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Raw Notes: The pyramid bag is see-through so you can easily see it’s contents, of which are small pieces of what looks like mixed fruit and flowers. It has a cinnamon apple and waxy orange scent, mulled being appropriate so far.

Steeped Notes: This tisane contains hibiscus and it’s easy to have guessed from it’s colour and sour taste alone. Though don’t let that put you off, behind the immediate sharp hibiscus is a spiced apple and cinnamon after taste that lingers on the tongue. It’s fairly light with some sweetness and it’s mulled spices give it a warming quality. For a caffeine free tisane this is rather nice, a real likeness to mulled wine.

Overall: This was a very nice tisane, even for a hibiscus hater such as myself. The spiced apple was delicate yet distinct and the mulled spices lingered wonderfully. The spirit of Christmas is alive in this blend. This is going to make a wonderful Christmas night drink due to it’s caffeine free nature and warmth.

For pictures and more information please view my blog.
http://www.kittylovestea.co.uk/2014/12/24/tis-the-season-tea-be-jolly/

Raw Notes: Large pieces of coconut peel are very noticeable. Scent is very sweet and peppermint like though also malty from the black base.

Steeped Notes: Not only does it have peppermint and malt notes, but the infusion has brought out the coconut too. It’s a little rough ie astringent and I believe the black base to be too strong for the peppermint. The coconut is stronger then the peppermint but the strongest flavour over all is the base. It’s malty and rich but also sour, plus it does leave some dryness in the mouth. It’s a pleasant taste at first sip but after a second or two it just becomes dry and malty.

Overall: I love peppermint as it reminds me of candy canes and in my mind there is little as Christmas’y as that. So imagine my surprise when a tea called Peppermint Patty is not very peppermint strong and has two dominating flavours, ones that are not associated with Christmas. At least living in UK coconut is not a Christmas flavour for me. That makes my drinking experience rather disappointing, though fairly pleasant it’s just not Christmas-y enough for me and I had much higher hopes.

For pictures and more information please view my blog.
http://www.kittylovestea.co.uk/2014/12/24/tis-the-season-tea-be-jolly/

Raw Notes: Large pieces of cinnamon stick are worth mentioning. The blend as a whole has a very strong scent of waxy orange, clove and cinnamon. Very Christmas-y.
Steeped Notes: The flavour is darker than it’s initial orange heavy scent. Meaning that the clove and cinnamon have blended with the black tea base which is now the main feature. Though the orange is still present it’s more towards the end during the after taste. Despite being black ie without milk nor sugar it’s very easy to drink, with only minimal astringency which I believe most of which comes from the spices. It’s almost liked a mulled wine but in tea form.
Overall: This has everything I associate with Christmas and on top of that it’s actually very pleasant to drink. I believe this would be a lovely tea when served to guests around the holidays, if they like mulled wine and tea they should like this. Although I’m admittedly not a huge fan of Adagio I do think this blend is among my favourites of theirs.

For pictures and more info please view my blog.
http://www.kittylovestea.co.uk/2014/12/24/tis-the-season-tea-be-jolly/

A 12 days of Christmas tea from the box.

I bought a vintage (roughly 60’s) Italian Cyclo commuter bike today as my means of transport, my new house had lots of fields surrounding me and the nearest shops are some distance away. With a bit of tlc my new bike will get me to the shops and back in ease, it can also take me to my craft club and to visit my parents. Looks like it will be my new hobby next year.

This tea smells very sweet but more like apple than pear, it has an unnaturalness about it. Behind that there is a hint of cinnamon and spice, enough to be warming. As a whole it smells like an apple pie/tart but without the crust.

In flavour the black tea is thick and malty which over rides some of the sweetness, though again I still say it’s more apple like than pear though granted they are very similar anyway. The cinnamon is very gentle against the thick black base.

In essence it’s a black tea with a bit of flavour rather than a flavoured tea with some black. I think it would have been nicer with a lighter base such as a baked/dark Oolong.

It’s ok but nothing special, the black base prevents any greatness from this blend, it’s as though it was just a rushed creation made for cheapness sake. Despite that it is drinkable at least.

Today’s Christmas tea from the box.

Boy this is strong! It smells so sweet and strawberry, like gummy sweets.

Steeped scent smells much like black tea, strong malt scent with some berry sweetness in the background, albeit more subtle than the malt tones.

Flavour is sweet, very sweet in-fact….it reminds me of those syrups you get for coffee only it’s in tea. It tastes chemical, sure it’s sweet but that chemical flavour is just strange…plastic like. On top of that it’s a very rich and malted black tea base with some sourness and astringency.

It’s drinkable but not pleasant. Such a shame since I noticed it’s organic ingredients. What’s more the plastic flavour lingers in the mouth during the after taste which is not very nice. Oh well, still drinkable and at least it’s a new one for me to try.

