RiverTea

Sipdown!

Yet another casualty of my need to make room in my tea cupboard for my Black Friday purchases.

I love the smell of this one, both dry and brewed, though I think that the brewed tea probably needs some sweetener to give it some oomph. The way that mango scent wafts up from the wet leaves is amazing.

I most certainly will consider getting a tin of this when I make a restocking order with RiverTea. It won’t be for a while, though, as I still have almost all of their other teas in supply.

This tea smells so wonderful when it’s dry and when it’s brewed – I really get that zap of mango. For some reason, I like mango in teas, but I really have to be in the mood for it.

The amazing thing is that I barely get a hint of bergamot with this. If I hadn’t known it was a variant of EG, I would never have guessed.

The taste is a bit weaker, less fruity, and more malty, with a slight yeasty overtone that I’m surprised but not put off by. I might restock this? Maybe?

I took a tsp of this when I had the Marco Polo TTB. It was rather cold today and when I got out of work it was super dark outside so I really wanted to be reminded of spring. Also- my first try of RiverTeas!

Maybe because the sample was old- I was trying to drink a spring tea in late autumn. I didn’t get very much in the way of strong flavor from my brew. I also may have underleafed, but I followed the package directions! There were LOTS of jasmine flowers and other things scattered in with the green tea leaves. In the end though it only tasted like a vaguely floral and vaguely sweet green tea. I was really hoping for something similar to Sakurabo (sp?) from Lupicia. That’s one really cherry tea! I think that cherry-ness plus jasmine on a green base would be really pretty.

A plus at least for RiverTea, they use fairly large and intact jasmine flowers in this. I was expecting more from the tea because of that, but I guess they are mostly decorative. I’ve had jasmine teas in many forms, and this is among the most pretty (excepting blooming teas, of course).

Sipdown (113)!

Been curious about this for a while; not curious enough to buy 50g worth and the last couple RiverTea orders I’ve placed there’ve been other teas I was more interested in requesting as a sample so I really pounced on the chance to grab some from Marzipan in our swap.

I like Earl Grey; it’s just not really even close to being a part of my daily tea drinking routine; one EG blend in the house is enough to totally sate any bergamot cravings and I definitely don’t tend to get fancy with it. And mango and I? We have a love hate relationship. But something about this blend interests me. Maybe it’s just the fun name drawing me in, but I was excited to try it!

Dry, I thought this smelled really strong and fruity. Such a bright “orange” smell very distinctly of mangoes, with the FAINTEST bergamot undertone. Steeped up, not as “brightly” fruity but still very rich – I think I taste the mango just slightly more than the bergamot in the blend. It came off as fairly light handed to me. But the balance between the two really worked for me; it was kinda summery and vibrant and fun but with that “soothing” quality of bergamot that makes you feel just right. And I’m not sure why I’m surprised, but the mango and bergamot complimented each other very well too. Plus, the black base was present without being bitter, astringent or too brisk.

And, for my own personal bergamot tastes, I thought that the “light handedness” of it was very suited to me because it makes this blend something I would consider drinking on a more frequent basis, and separate enough from the Cream Earl Grey I stock to maybe be able to justify having both in my cupboard!

Side note – I should add “bergamot” to my online dictionary or whatever because my computer keeps correcting it to “Bertram” and switching it back is annoying.

This was a sample sent to me from Marzipan. It’s a black tea which I don’t have much experience with. I couldn’t put my finger on the flavor. I looked it up on the River Tea site and it says Mango and bergamot but they aren’t listed in the ingredients. Says rose blossom, cornflower blossoms and sunflower blossoms. This is in my top 3 favorite teas!! I made several pots with this sample and was very sad to see this end. My son and I both enjoyed this one all day long. It was sweet, had a well rounded taste. The flavors went well together. The site says it’s a summer tea- but I could drink this all the time! I do see how this is a lighter mouthfeel than a spicy chai but it was perfectly balanced in the flavors for us. Thank you so much for the sample Marzipan!! I never knew my life was missing this one!!!! Only problem now is that it’s gone!! (I did use my local honey to sweetened this one)

Backlog from last week:

I think I understeeped this, as when I drank it, it was quite weak in flavour. Similar to a Darjeeling I have in my cupboard, but I wish I had gone for 3 minutes at least instead of 2.

Sipdown!

Finishing off the last of this. I haven’t tried many Darjeelings (only 2 or 3) but I haven’t really been wowed by them. This one is similar. It was ok, but not something I dream of having.

Anyways, since RiverTea is gone, I won’t weep too much over this (unlike their Golden Yunnan, sob)

Backlog from Christmas Day!

I brewed this using slighly different steeping parameters (slight overleafing for 3 cups, 90C water) and was pleasantly surprised by the result. It was a stronger, more flavourful, sweeeter, and less savoury brew than the other times I’ve tried this. Slightly astringent as well, but not that offputting.

