Tea District

I have never been a fan of licorice root. BUT I’m not really tasting that in this tea. What I am tasting is some really good tea. I can really taste the peach aspect of this tea and that’s making me really happy on this sunny, yet chilly afternoon in Upstate, NY. It smells pretty peachy/general green tea to me and that too is making me wish it were a little cooler to drink it right down.

Received this from @KeenTeaThyme(KiTT) and wow the aroma is very spice filled. I like my Chai’s with some kick! I love the cardamon I’m tasting as well as the pepper. I’m not getting much of a cinnamon taste…which is a little bit of a downer. In the past I would always add milk and sweetener to my Chai’s, but not needed with this one at all! Yum is the word here.

Backlogging – had this before bed last night. I really enjoyed this cup, however I had to make a couple changes. I used two tea bags and left both of them in for the remainder of the cup. I enjoy drinking herbal teas at night while watching TV, and this is a great selection. I tasted chamomile (but mild), pepper- and spearmints, and a hint of licorice, mainly for a sweet tinge at the cup’s end. This is decent, not a bad purchase. But it’s not a tea I’ll go through quickly.

The WOW factor is strong here, folks! You know I’m picky about my chai, but this green tea version is out-of-this-world! I absolutely love the green tea variety. The tea tastes spicy and minty, but also light and airy. This is the spring complement to the autumn chai I love. I’m going to let the tea steep for the remainder of the cup, which is my MO when it comes to chais.

Smell: it’s light, subtle. Spicy but vague.

Taste: Spicy and delicious. I taste peppermint (what keeps it airy, I guess), nutmeg, a pinch of pepper and that delicious cardamom.

This green tea version is a definite contender in the Great Chai War of 2011 – may even beat the Teavana chai I love, because this version is so light. Bet it would be cool and refreshing iced.

I’m out of my Teavana Chai blend, so I’m waiting (im)patiently for my order. This is a great alternative – I love the spices and mixed with a sweetener (Sun Crystals) does wonders for the flavors as well. I don’t add milk to my chai; I’m allergic to some enzymes in dairy, plus I like it better that way.

Please see other notes. This is another fave!

Honestly, each time I have this it gets spicier and better! I love this version of chai, with plenty of cinnamon, cardamom and spunk; no sip is plain. Please see other notes for my chronological joy for this bagged heaven!

The more I try this tea, the more I like it! The tip for my flavor preferences – which are strong & spicy – seems to be using almost boiling water and steeping for at least six minutes (or the length of the cup). I add a little bit of Splenda to balance the flavors, but this one gets better each day.

OK, I’m upping my rating on this one. When I arrived at work today I reached for my usual chai wake-up blend, but my tastebuds wanted this one! I steeped it for the length of the cup – as usual – and the aroma of the chai is amazing! (I had to give out a couple bags to coworkers, but I’m slowly converting them to the cult that is tea… lol)

This is such a wake-up, pick-me-up, great-way-to-start-the-day blend. I do prefer the green tea chai version that Tea District also offers, but I do tend to prefer green tea over black teas.

I’m actually brewing a second cup – not using the same tea bag; resteepability isn’t very evident here, but then again I “soak” to the end of the cup anyway. I love more flavors and a spicy aftertaste, so I would need a new bag anyway.

This is quickly becoming a favorite!

First off, I’m very picky about my chais (see previous notes re: the crazy Teavana blend I adore). Secondly, I purchased this in the tea bag form which could account for flavor issues. However I did leave the bag in the cup for the remainder of the cup.

Taste: cardamon & cinnamon, a little bit of clove and is that allspice I taste as well? Still spicy on the tongue. Guess that’s the black pepper popping up. Yums!

Smell: spicy and warm, almost smells like autumn.

I do like the convenience of the bag, especially since you can steep it for the length of the cup. Gets spicier as you finish.

I’d buy this again; it’s a decent contender to the Great Chai War of 2011. :)

The handle of the steeping basket of my Kati cup just broke off! Boo! Getting that thing out of the cup now requires a knife and hot fingers. :P

I really loved the sample I got of this tea before; the lavender and the Earl Grey were in a good balance, and the addition of the jasmine really rounded the whole thing out. I ran out a while ago but it was always on my list, so I ordered 2oz of it with my last Tea District order.

Upon opening the package I was a little concerned. This didn’t really smell like the tea I had before! The dry leaf smells very very lavendery, in a very herbaceous way, but there’s also a lot of other things going on in there that I can’t quite place (but don’t really smell like just bergamot and jasmine!). The brewed tea is similar: lavender, yes, but also almost spicy?

