Carytown Teas

Super old sample sipdown… Thanks to Shmiracles for sharing this with me long ago!

I didn’t really care for it, unfortunately. Might be because I don’t love orange teas very much. I did like Davidstea’s chocolate orange, so maybe chocolate would have helped this one.

It was really musty and dusty and murky and putting orange flavouring on top of that didn’t make it taste any better to me. Like sticking an orange air freshener in a dank old basement….you never can hide that mustiness.

Not the pu-erh for me, I guess!
Though I appreciate getting to try it :)

Mixed the rest of this with some of the old Davidstea version (pre lemongrass), to top it up, and cold brewed it.

I left it two days because I didn’t feel like drinking cold tea yesterday.
It was understandably bitter, I left it too long without straining it. But it was amazing coconutty and creamy so I will definitely do it again and just remove it sooner.

This is a very old sample sent from Shmiracles back in the day before I got pregnant and stopped drinking tea for a year or so.

Not sure what makes this one different, but I didn’t like it quite as much as the original Coconut oolong from Davidstea (before they brought it back with the unnecessary addition of lemongrass).

This one seemed a bit more floral. I used 85 degree water and steeped for three minutes. Maybe two minutes would be less oolongy.

Either way, decent! I think I will cold brew the rest :)

A long overdue thanks to Shmiracles for the sample!

An adult version of cocoa? Yes please!

I wish I had tried this sooner, but I didin’t realize what it was. It’s delicious! Thank you, Shmiracles! It was nice and chocolately before I added milk. It was creamy and rich.

Down to 222

More minty than chocolate flavored, next time I’ll have it iced.

I think Shmiracles sent me this one a loong loooong time ago. It smells heavenly! The flavor is amazing. It has that nice buttery oolong flavor tied with toasty coconut. The flavor is so rich it reminds me of some type of cookie or dessert. It’s super creamy and smooth. I really, really like this one! Thank you!

Ohh this is delicious! I picked up a small bag as a mother’s day gift. I think it might be the first time I’ve had a cocoa blend, and I am a FAN. I brewed it a bit too weak, so I didn’t get much if any rose flavor, but the hazelnut really makes the tea. Def going on my wishlist!

had this for breakfast.
it might be my favorite carytown tea to date.
no lie.

vacation starts tomorrow.
i am currently in my office at work waiting out a tornado warning.
i’m passing the time by shopping for Hawkeye t-shirts.
there are so many i’m having a very hard time picking just 1 or 2.
i will also keep looking for a shirt with Phil Coulson in space from the #2 recent Secret Avengers comic. it’s only a matter of time.

I have apricot tea and apricot tartlette cookies, and my whole desk smells like apricots. Yay, vacation tomorrow with Shmiracles! South Beach ahoy. Essentials for the beach: Kindle filled with slash fic & Thomas Harris & poetry, Hannibal & beach music playlists, Timolino, ceviche. I did make an awesome playlist, I have to say – all euro synth and goth poetry and cheeky humor. I’ll add you to my instagram? I’m giraffodil there.

I was all, I need some Chinese black tea to help me with my life crisis. And Carytown was all, we use that in most of our black tea blends, like Apricot and Black Rose. And I was all, I knew I loved you guys for a reason. I also got apricot tea biscuits and stuff to make my lunches, but I forgot them all at home this morning. Life crisis.

Thanks Schmiracles for the surprise sample of this in our swap!

This tea has three things that I love, chocolate, nuts, and flowers. I am mostly getting the chocolate and the rose in the sip, but not a very distinct rose, which is good because rose isn’t my favourite flavour. I am only getting the hazelnut in the aftertaste. I like that I can detect the things that I’m supposed to in this tea, that doesn’t often happen for me.

Another sipdown from the lovely shmiracles :)

Yep. Black tea with coco and yumminess.
Currently busy watching Iron Man 3 before I have to meet up with my friend to study sooo yeah. Lazy tasting note. Here’s my previous one that actually has notes on the flavour and things

http://steepster.com/jump62359/posts/220396

One of the last teas from my swap with shmiracles!

Not the biggest fan of cocoa in teas, but this tea (dry) smells soooo good! The cocoa seems like just the perfect amount, along with the hazelnut. Couldn’t really smell the rose but that’s fine with me since I’m also not the biggest fan of rose hahah.
Steeping, I can definitely smell the chocolate. It reminds me a whole lot of White Christmas by Lupicia.
Drinking it, it definitely keeps the cocoa. The rose gets lost a bit and I do get that rich nutty flavour of the hazelnut.

This definitely knocks me out. Although it doesn’t help me fall asleep faster, it helps me stay asleep as I am I light sleeper and wake up multiple times through the night.

