Love is Tea (LIT)

Scent: not too apricotty but apricot enough to be called it :)
Flavor: stable. It does not fluctuate with the temperature.

Tried this at the same time as Mango #2. My initial evaluation for them is similar :)

Scent: not too mango but mango enough to be called it :)
Flavor: stable. It does not fluctuate with the temperature.

Tried this at the same time as Apricot #2. My initial evaluation for them is similar :)

Scent, dry: so fruity and sweet!

Liquor flavor, warm:
This was a surprise coz I expected to like the Mango#1 better but this one is good! I would buy this..waitaminute, I already did :D

Cooled: It is still good but the Mango tasted better :)

Scent, dry: sweet like amaretto!
Flavor when warm: so-so
Flavor when cool: good!

Steeped it beside the Caramel
Warm, this tastes better/stronger than itself (cooled) and the Caramel (cooled).

No need to add sugar
Flavor is gone on the 2nd (or was it 3rd?) steep

This tastes like rootbeer! Not too strong of a rootbeer but it is there :)

I feel that the flavor shines through better when it is warm.

Warm rootbeer. Who knew huh?

Will try steeping for a longer time next time or adding more tea leaves for my next brew :)

Scent, dry: alluring mango nose
Warm liquor: na-ah
Cooled liquor flavor: great!

No need to add sugar :)

Tasted this side by side the Apricot #1
After cooling, I liked them both! Actually prefer this over Apricot :)

My first honeybush! Perfectly blended too :)

It is sweet without any sugar (probably coz of the rum) and of course nutty!

The scent is nice.

The flavor is light and pleasant enough that I feel I can drink this everyday and not get tired :)

My dad detected a flowery taste after I told him it was nuts and rum flavored…and promptly finished off my cup (he thought it was for him). Good thing I had tasted it well enough before showing it to him :)

Was very excited to get this because I knew it is a special EG and oh how I waited for it!

Now it’s here.

Dry, the scent is EG but I had to stick my nose close to the bag to smell it.

An understated EG

un·der·stat·ed /ˌəndərˈstātid/ Adjective
Presented or expressed in a subtle and effective way: “understated elegance”

It does not reveal it’s beauty at the start of the sip. (I never realized there were parts to a sip until now)

Watch for it. The flavor gently spreads in your mouth with increasing complexity and delights the tastebuds nonchalantly and surprises with a sweet floral finish.

I usually dont steep my teas too long but recommend the full 3 minutes for this one. No worries on the darjeeling getting bitter, it is just right.

Its merits may be lost on those who dont take time to sip and savor but for the tea and Earl Grey connoisseur, this is an excellent tea indeed.

Note: This is my second time to have this tea. I have to admit that the first time, I did not sense the things that I discovered about this tea today. Maybe because I had different expectations of it. It’s the same thing with love, I suppose ;)

I am happy to have and offer this at Love is Tea to expand the horizons of those on a quest for the yummiest Earl Greys like me :)

i have not tried a lot of EGs but i think i have tried enough to tell that this is wonderful enough to top my love for Twinings Earl Grey – that has really been my quest since my first sip: to discover even tastier Earl Greys :)

so the scent: i knew just by smelling it that it was a winner. lingeringly seductive.

the flavor: bergamot strong enough to touch my heart, soft enough to make me sigh

the liquor: golden.

*i accidentally poured very slightly heated water (small refill of electric kettle after pouring) on for the second steep. poured it out immediately and drank the flavored water. nice haha.

2nd steep: still good. flavor was a little muted, maybe because of my accident or because i didnt really wait that long to pour it again. will definitely try this again in the coming days.

i am happy to have and offer this at Love is Tea to expand the horizons of those on a quest for the yummiest Earl Greys like me :)

Thank you yssah for this sample. This is delicious cold brewed herbal! It is sweet and has a nice fruity flavor.

Well, it’s certainly very berry. Tartness from hibiscus detracts from it though. Tastes slightly like watered down fruit juice, which is not my favourite kind of ‘tea’. Thanks to yssah for the sample.

Thanks to yssah for this sample.

This is very fruity. Somewhat citrusy from the lemon but very fruity, though I’m not good at picking out ‘mango’ flavour from anything unless it is an actual mango. Pretty decent blend.

Thanks yssah for the sample.

This is a tolerable fruity tisane, but nothing particularly special. The lemony part of it is quite present, but so is the hibiscus. Glad I had only a bit.

Thanks to yssah for this sample back in December or so. Just now getting around to drinking it.

