Souvia

This is one of the first teas that I’m having in a long time that doesn’t have flavoring. I want to try more teas that have not a chemical flavor (either natural or artificial), but just tea and something (if that makes sense).

This Sakura Black was at the tea shop when I went last week. They’re only selling it by the ounce, and pre-packaged. It smells really good in the package…definitely a different type of cherry-smell coming out of the package. So, I forked over the $8.99 for it (which was definitely expensive!).

The tea is a light brown color. I carefully added the liquid stevia, and I’m pretty sure I added less than I usually do. I don’t really care for tea straight, and always sweeten it. I figure I should ENJOY what I’m drinking, eh? There is a very subtle cherry flavor. The tea base is not too strong and is not bitter at all. I really only get the subtle cherry in the aftertaste.

I feel like the exquisiteness of it might be lost on me, but I’m enjoying what I’m drinking, and will have to re-steep soon. Also, keep in mind that I’m at work, and have to use the hot water that they provide. Although it comes from the same machine as the coffee makers, it doesn’t share the same spout, so it never tastes like coffee, but I’m sure it’s not at boiling (although it is fairly hot, even with the coffee sleeve on the cup).

I’m looking forward to re-steeping…maybe more of the cherry will come out?

I tried this tea for the first time today. It is a seasonal blend, and I don’t remember seeing it before. I really LOVE lime, and I liked the first steeping of this tea. I thought the lime taste really came through.

However, it was non-existent in the second steeping. The bag still smelled like lime, but there was no flavor in the second steeping of lime. Since I HAD to get 50g of tea (they only serve it in 50g increments)…I’ll have a lot more of it to see if I can get that second steeping to work.

Having this tea this morning, and it’s like my mind can’t accept the fact that it is not a chai. Still, it is a nice light tea with cinnamon and vanilla. It just seems a little…blah…to me.

It’s been a while since I’ve had ANY tea (been drinking WAAAAY too much diet coke)!

Nice tea to ease back into tea drinking. A cinnamon/vanilla blend, it is very mellow. Nice!

I can taste the cinnamon a little more clearly now that the tea has cooled down. This tea tastes thick. I should have sweetened it less, I think…a nice overall tea, but not anything special.

They brought it back for one month! I bought 2 bags…I love how tea smells and tastes. Had a cup the day after I bought it. The only blueberry tea I have!

My second tea of the day…I wanted this one because it is familiar. This is one of my go-to teas.

I’ve had this tea many times before, but this time, I steeped for 3 minutes. I think it came out more blueberry-ish than before. It has a lovely scent!

This is the only tea that I can really stand the green in it because it does also have black, and it just goes well with the blueberries, I think. A nice blueberry tea!

Still feeling yucky, so I wanted another smooth tea. This one, I haven’t had it in a while. Nice and smooth, tasting of cinnamon, almond, apple…like an apple-y dessert. Very nice!

It had been a while for this tea, but after drinking Irish Breakfast every morning, I wanted something a little lighter. This doesn’t have any actual tea in it, and it fit the bill quite nicely. A nice nutty, fruity, cinnamon-y tisane that was refreshing after the bold Irish Breakfast tea.

I have been drinking tea much more lately. I think there is some sort of internal clock that tells me that fall is upon us, yet it is still 100 degrees outside and hotter than most people’s summer. I don’t know what it is…but I’m happy to clean out the cupboard to make room for…well…more tea!

Very creamy tasting and with the almond flavor, there is a tangy taste as well. I like this tea as a calming tea.

The aroma is HEAVENLY! As soon as the ‘tea’ hits the water, there’s just this warm, inviting smell.

The liquid itself is not as powerful as the smell, but I am still liking the almond and creaminess of this tea. I can’t really separate the flavors…they mesh together. The aftertaste is long-lasting, and again, just this creamy almond taste.

Oooh, yes…very nice holiday blend. A chai, I guess, but more than that. It is the Christmas holiday flavor in a cup. I always get this at the holidays!

My last cup of this tea until next wintertime. I put in more tea because I just don’t have enough for another cup, but didn’t want to waste it.

I like it strong (and sweet). It just tastes like holidays, Christmas, holiday party with just the right spice. I can taste the peppercorns and the orange. This is one good cuppa!

I’ll miss this until next winter, but on to summer-type blends!

I think the second steep was better than the first. It was a little more subtle, with all the flavors coming through better. Still one of my favorites. Very winter-ish tea.

First steep was 4 minutes, and second was 4 minutes, 30 sec.

Got 2 steeps out of this…one of my favorites. Just so…winter-ish. Of course, winter has a whole different connotation in Phoenix, but reminds me of true winter.

This reminds me of a spiced cookie, but blanking on which one. Anyway, it tastes great and definitely holiday-ish.

All my tea that arrived Friday is sitting in the leasing office. First world problems that I have to make do with all the tea already in my apartment, right?

My grandma let me take a ton of things from her house back with me, since she isn’t there to use them anymore, although a lot of these things hadn’t been in use for quite some time anyway. So I now have a bread maker, which is beyond dangerous for a breadoholic, a pizelle maker, a blender, some interesting slicer thing, and some old oil paints and pastels. In the 70s, my grandma painted a lot and her paintings are hung all over the house. Surprisingly a majority of the paints are still wet! The pastels are so very retro…bright, interesting colors. I’ve had my share of pastel sets and none of them have had some of these almost neon colors so they’ll be fun to play with.

My kitchen gadget collection is out of hand now. I do make use of everything and on the plus side I did turn down a pancake griddle since I have a panini press that can open flat to be used like one, and I won’t ever own a “quesadilla maker” (as I call that a frying pan) like my brother.

So finally back to my tea, surprisingly made with water heated up in a kettle on a stove of all things!

This reminds me a bit of DavidsTea’s Northern Lights with less interesting ingredients. Well, bean peels is an interesting ingredient, but I don’t think it’s adding much. This is mostly raspberry, hibiscus, and mint.

I made it as an iced tea, and the hibiscus gives it a little tartness, and adds a good bit of color. The leaf is mostly green with fruity bits and pieces in there, so I was surprised when I poured it because it was pinkish red. I hadn’t realized there was hibiscus in it until I got to this page.

Otherwise, it tastes like you’d think raspberry mint would taste like. It’s not strongly minty, thanks to the berry flavor. At the same time though, it’s not super fruity, so it’s a good balance between the two. It’s a little tart, but not bothersome enough to need sugar to counteract it.

Definitely refreshing especially if you’re feeling like me, tired despite not having that busy of a day. I’m normally not wiped out from a 2 hour interstate drive but I guess at the same time I also don’t usually encounter road work, pouring rain, AND an accident on the same trip.

Thanks, TeaEqualsBliss!

Thank you, Paul M Tracy, for this sample!

This tisane has a wonderful aroma. Slow down and enjoy it, because even though it is bright and tropical it is mellow, smooth, and relaxing. I agree with Paul, let it cool a bit, too, so you don’t miss anything – but that is a good idea with any tea or tisane. I think banana and lemon were the forefront aromas to me, but there is a mellow, vanilla-like note that keeps the lemon from being jarring or overly bright. This is a nice relaxing cup between walking the dogs (Hi, Sandy!) and more yard work!

Nice taste

great stuff

Thrilled by this tea…just a wonderful flavor of chocolate and peppermint!

I wanted something more subtle than the apple spice cider packets…but I still wanted something tasting like apple cider. I got this as a free trial size, and went back and got more of it! It tastes a lot like cider, but without the cloying sweetness. A great fall taste!

Still one of my favorites…