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Another in my selection of flowering teas from TeaVivre!

I was a little more careful and prepared when brewing this tea – namely, I had a second pitcher prepared to pour the infused tea into so it wouldn’t over-steep. Additionally, the Family Happiness tea bloomed fully open more quickly than the previous tea (Rising Steady, I believe), so I was able to regulate the brewing time more carefully.

This tea is much more up my alley! It has a lovely, light flavor and delicate notes of the jasmine and lily. Inhaling the aroma, it gives a light hay scent like I’m standing in the middle of a freshly cut field as the hay dries before being bundled. It all feels and tastes very natural and even relaxing in its simplicity.

Yet the flavors are varied and rich, filling the mouth pleasantly like something creamy.

I particularly love the look of the lily blossoming at the base of the pitcher, ringed in a halo of jasmine. This truly is a lovely way to start my Friday!

I won this tea among a selection of flowering teas from TeaVivre in a contest. I haven’t been the greatest fan of flowering teas in the past because I’ve been unlucky enough to select poorly made and/or flavored ones when I’ve given them a chance. It’s also highly likely that when I made them before, I didn’t understand that I was supposed to use cooler water for the white tea.

So off I embark on this journey of rediscovering flowering teas!

Using boiled water that cooled for about 3-4 minutes before pouring, I allowed the tea to steep in an open-topped, clear glass pitcher until it had fully opened and rested on the bottom of the pitcher. This took about 4-5 minutes.

The resulting liquor has a clear, bright, caramel hue with a hint of rosiness. The aroma is soft, lightly springy like a freshly mown lawn, but with that hint of dried grass from the leavings of a day or two earlier.

The flavor is fuller than I expected. It rounds out the aroma nicely with a surprisingly creamy texture and warm taste. Perhaps a hint of caramel, but I’m having trouble putting my finger on exactly what’s going on there.

It’s not my absolute favorite flavor, but I can definitely see myself enjoying this tea on a nice spring morning on the patio.

Twinings generously sent out 3 samples of my choice (selected last fall, arrived a couple weeks ago) and this was the one I most looked forward to trying, so I’ve saved it for last.

I brewed to their suggestion of 3 minutes with recently boiled water. The liquor is a lovely, deep color – so dark you can’t see through it even an inch. The aroma is a warm, dark caramel. Almost malty.

The flavor is much milder than I anticipated, especially with a full 3 minute infusion and the dark color of the liquor. It’s so mild, I find it hard to pinpoint what flavors I’m picking up… rich, loamy earth… dry, but full of life.

Overall, I think this might become one of the rare teabags I start to keep in my cupboard. It will be an excellent option to bring along while travelling and, based on some of the reviews, I’d like to try it iced over the summer as well!

This is another tea I received from Friday and it represents the Doctor in a Sci-Fi series that ended before its time, unfortunately. Here’s to you, Simon!

This blend includes Darjeeling, lime peel, and blue cornflower for a unique aroma and flavor. A lightly creamy, citrus-y smell dominates the aroma and leads nicely into the tea itself.

The lime peel adds a strong note to the liquor and joins the mild floral flavor of the Darjeeling for a slightly astringent, yet enjoyable flavor.

As I drink this tea, it takes me to a beach house on the sea side, enjoying this nice cup of tea with a book on the porch as the waves crash in the background. It’s a relaxing blend with a touch of luxury, but retains a few hard edges to keep it interesting.

I’m definitely enjoying the Doctor’s Blend, but it is not something I’d probably add to my permanent cupboard because it’s not quite suited to my taste exactly. Though I’d be curious what flavor profiles would come forward were it blended with something milder than the lime peel.

I prepared this tea Western style in a small teapot due to time constraints this morning.

First impression – chocolate forward! My first sip was all chocolatey goodness, which surprised me a bit. It’s lightly malty, which is a good match for the chocolate flavor. The aroma of the liquor is like a heavy version of what you expect of a Yunnan Golden Tip. Almost like the aroma is weighted down with something more complex.