Um, what?? This is horrible!! WTF is this?? This is totally not the delicious Lavender EG I had before. It’s bitter and kind of like a spicy lavender, but overall just terrible to me. Like they mixed in a chai base instead of an Earl Grey. There is no hint of bergamot whatsoever. What on earth happened?!

ETA: I have sent this package of Lavender Earl Grey back to Tea District for replacement by another tea. They claim that there could be no error as far as the blend goes, so I’m going to have to remove my previously high rating of this tea.

Last cup from my sample pack of this one! :( I guess I’ll need to get around to ordering more from Tea District finally. I’d love to try other Lavender Earl Greys, but I know I’m definitely a fan of this one. Finishing up the pack I think I put a little too much tea in my mug, because it’s really strong. It’s also really lavender-y today, probably because a lot of the little lavender buds fall down to the bottom of the pouch, so there’s a lot in this steep.

Had this one for my morning cup… The instructions call for a full tablespoon of tea per 8 oz cup, which I think is a little excessive, so I went for 2 tsp for my 12 oz Kati cup and the tea is plenty strong. I think I have about one more cup left in my sample pouch, which means I’ll have to order more since I like it so much! Good thing I have a groupon for Tea District that I haven’t spent yet.

Steeped for 4 minutes this time, the scent of this tea is strongly citrus and jasmine with an underlying layer of lavender. The citrus and jasmine combine together to form a bright, sharp aroma that smells like it should be tart. The taste ratchets that down a bit, and it’s well balanced with the lavender. This one ends up a somewhat floral/perfumed citrus-fruity tea, and it’s a great combination. The bergamot has a strong flavor without being very astringent, and the jasmine brings out the sweetness in the lavender so it’s not too herby. I think I have to bump my rating up even higher because I’m really loving this tea!

I got a new tea pot for home from Tea District, and while I was there I had to pick up a sample of this tea. I’m a fan of Earl Grey, and I love the smell of lavender; plus, this one advertised a hint of jasmine, which I also adore. The aroma of the dry leaves is fantastic, very strongly smelling of lavender with citrus as well. The steeped tea matches remarkably well; the aroma is almost identical. It smells almost sweet, though there’s no actual sweetness in the flavor of the tea. This tea tastes like an Earl Grey with a heavy overlayer of lavender, but the lavender doesn’t overwhelm the EG. I don’t get a distinct jasmine note, but I have a feeling it’s contributing to the overall floral aroma and taste. I steeped this one a little short of the instructions (4 minutes), since I usually steep black teas I haven’t tried for 3 minutes, but this one doesn’t seem like it’s going to get bitter with more steeping. There really isn’t a hint of bitterness, so I’ll probably go ahead and steep it for 4 minutes next time, which should further bring out the flavors.

This is my first lavender Earl Grey, which I had suspected that I would really like. Turns out I was right, I really love this flavor combination. There’s something about lavender and bergamot that is so similar and complementary to me. This tea brings them together very well. Fortunately Tea District often has groupons, because I think I’ll be ordering more of this.

Wow! The pomegranate in this tea packs quite a punch, it is quite tart… WAY too tart for my taste!!! I added 1/2tsp of german rock sugar to see if it would help mellow out the tartness, it helped a little but not enough. I then added another 1/2tsp of german rock sugar and it now made the tea tolerable, but still quite tart and a bit bitter. I have let it cool down to room temp. and it has helped a little, but I think I will have to pour this one down the drain. I can’t get past all of this tartness :-|

I love that some proceeds from this tea goes to a person in need, that is awesome! Now, this tea looks pretty good for a bagged tea…it’s full loose leaf tea and not chopped up tiny pieces of “tea”. Now, I did not realize that this had licorice root in it or I would have skipped out on this one and tried a different one. BUT since I didn’t realize that until much later, oh well. You can taste the green tea, a nicely vegetal – sweet grass taste with a touch of citrus. Now, the licorice root comes into play in the aftertaste…maybe even a bit before, it hits the back of my tongue and makes itself known! To me the mixture of the citrus and the licorice root melds together and reminds me of lemongrass, not bad if you like lemongrass, but unless I am eating a Thai dish of some sort I don’t care for a lemongrass taste in my drink. But other than that this is pretty good, just don’t be fooled thinking this is going to be a peachy tasting green tea :-)