Tealated

This is the second of the two free samples I received from Tealated!
The dry leaf is very pungent and sweet. It smells like some sort of candy. The pink starburst? The leaves look like a type of Chinese green. Probably not gunpowder. What do I know? The little pieces of rose hips and dried raspberry make up the rest of the stuffs in the bag.
This tea reminds me of Raspberry Gardens from Celestial Seasonings. But in a good way. I hated that tea when I got it years ago. No, the tea is sweeter, and thank god, no teabag taste or bitterness from the fannings.
I like how the freeze-dried raspberries look, especially after steeping. It’s just as if I have actual fresh raspberries in my infuser basket!
Just like the first tea that I tried, Cream of White Coconut, I steeped a cup hot for right this moment and then cold-brewed the rest for my smoothies. Today I added it to a lime/grape/strawberry Swiss chard smoothie. Very Refreshing!

Thank you for the sample, Roseanne!

Smells boldly of malt and molasses – a very nice aroma. I drank this straight. The burnt orange liquor is clear, full-bodied and flavorful. I taste mostly malt, and then fruity (grapes, plums) notes after the tea cools down a bit.

The packaging and website don’t say where this black tea comes from, but it seems like it’s African. It’s not bad. Not complex or out of the ordinary, but still enjoyable as an everyday morning cup if you want to take a black tea without milk and/sugar. It gives your taste buds a good jolt!

Thanks for the sample, Tealated. It smells nice, I really like the scent of bergamot. There is a prominent creamy flavour, The vanilla really comes out. This was one I had several cups when it was snowy here. Makes a good Winter tea.

Thank you for the generous sample, Roseanne!

I like the aroma a lot. The dry leaf smells very creamy and vanilla-like, with just a little bergamot. Spent a good couple minutes with my nose in the pouch as the water boiled. So vanilla.

The base tea came out bitter and too strong for my liking, so I added a couple pinches of sugar and a splash of milk. This way, the vanilla is able to stand out more, though I’m still not getting as much bergamot, which does, however, appear more in the aftertaste. The flavors may not be balanced but I don’t mind. It’s very creamy and resembles hot milk with vanilla.

I recommend this for those who prefer more creme in their Cream of Earl Grey than bergamot. This also makes for a good late-afternoon tea, particularly during autumn and winter.

I woke up with a headache this morning and, after reading through some of the posts on the discussion board, decided to make myself some mint tea. This cup is fresh and sweet and reminds me of springtime. It’s a good tea for mid-morning, I think. Here’s hoping it does something for this headache.

Thank you to Rosanne and Tealated for the large sample of this Moroccan Mint tea. I’ve been meaning to try this for a few days but since the weather has been so cold here I’ve put it off in favor of heartier black teas. Well, the cold isn’t going away anytime soon so now is as good a time as any to put this in my cup.

This tea smells mostly of spearmint and the dry mix is made up of bits of green and brown leaves of various sizes. It looks like there might be a few stems thrown in as well but that’s fine by me – herb stems typically carry some of the flavor of the leaves. The green tea is rolled into compact little pellets. I’m guessing that’s the gunpowder green though I’m not sure since I don’t think I’ve tried it before.

The flavor is a slightly cooling mint, but it isn’t at all overpowering like some mint teas I’ve tried. I’m not really picking up on the green at this point – just mint. The aroma is reminiscent of a dewy spring morning when everything is starting to thaw and peek out through the dirt. I love how refreshing the scent is. That fresh quality transfers over to the taste and has brought a faint smile to my lips. This really doesn’t need sweetener but I’m going to add a bit of honey to see if it will draw the flavors out.

Wow, I’m really enjoying this. The honey adds some sweetness, of course, but doesn’t do anything to develop the flavors. It’s good enough on its own. This one is definitely above average for me. I’ll be ordering more once my sample runs out. Thanks again, Rosanne!

. . .

I’m trying a re-steep of this and it smells like pickles (??). Strange. I’m guessing I burned through most of the mint during the first steep. I’m tasting more of the tea and much less of the mint. I’ve left it unsweetened this time since I can’t imagine honey going well with pickles. :)

This one has a welcoming peaches-and-cream aroma, and brews up a smooth mellow cup. I’m often critical of flavored white teas, but this one is quite enjoyable. The tea base has that uniquely white-tea quality, light and sweet, with a delicate collaboration of creamy and tart. In good flavored white tea blends such as those I’ve tried from Butiki, this quality combines with the flavoring to great effect, as is the case here. This is one that I would enjoy drinking again. Thanks to Tealated for the sample!

