Teaopia

Sweet happy yum yum tea. Added rock sugar quite generously and with abandon, as well as a big splash of milk. Enjoying this before bed :)

I love the smell of this stuff dry. It smells (to me anyway) like fresh, green hay. Takes me back to happy memories on the farm. I could detect something else, but couldn’t put my finger on it. Either way, I’m happy to sniff and let myself be taken back to the days of fresh hay, sunny days and blue skies.

1st Infusion:
I went with a 3 minute brew for this one and it no longer smells like fresh, green hay, but it still feels green, and has a soft hint of wildflowers or something, with a faint sweetness. I feel like I’ve smelled a particular flower that has that smell – I just can’t put my finger on it. Either way, it really brings me outside, and is evoking a lot of memories that I had forgotten about. It’s quite a pleasant experience, and I haven’t even taken a sip yet. ;)

The colour of this could best be described as a pale, yellow diamond colour. It is beautiful.

Oddly enough, upon drinking it, I’m tasting the hay again (yes, I have chewed on hay before) and it has a sweet note to it. I’m having difficulty describing the finish of it – it’s still sweet, but something else is going on too lol. I’m really enjoying it!

2nd Infusion:
Brewed for 3min 30 secs just under 90°C
Very similar to first brew, a touch stronger tasting perhaps. Colour is still lovely diamond yellow, with a hint of green to it. I’m impressed with how good this 2nd infusion is. Smells greener, more floral. Tastes a bit greener too, with semi-sweet finish. Excellent brew!

3rd Infusion:
3mins 45 sec, just under 90°C
Only slightly milder smelling/tasting, very similar to #2. Enjoying carrying this around with me while I’m outside, planning my garden.

4th Infusion:
4mins, just under 90°C
Probably should have infused this a tad longer, because it was on the weaker side, but still really lovely. I ended up leaving this one to get cold, and quite enjoyed drinking it even after it had cooled. I could note the sweetness especially when it was room temperature.

5th Infusion:
8mins, just under 90°C
I actually only meant to brew this for 5-6 mins but got distracted and forgot about it. Probably just as well, as it is getting weak now, although the colour is still quite a lovely yellow colour. Mellow smelling, yet still some flavour. I could try for another infusion, but it`s getting late and I need some sleep.

All in all, I enjoyed this tea all day long and look forward to having more of it! Cooled, I thought it was rather refreshing, softly sweet and smooth.

Oh, this is fine but I’m unenthused. The berry flavours are nice, and it’s subtle enough not to be overbearing (read: I will be able to finish the pouch), but I just don’t get along with the sencha Teaopia uses in their blends. It’s kind of scratchy, and not very flavourful. I’m also finding that their blends kind of blur together for me as the fruity ones end up tasting the same.

This was surprisingly good! Unabashedly fruity, and nicely refreshing. I’m shocked to find that I think it actually tastes a fair bit like Tealish’s Fairy Dust. This is completely welcome as I’m out of Fairy Dust right now. Not much else to say. It’s a nice balance of berry and tropical fruitiness.

Ok, so I go through a lot of this stuff. It’s my quick grab comfort tea, for two reasons: I can drink it at night, before bed and 2) it’s an easy pleaser (for me anyway)
I rarely drink it without additives though, and I realized that I love to load this one up with milk and rock sugar, or honey. I guess that’s part of the comfort part. Tonight I am feeling kinda blah, so I went for the full Monte and added milk, and a few chunks of rock sugar. Mmmm, yummy, soothing, happy time.

I set this to brew this afternoon, and then got distracted with something else, so I ended up brewing it an extra 4.5mins beyond the original 8mins I had on the timer. I find it more tart than sweet, but that could be because I drank a coke earlier and maybe it’s still on my palette. I was told by a Teaopia rep that one can brew the heck out of these fruit blends, but I wonder if overbrewing it makes a difference in the taste?
I’m tempted to add a tiny bit of rock sugar, but will hold off for now.
The colour is a gorgeous red colour – the colour of raspberry jello when you first mix the powder in the water. Yum yum! And it smells softly sweet. It is enjoyable, but I think it’s more enjoyable iced.

I recently tried this while visiting a Teaopia store. It was absolutely beautiful to drink. And, because I got distracted by the Matcha and a bunch of other tea I had come to purchase, I forgot about this one (I know, I know, if it was that great, how could I have forgotten about it?) and I totally left the store without purchasing any of this tea. I’m hoping to remedy this before it sells out entirely.

I had a coupon (from signing up for a mailing list in store) for 50 g free with the purchase of 50 g in Teaopia. I will go to great lengths for free or discounted tea, and realized it was expiring today (it actually turned out to be yesterday but still worked), so headed down today before work.

I lucked into an employee who was different from the others I’ve had at the two Teaopias I’ve visited; he was actually friendly and easy-going, and seemed pretty honest in telling me which teas he thought were good/popular, and which he and customers found lacklustre.

Anyway, he said this was one of his favourites so I thought I’d might as well grab a cup to go. It’s interesting. Very almondy, very sweet with some tartness from the currants. I enjoyed it but don’t think I’d buy any, as I’m not such an almond person. I was worried that there would be too much going on (which had me wondering about the accuracy of its name), but it was pretty well-balanced in the added flavour department. I can’t say I’m a fan of the sencha they seem to use in their blends, though.

So when I was burrowing through some stuff in my basement, I came across a long-ago purchased hammock that I had forgotten about. Imagine! I could have been using the damn thing all summer, and only just now found it. Ah well, at least I found it.