The taste is OK. I’m not a huge fan of the fennel flavor that is fairly bold compared to the other ingredients, but other than that, it’s alright. Definitely not a tea I’d drink for pleasure, just to help me sleep.

okay warning, i’m not really a flower tea kinda gal. i like chocolate and vanilla and cremes and mints and tend to stay away from lavender and rose petals. and his tea is chocolate and rose petals. so i rolled the dice.
and i really wish i liked this one more. it’s good. it’s fine. it’s totally a nice mellow chocolate. and i will definitely drink the whole tin. it’s just that it has a slight alcohol smell to me that i can’t entirely get past it. and i suspect it’s the rose petals.
but i’ll probably come around!
give me a couple weeks drinking this and i’ll be singing it’s glory.
but i still totally LOVE Mistie’s Blend and will buy it always and forever.

small tea story
i ran really far on saturday and then went to lunch with my boyfriend and ate everything in sight.
then he had to work for an hr so he dropped me off at the tea shop so i could get a cup! but when i got there they sadly told me they didn’t have any cups!
so then i went to panera to get a cup of tea there instead, but when i got there i was like ‘i don’t want this tea’ and i just asked for a cup and lid instead. the teenage panera-worker said i could just have a cup! hah i took it and ran.
i took the cup back to carytown teas and ordered this Pu-erh. they thought it was funny that i was determined enough to supply my own cup.

this pu-erh is not a super favorite. i kept the tea bag and had a second steep the next day. it’s true that pu-erh can be amazing. when it’s really good it will easily skyrocket to the top of my list! but when it’s mediocre it can tend towards bummer-city. this one is not memorable. and kinda lame.

my 500th TEA!!

and boy, do i have a cute story to tell about the day.
and boy, do i really like this tea! i’m totally gonna buy a bag. definitely. it’ll replace my highly coveted Caramel Toffee from Dammann since i can’t go back to france anytime soon. yes it’s that nice. it feel decadent and the flavors are deep and dark without being broody. and i’ll probably keep it in stock since it’s local. and fucking delicious.

blabby story time,
i woke up and had my usually saturday morning long run. 18 miles. and my running friend and i were very angry during the last third of the run. see, sometimes if you don’t fuel enough or are just having an off day, you get a case of what i can “the road crazies”. somewhere during the last 3 miles she said she was gonna strangle me. and without missing a beat i said i was gonna strangle her first. we were pissed. starving and hurting and pissed. and then we laughed SO HARD about it on the car ride home. it’s just part of long distance running. and it’s always hilarious after the fact.
i like doing hard things sometimes.

i hurried home and scarfed down as much protein as i could and showered and then went to get my hair cut. lucky me, my hair stylist moved locations and is now in the same shopping center as Carytown Teas!!!

i had planned all week that i was gonna save my landmark 500th uniquely tasted tea for saturday when i could pick a new tea from the tea list. and i knew i was gonna get a black tea because it’s my fave. (i would get a lapsang blend but Carytown doesn’t really have them, though their lapsang is very very good.) i went down the list and picked Mistie’s Blend. there is also a Patricia’s Blend. they are the two store owners. Mistie obviously has my taste in teas because this cup is exactly everything i would want.

i told the tea shop gal that it was my 500th tea and that i keep track of them and she asked what i use and she knew about steepster and i think she finds this website equal parts silly and charming. i told her that i love it and that ALL the NERDZ hang out there!! and that i spend more time on steepster than i EVER spend on Facebook. (i love you, you nerds!)

we went on to discuss tea reviews and how people don’t always know what they are talking about when they review tea, but i think that’s okay. like how i can maybe read a movie review that hates the movie, but i can still tell by the descriptions and observations that it’s definitely a movie that i’d like. even if the reviewer didn’t. it’s just all information that nudges the tea story along.
also aren’t we all SO DIFFERENT in the mouth?! so so different.

okay i’m sorry i’m babbling. i’ve had a lot of caffeine this morning and took a decongestant for my allergies and also slept like 12 hours yesterday which is UNHEARD OF for me. (i’m a 5-6 hrs a night max person.)

okay, long story longer, the tea gal said that “her and Patricia never agree on tea” and that’s when it dawned on me. i’m drinking a tea that was blended by the person i’m talking to! i’m ordering Mistie’s tea and chatting with Mistie about tea as she brews her tea for me.

i was delighted!

AND THEN SHE GAVE THE CUP TO ME FOR FREE.
that’s the ultimate fist bump!!

so classy!
i love tea and i love tea people.

(i had also brought along a small tupperware container so i could keep the tea bag for a second brew. which i did as soon as i got home.)

(i did not confess to her how ridiculous and uninformative my tea reviews are. haha i hope she still sells me tea in the future if she ever finds out.)

http://instagram.com/p/emxdCWoc2e/