Happy Lucky's Tea House

Today’s matcha madness is between two teas I don’t like very much, waffle sauce (too weak) and this beet chai that overwhelms the beet sweetness with cardamom and clove. It does turn pink, but other than that it doesn’t have much going for it. Licorice or ginger could have rounded out the flavor profile, but I might just flip a coin for my vote today.

My daughter woke me up this morning to tell me that she had made birthday biscuits for breakfast! In the kitchen, the pink sparkly bag was waiting with this tea and a Snoopy plushie, so soft and wearing his little aviator cap. Cap? Helmet? Leather hat?

She told me that she bought this tea mostly because she knows I like “tea for a cause” and since reading Alexander McCall Smith’s books set in Botswana I have been ordering tea for education in Malawi from Rare Tea Company. This tea benefits the women and children of Kenya. It came in a foil bag, that was inside of a plastic bag, in a cardboard box that has a front cut out as a window for a little piece of handmade artwork as decoration. I will keep that piece after the tea is gone and display it somewhere. It is textured paper that I initially thought had a traditional scene painted on but realized on close inspection is actually little pieces of paper cut out and glued on to depict a scene in Africa of women in bright red dresses in front of a hut, one chopping wood and the other resting on the fence.

Happy Lucky said in their description “above all, strong” and they were right to emphasize. GMathis, you should have been here. Combat boot tea. Sam Vimes would love this.

The instructions say 3-5 minutes. I put one teaspoon in my infuser that holds seven ounces of water and after one minute I saw by the color that I dared not let it go longer. I did a second steep for thirty seconds and added it to the first steep in the small pot. The tea, when poured into my cup, is almost as black as coffee.

As richly dark as it is, it is drinkable without additions even though HL recommends them. This has that bold, cherry/fruity flavor and body I associate with Assamica teas. I drank most of it plain, but I decided to try it with cream and sugar as well. It is really lovely that way and still very strong.

It occurs to me that this profile is probably brilliant iced and sweetened, so I think that will be my next adventure with this tea!

2025 TTB #24

I usually drink my Earl Grey with milk, so I automatically added some to this cup. Sadly, I think that was the wrong call. There’s supposed to be orange and vanilla and bergamot in this blend, but all I tasted was the rose petals. And I gotta say…milky rose perfume is really not the greatest flavor combination.

Part of Happy Luckys matcha madness bracket this year, it’s a strong contender. Chocolate and earthy with a touch of vanilla. The chicory comes through at the end so you know it’s not actually a dark chocolate bar you are tasting. I might be tempted to buy more of this!

March Sipdown Challenge Prompt – a good resteeper

I was awakened this morning by Sam the King of Dogs (and my heart) who needed to go out. It was warm and misting rain. I sat under the covered back porch in the rocker and the scent of petrichor was so powerful near Sam’s special designated dig spot that I knew this needed to be my tea with breakfast.

This is one of the many morning surprise teas post surgery from my daughter who lives with us!

Chocolate. Wow. WOW. This has a powerful chocolate aroma and it is from real cacao hulls, not some oily flavoring born in a laboratory. The chocolate and puerh aromas were pretty well tied in strength and if I had not read about the roasted chicory in this I think I would gave missed it. It makes for an inky dark cuppa.

This resteeps very well indeed. If you have been disappointed in the past by chocolate in tea that wasn’t rich or natural enough, this might heal your wound.

I don’t like bergamot, but I thought I’d try this Earl Grey that is one of Happy Lucky’s best selling teas. It smells like rose and tastes like an orange creamsicle with bergamot underneath. I can still detect the bergamot is there, but its very muted. Not a bad cup, and I’ll actually vote for it instead of Waffle Sauce today, but I don’t need this in my cupboard.

Hmmm, this was more cardamom than chocolate, and to me wasn’t balanced enough to make a good cup. I don’t tend to drink chai, and I don’t need more of this one, glad it’s only a sample pack.