Thanks again for the samples, Tealated! I always have to try the chai. This one is a nice balance of spices: ginger, cardamom, cinnamon, and cloves with a CTC type black tea. I didn’t want the first steep to go too long since I didn’t know if the CTC was an astringent one, but it’s actually very smooth and pairs with the spices very well. Plenty spicy here! A very solid, tasty chai. It’s right up there with some of the good chai I’ve tasted before. The second steep right at boiling has a lovely cinnamon kick to it. Both steeps were just as delicious! I’ll never stop loving chai, the first tea I tried and what had me addicted to tea from the first sip.
Steep #1 // 1 1/2 tsp // 4 min after boiling // 3 min steep
Steep #2 // just boiled // 4-5 min
Tealated.com

This was the first sample that I tried from Tealated. I loved the handwritten thank you and the coupon included with my samples. How thoughtful!
The white tea in this blend look to be Shou Mei. (White tea harvested after Silver Needle and Bai Mudan)
When I open the package I smell hard candies and a creamy whisper of coconut.
I brewed myself a cup and then used the rest for cold brewed for my smoothies.
I made a raspberry-grapefruit green smoothie with kale and carrots. The addition of Cream of White Coconut was a lovely addition!
The coconut and other cotton candy-like flavors we light and sweet. I would definitely consider this dessert blend whenever I need a sweet iced tea for drinking in the summer or adding to my smoothies.
Thanks Tealated!

Tried this again side-by-side with another Cream of Earl Grey (DAVIDsTEA) and I’m increasing the rating. There’s just something very delectable about the creamy aspect of this tea, I’ve never had anything quite like it.

Thanks to Tealated for this free sample!

I’m generally a fan of Earl Grey, though most of the ones I’ve tried fall within the “like it” and not “love it” range. The mixed reviews on this one were a little daunting, but I have to form my own opinion first, right?

The dry blend consists of black tea, blue petals, and some small, seed-like bits which were not listed in the ingredients. The tea smelled like bergamot—nothing strange or unexpected, and not overly strong. Once brewed, the tea reveals a rich, creamy vanilla aroma. The creamy notes are the highlight of the flavor as well, making for a nicely smooth profile, with just a hint of sweet from the vanilla. The bergamot is gently aromatic, and lingers on the finish, not too sharp and balanced just right. The one weakness of this blend may be the tea base, which is fairly average and has a little bit of bitterness with longer brew time, but this is mostly smoothed out by the creamy quality of the tea. Overall, it’s pretty unique as far as Earl Greys go, and quite enjoyable in the morning. I’m glad I gave it a try!

I’m a big Moroccan Mint fan, so when I read that Roseanne, the owner of Telated, had spent time in Morocco as a child, and grew up drinking Moroccan Mint tea, I was curious to see what her blend would taste like. Would stand out against all the other MMs I had tried? I was excited to find out.

Thank you Roseanne and Tealated for letting me sample this tea. I look forward to purchasing it in the future!

Thank you so much to Tealated for the free samples! I’ve really been enjoying white tea recently, so I was excited to try this one. If I didn’t know this was a white tea, though, I would have guessed it to be an oolong…it’s very smooth and silky and has a mild flavor that doesn’t compete with the peach taste. It’s a very light, natural-tasting peach flavoring that is great hot but I’m thinking would be even better iced. So glad I got to try this one! I would definitely consider re-purchasing it in the future.

Thank you so much to Tealated for the free samples! I like traditional Earl Grey, so I’ve been interested in trying different variations. This one is heavy on the bergemot and light on the vanilla…I would have liked a bit more vanilla flavor to really set it apart. Plain, I found it slightly bitter, but it smoothed out nicely with the addition of a splash of milk. I’m glad I had a chance to try this one, but I don’t think it’s different enough from regular Earl Grey to earn a permanent spot in my collection.

Thank you for the two generous samples, Tealated! As well as the 12 filter teabags I could always use… a nice surprise! The samples I chose had to be the Earl Grey and the Chai, as I always love trying as many of those as possible. The leaves for this Earl have a very sweet scent to them. More creamy than bergamot, and I’d say the flavor is just the same: more sweet cream than bergamot. Then again, I love huge amounts of bergamot. This could definitely be one to try for those who don’t love a lot of bergamot. The black tea itself is just the right level of flavor for an EG: not too weak or strong. I’ve definitely had some really great bergamot blends in the past and this one is delicious and hits that craving, but it does seem unique somehow. Maybe it’s just more cream than usual? The second steep had a ton of flavor too, so don’t miss out on a resteep! Very tasty!
Steep #1 // 1 tsp // few minutes after boiling // 3 min steep
Steep #2 // just boiled // few min steep
Tealated.com

Got this generous, yummy smelling sample from Tealated today.

Since Christmas is over and I’m about to put away the holiday stuff, decided to use a cheap but cute teaset from my mom a few years back that’s Christmas themed:
http://instagram.com/p/xYR3ylpxik/

This chai smells amazing – strong, spicy, flavory.

I steeped for 10 minutes with almost two 2 tsp. in the small teapot.

Drank one cup with sugar, one cup without. I have a sugar-chai connection, think it enhances. The cup without was the second cup and was just as good.

The first sip I tasted a little of the clove…it’s a pet peeve of mine if clove is too dominant in chai blends. This wasn’t, but the clove was there, and my tongue almost started feeling a little numb after a while of ungracefully gulping.

I didn’t taste ginger, although that’s in there and I was curious about it. It must be very subtle.

An excellent chai, very relaxing and cozy.

