52 Tasting Notes
This was the second tea I got to choose from the latest Virtual Tasting I was a part of. I love fruit and this blend looks like a lot of fun.
Brewed I am quite surprised at the lack of flavor here. And I’m not really getting much of a cinnamon taste as everyone else had mentioned. It’s not bad, I just wish there was a little more to it. Even the green tea base seems a bit mellow.
Preparation
The power is out all around where I live. My apartment is running on a back up generator so some of my apartment has power, but most of it doesn’t. A few lights work and most of the kitchen is working. I’m currently sitting on my kitchen counter with my laptop and phone plugged into one of the only outlets that’s working, eating ramen noodles (yay gas stove) and enjoying a nice fresh cup of Read My Lips. Thank god the outlet my Breville is plugged into is working!
I’m not sure if I will be working today or not. The power has been off at my work since about 6pm last night. My boyfriend however was not so lucky. He ventured out into the storm at 5am only to find power is on at his work and about 1/2 the people showed up today. But, since power is on the day is going according to plan for him. So I’m alone hoping the generator stays on. And very cold since the heat has been off for a while now. Yup, just me and my rats and a cup of Read My Lips. Someone had just asked in the discussions thread what tea is your “pick me up” tea – I think it’s safe to say this is my pick me up tea. I reached for it right away it wasn’t even a thought process.
Awe! Keep warm!!!!
Aww not awe… Silly autocorrect…
Hope you have power for a long time. Hooray for gas stoves! You will always have hot water and be able to cook! I had a gas stove and water heater (Hot Showers and baths) in a snowstorm (Paradise,CA) when 6 teenaged girls and I were without power for 3 days. I had a woodstove for heat and snow for a frig. Keeping them entertained was aweful!
Thanks LiberTEAS for this amazing sample!
I opened up my sample box this afternoon and there it was – Oolong Chardonnay. I’ve been saving my oolongs until my gaiwan arrives, but I just couldn’t wait on this one. I had to brew it up at once. I’m a big wine lover and I also adore oolong, so what’s not to like right?
The aroma of this dry tea is spot on chardonnay with a little spice. Brewed it smells a bit fruity and less chardonnay. This tea is really good. Even though it smells fruity, it doesn’t taste like a fruity tea. Very chardonnay. The cinnamon is not overpowering, but it gives it a nice warm aspect. The rose gives a faint floral note that adds balance to the cup and the vanilla bean rounds everything out for a nice smooth sip. This is actually a little earthy to me – faintly earthy in a way that reminds me a little of tree bark. But that’s really in the background the chardonnay and warm cinnamon are more apparent and the earthiness is more of an afterthought.
I’m really enjoying this so far. I wonder how it will hold up to additional steeping. I may have to order some of this…
Preparation
I am so embarrassed that I missed the virtual tea tasting I was so excited to be a part of!! Even though Sandy hasn’t really effected my area yet (aside from pretty constant rain). My apartment building jumped the gun on everyone else and the power went down yesterday. Well, the storm is supposed to hit my area tonight and tomorrow. At least since losing power yesterday, I’ve stocked up on flashlights, batteries, and water. You can never be too careful!
I promised myself I’d make up for missing the tasting today, so the first thing I wanted to do this morning was brew up some Milk Chocolate Caramel. What a beautiful color this tea produces. It smells amazing as well, but I do agree with everyone it’s not quite the sweet milk chocolate caramel taste I was expecting. It’s a bit on the lighter side as far as flavoring goes, but I’m actually really enjoying this one. I added a little sugar and a splash of half and half and mmmmm…this looks like chocolate milk now! Sweetening it is bringing out some of the sweet caramel.
I think I’m enjoying this a little more than some have. I’m happy with it, but I do agree that maybe the name should be tweaked a bit.
UPDATE : Watching the president speak about Hurricane Sandy on the news right now. Please everyone stay safe these next few days!
Okay, why is some of my text turning into links with ads?!