Thought I’d have some more of this delightful tea. The aroma alone is just what the doctor ordered on this cold, wet and dreary day. I’m wanting to try multiple infusions with this one today, although I brewed the first infusion a bit longer, at 1min, 45seconds. My fault, I realized after I set it to brew that I had forgotten the suggested time that was listed on this page, which was under a minute. Oh well, I’ll just see how many I can squeeze out of it. :)

The colour is pure amber and the smell of caramel and nuts is so dreamy. I haven’t even taken a sip yet, and I can feel myself becoming more mellow. ;) I don`t know what it is about this tea, but I am becoming quite enamoured of it. First sip is just wonderful and I love the sweet nutty taste that is left on my tongue. I think I will move this up on my happy rating :)

ETA: 2nd infusion – I guess maybe my expectations are too high for a second infusion? Also, I overbrewed the first infusion so that might have something to do with it. I brewed the second one for well over 3 minutes just to be able to smell something when I stuck my nose in my Tea Master. I still smell the sweet nuts, just not as strong. The taste is weaker too, but still very yummy.

I will endeavour to make this correct at some point in hopes of being able to appreciate multiple infusions of it. At this point, I can’t imagine I will get much more out of the leaves.

I’ve been drinking this lovely tea all day! Dry, it smells nutty with sweet caramel notes, so I had high hopes for it to taste as good as it smells. This tea delivers! It has a gorgeous, nutty scent and flavour. Mildly sweet, a warm and soothing brew – not too strong, not too weak; just right!
I made it exactly to the directions, brewed it for 4mins at just under 90 degrees temperature. I see from the post that you can brew multiple infusions from it, although when I tried a second brewing, it was really bland. I will try it again using the 1 min brew time instructions here on Steepster and see how that goes. I will definitely have fun experimenting with this tea, mixing it up, perhaps even adding some sort of sweetener to it, just to see what notes pop out next time.

After my smorgasbord of new samples I wanted something familiar and comforting. This was it! especially after seeing all the other S’mores tea reviews out there.
It’s really grown on me the last while. Which is good because I have tons left. I don’t crave it often, but when I do, it really hits the spot.
I can see why some other people don’t like it. The white tea seems a little out of place, adding that crisp delicate note which comes off as extreme astringency sometimes. Lucky I happen to like that! Not astringency, just the white part.
Oh and yes, milk and sugar are mandatory here!!

Nice!! I like it! It really hit my chocolate craving. With some milk and sugar, the piping hot cup tastes kindof earthy though. Almost like a caramel rooibos but that could also be the hazelnut, maybe? As it cools down, the nutty chocolate comes out more, and once the heat is gone it very much reminds me of chocolate milk. There are sips where I also tasted some malty marshmallow as well.
I like it, but more than the chocolate orange tea? Hmmm, maybe not. I’ll have to see what happens next time I try it.
Now that the eeeeevil Teavana has officially taken over, I need to try all the Teaopia blends again and see what I should stock up on before they disappear forever! :/

Adding milk gives this tea a nice creamy note. However the base strikes me as a little bit weak – may so it doesn’t overwhelm the strawberry flavours?

This tea smell yummy enough though the flavour is a little bit on the weak side (possibly due to my short steeping time?). The black tea base is smooth and not to astringent and I can taste some strawberry flavour although the cake part is rather absent. Not a bad tea – I think I can work with this one. ;D

Tasted great with 1 tsp of milk.

My second cold brewing experiment, and another success. The second tea from the Iced Tea Party Collection from Teaopia that I got for Easter. Cold steeped for about 15 hours, about 8 tablespoons.
There isn’t much of a smell to the tea, but there is for sure flavour. You get the raspberry and pear fruity flavours first, and then the mint is almost like an afterthought.
Overall, very yummy and refreshing!

Really gross

I love, love, love, LOVE this tea.
I ordered it for the first time this season based on its online description as soon as it came out, aka before smelling it in store, something I normally only do for clearance teas.
I couldn’t be happier with this tea.
First impressions once I opened the tin were “Oh My Gosh! I have never seen marshmallows that small!” followed by “I smell each of the cracker, chocolate, and marshmallow parts, this is great”
Second impressions once I first brewed it was that I could taste each of the classic s’mores ingredients too, which is great since as I’ve mentioned in other posts I’m a celiac and can’t normally enjoy that.
Third impression on the second brewing is that without the marshmallows (they melted on the first brewing) I mostly got a tea that tasted like Graham crackers, which I miss greatly from my pre celiac days so smiles all around!

Happy Easter to me! Got a takeya iced tea pitcher and the iced tea party pack from Teaopia. This was my first attempt at making iced tea, and it was definitely a success! I cold brewed for 12 hours, about 6 teaspoons worth for the pitcher (probably could have used more tea, it is a little on the weak side). This tea is delicious iced (mind you, I have also never had it warm, but with a name like Iced Princess, there seemed to be only one proper way to do it right?). I don’t really taste the black or green teas, but rather the fruitiness of the apples, papaya and hibiscus. It is both sweet and a little tart (the hibiscus no doubt) and overall very pleasing and refreshing. If you don’t like hibiscus, you probably won’t like this tea. Also, if you don’t like the flavours to overwhelm the base of the tea, you won’t like this tea.
I’m thinking this begins a long summer of iced tea experimentation!

I couldn’t drink this tea. I don’t particularly like strong rooibos teas – once in awhile, but not often – and I really didn’t like this one. I may have brewed it a bit weak, but I wouldn’t want to try it again. I found the banana to be overpoweringly cloying, and the chocolate didn’t mesh well in it. Additionally, the walnuts in it gave me a bit of a headache (but I think I’m mildly allergic, so that was to be expected).