One thing I like to do with a tea is close my eyes, take in the aroma, and sip it a bit while allowing my mind to wander (I like to think of it as my medi-tea-tion). Many teas take me places in my imagination, and I allow the tea to tell me where that place is. This tea takes me to a forest in winter covered in dry snow. It is comforting in the abandoned place and a perfect complement to the experience.

When I have a free morning, I’ll be excited to try this tea again Gong Fu style to see what flavor subtleties I can squeeze out. Thanks again to TeaVivre for the selection of samples!

I received this tea along with a wide selections of others from Friday Afternoon to review (and decide what to order more of!). I met Friday (yes, that’s her real name) at a Harry Potter con and it took a lot of willpower to walk out of her booth, I’ll tell you what. My favorite thing about her shop is the fact that she has an entire array of nerdy tea blends that she creates herself.

But I’m here to talk about this tea! This is Audrey’s Spring Tea. There’s also an Audrey’s Cozy Blend, and I’m a bit ashamed to say I’m not sure what the Audrey reference is. The only thing I can think of is Audrey II from Little Shop of Horrors. But that’s neither here nor there!

Since I can’t drink caffeine past a certain point in the day, I picked this option as my first to sample. Plus, I love lemongrass in things and had never tried a tea blend with it, so that was a huge plus to me!

I brewed with just below boiling water for about 5 minutes. The hibiscus is in larger chunks than I normally see, so its color and flavor is more subtle and complex than I’m used to, which I love. When dry, the chamomile aroma rules, but once steeped, the lemongrass really plays up.

The flavor is slightly sweet from the hibiscus, but smoothed by the chamomile, and rounded out with the lemongrass. To be honest, I’m not 100% sure which flavor I’m picking up is the marigold, as I’ve never had a tea with it before and I can’t quite tell where it fits in the mix.

All I know is this is absolutely delicious and a perfect option for me of an evening when I’d like a nice cuppa, but know I can’t have anything caffeinated. Definitely ordering more than just a sample when all is said and done!

I want to preface this by mentioning that I don’t generally care for flavored teas. They just aren’t… my cup of tea. [sic] But when Angel offered to send this Strawberry Oolong with some other samples, I wanted to give it a try and see if perhaps my tastes had changed or perhaps this was an exception to my “rule”.

The tea itself smells exclusively of strawberry to me. But it’s not a sugary, candy-like strawberry. It’s a natural smell.

Following a brief rinse, I gave it a 15 second infusion and it smelled faintly of sweet strawberries and had a slight buttery aroma. The tea is super light and certainly is not overpowering in any sense. It is pretty easily one of the best flavored teas I’ve had to date.

The second infusion was a little less sweet and there was more emphasis on the buttery/creamy flavor. In a way, it made me think of eating pancakes with a strawberry puree at a local diner here in town. The strawberry flavor is definitely still there and adds a nice extra touch.

The third infusion is where the strawberry really starts to fade and you get a little astringency from the oolong. Overall, I would like to try this as a single full cup from a single, longer infusion. I think I’ll do that next time and let you know how it goes.

I received this tea along with a few others as free samples from TeaVivre, and I can’t be more excited! The dry leaf is a gorgeous dark loose oolong with a rich aroma. Following a brief rinse, the leaves unlocked a lightly vegetal and spicy scent. It reminds me a little of a Da Hong Pao, actually. Just a bit!

With the first 30 second infusion, the liquor is a light amber color and starts to give off a light floral scent. The tea itself is slightly astringent and the flavor is nicely mild. It no longer reminds me of the Da Hong Pao, but I’m intrigued to continue tasting further infusions.

The second infusion pulled out the astringency and led to a more full flavor. I started to identify some floral notes in the flavor. With the third infusion, it left most of the floral behind and went the vegetal/grassy route.

Overall, I enjoyed this tea, but it probably won’t be a daily preference. Definitely one to bring out with company I’m teaching about tea, though!