the Mall for the free parking and because you catch the transit train there to central Vancouver!) So, Teaopia was my first intro to loose tea! Thank you!

For this brewing I did a 10 second rinse. My steep time was 5 minutes. I love a dark Pu-erh! This turned a velvet dark chocolate bar color without any harsh earthy aroma. My first sip was clean, mildly savory and salty like short ribs. I likeed how mellow the flavor was and the way you can sip straight up without adding anything to enhance or hide the naturally good flavor. The mouthfeel was rich and lightly juicy.

I know that many people (ME TOO) add milk and/or sweetening to morning tea so I went all the way. I made a latte and it was SUPURB! This did not become a ohhh caramel but more of a sweet, creamy/salty Payday Candy Bar!

This is a delicious loose Pu-erh…not expected at first…a brilliant tasty tea!

UPDATE I got some white vinegar and some balsamic vinegar and heated it up, then I took my used Pu-erh above in a stainless steeper and steeped in the vinegar for about 10 minutes off heat. After it cooled, I added salt and Urfa (also known as Isot) Pepper which is smokey and mild…almost sweet, flakes and a little EVOO. Here I go for my first evah Pu-erh vinegarette. Tastes good! (Most of the brew I put in a jar in the frig, the rest I made this vinegarette for arugula & cheese salad).

I got this a while back from Teaopia when I was eying the Wellness tins that I couldn’t afford, and the manager (always so nice to me, and so sweet and helpful – always tries to meet my needs rather than “sell” me something, and I’m heartbroken for her and my buddies who work there over the Teavana takeover thing) sold me this one as a cheaper alternative. I was thrilled to see it has raspberry leaf in it (psst, birdies tell me it’s good for menstrual cramps…) so I took it home to my family with high hopes for it.

It smells amazing, if you ask me. My mother told me that she thinks it smells like Halls lemon cough drops; which I suppose it does, although I personally think that’s a nice smell. It also reminds me faintly of some sort of candy; I suspect something from my childhood that I can no longer consciously recall. I love the smell of this tea, anyway, and huff in the bag a lot as a result.

I just wish it tasted better.

Not that it tastes bad, exactly. It’s light and inoffensive. Vaguely lemony. Vaguely fruity. Vaguely floral. Aggressively mediocre.

I doesn’t taste to me like it has anything artificial added to it, I suppose. Not that I’m generally the person to ask, as I mentally translate “artificial flavouring” as “the stuff in food that tastes good.” I would think that this would be sweeter or something if it had any added flavouring, anyway. As it is, it is just…herbal tea. Would you like some herbal tea? Get your herbal tea right here. This is pretty…herbal.

I drink it for the small amount of health benefits, anyway. It is frequently my “work” tea that I take in my Timolino. I spend so much time on till that I don’t tend to get a lot of chances to drink or enjoy any tea that I bring before it starts to cool…however, I do always need something to sip between customers and keep myself hydrated and my mouth wet enough to talk a lot. So I’ve often committed this year to making it this one. I don’t mind “wasting” the portions that I toss when they go cold, but I figure that if I have to sip at something I don’t really get to savour, it might as well be this Wellness tea.

And hopefully I get some benefit out of it!

Feel free to leave the leaves in if you don’t have time to remove them.

I loveeeeeee this tea! I was shopping one day at the mall and a lady was handing out samples of this smores tea but it was steeped, ICED, and had vanilla soy in it… after I tried it I thought, “this is my summer drink” because it definitely reminds me of iced coffee (which I love, but this is obviously more healthier/better for you). Great this way! I haven’t tried it hot though, which I’ll try soon. :)

Got a sample of this from Indigobloom today along with a TON of other things – Thank you so so so much!
You know what – the MOMENT I steeped this – I knew the exact aroma! This tea is exactly like 52Teas Strawberry Zabagilone!!!
Now that was the aroma.
Not to knock this tea as it is very very good and I swear it is not due to feeling dutiful to Frank for any reason nor that I had Frank’s tea first. But I do think Frank has harnessed the idea of this tea better. They are close, VERY VERY close but Franks 52Teas wins by a hair here.
Teaopia’s tea is a little less heavy on the flavor. I like this tea heavy on the flavor. Now maybe you don’t! Maybe you would like the same flavor but not so in your face. If so then Teaopia’s version is for you!
Both are extremely GREAT teas!
Thank you Indigobloom for sharing this one!

Suddenly my reviews on Teaopia teas have become very important to me, mostly because I don’t know how many of them will still exist after the Teavana takeover. I’m hoping the arrangement is similar to the La senza/ Victoria’s Secret takeover (both stores basically operate the same with their own lines and websites) but considering that Teavana has stated the main drive behind their acquisition was the prime store locations and the lack of a need to renovate I’m not placing any money on that hope. So with every Teaopia tea I have I need to ask myself “Do I like this enough to really stockpile it sometime over the next couple of months?” Considering how I don’t have unlimited income, and I do like teas from other manufactures this is pretty difficult for me. Life would be so much easier if I’d just win the lottery (although my odds aren’t looking particularly good, which has more to do with the fact that I’ve never bought myself a lottery ticket, than the actual odds of the lottery).

Although I’m sure I’ll be revisiting that little rant with each Teaopia tea, for now I’ll put it aside and get to what you actually wanted to read: my opinions of the tea (ok you wanted to read ANYBODY’S opinions of the tea, but my way makes me feel all special.). I’ll try to be more to the point now to make up for my rambling.

