The Spice & Tea Exchange

Tea of the afternoon…..

Thank you so much to Indigobloom for this one.

This is a really nice chocolate tea. The notes are of dark chocolate which I think works so well with a tea base that is not particularly sweet on its own. I think this would stand up to milk if you wanted to add some. Very good, and it is always good to know what else to buy when you are getting your fix of Coconut Oolong!

Usual Mug method.

This is the flavour I expected DavidTea’s Super Chocolate to be! It’s a dark chocolate flavour with hints of black tea and definitely delightful. It was a great way for me to finish off dinner tonight!

Oh, my. This tastes as good as it smells. And, it smells and tastes like coconut-oatmeal cookie heaven meets fresh green Oolong. My grandmother used to make awesome oatmeal cookies with a bunch of coconut, and that is seriously all I can think of while drinking this. I’m taken right back to her kitchen!

So, yeah. This is incredibly silky-smooth and creamy. There’s a delicious sweetness that tastes like toasted coconut, perfectly balanced with crisp, ever so slightly floral Oolong. Thanks for letting me steal a little, Indigobloom! A couple sips in I was already on their site investigating what it would take to get myself some of this.

Surprised. I am a bit of a purist that likes of my tea ‘uninterrupted’ by added flavors/elements, but this Bao Zhong in combination with the naturally sweet coconut is creamy, smooth and delicious. I agree with other reviews that is gives Nantou Milky Gold varieties some close competition. And it does seem to ‘sweeten’ as it cools. It holds flavor for a second cup too. Now I’m curious to try other brands & offerings to compare!

This one brews so pretty. Which is so sad since it is so bitterly full of hibiscus. I tried adding twice the sugar I usually do, and still all I could taste was hibiscus with ever so slightly a hint of raspberry. Thank you for the chance to try this one Indigobloom!

Mmm this one brewed up perfectly tonight. Sweet and orangey and just what I’d been hoping for. Yum.

I have a love hate relationship with this tea. Love because it does taste like what it is called. There are definitive blood orange notes in with a smooth rooibos tea flavour. But I wanted more. I wanted more smoothie and less rooibos. The rooibos is definitely strong here and if you aren’t a fan of it, you aren’t going to like this tea at all. I’m curious what it would taste like if I mixed it with some of my other orange flavoured teas. I may have to try next time since I can’t add milk or cream to this one.

Tea of the afternoon…..

This one came to me from Indigobloom. I have really been wanting to try this to see if another one of my favorites is close…..

Light green/yellow liquor, lovely coconut smell and taste. Very slightly buttery. Yum!

I am, of course, comparing to Golden Moon’s Coconut Pouchong. Honestly, though, I like them both. This one is a little more roasted tasting and maybe not quite as buttery. I really don’t see a need for both of them in my cupboard, but it is great to know that there is another source for really good Coconut Oolong/Pouchong out there, and it really just depends on where I am shopping at the time. I just know I am always in need of this kind of tea in my cupboard.

Thank you so much for the sample!

Mug method, 3 minutes, about 180 water. No additions.

This tea tried to fool me! I got it as a sample from the lovely and awesome Indigobloom and when I labelled it I wrote black instead of pu’erh. So when I went to brew it, half asleep this morning, I was started to smell pu’erh as I lifted it for my first sip. Tricky tea, I figured you out anyway!

Dry this tea smells lovely, like a chocolate filled with strawberry nougat waiting in the tray calling to you. Brewed, the tea definitely has notes of pu’erh, but I didn’t detect any fishiness. There were hints of strawberry in the smell but I didn’t really get much chocolate. Leery now since I’m not a fan of pu’erhs yet, I hesitantly took my first sips.

Okay, this is now the second pu’erh that I’ve enjoyed. The strawberry is a fake strawberry, like those candies I mentioned above. The chocolate and pu’erh balance really nicely, however, to make it a lovely cup.