Preparation
I managed to snag a bit of this from Whispering Pines during their “all orders doubled” special they ran recently. I have a doctors appointment in an hour so I need something to calm my nerves. This tea is a brilliant yellow, nice and cheery – just what I was looking for.
This is a nice little cup of tea. Not too floral, but the notes are definitely there. I’m not really getting a lot of prominent coconut either. A very subtle tea as far as the flavoring goes, but I think it works well as a nice light cup. The green tea base isn’t bitter which is nice because it allows the flavors to linger a bit. Just a light, cheery, soft, slightly floral relaxing cup of tea. I think this one will be perfect when I’m in the mood for it.
Preparation
LOL – we both posted tasting notes from Whispering Pines within the same time span. Did your order come today, too? This sounds like a really interesting tea. Bummer that the notes don’t come through, though :(
Yes! It did! And I got leelanu smoke too we really are tea twins!!
Haha.. awesome. Which smoke level did you get? Did you get any other teas besides these two and the chai?
I got the recommended level which I believe was medium high and boy it sure does smell smokey! I’ve never had a smokey tea before so this will be my first go. I plan on trying it tomorrow I wanted to try it right away but I was headed to the doctors with a tumbler… Didn’t want him to think I’d taken up smoking and was lying (bc I know he’d ask lol). I just got the 3 teas… Which did you pick?
With this order I wanted to pick out some things I might normally overlook or things I hadn’t thought of trying. I’m still pretty new to tea so I’ve been pretty “safe” with my choices this time I went wild haha!
I got 1 oz of the light and 1 oz of the medium light. I’m normally very sensitive to smokey teas so I wanted to try it at the lightest level. I had the light tonight and it was quite pleasant.
Looking forward to seeing your review!
Have you ever had Lapsang Souchong before? That is a similar type of thea, except it is a black tea that’s smoked.
No, I never have that I recall – I have tried some samples I haven’t logged but all the foreign tea names confuse me. I’m pretty sure that’s something I haven’t tried.
Okay, it’s pretty easy to find at tea shops. If you forget the name, just ask for the “smokey black tea” and they should know what you’re talking about ;)
Today after cleaning my Breville it turned out so shiny and new I wanted to try something a little different. Something I’ve never quite tried before…Fiesta Fusion seemed like the perfect candidate. I’ve never had a black/green blend before. When I ripped open the package it smelled very fruity. I was amazed by how much tea was in this sample thank you so much Teajo Teas!
I love the color of this tea! Or maybe I was just so happy watching my shiny like-new Breville go to work, but either way I really enjoyed watching this brew. It smells deliciously fruity. I would agree that this is more black than green, but I’m guessing that’s because black is more overpowering than green. The blending here is really well done. It’s got a nice black aspect that I love but without any astringency at all and the green gives it a bit of a grassy aspect, but in a way that is not bitter. This tea is absolutely smooth. There is a nice fruity tone in the background that adds a really beautiful sweetness.
I really do like this one. If you’re looking for something a little different, try this!
Preparation
My first selection from my second sampler box from LiberTEAS – thank you so much for putting this box together for me!
I’ve been wanting to try Handmade Teas for a while, but I wasn’t sure if I wanted to actually subscribe to their tea of the month program before trying some of their tea. I’m really anti-commitment and I can never make up my mind about things like tea clubs…it’s just too hard to choose which one to join so I end up just completely avoiding making the decision by not joining any haha! Silly I know…
I love the way the dry tea smells. Fruity and sweet. Once brewed though I’m not really smelling much aside from the white tea base. Upon tasting I do taste the strawberry, but it isn’t a very bold in-your-face type of flavor. I’m actually really enjoying the fact that the strawberry seems very light and natural. The chocolate adds a really interesting aspect. I feel like it makes the cup a little “fuller” if that makes any sense. The white tea base was a good choice for such a light flavor profile.
I think that Murmur is the perfect name for this tea. It really does fit the way the tea tastes. It really is a murmur… soft, quiet, natural, almost illusive but I actually found these things quite enjoyable. Such a relaxing lovely cup!