Backlog from whenever:

As seems to be usual with RiverTea’s black teas, I’m slowly coming around on appreciating this tea. Because it’s a darjeeling, I steep it using 85C water instead of boiling.

I’m not sure if this is because it’s a darjeeling tea, if it’s because of the estate, or if it’s the fact that it’s a fall flush tea, but this one is very mild and savoury. I find it’s an excellent accompaniment when I have omelets for breakfast.

Backlog from the recent past:

I’ve had this tea a few times since I won it as part of RiverTea’s Facebook contest. When I won, I asked them what teas I’d be getting, and they said it would be a surprise unless I requested a specific tea.

You know, I kinda wish I had asked RiverTea to send me more of their Golden Yunnan, because that stuff is so good.

This is decent, but I’m not a big Darjeeling person. However, I do like it more than the summer flushes I’ve tried – it’s mild, undemanding, and somewhat savoury. I normally brew it at 85°C since Darjeelings work best at lower temperatures than other black teas.

Pass the Stash TTB #7

Something drew me to this tea as soon as I saw it. It just spoke to me.

I had a bad night last night. I got some bad news that left me feeling emotionally off-kilter. Sleep helped. But tea is also a healing balm.

This tea is lovely. It’s light, fruity without being perfumy, and just what I needed to pick me up. The mango is subtle and not overpowering, and melts into creaminess from the vanilla. There’s only a little bit left in the bag so I’ll be finishing it up before the box moves on.

When I was growing up, my best friend had a mulberry tree in her backyard. I have such happy memories of summer days of picking those tart, juicy berries until our fingers and mouths were stained purple with juice! So I had high hopes that this tea would capture that flavor. To my disappointment, this sample didn’t taste like mulberries at all. To me, it had more of a floral scent and flavor with a slightly sour aftertaste. Not something I would drink again.

Additional notes: Whelp, this glorious herbal is now finished. I didn’t want to drink my last cup but I also didn’t want the coconut to get older. I’ll miss this one. Does anyone know the supplier of Rivertea?

Thank you Ost for the sale! I’ve seen tasting notes for this one before and it sounded good. It is — it tastes like a liquefied banana coconut cream pie! I may have left this one steeping for 25 minutes but the steep instructions suggest 10-15 minutes anyway. The most noticeable flavor is the banana with hints of coconut. I’m not sure what sultanas taste like but there wasn’t much flavor from the mangos and papaya… they probably lent some extra syrupy sweetness. (Also, NO hibiscus in this one. I feel like if it’s a herbal blend I have to give a hibiscus report.) It is certainly a dessert tea without caffeine! (Or with some graham crackers I was eating with the tea – it’s like the pie crust paired with the filling.) One of the best herbal blends I’ve sipped. There is just some ripe brown bananas in the infuser is all. :D Amazing that the bananas can be in a tea but I taste NO preservatives.
Steep #1 // just boiled // 25 min

Backlog from whenever – I’ve had this tea a few times since my last note, but I’ve been super lax about my tea logging lately.

This is a tea I turn to now when I’ve got an upset stomach in the evenings. I used to really dislike licorice/fennel when I was younger, but I’m slowly learning to accept the taste, especially now that I understand it has a lot of savoury applications.

This is the only tea I have with raspberry leaf, so it will probably become my go-to for when it’s That Time of the Month.

First note for this tea! I had this last night when I wanted something without caffeine. The fact that it had raspberry leaf as the first ingredient was perfect, since I’m on my period right now. (TMI? Perhaps. But that’s one thing that raspberry leaf tea is good for.)

The ingredients list includes apple and rosehip, but I have to say that the most obvious flavours in both the dry leaf and the liquor are the fennel and anise. I used to hate licorice-flavoured things a lot, but I’m warming up to fennel because it has savoury applications as well as sweet ones (fennel is great in sausages and pot roasts, I find).

There’s also a bit of mint, but oddly enough, under the fennel/anise blast, I also get a sense of chamomile – which is weird, since there is no chamomile in the blend. Perhaps that’s because of the apples?

Anyways, I can definitely see this being a good winter/nighttime/lady’s time of the month tea. Even better: I had a scratchy throat last night, and I’m fine this morning. I know that licorice/fennel is often used on “throat coat” teas, so perhaps it helped.

How odd, I was sure I reviewed this last time I drank it! It certainly made an impression on me, but maybe I just wasn’t up to putting my thoughts into words at the time. This is my first milk oolong and I have to say I really like the style. It’s slightly sweet and undeniably milky with a little bit of earthiness—I’ve never put milk in an oolong before but I imagine this is what it would taste like. It’s an interesting and satisfying cup and I can easily see myself going through a pot of this at a time.

