New Tasting Notes

Wonderful black tea and perfect in the afternoon. Not astringent. Not bitter. Unlike most breakfast blends, no milk is needed to round out any bitterness.

Typically, I prefer flavored black teas (especially dessert teas- chocolates, vanillas, melons, chocolate mint, etc.). Yet, this tea is very pleasant , malty, and intriguing without any flashy flavors. Will it become my favorite? Can I give up the glitz? Not sure as I am still working on developing a taste for non-flavored teas but this one is setting me in the right direction…..

I don’t like Rooibos. As a senator from Minnesota used to say, “I deserve good things. I am entitled to my share of happiness. I refuse to beat myself up. I am attractive person. I am fun to be with. I’m good enough and I’m smart enough” and I can still not like rooibos. It’s taken me a while to admit it. To realize that all those unfortunate tea episodes had to to with rooibos. From now on I’m going to use decaff teas or straight herbals without this sawdust.

I got some of this tea because of the good reviews. I got myself a really nifty ice-tea maker from Lupicia and made this. It’s got lemon shining through the saw-dust. The predominant taste, for me, is the rooibos. As you can tell from the other reviewers, I am in a minority. This iced tea makes me want a pure lemony black decaff ice tea for my next pitcher.

I received this tea today courtesy of MeghannM (thanks!) I just couldn’t resist trying it right away. The dry leaf smells like caramel, vanilla, and maple syrup. I was a bit concerned that the flavoring would take over a knock back the tea base. I was wrong! This tea smells strongly of sweet caramel and vanilla goodness, but the taste is thankfully very much a black tea with a good amount of a vanilla/caramel kick. It was good plain, but I think it is best with milk and sugar which helps the caramel note to come out fully. This strikes me as a dessert tea, but I could see myself drinking it with breakfast on most days. Thanks again MeghannM!

The aroma is really lovely and it does remind me of Tiramisu. If you drink this tea as is, you’ll get an average taste and I did read the prior posting about the flavors being confusing. I agree. But for me, I have to add a few drops of milk and sugar cubes and all of a sudden I get it.. the whole Tiramisu taste. The tea place that first served me this actually serves this tea with boba in it and iced. I love it. I taste the white chocolate, the red rooibos. Yumm.

A little too smoky for me, but better than peppermint.

This was nice enough plain, sweet, with the rooibos and coconut coming through most strongly. With a bit of cream though, it’s delicious; very rich, smooth, sweet. It would be good with a bit of sugar, but it’s plenty sweet without. I’d put it in the chai category, personally, despite the lack of actually spices, something about the vanilla/rooibos/almond; in fact, I should try preparing it chai-latte style next time.

Probably my favorite Earl Grey, the St. Dalfour has a fruity, flowery taste that I find incredibly comforting. Those jam-makers know how to flavor a black tea. It’s much lighter than other Earls, and not as harsh on the palette. The bergamot is a summer breeze in the cup: not nearly as strong as I usually prefer my bergamot flavor, but somehow just as pleasant. Note that the subtle nuances of this tea seem to dissipate quickly in storage. Best to consume quickly.

Iced! I grew up in the south, so I’ve always had sweet tea. Even as a little child, I’d have glasses upon glasses of sweet tea with dinner. (And then wondered why I couldn’t get to sleep.) So my quest throughout this pregnancy has been to find something that could be subbed in for my traditional sweet tea with less caffeine. Actually, in the beginning, I was looking for no caffeine.

This is the closest to the winner yet. You might have noticed from my past posts, I’ve not found a winner yet. I’m blaming it on cold rooibos. This one actually works. And though it’s caffeinated, it’s less than black tea at a time when I’m ramping up caffeine a bit, so one cup a day will still work with my cup of hot tea a day as well. Yay! And, it’s flavorful enough that no sugar is needed. (And I don’t typically sweeten my green tea in the first place.)

The taste? Margot’s right… the fruit doesn’t stand out. I suspect it does a bit more in this cold version than a hot cup, but it’s clearly second to the tea. The green tea is okay, but not great. It’s just what you’d expect from a cheap bag of fruit flavored green tea. But it works for something that’s meant to be thirst quenching rather than a cup of tea that’s meant for flavor.

So, yay for something cold to have on hot southern days! I’ve finally found my tea! Now the question is how much longer I’ll be on this level of caffeine restriction… due date is somewhere between three and seven weeks!

A pretty blend—flat green tea leaves, large slivered almond pieces, cinnamon bark, tiny ivory flowers—which smells like almond cookies! A delicious nutty blend with a bit of spice at the end. 2nd infusion develops a surprising creaminess. A lovely cup!

Been steadily drinking genmai-cha all morning. We’re on our third refill now~

Trying this again at home. The smell is stewed spinach, and really isn’t all that appetizing. The colour is much lighter, a sort of pale gold.