I’ll have to steep the next herbal LIT sample for less time than I did this one, because the hibiscus is quite strong in it and it is drowning everything else out. It tastes slightly peachy, but more just generically hibiscus-fruity.

Sipdown, 178. Thanks to yssah for this sample.

I have been generally tired lately and last night I slept in for as long as I wanted. Now I have that odd feeling of being refreshed but also a kind of bodily exhaustion. I’m planning on some gongfu sessions later today but right now wanted an earl to get me going.

Like many of yssah’s teas, the dry leaf on this one smelled incredibly pungent. Mostly bergamot, but also with a distinctive rose note. The brewed tea mellows a bit thankfully and is a bit more balanced. The flavors are pretty decent. Definitely strong flavors with this one, but they don’t get soapy or perfumey. The black tea base is smooth and malty, without any astringency or bitterness. The rose and bergamot are doing something with each other such that neither quite tastes like itself. The result is somehow kind of sweet and cookie-ish, though, so I don’t mind. A pretty tasty pot of tea that I won’t have a problem finishing at all.

I’m starting my day with a bit of this – it’s a bit bitter – but not overly -so. I can’t really taste much “cream” but the blueberry notes are there! The black tea base is strong and I like that! Not too shabby! :)

Backlog and sipdown! This one came from yssah!

This tea was very sweet smelling upon opening the package and smelled faintly of the Rootbeer tea it was packed with (oops). Luckily, though, this didn’t seem to translate in the brewed smell/taste. Once brewed, this one smelled slightly like Hubba Bubba Bubble Gum – there are some berry/raspberry notes, as well as a carbonated smell (don’t know how it’s possible, but that’s what I’m getting). I’m also getting some subtle floral notes here. Interesting.

Taste: I am still getting that Hubba Bubba/pink chewing gum note I found in the smell. It’s strange, but not awful – it isn’t chemically or anything. I’m also getting the raspberry notes with some clear floral notes throughout the sip. There is also a champagne-like aspect here, though it obviously isn’t carbonated. I can almost taste the bubbles. Lastly, I’m getting grape-ish notes here, too. Hmm. This has an unexpected mouthfeel – its silky smooth. Kinda strange for this tea, as I was expecting a fresh, crisp mouthfeel. I guess I would say it’s almost buttery/milky.

It tastes nice, but it isn’t a favorite. The mouthfeel is strange and I’m not really digging it in this tea. I also don’t really care for the artificial chewing gum taste – like I said, it isn’t awful, but it isn’t exactly what you want in a tea, either. Unless of course it’s a bubble gum tea…then I guess that’s what you’d want, huh?

Overall, happy I got to try this. Is it awesome? No. Was it terrible? No. I think this one is a bit higher than middle of the road. I’d drink it if it was offered, but I don’t think I’d purchase it.

Glad I got to try this. Thanks again, yssah!

Thanks to yssah for this sample. This is the last of my LIT samples! Finally got through them whew, that took a couple of weeks. Now I can go drink other things at work other than LIT samples and matcha, heh.

This tastes vaguely strawberry-fruity, and I don’t pick up much kiwi, though I don’t eat kiwis barely at all so maybe I’m just not identifying it. It’s not a strong flavour at all, the fruitiness, and that’s a bit disappointing. The black tea base is fine, not too strong and not bitter at all. This is a decent tea, just not my thing.

This still doesn’t really taste like I think a Yunnan should. It’s not a bad tea, but it’s more Darjeeling-y than I like, somewhat muscatel (is that the word? grapey type) and I prefer a straight malty peppery Yunnan.

I wanted a creamy tea this morning, but not an earl grey, and I remembered that Yssah kindly sent me a sample of this one with the Harney teas I ordered from her! thanks so much! This reminds me of the Della Terra Blueberry cream, just without the rooibos and maybe with a bit less flavor. It’s good though! I think the black tea, blueberry and cream flavors all share an equal balance. It’s very sweet! I wish I had ordered some of this with the other teas!

Thanks yssah for this sample. This is fruity, but apricot is generally not my thing so I can’t really confirm if it is authentically apricot or not. I used to eat dried apricots sometimes but it’s been years. It tastes similar to other apricot teas I’ve tried. I still don’t like the base much on these LIT blends though. Rough and a bit bitter.

I got this as a sample from my recent swap with LIT:) It’s decent. I taste more black tea then blueberry but I didn’t get any bitterness at all. It was smooth. I sooo tried this one first from my package as soon as I smelled it. It smells so wonderful!