I got this one in a mail exchange recently, and so gave it another look. The first time I tried it was before I had a variable temperature kettle, so I felt it definitely deserved another look. I’m glad I did, because tonight it was an enjoyable cup to sip as I talked with friends. The flavour was dominated by pineapple, but not enough to turn me off since it is far from my favourite fruit. I definitely don’t see this becoming a favourite tea for me, or even a restock, but I’m not going to be trading it out of my collection, either.

Sipping off the last of this one tonight. Definitely a nice tea, but as Indigobloom stated in her review, it is dupeable. Lovely but not memorable.

Got this one as a sample from Indigobloom with whom I had a GREAT tea-addictive Saturday. The tea is lovely, I had it with dinner and the flavour was strong enough to power over the extreme garlic in my meal and still allow me to taste the fruity notes. I had it hot and loved it, and now I’m really curious how it would taste iced since both notes state they prefer it that way!

It’s funny, but having tea less often somehow makes it taste so much better. My cup of this today wasn’t half bad!
Also, I’ve had a series of Tim Horton’s teas foisted on me, so I have something truly lacklustre for comparison.
Anyhow. I am hoping this will all change because a) we are working out the kinks in my work schedule/load, and b) roll up the rim will soon be over!
Oh and I won’t have the constant temptation of endless apple or strawberry strudel paraded over my head. Ha!!

Now the cup? Sure it could have been dark chocolate, but I doubt I would have picked that out as a flavour if I hadn’t known. Meh.

I’m not sure if my tastes have changed, or perhaps the tea. But this, well it just tastes different. Certainly not like cake. Highly astringent, to the point of being downright sour. In fact, I could be convinced that this was some kind of lame attempt at lemon flavouring.
I’ll leave the rating as is, in honour of how spectacular my last batch was… but this one? well it’d get around 55.

Mmmmmm. If I’m ever craving a chocolate fix, this is the place to go!!
It’s like drinking cocoa tea! So yummy. Trouble is, I so badly wanted to try this with a spot o’ milk… except when I opened the fridge, someone drank the last of it this morning! oh well, something to look forward to next time. I’m sure it will be worth the wait :)
I’m surprised that with this being a black and all, I am really enjoying my cup. When I had intended to sample this with milk, I had divided it into two cups… one of them with some agave in it just to see if it made any difference. I think it did, but not in a good way. In fact, I prefer it without. Nonetheless, when the missing dairy incident occurred, I combined the two samples and so now I have agave in it. Maybe the trick is to just use less.
Somehow, I can actually taste the maltiness and the astringency!! Once in awhile I get blessed with a “good” tea day and well it seems this is one of ‘em! hallelujah!!!!!
Only my friends here on Steepster will understand how happy this makes me :):):)
Maybe it’s the cocoa? or the fact that I had a cat-scan yesterday (I dunno ‘bout anyone else but whenever I go get tested/to the doc for some medical issue or other, the problem seems to miraculously clear up on it’s own! ha. Am I a hypochondriac? it’s possible!!)
In any case, the chocolate is nice and deep. Rich, like I’m eating cake. It’s better when piping hot, but then I find most teas like that. The astringency comes out more as it cools. Heck, I don’t mind. I can taste the astringency!! :P

First, I am thankful to Indigobloom for sending some of this my way. I LOVE the subtle flavor of coconut in this tea. Sometimes coconut teas can make you feel like you just drank your suntan lotion by mistake but not this one. It is a perfect balance of oolong and coconut. I have been waiting for a chance to try this. To me, it is silky like a milk oolong with the added extra deliciousness of the tropics. I bet this would be good iced, but I doubt my sample will make it to warm weather. :) Thanks again Indigobloom!!!