Sipdown (97)! I’ve been hesitant to try this one because I do not like rooibos. However, I thought after a few other flavored rooibos teas that turned out okay, I could venture into this sample. I can’t remember who sent this one to me, but thanks!

I’m pleasantly surprised that I could not take the rooibos at all. The raspberry note is the most prominent in this cup and it almost has a heavy, syrupy texture to it as well. I can tell that there is another fruity flavor other than raspberry, so I’m guessing that’s the pomegranate? It’s hard to tell. Considering the rooibos base, it’s not so bad. I probably wouldn’t buy this for myself, but it was a pleasant afternoon tea for today!

Edit: As the cup cooled down to lukewarm temps, the rooibos suddenly jumped in and said, “Here I am!” That medicinal taste was not a pleasant surprise. In conclusion, piping hot, this tea is decent. As soon as it cools a bit, my dislike of rooibos takes over and refuses to keep drinking.

Backlog note 11 of 13. Almost there!

I had this yesterday and I think I’ll need to play around with it a bit more – lower temperature, different steep time, etc.

However, this first taste doesn’t leave me too hopeful. I like the idea of combining apples each with green tea, roses, and almonds – but I think having apple, rose, and almond all together in the same green tea is a bit much. I really just want this to have green tea, apple, and maybe some almond and cinnamon.

The tea base in this was a bit too bitter and astringent, I think. More experimentation is a must.

Backlog note 10 of 13.

You know, I told myself that I didn’t like vanilla when it was mixed in with green tea. There’s something about the combination that just doesn’t work for me. The smoothness of vanilla with black tea? Hot damn. But green tea has a sharper flavour that I think works better with fruit than with vanilla.

However, I got excited when I saw all the positive reviews for this tea by other steepsterites – especially the one by Sil. Although her review was somewhat guarded, I figured that if she liked this green tea when she so rarely enjoys greens, maybe it was worth a shot.

Um…. no. I’m wishing I hadn’t bought this tea. It’s sweet, but the leaf was too bitter and umami to really meld well with the vanilla/nut flavour of the nougat. Perhaps I steeped it for too long, or at too high a temperature, but my first experience with this tea was not positive.

Was hoping that this one would be more cake-y. But it just tastes like a cinnamon tea. :S A mild cinnamon tea, which makes it more drinkable for me.
But…I had expected more. :/
Well, now I know at least.
Thanks for the sample, Christina! :D

I haven’t been drinking this one as often as I thought I would, so I made an effort to pull it out on Friday night, and I’ve tried a few cups over the weekend. I think this is as close as I’m going to get to my beloved 52 Teas Raspberry Cream, barring a reblend. The raspberry flavour here is pretty spot on; fresh, fruity, a little sweet/tart. There’s a sweet creaminess that’s reminiscent of meringue at its best; cloudy, soft and sugary. My only real complaint is that the base is a little on the weak side for milk, which helps the creaminess along, although it will just about stand up to it. A tasty, sweet treat of a cup. I shouldn’t neglect it!

I brewed up a cup of this one on Sunday afternoon, but I clearly haven’t got it quite down pat yet. I used 1 tsp of leaf, and gave it 3.5 minutes in boiling water. It smells like raspberry straight out of the box, and even more so while brewing. It was suggested to me that this one could be a runner for the title of Best Raspberry Tea After 52 Teas Raspberry Cream, and because that’s what I’ll clearly be spending the rest of my life looking for, I can only imagine it’s a positive step in the right direction.

It’s good. The raspberry flavour is juicy, but very candy-like (not really fresh, tart raspberry at all). There’s an added sweetness from the meringue hats, which is enjoyable, although it doesn’t add much in terms of flavour. I wasn’t getting coconut at all. In an effort to bring out more creaminess, I added a splash of milk. That was the wrong decision; the base tea is too light to take milk without the whole thing becoming a washout. Mistake.

So, for my next cup I will leave out the milk. Probably. Unless I use a lot more leaf. I’m torn on the amount of leaf to use in order to get the best flavour. I think probably I’ll stick with 1 tsp, and maybe extend the brew time a little? If that doesn’t work, I’ll use a little more leaf. Clearly there is some experimentation to be done.

At the moment, what I can say is that I liked this one right up until I added the milk. I would like some more creaminess, and to taste the coconut, but the raspberry flavour is strong and delicious. I can see this being a tea I enjoy even if I can’t have anymore creaminess/coconut, just because a candy raspberry tea is a good thing in my book. And I like the meringue — it’s a cute touch. I’m willing to experiment a little bit yet, but for now I’m going to rate this 75, because it’s nice and I’ll guzzle it whatever happens. A positive introduction to River Tea!

Backlog from whenever:

Yeah, I’ve had this a second time, and I’m going to have to say that this is not the one for me. The base is musty, and the flowers don’t really make up for the mustiness. Glad I only have a sample of this…