While this tea brews up nice and strong to open your eyes in the morning, it doesn’t have enough Assam for my liking. It’s astringent and malty and robust, but I think I like Happy Lucky’s English Breakfast more with its keemun chocolatey notes. I kinda wish I had a bit more of this blend, but not enough to place an order :)

Another white tea that’s not too bad. I’d say it’s more of a yellow tea than a white, and tastes like sweet, floral hay. Nice cuppa for an afternoon pick me up and would make a good iced tea.

I’m not a fan of white tea in general, but I like this one. Dunno if I can actually taste the pear or ginger, but its a general berry flavor with a floral aftertaste on the first steep only. I might try this as a cold brew.

More lime than hibiscus, but its smooth and has a nice caffeine kick. Nice to try, and have on hand for a sleepiness emergency.

This tea has so much potential and yet it just does not deliver. I do taste the maple and the cinnamon and the nutmeg, but no berries and no apple. I think I like the spice profile on the peach cobbler better and that got my vote today. Its kinda cool tasting two teas per day and voting with others to see which tea advances.

Part of the matcha madness this month. The dry leaf smells amazing and much like a pie. The first steep tasted very cobbler-like, cinnamon and nutmeg and vanilla. Not so much peach. The second steep is just a muted version of the first. A nice cuppa, not sure I’d purchase.

I had too little water for the first steep, and too much for the second, but both were very cinnamony. I like the big red cinnamon flavor, but that’s just a single note here. An enjoyable cup, but I’m not sure I need this in my cupboard.

As I was driving south last week I stopped at a favorite tea house about 10 minutes from the interstate for a refill on their cinnamon/vanilla breakfast blend. A 20% off of chai convinced me to try this one and I must say it’s a bit clove heavy. I might need to break out some ginger to sip down the rest of this. It’s supposed to be toasty and puddling like, but all I’m really getting is clove.

Advent Tea: Day 4 from Michelle
I’ve tried this one twice now by the time I’m actually posting my review. (The first cup was drunk on Day 4 and the second was prepared yesterday.) The dry leaf of this one smells like cinnamon and vanilla. The steeped tea tastes pretty similar as well. The vanilla flavor is very nice and there is a slightly brisk quality to it. It’s not overly brisk or drying for breakfast tea though which I appreciate. Accents of cinnamon hit your tongue. Drinking this gave me all of the cozy holiday baking feels. Thanks, Michelle!

I got both this one and China golden snail in my last order and I like this one better. It brews up chocolatey, velvet and rich. Not sure how a black, unflavored tea can be so full of dark chocolate flavor, but I should stop wondering and just drink it. I do tend to get busy and distracted when drinking tea occasionally, I should make more of an effort to savor each sip. Not every cup is a similar sip, but this one should be contemplated and thoroughly enjoyed.

Needed to choose a tea to go. Chai is easy and good for just about any time so this one came with me. It has the perfect amount of spices and the blend makes an amazing cuppa. When paired with a curry bun some of the flavors pop even more. Also love that it has that perfect amount of spiciness.

This is like a light version of a rumchata. Smooth mouthfeel, plenty of spice without being overwhelming. The vanilla is what really gives it the flavor it needs to be different though. Without the vanilla it would be more like a ‘chai’. Going to try this with milk too.

It was a morning. I oversteeped this tea. But I wasn’t willing to give up completely so I’m sitting here now with a second cuppa. This is a very astringent tea; perfect for milk/sugar. Ah. Speaking of which I’m going to add some. The earthy tones are nice but the depth of the astringency is just a bit too much for me. For those Rate My Tea’ers’, the color is a slight bit darker than milk chocolate. The oat milk helps a bit though I think regular milk would be better. If I wouldn’t destroy my tummy I’d do it. Very malty. Comes out even more with the milk.

Sky samurai and I must be on the same wavelength because just as I went to add this tea to the database, I find it’s already there! I have under leafed this a few times, so today I put 1.5 tsp for 8 oz of water and got more flavor from these tightly rolled tea nuggets. I like that it’s forgiving, you can let it steep longer without getting bitter. It’s not very complex, chocolate yeasty malt is the best descriptor, no undertones or lingering aftertaste. A straightforward tea that is a step down from Happy Lucky’s Golden Monkey, one of my favorites.