Looooove! such love for this tea.
It’s not harsh or biting at all, like so many other versions I’ve tried. The smokiness in a Lapsang tends to give it a scratchy sensation but not here, thankfully!
I added a bit of agave(maybe 1/2 tspn) this time around and it’s really picked up on the sweet note. I’m getting alot more marshmallow now.
Too bad I have a headache blooming. Maybe time for a chammy after this!

warm campfire in a cup. with marshmallows, alot of them!
I love this tea. Love it!! when I am done with this packet I will be going to buy more.
Like with the STE Darjeeling, I had my doubts but I really should have more faith because both of them are amazing!!
I forgot my notes at work again but will update this with my next review.
or not… since I got through three steeps and they were all lovely but more or less the same if not a tad weaker as it went, and maybe a bit sweeter/less smoky. I just mean that I didn’t see any extra layers of flavour come out!
Oh and one day I’ll try it with milk. I think that would make it caramel-like. Mmmm

I had this iced today. The first time I tried it that way, I used the cold brew method… ie dumping the leaves in cold water and then leaving it in the fridge.
Well, I was highly disappointed. That plastic taste I get in greens came popping right out.
If I hadn’t been out n about I would have ditched it, but I was thirsty and needed a drink.
This time though, I made it hot and then let it cool. Better. But I let it sit for a bit too long thinking that because it was to be iced, it might be better that way. Boy was I wrong.
Next time, I make it my normal way (90 seconds) and ice it. Hopefully that will turn out better. I might even go with icing the second steep instead.
Oh and I’m lowering the rating a few points. To me, this is pretty similar to Long Life Oolong in the fruity aspect. It goes so much deeper in the flavour. With every sip, I kept thinking… not terrible, but LLO was so much better. Yeah, they are different species and all… green vs oolong, and I’m not typically a green girl so perhaps this is my bias coming out? or maybe I just had one of those randomly “bad” cups!
Methinks I just need to steep it again with my usual method. shrugs
Who knows.

I don’t feel qualified to review this tea. It smells SO good but somehow, it tastes just like every other fruity green tea I’ve sampled, albeit very smooth. The fruit does blend well together as well so I can tell it’s a well executed blend… I just don’t know how to describe it properly, other than the few notes I’ve given!
Well, there is that astringent sour note I keep getting in other teas.
I’ll leave it unrated, for now. Maybe I’ll try it iced, as recommended in the other review here.

EDIT: First time ever folks!! I like a tea better cold than hot!!! the flavour profile completely changes that way. It’s much sweeter and brighter. A tad bitter but I kinda like it. Yay!! I have a tea to cold brew and love now xx
(also, I’ve now rated it… based on the cold tea)

Backlog #8 – my last for today. I drank more tea than I thought!
Yay, a hibiscus tea that isn’t overtaken by sour notes! :)
Except instead, it’s all about the cinnamon. No plum… just spice. I’m still undecided. Well, it does seem to be a mood tea. and I do appreciate a spot of cinnamon now and again. and it’s loads better than the Kampai :)
Bah, Toronto water will save it. yes it will!!

Dear Toronto Water:
YOU SUCK!!!… all the goodness out of Darjeeling tea. You leeched out the lovely deep fruity round and delicate notes and left me with soggy flowers and mulch.
Please leave my innocent Darjeelings alone. I offer you my White teas in lieu. Deal?

Sincerely,
your neighbourhood tea lover IndigoBloom

Backlog!! #9- because I don’t feel like renaming all of them and I missed this one :P
Oh sweet heavenly Darjeeling!! So delicate, so deep, so sweet… so perfect!
This is indeed a bit fruity, but I almost mistook that for a honey flavour. My palate isn’t strong enough to determine anything more distinct, but if I had to guess I would say it’s in the melon or cantaloupe range. This comes out more in the later steepings. The first one was less sugary, and more roundish, kindof like an oolong if that makes any sense?
Also, I must remember to let this cool before tasting. When piping hot, the first two steeps were VERY floral- overwhelmingly so.
I think I’ll reserve this one for reading books. It’s perfect for curling up on the couch and getting lost in a tea/plot-line.
NB: the last time I tried teas with Florida water, they brewed up somewhat differently at home. I’m curious to see what happens with my next cup now that I am back!

This tea creates a great deep purple color with many flavors with the berries adding to the greatness.