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Sipdown of this very generous sample that Inking sent me in our recent swap. Since the weather is back up in the mid 70s today I decided that the best way to drink this would be iced. The tea itself is full of huge chunks of dried fruit, I definitely spy some succulent looking pieces of strawberry and apple but the kiwi seems to be AWOL…. Maybe it’s just my sample. I brewed this up using my perfect tea maker and upon sipping noticed a decent punch of hibiscus however the sweetness of the strawberry seemed to balance the tartness well so I didn’t need to add any sugar (although I’m sure a touch of sugar would make this delicious) however I didnt get any kiwi… This would be super refreshing during summer and I’m sure I’ll pick some up once the weather gets into the 90s here (which I’m starting to think is going to be much sooner than I’m ready for!) so I can sip it round the pool… Thanks Inkling for sharing!

Weird?!?!? How can this tea have only one (really great and detailed review and) rating by RedFennekin at 100 and yet steepster shows the tea rating at 82?!?!?! Super, super weird.. Let’s see what my stellar rating does to this teas overall average? I mean, the average of 100 and 100 is…. 100… Math was never my strong point but I’m pretty sure even I can calculate that sum correctly!

Any way, rant over…onto the tea… This is amazing… There simply are no other words… it’s light, it’s refreshing, it’s oolong at its finest!! I think I got at least 8 infusions out of this tea and the flavor just got more complex as the steepings went on and on… Buttery, roasty, vegetaly and with a slight floral note… This really really is an amazing oolong… I just wish I could get my hands on more!!

Hot this tea was nice but nothing too special, however as it started to cool it became pretty much amazing… although I must admit it isn’t something I could drink cup after cup of… As the tea cooled the delicate taste of the morel mushrooms slowly started to make themselves known and as as the tea continued to cool this flavor morphed into a sugary maple mushroom taste (sounds weird but its seriously delicious). Personally I think you would want to be a mushroom liker or better yet lover to really appreciate this tea which thankfully I am! I love Brendan’s description and plan on taking this with me to enjoy the next time we’re backcountry camping and hiking in the Sierra to really enjoy the full experience!

So with the Overboard TTB potentially making its way to me sometime in the next week I decided it was time to start sipping down some of my swaps and random samples to make room in preparation for the apparent monstrosity box!! I’m not usually a chai person and generally much prefer oolongs, blacks and greens but wanted to give this tea a go since it’s an unusually cool and rainy day here in SoCal.

So for someone who really isn’t a fan of chai this is almost the perfect balance of warm spice with some definite cinnamon, ginger and cardamom notes and a decent splash of milk helps to bring out the vanilla and add a touch creaminess. The spice is not overpowering and still lets the tea shine through which makes me happy on this winters day! Thanks to Inkling for sharing in our recent swap!

Yum!! I cant believe I’ve drunk through my ounce of this already… what am I going to do now??? This tea has some serious raspberry punch to it although personally I don’t get much of the Hazelnut or Butterscotch, I’m sure this would have been more pronounced with a touch of sugar (which trying oh so hard to avoid in February).

A dear friend in the UK gifted me a subscription to the London Tea Club for Christmas this year and my first shipment arrived as a pleasant surprise earlier this week. The cute little box came with three teas in plastic test tubes and a little envelope with itty bitty tea bags and individual tasting notes for each of the teas… Beautiful presentation!!

This tea intrigued me the most and so it’s the one I tore into this afternoon… Ironically the tasting notes indicate that this tea will bring escape from a cold and dreary season… It’s 21C here today in Southern California and I’m enjoying my cup of tropical deliciousness on the patio on the glorious afternoon sun. Remind me in six months, when I’m sick of days and days of temperatures above 40C that the weather is occasionally good here…

This tea is pretty darn tasty, so much so, that I would be tempted to buy more except it would need to travel all the way from the UK! The strawberry, Apple and kiwi notes blend perfectly with a little punch of coconut, I could almost imagine drinking this iced with a slug of rum snuck in the cup… London Tea Club’s tasting notes were spot on!

Such cute little tea leaves! Like golden snail but silver instead (bet you would have never guess that from the name, LOL). Super grassy tea, this almost punches your tastebuds with the vegetal flavor. Delicious! But be careful not to oversteep or walk away from the brewing leaves for too long or it has a tendency to take on a bitter aftertaste.

Another 5 am conference call, another chance to stay at home in my pajamas and drink tea samples while pretending to pay attention to people all over the world for a couple of hours before going into work… I don’t know what I enjoy more… being able to stay in my pajamas for a couple of extra hours in the morning or drinking as many delicious teas as I possibly can for a couple of hours to help keep my eyes open.

This initially started out tasting a little bit like a chai tea (I think it may have been a case of cross contamination) but as it cooled a little, it took on a serious toasted coconut taste similar to a coconut rough or a toasted coconut cream pie. There was a chocolate scent but I didn’t get much of this flavor from the tea when sipping. Big thanks again to Inkling for sharing!!!

Mmmm blackcurrant, vanilla and a touch of cream (which is probably the milk I added)… this tastes like dessert in a cup to me!! Huge thanks to Inkling for sharing this with me… Its absolutely delicious!!!

This reminds me of Davids Tea Blueberry Jam but with one important difference… No added sweetener!! yum!! Thanks to Inkling for sharing this in a recent swap.. There are some serious blueberry notes in this tea!! I’ll be picking some of this up as my go to blueberry tea when I’m finally (if ever) off my tea buying slowdown!