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This is from another local tea shop that I found over the weekend.

Smells like a big juicy apple with some caramel drizzled over it. Some of that aroma comes through in the taste but I wish it were stronger. Not bad at all and perhaps some sugar would bring out more of the sweetness. There is also a slight rooibos taste however no roobios is in it. I could see this being a nice iced tea and will have to give that a try.

Another tea from Bethany!

I was in the mood for something fruity this Monday morning and I think this hits the spot. It is very sweet and fruity but not tart. Sometimes fruit teas can taste tart but not this one. It has an almost juicy quality to it. I have never had a mangosteen so can’t comment on the taste of one, but I can taste pear in this which surprised me. Normally pear doesn’t come through in teas at all! I can barely taste the green tea and I think the matcha just adds to the sweetness rather than being obvious. Not bad for a bagged tea!

I hope you all can share my excitement when I tell you there is a tea shop RIGHT DOWN THE STREET FROM ME!! Literally in walking distance if I wasn’t so lazy. I have honestly driven down the street it is on my whole life and somehow I missed it.

I guess I never knew this place existed because at 1st glance all one sees in is ‘Moons Coffee’. The ‘and Tea’ got lost to me I guess. However, the place is full of loose tea and tea ware. I nearly fainted.

I picked this up because I have been looking for a nice tea, not herbal or rooibos, to drink in the evenings when I have a tea craving. The owner made a cup of this for me and even though she made it a little weak in my opinion it was still good. So this evening I made it stronger and I think it is pretty darn good. Not as strong as a regular Darjeeling, but I can still tell that it is one. Not extraordinary in quality, but are decaf teas ever just that?

Edited to fix errors. I need to go to bed it seems.

I have sadly avoided matcha since my 1st experience with it was not so good but the desire to try it again has always been in the back of my mind. So, I picked this up during my last visit to the wonderful International Food Market (where the 1st no name matcha came from) and finally got around to preparing a bowl.

I am to lazy to go find what the real names of all the matcha pieces are, but I have the scoop spoon, the whisk and a bowl so of course I used them. The water was 180 degrees,1.5 scoops of the matcha powder was added and then I whisked till I could stand the suspense no longer.

This stuff was SO much better than the crap I had the 1st time. My bowl was sweet and slightly grassy, not too strong but obviously green tasting. I liked it and hope to start trying different types of matcha. Of course that means spending more money. Can the invisible tea gods please give us all an unlimited supply of tea funds?

Got this in a swap, thanks Bethany!

Aroma is ever so slightly smokey though that does not come through in the taste. It is very clean and smooth, no astringency so far. This almost reminds me of a Darjeeling, but it doesn’t quite reach being exactly like one. Has a little bit of sweetness and I have to say I quite like it. After my earlier horrible cup of tea, this more than makes up for it.

Braving this tea again today and I have to say I’m thankful I won’t have to drink it again. Tried steeping this for 1 minute this time instead of 3. While that did help with making the tea less strong, it still isn’t good to me. It is way more astringent than I care for in a tea and makes my mouth pucker. I also noticed an odd metallic bitter taste this time. Yesterday it was just flat out mega bitter, but with the shorter steep time the bitterness becomes metallic. Not something I enjoy.

I don’t like this one. Strong, bitter, extremely drying, and just not pleasant. Added sugar with no luck. Would have added milk but I have none. Drank half of my cup so I could at least have something to say about it, but this isn’t for me. Even at 3 minutes this was strong. Perhaps someone that likes teas to pound their senses will enjoy this? I may try steeping it for less with the other sample I have, but I’m gonna wait till tomorrow. I can’t handle drinking it again.

My last tasting note of this was 8 months ago and I stated that I liked it even though I wasn’t a fan of black teas. I giggled to myself because now I adore black teas! How interesting and exciting it is to find that our tea tastes can change. And how awesome that we can keep track of those changes!

This tea has a nice full flavor. The grenadine and vanilla are just enough to make it sweet and interesting without adding anything extra to it. The black base isn’t overpowering or bitter but does have a slight drying sensation on the back of the tongue. Nothing extreme though and it doesn’t bother me. Not bad for a flavored tea!

On Monday this was great because it didn’t push me too hard into my morning. Today this was perfect because it was calm and relaxing which is what I needed. I love teas that always seem to be whatever I need them to be.