Pro’s:
-I really liked the raspberry mint taste; I think they blended really well together. I’m not sure I’d call it ‘Mojito’ because it lacks the syrup-y (nasty) taste I associate with a true mojito. On the other hand from first smell to last sip, what the taste reminded me of most strongly was –and I don’t mean this in a bad way – Dukoral. That fizzy raspberry flavoured drink you take before going on a tropical vacation to prevent …let’s call it upset stomach. As I said I don’t mean the comparison in a bad way, the only thing I disliked about the Dukoral was the carbonation and syrup-y-ness of it, which are absent from the tisane.
-Also I took this when I had an upset stomach and it actually managed to calm it better than just mint.

Con’s
-It’s really heavy. It’s really really heavy (from the fruit bits) and not one of the cheaper teas either. I got 65 grams of this and it was like 25 grams of plain green tea. I’m actually curious to try getting just some dried raspberry leaves (Probably from Art of Tea) and using my own mint leaves to see if I can get a similar product minus the berry chunks.
-and with all teas with this amount of fruit chunks and the bottom of the cup is fruit sludge. Which is saying something considering I double strain this tea.

Now to answer the question on no one’s mind but my own: “will I buy this tea again”
Unfortunately the answer is probably not, not unless it goes on sale, it just costs too much, and there’s too many other teas I want to get. I really need to win that lottery.

Another pitcher test, cold-brewed for 10 hours. I have tried this one hot, and didn’t care for it all that much, but decided to give it a go as an iced tea. Since this is a “kid’s” tea, I’m going to use most of this review to look at the tea in that light.

The smell of this is overwhelmingly cherry and sweet. Basically, it’s got a cherry-candy scent to it which is actually very appealing – everyone in the house who has smelled it said, “yum!” If I were a child, I can see myself insisting on drinking this one first out of the four in the kid’s pack based on the smell alone, because I was a sweet freak as a kid. (Hey, I’m a sweet freak now.) Definitely a smell that would appeal to children.

Taste-wise? Well, it definitely needs sugar if you’re planning to sell this to kids over something like Kool-Aid. Still, I put a third of a cup of white sugar in 1.6L of this, and I think it would be a hit. I mean, I used to work in fast food, and I was surprised by the sheer number of kids who, when given a choice, enthusiastically picked iced tea over root beer or Pepsi for their kiddie combo. I think if a kid likes fountain iced tea, they’re going to love this.

Cold-brewed, it’s smooth and fresh and fruity – I think I mostly pick up apples first, and then something else. Maybe it’s the cranberries. I’m not sure. It’s kind of reminiscent of cherry Kool-Aid, especially at the back of the taste. But it’s noticeably more refreshing.

I definitely need to pick up more of this! They were selling huge bags of the kid’s teas on clearance at Teaopia recently, and I didn’t pick one up because I hadn’t discovered how awesome they are iced! The only other way to get them is in that little gift set, which only makes about two, maybe three pitchers per tea. Really, what a shame. Oh well.

I bought this pitcher from Teaopia several days ago because I was thinking that I wanted to give iced tea more of a go this summer, and this one was $20 and it was their last one. I considered the $28 dollar one – the one with the soft green handle, which was also their last – but reconsidered due to the price. Good thing I did, because this one barely fits in my refrigerator, and I’m pretty sure the green-handled one is taller.

I love it! So happy about it. The first tea I tried was a mixture. I didn’t/don’t have a ton of teas good for icing, but I knew I had at least a bit of DAVID’s Luscious Watermelon left. As it turned out, only about half the amount necessary, so I cut it with Apple Pear (from Teaopia, it’s one of the teas in the kid’s pack). Cold steeped it for about 10 hours.

It was amazing, very sweet and melon-y. I have a confession… I have never liked Luscious Watermelon. Ever. I ended up with a tin of it and could barely drink the stuff. Hot or cold. But now that I finally get the hang of iced tea down, I discover it’s drinkable, and I’m out! Go figure!

AND MY SISTER EVEN DRANK SOME!! …But then she criticized me for not sweetening it (I was adding sugar to individual cups of it, as I wasn’t sure how much to add to the pitcher at first). Then she declared cold brewing (which I love, because it makes the iced tea smoother) to be “stupid” and insisted, “that’s not the way you’re supposed to make iced tea.” Sigh. One step forward, two steps back – I don’t think she’s had any of the pitchers I’ve made since.

There are a few downsides to the cheaper pitcher. Firstly, it is not leakproof, whether or not you have the filter in. I tested this. It made a mess.

Secondly, while it certainly hasn’t broken yet…I’m pretty sure it’s glass, and it makes a cringe-worthy noise when you smack it into something. Which I do frequently, because I’m a klutz. I wish it was made of a more durable material. It’s so pretty, though! Here’s someone else’s review with more pictures: http://lifeovereasy.com/2012/01/tea-please/

(EDIT: Yes, duh, it’s glass. I looked that up when I entered it as “glass pitcher” into the system – that’s all Teaopia calls it – and somehow had already forgotten that by the time I made this note. Yeah. Uh. It’s assuredly made of glass.)

I’ve been thinking about a cast iron pot. I’ve sorta vaguely wanted one for a while, but never bought one as I’d thought I had all the time in the world to save up for one. Now that Teavana’s bought out Teaopia though, I’m wondering if I shouldn’t put down the cash for a smaller one, just because Teahell’s pots start at twice the price for the same size or smaller! Should I do it?

Anyway. I’m nervous about icing green tea, but I have DAVID’s Kiwi’s Big Adventure cold brewing now, so I’ll have to see!

Been enjoying this for the last couple of days. With Teaopia gone, I’m sad that I won’t be able to get more of this tea. Hoping I can find a replacement for it. I know Teavana kept some of the Teaopia blends, but for some reason I didn’t think this was on the list of ‘keepers’