Another free sample from Tealated. Wow, the reviews on this tea are crazy and varied! It kind of scares me a bit. Truth be told, I had a hard time finding teas I was interested to try from Tealated since I tend to drink mostly straight blacks. I do enjoy earl grey sometimes, so I chose this because nothing else seemed appealing. It appears to be a mix of medium-sized black leaves and little CTC pearls. There are also blue flower petals included. Dry scent is bergamot and very custardy vanilla.

The steeped tea smells really good actually, the vanilla pudding sort of aroma is quite strong. I don’t find this offensive in the least, like a couple of others seemed to. I do wish there was just a bit more vanilla taste and a bit less bergamot, but I tend to like my bergamot on the lighter side. It’s a perfectly decent earl grey with a touch of vanilla/cream.

This (generous) sample was provided for free in exchange for subscribing to Tealated’s email newsletter. (I don’t remember whether reviews were promised or not, but I’m going to assume they were!) This is a blend of black teas, though they don’t tell you which black teas, which is one of my pet peeves with tea sellers. It appears to be a mix of a CTC black and a broken leaf black, and I’m sure there’s probably Assam in there somewhere. Dry scent is mostly musty hay.

This is just okay for me. To its credit, it didn’t get bitter even though the leaves are broken. The flavor is just kind of generic “black tea”, so I’m not sure whether it’s Ceylon or Assam or what, but most likely it’s comprised of those two. It’s not bad, it’s smooth with no astringency, but it’s a tad boring.

Very heavy on the coconut. Could be considered cloying if one isn’t in the mood for that heavy of sweetness, luckily I was this morning.

This tea came to me in a bubble mailer with my name and address handwritten on the front. I thought at first that it must be a late Christmas gift since it seemed so personal, but when I opened the package I was delighted to find two very generous samples of tea alongside a handwritten note. I hadn’t expected these to arrive so quickly! My husband opened the bag almost immediately and began making himself a cup of this tea. I, however, had just polished off more than a few Christmas chocolates so I abstained until this morning.

My first thought upon opening this bag of Green Delight is that it smells almost exactly like the little chewable Tylenol tablets I had as a kid. It’s not at all an unpleasant smell; it just smells extremely sweet and very fruity. There is also a slight hint of peach. Looking at the dry mix, it is mostly green tea leaves with a few red bits thrown in, likely the rose hips and the dried raspberry. The fragrance tones down a bit after steeping and leaves the tea tasting somewhat floral. It’s a little bitter, but I may have over-steeped so that’s certainly my fault. I attempted a re-steep and found the flavor to be much the same as the first. No new notes to speak of, but no dulling of flavors either. I fully expect my rating to go up after I get the steep time where it needs to be. For now, I consider it to be a consistently good tea and one that I feel will continue to grow on me with each new cup.

Side note: By the second steep, I really started to feel the effects of the caffeine. I’m not sure my new tea ball extracts the caffeine as quickly as my previous one so I may need to do a longer pre-steep or use this one for herbals only.

This is seriously gross without intervention.

I can’t tell if it is too much bergamot (hello soap taste) or the artificial aspect, or both. Then the vanilla cream flavor just makes it all nasty as hell. I put in my normal healthy dash of milk as I typically do with Earl Greys to minimize soap taste, and took a sip and promptly spit it out. I added maybe a half cup more of milk and now, I can finish drinking the cup. But man, this is pretty bad. I have no idea who it might appeal to because strength can be managed by brewing with less tea, but artificial can’t be fixed.

Thank you Rosanne from Tealated for sending this sample my way!

If you are a fan of the double bergamot EGs then you should give this one a try.This is a very bergamot-y Earl Grey with the vanilla playing a lesser role but still present. The vanilla does lend a creaminess to the tea and a bit of sweetness. Overall I like this one. It’s not something I’d pick up to replace my current EGC, but I’m thinking about picking some up for iced tea since I like a lot of bergamot in my iced Earl Greys.

UGH!! this is the most chemically, nasty tasting earl grey I have ever tasted. it was artificial and I couldn’t drink but one sip.

I found a steeping time of ~2 minutes was perfectly suitable for two teaspoons of leaves in a gaiwan-style teapot, with an additional 30 seconds tacked on for a subsequent steep. The second time I brewed a fresh batch of this tea I accidentally steeped it for about five minutes and STILL had a fantastic, not bitter cup. I got about two fully flavored cups of tea with each fresh batch of leaves.

The most significant factor that sets this peach tea apart from the other peachy varieties is the way the creation of the flavor profile was approached. The brew is incredibly creamy and smooth, with equal tasting notes of peach and vanilla! (I can’t quite put my paw on the exact flavor, but I’m just going to go with vanilla. :-P ) This tea does not attempt to shout “HI, MY NAME’S PEACH!!!” in your face with exaggerated, artificial flavoring that plagues so many other blends. Instead, the peach greets you politely and almost shyly, then quickly introduces his friend “Mr. Vanilla” to you. Interestingly, the characteristic mellowness of this combination is what leads my senses to believe I am actually sampling real peach pieces when I drink this brew. As a delightful bonus to this unique flavor, absolutely no sweetener is necessary to enhance the taste of the drink.