Preparation
Nice to read a review of Handmade Tea, I’ve been thinking about getting their mini subscription.
The mini subscription is a really good idea. I might just have to try that myself actually. As much as I’d like having the full experience with the tins of each ingredient, I think a mini subscription would be a good way to start to make sure it’s your kind of thing for lack of a better term.
Yeah, I figure it’s a good way to check them out, and also to keep needing to order other teas every month. ;)
When I was thinking about what fruity matcha flavor I wanted to try I decided that Boysenberry sounded the most interesting to me. I’ve previously only gotten the desserty flavors but I wondered what a fruity matcha would be like and if the fruit would go well with the green flavors of the matcha. I decided to get the robust flavor level and also a small tin to make storage easy.
I tried the matcha first made the usual way with hot water and it was very good, but I was very curious about the “water bottle” method I’d noticed some people using so I gave that method a shot as well. I filled up a plastic bottle I had with ice cubes, water, and matcha and shook like mad! I ended up with a delicious iced matcha that was so easy to make and convenient to carry with me to work. If you want to take matcha on the go I suggest this method!
I did enjoy this hot, but I felt like the cold method brought out more of that tangy fruit aspect I was really looking for here. Someone else mentioned this being a bit like redbull in their review and I can really see what they mean. It does taste a bit redbull-y and I’m a former redbull addict so I know what I’m talking about here. Haha.
I have to say I’m glad I picked this flavor out. It’s so much more unique than your typical strawberry or other popular fruit flavor.
I got my matcha here:
http://www.redleaftea.com/matcha-tea/boysenberry-matcha.html
I finally got my hands on some of the “famous” Caramel Matcha everyone has been going on and on about. I decided to go crazy and chose the robust flavor level this time, just because you really can’t have too much caramel can you? I also got a small tin to store my matcha in. They are really convenient and I love the way they close up so nicely. I’m sure my matcha will stay nice and fresh this way.
Okay, back the matcha. I made it the usual way. Sift matcha, add a bit of hot water, whisk, add a bit more water and enjoy! Mmmm you really can’t go wrong with the flavoring here! The robust option was a good choice. The flavor of the matcha does take the back seat here, but my goodness the caramel is soooo creamy and sweet. It reminds me of the hot caramel they put on top of your sundae at an ice cream shop! I can really understand why this is a steepster favorite.
If you really want to take this matcha to the next level, you’ve got to try this as a latte because it is amazing! The milk just adds an amazing creaminess. I could literally enjoy a hot caramel matcha latte every morning without getting tired of it. Oh my goodness…I just realized I can now make a caramel cheesecake matcha latte because I now have both flavors…
And it looks like I’m off to the kitchen.
If you want to get your hands on some of this, and trust me you do need to, this is where you can get it:
http://www.redleaftea.com/matcha-tea/caramel-matcha.html
The strangest thing is happening with this tea. I find myself wanting a cup quite often and I’m not sure why. When I first tried it I actually thought I didn’t really like it very much. It was alright, it just wasn’t really my thing but for some strange reason I can’t put my finger on I’ve been craving this tea. I can’t drink it straight (don’t think I like bergamont) so I do need to add milk and sugar to enjoy this one but I really really like it this way.
Something strange is going on here. A tea that I wasn’t wild about, possibly becoming one of my go-to teas? Has this ever happened to you?
I commented on this post and was discussing what aspects of bergamot is appealing. Then I posted, then re-read and thought you might find it pushy and rude and accidentally deleted instead of editing. Then got lazy to rue type on IPad and decided to leave well enough alone. Ha! Short story long.
Plus wanted to correct spelling mistake (as example above) but you can only delete a post. I hate auto correct when it puts IN mistakes.
I didn’t think you were being pushy or rude but helpful and trying to point me in the right direction.
And I despise auto correct for that reason I’ve really sent some strange sometimes embarrassing texts…
