Marzipan select Send Message

Knocking out another Design A Tea single serve sample. This one is orange spice. I could swear I had this one before but maybe not.

Orange and spice in black tea is one of my favorite flavor profiles. It also reminds me of the holidays. Remember when you were a kid and you would stick whole cloves into oranges to make a decorative and great smelling thing to hang up at Christmas? The first smell of this leaf reminded me of that.

There were whole pieces of orange peel in there, and that was nice too. The flavor of the tea is fine, I get more clove than anything, and it’s a bit astringent at their suggested 4 minute steeping time (although the tea isn’t terribly strong). It’s another itty bitty tea packet out of the basket though, so it feels like progress.

This tea is rocking my world right now. My husband is actually annoyed with me (we work together) because every time I take a drink, I make an audible, “Mmmmm”. What’s the problem, I offered him some!

The caramel/vanilla flavor in this is really just the right strength. It’s completely noticeable, but not knocking me over either. I wouldn’t call it delicate. It’s just balanced in the right way. I can still taste the tea, which is a big plus. It’s a little bit like a hug in a cup. Cozy and yummy.

I had a little bit of a challenge measuring out the leaves by teaspoons because they were huge! I just sort of eyeballed it.

I picked this one today because it is black, didn’t smell flavored and I have a very small packet of it and hope to sip it down today.

It’s fine, basically tastes like tea. I don’t get mint or really anything mentioned in the other reviews. Once it’s gone I see absolutely no reason to get it again.

Today’s random tea was another Design a Tea creation: pineapple orange oolong.

It was also my first oolong.

I was surprised at the quality of the leaf mixture. There were pieces of pineapple and orange in there. I just expected flavored tea since this was one of the single serve sample things. My husband said that the steeped leaf looked like potpourri.

Anyway, it was nice, not Earth-shattering. I got two nice steeps out of it….or was it three….anyway, the last one (which was either the third or the fourth) was pretty weak. Up until that point they were nice.

And, it got rid of something in my tea basket.

This is nice. I didn’t get coconut in there anywhere – smell or taste. That’s a good thing or it would have gone into my swap pile. I liked the strong lemongrass flavor and scent. I got this in a swap and it will be nice for a couple of cups, but probably not one I will reorder.

I think I am at serious risk of becoming a Butiki fangirl, but it’s well deserved.

This tea was a revelation. The FIRST white tea that I have loved! So far I have had a hard time getting much flavor out of white teas, but this tea delivered.

There was a sample of it in my order (thank you Stacy) and it was the dominant smell when I opened the box. Even the packing slip smelled like lemon. I made myself put it away until later in the day, but I kept thinking about it. Then when it became “retire to the bedroom with tea and relax” time, it was time for a rendezvous.

I probably looked a little weird, because while the water was heating up, I had to keep standing there with my nose in the infuser. It just smells heavenly. I made mine with a bit of sweetener, as is my custom (but I’m using less all the time). One thing I really liked about the tea was how it made my mouth taste. You know how sometimes you feel like you have tea breath? This was sweet and lemony. Sort of a “go kiss someone now” feeling. The lemony taste lingered long afterward too.

I saved the leaves and got a second steep out of them, and honestly I think it was better than the first one. It was sweeter and for some reason (not steep time), it was stronger. I probably could have gotten more steeps out of it but it was bedtime, and I don’t really like to keep leaves overnight. With great sadness I tossed the leaves out.

This is definitely on my short list of things to order soon!

Let’s get one thing straight. This is not tea.

This is awesomeness in a cup. It transcends tea. You remember Diane Keaton saying that she didn’t just love him, she needed a new word, she LURVED him? Well, this needs a new word other than just tea.

This was my first experience with chocolate in tea, and I admit that I was a little leery of it. But oh my, does it ever work!

I admit, I get more chocolate and less raspberry out of the drink, but it’s still lovely. Even the last, cooled-down sips from my cup are just full of chocolatey YUM. I think it’s time for another cup.

This is exactly what I want in a morning tea. Strong, nothing fru fru, hearty. I like the extra malt flavor.