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After receiving a passion fruit tea from Quiltguppy a while back, I wanted to see if I would also enjoy the one by Harney and Sons. When you open the tin the aroma is quite strong, but the tea itself is just right in my opinion. I am drinking it hot and sans additions right now but I am eager
to try it iced and lightly sweetened as well. The tea base is smooth and the passion fruit is nice and juicy!

In a hurry, but right off the bat I will say that this tea reminds me a bit of Golden Snail.

The dry leaves have a very strong scent of raisins or molasses. There is a rich, deep, dark aroma and I was almost afraid this was going to be TOO strong for me. The tea itself, however, is quite another story. It has a similar profile to Golden Snail but is milder, and I think there is an Assam-like note but with no astringency at all.

I think we have a winner. SimplyJenW, keep an eye on your mailbox!

This was another great tea today at tea party, again thanks to SimplyJenW!

Just as Earl Grey Supreme by Harney and Sons is the pinnacle of Earl Grey teas for me, so this has become the benchmark for Lady Grey type teas.

Lady Grey by Twinings is the only other one I have had, and I do enjoy it. It really FEELS like a foofy, holdyourpinkyintheair kind of tea. This is the same, but polished and with a rich daddy.

My guest today has not cared for ANY Earl Grey I have served – it just isn’t her thing, and it isn’t just the bergamot because she LOVES Paris. Yet this tea gained her approval today. Her main remark was how citrusy it was, and indeed it is. They do not mention lemon, but I did think I picked up some lemon notes. That may have just been the Ceylon base though, as they really just mention orange and bergamot in the flavors.

I will be in Raleigh again soon, and I will be hitting Williams-Sonoma and putting this in my basket!

Thank you, Jen, for another lovely addition to Wednesday tea party!

Whee! I got new tea in the mail from SimplyJenW today! I couldn’t wait to try this one, so we served it at tea party just an hour after it arrived.

The dry leaves smelled AWESOME! I love that scent. The tea smells sweet and the fig adds a wonderful note that is both a high fruity note but is warm at the same time. I really, really like this! No additions, and I really must finish the pot so I can stop sitting here sniffing it and move on to other things! No additions…this is too good just as it is.

Thank you, Jen!

This is a sample from the ever-so-lovely and generous JENN! Thank you, Jenn!

I wanted to sample some honeybush teas because I am not a fan of rooibos but wanted some caffeine free options for evenings. I have never had lemon lime cheesecake so I don’t know how this compares, but I can say it tastes very good! The lemon is the most prominent note for me, with the lime close behind. Though the lemon aroma is there, the tisane is not tart at all, but very smooth. Think of lemon drops hard candy but without the pucker. I tried it hot, then iced and lightly sweetened, then just cooled off to room temp but not iced, which is how I really enjoy a lot of teas, especially oolongs and some flavored teas! It was enjoyable every way I tried it, and I am so glad to have another option for those times when I need to limit caffeine but want something flavorful.

Thank you, JENN!

I haven’t had tHis one in quite a while. I bought it because youngest loved the IB from Southern Season, but this one was too strong for her. Yesterday we had Malachi and it seemed a little weak so I decided to give this another try. I didn’t say what brand it was, just told her it was IB and she drank two cups! It is much better than I remembered! Milk and sugar!

We haven’t had this one in quite a while. The tin is getting low, but I don’t think I will be ordering this one again. It is, as it says, a decent cup of tea, but it doesn’t ring bells for me. Youngest likes it more than I do, but she is such a fan of Irish Breakfast teas. We had this one for second breakfast. I took the first cup plain and the second with milk and sugar. It didn’t thrill me either way, though it wasn’t bad. I would just rather drink something that makes my eyes light up!

I am having a lovely quiet Sunday morning as hubby and the girls have gone hiking and I stayed behind to cook for my son who is coming for a visit today! This is the perfect time for an “all day” tetsubin, something I really look forward to but don’t do often enough!

I wanted to try something new and came across this lovely sample from SimplyJenW.

As soon as the water hit the leaves, an exquisite jasmine frangance filled the air. I steeped for three minutes and tried a cup of full strength tea. The green is not bitter, it is a tiny tad astringent but in a good way and you really have to look for it, and the jasmine is very natural and delicate – not soapy at all.

Because the tetsubin is large, I like to resteep immediately and add it to the first steep to make a nice mix of the two for drinking most of the day. It sits on a warmer so it stays a good temp for drinking for a long time.

This is a delicious treat! I am glad I got to try another jasmine green since I didn’t like the first one I ever tried, and since then have mostly had black jasmine teas.

Thank you, Jen!

Woke up with my back still a wreck. Had breakfast and then started stretching since that is what works best. Went to get a drink only to discover that the 18 year old had served popcorn and bacon for breakfast. Stale popcorn. Decided not to mention it when I realized no one asked for breakfast and that it wasn’t that different from my bowl of grits.

After that, I really wanted a tea that would make me feel human again! This is the last of a sample from Quiltguppy. I used my tetsubin on a warmer and I resteeped the leaves, adding the resteep to the full strength brew already in the pot.

The kids have not gotten into green teas yet but youngest agreed to taste it. I was about to tell her how heavenly the aroma is on this one – it smells like cherries to me – when she exclaimed, “it smells like someone melted Lifesavers in a cup!”

The great thing is that even though the taste is much more subtle than the aroma, she liked it. Although she is still a black tea girl, she said she would definitely drink this whenever it is made.

Next up – Rat Lunch!

I love love love this tea! Smooth and light black tea with honey flavor, dried stone fruit (which I think is black currant), and some light and lovely floral essence. This is our afternoon tea. And may I say it?

I AM A FLIPPIN’ GENIUS!

We had a bowl of almonds out to snack on, and I brought out the Nutella and Rich Tea biscuits. Then I thought of almonds lightly (ahem…most of the time) dipped in Nutella. Mmmmmm. This will be happening again.