This was yesterdays tea ie 4th day of Christmas tea from the box. I decided to have a smelly food day which meant I couldn’t taste much of anything past garlic, onion, chilli and spices hence why I didn’t review this until today.

The raw blend smells amazingly sweet apple like, very potent and strong.

The steeped tea smells sweet apple like though toned down from it’s raw form.

In flavour this is very mild compared to it’s scent. The apple comes through in the after taste while the white tea is the main flavour. It’s dry, floral and slightly astringent before the apple kicks in which adds a crisp sweetness. It doesn’t linger for long in the after taste.

It’s not as appley as it appears I mean the tea has apple twice in it’s name. The astringency of the white tea reduces what the apple could be, though saying that it is still a fairly nice tea. Perhaps if I try it again it will be iced.

I got up this morning and set my table to entertain a day of Japanese tea, only I had to go out this morning and clean the house when I returned which means it’s coming up to 2pm and I have yet to taste some tea. I’ve decided to forget the other tasks I need to do until dinner time so I have an afternoon and early evening of tea. (Yay!)

Sencha of the Spring Sun sounds beautiful and warm. In appearance the Sencha is dark green with some light green stems and a high gloss. They are a mixture of small pieces and long pieces, all dry and sharp looking. It has a sweet (yet slightly astringent) scent with floral sweet pea, fresh grass and hay tones.

Standard steeping
Tea – 5g
Water – 80 C
Volume – 180ml Futanashi Tokoname
Over three steeps

First Steep – 30 seconds
A warm juniper and fresh cut grass scent shines through. Flavour is mild, sweet and very fresh with grass and floral tones with some lightly toasted hay towards the after taste. Particularly sweetpea and mild but fresh seaweed.

Second Steep – 10 seconds
More vegetal tones are becoming present as it becomes stronger. Seaweed, sweetpea, fresh grass and broccoli being notable. A touch of astringency and dryness though nothing dramatic.

Third Steep – 30 seconds
More astringent and dry though remains sweet and with flavour. The astringency makes it more perfumed rather than being plain astringency.

A nice Sencha overall that has lingering after tastes and an abundance of flavours suitable for many steeps. Not the smoothest or highest quality but perfect for every day drinking.

Plus a side note – the sun came out while I was drinking this which was a nice touch, it shone down strong enough to make it feel like Spring again. I will carry on steeping this while I watch Hellfighters (with John Wayne), my nan used to love John Wayne and watching his films reminds me of her.

Day 3 of the 52 Teas 12 days of Christmas box.

Is there anything more Christmas-y than peppermint when it comes to festive teas? This was a welcome find this morning. Monday morning is the start of my house wifely duties, and let me mention that I hate cleaning and tidying. I’m a messy person by nature though my clutter is almost always organized. Job list for today: cat litters, scrub toilets, sweep and hoover downstairs, put clothes away, try and find boxes to unpack etc etc etc. So far I’ve washed up, done the cat litters and put bleach down the toilet to go back to later. Tea break while watching Buffy sounds splendid.

So back to the tea, peppermint bark, it does smell very sweet and pure in terms of peppermint. The black tea was a little malty and cocoa like though very subtle in comparison to the dominating peppermint.

In flavour the black tea becomes a lot stronger than it was in scent, which I wouldn’t mind though the peppermint is actually in the background of it now. So it’s a black tea with a mild peppermint after taste. Usually I like my mint teas to be large and in charge, I drink mint tea for the mint aspect above all else.

Through the sip: It starts with a sour malt black base that gradually lightens to reveal a hint of peppermint amongst a now sweet and sour malt base.

It’s nice though not a new favourite, and it’s not peppermint enough to be Christmas like for me :(

My second day of Christmas tea from the 52 Teas Christmas Box.

Today’s tea sounds very interesting! I’m not a huge fan of tiramisu since it’s coffee related but I do like it on a rare occasion and I’ve been thinking about it for the last year. So this was a nice surprise, and in Oolong form too, very cheeky.

I open the packet and I am met with a milky/creamy and slightly spiced scent with mild sweetness. It reminded me of eggnog.

Once steeped this tastes as creamy as it smells along with a gentle baked cake/bread taste with a touch of spice. It still reminds me of eggnog though compared to Butiki’s eggnog it’s not as creamy nor sweet. It’s flavour as a whole is rather mild and most flavours come through in the after taste, otherwise it’s very much a simple plain milk Oolong. It contains cocoa nib which at a stretch adds some sourness though sometimes I find milk Oolong to be slightly sour anyway.

Does it taste like tiramisu? No, sorry Frank but it does not. Instead it’s a lightly spicy Oolong which is actually rather tasty. Eggnog like enough to be Christmas themed and a joyous atmospheric tea. I’m happy enough with this blend and shall have no issue finishing this one.