To reiterate, last time there was a horrible gas aftertaste (yes, GASOLINE). I think I smell it again, but it mixes well with that vegetable smell, so I can’t know for sure. I’m really rather afraid of trying this again. I think the smell is giving me a headache.

Hold on, give me a few moments. I can do this.

The taste isn’t anywhere near as strong, luckily. Tastes like vegetables.

I think… I don’t know. I THINK I can still taste something akin to the smell of gasoline when I breath out, but not much. Getting a weird taste on the tip of my tongue.

There’s somewhat of a baked, bread/yeast taste to it as well. Almost.

Still getting a headache, though.

It’s ALMOST enjoyable… I don’t know what to think. It’s a HEARTY tea. It doesn’t taste faintly of steamed vegetables, it’s like vegetables fresh from the pot, broccoli and asparagus and then with spinach. And I didn’t INTENTIONALLY make it strong, I made it with a good amount of water (in my huge beer mug, again).

Hrm.

I really am enjoying this tea. When I first tried it, I thought it was a nice, smooth Alishan, but nothing really that special. However, a couple months later, it has developed a more fruity scent and flavor that I really love. So I would say that this tea has improved with a bit of aging.

I had just enough of this for one last cup! A friend of mine may give me the rest of hers, but that will depend upon her remembering. :P

And another cup from the Traveling Tea Box. An “Easter tea” for Easter morning!

Again, I didn’t know what to expect, but I really like Mariage Freres, so I had gotten a sample. And it was fabulous! This actually reminded me a lot of Mighty Leaf’s Orange Dulce, but instead of the tea being overpowered by the flavoring, the tea stood alone and the flavor was much more subtle. Very good tea!

Imagine if you will, a tangerine basking in the hot sun, then splitting the rind of that tangerine with your thumbs, and smelling the fresh fruity flesh; that’s what this smells like! Sharp and tangy with streams of citrus that’ll light up your nostrils. The tea itself tastes less intense, which is a good thing I think! Its like tangy lemonade without all the sugar, so it’s much easier to enjoy (and with oranges instead of lemons…). wow, my tea descriptions are so graceful (/endsarcasm).

Don’t steep too long or takes on the taste of bitter rind.

I apparently was totally offline this weekend. I drank tea, but no logging. And I didn’t do much else on any other social sites, either.

But, wow, Florence should have prompted me to stop by. I got this one from the Traveling Tea Box, and now it’s on my shopping list.

I couldn’t remember what to expect out of it. I just knew it was one I wanted to try. So, as it steeped, I was surprised by the lovely chocolatey/hazelnuty scent coming from the cup. And wow! It was flavorful! This definitely strikes me as a dessert tea, and reminded me a tiny bit of dragon balls. But, really, a more grown-up version of dragon balls.

Yum! I can’t wait to get some more!

Malty, mellow and smooth – and that is before adding any milk! I don’t find this tea particularily strong, certainly not the strength needed for a good ass-kicking at 9am on the first day back at work after a disjointed 3 day weekend. Adding milk (trim of course) lessens the strength but brings out a hint of that delightful honey taste found in my favourite Assams. More of a late morning or early afternoon tea really… Bay Of Islands Brunch?

Both less fruity and flowery than I expected- and the vanilla is definitely in the background. I do taste the hibiscus, perhaps more than anything else. Behind that there is a definite hint of fruitiness- that’d be the apple. I expected to hate this tea, but it’s milder than I was expecting and less sweet. I wouldn’t quite say it’s tart, but almost so. (The aftertaste is a bit tart- not unlike an apple can be.) Not one I’ll actually buy for myself, but it was interesting to try a bag.

Madagascar vanilla smells like a very creamy,milky vanilla. I was impressed at how dark the liquor brewed up after only three minutes. The vanilla flavor reminds me of the creme base in Teavana’s Earl grey creme. I enjoy Earl grey creme and find this enjoyable, just not extraordinary. It is almost as if the vanilla is an after thought. It is not a main player in this mélange. I would expect more flavor from the name. Oh, well. On to the next one.

I tried a large (20oz) brew of this this am while waiting to board my 6am flight to MN. This is one caffeinated cuppa. Halfway through i could feel a strong tea buzz coming on. I didn’t get anything exciting flavor wise from this tea, it was a run of the mill breakfast tea. I may buy a pouch just because it gave me such a great caffiene jolt it is worth having again

I think I needed more leaf or a longer steep time as it had almost no flavor. I won’t rate at this time.

I definitely prefer this one iced rather than hot. I’m still disappointed with it though, because I can’t taste any blueberry (and I so love blueberries in tea). I can see the little blueberries in the dry leaves, but the acai and currants seem to be overpowering everything.

Anyway, this makes for a very sweet, refreshing iced tea.