188 Tasting Notes

88

This is the second tea for me to try from the samples I received from Just Organic Tea.

This one has a wonderfully powerful fragrance, so much so that I was afraid that it may have tainted the rest of the teas in the shipping bag. I separated the teas that were heavily fragranced right away and think the others will be fine… at least the Naughty ‘Nilla hadn’t picked up anything.

This one caught my attention because of its fragrance, sweet, spicy, citrus orange. It seems for me that the orange comes out more in the smell of the tea than the flavor at first. Mostly a nicely spiced black tea, nothing overpowering, I think the orange is coming through as another sweet dimension to the tea base rather than a prominent flavor as the name suggests. As it cools, I do get more orange at the end of the sip. I do quite enjoy this one, but might prefer just a tiny touch more orange to go along with the name.. as is, I think I would have named it Spiced Orange because I get spice before the orange. Still a nice blend as the base is nice and not overpowered with spice, as I might expect from a chai.

The more I drink of this cup, the more I am enjoying it.

Flavors: Cinnamon, Cloves, Orange Zest

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86

This is the first of the sample pack from Just Organic Tea that I picked out to try. I was intrigued by the use of carob in a vanilla tea… hence the name Naughty I would suspect. ;)

I got a faint bit of vanilla from the dry leaf. It steeps up a rich, full, and smooth black tea with a nice natural light vanilla flavor. No smokey or earthy flavors which I appreciated with this blend. I didn’t get carob or chocolate so to speak, but maybe a bit of richness/smoothness coming from it and adding to the flavor of the base tea. As it cooled I got a bit more vanilla and maybe caramel if I tried.

Flavors: Vanilla

Sil

Sounds fun!

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84

I reached for this one last night. I wanted something simple that I could add a splash of milk to and not heat up a partial cup of milk for a chai latte. I mostly wanted a good spice that was caffeine free because it was so late. I don’t reach for it often, but love the simplicity and how it is a bit different than some other chai like teas I’ve had.

My nose was a bit stuffy so I didn’t get all of the flavors of the carob and chicory, but I let it steep longer than usual and the spices were right where I wanted them.

I must be in the mood for spice lately. I’m considering what I might have in my cabinet tonight that has some spice to it. Hmm…

Flavors: Cinnamon

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82
drank SBT: Grape by 52teas
188 tasting notes

I’m still trying to figure out my favorite way to make these teas. This time I cold steeped first, and forgot to notice the time when I put it in the fridge so not sure how long it was in there before I removed the bag for a hot steep.. Oops!

Dry it smells of grape soda or candy… sweet grape candy.

Steeped, the same grape flavor comes through, but not too strongly. The cold steep was better than the hot steeped version in strength of flavor and mouth feel. It was much more thick and rich than the hot steeped afterwards. The hot steep almost has a bitterness to it although I steeped a bit under normal black tea temperature and kept to the 3 mins or less. I have considered doing both steeps and then blending them to see what the results of that are.

Hubby fully expected that this tea would be primarily for our son, but he took it to work this morning not knowing what flavor he was getting. He was surprised when he liked it and asked what it was. I think he expected it to be more like grape Kool-aid mixed with tea when he had seen the package. You can certainly imagine that with this blend if you try. I have yet to get my son to try it.. Maybe tomorrow ;) I’m anxious to see what he thinks of this and Monkey Fart. Thanks MissB for sending this my way !

Flavors: Grapes

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88

I haven’t pulled this one out of the drawer for awhile and thought I would maybe go for it today. This is from my first purchase from Della Terra in November last yeat and although it wasn’t quite the hot cinnamon candy I was expecting when I purchased it, I do really like it.

Today, with just a touch of raw sugar, it is sweet cinnamon candy, w/o the heat of cinnamon. Just a nice warm yummy cup which is great for such a chilly rain filled day. I would love a similar blend that did have that sense of heat to it from the cinnamon as well, but this fits just fine today.

Flavors: Cinnamon

Preparation
190 °F / 87 °C 1 tsp 10 OZ / 295 ML
keychange

You should really try hot cinnamon spice from Harney & sons.

Suziqzer

I have the decaf version and find the black base comes out over the cinnamon. I ordered some tins from Harney & Sons awhile back when they offered free shipping and I think they sent me a sample of the regular version of Hot Cinnamon Spice.. I’ll have to try it and see if it’s different.

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90
drank Laoshan Black by Verdant Tea
188 tasting notes

I’ve seen many reviews come across for this one and I now get the chance to try it myself… Thanks CelebriTEA for sharing it from your Verdant collection.

Dry this tea is earthy smelling, not much else comes through. The leaf pieces are larger than many black teas I’ve seen so far. I’m sure many are broken in the flavoring process… and I’ve had a fair amount of flavored blacks thus far …blush…

Steeped, western style because that’s what I have, I get a rich, smooth blend of grain/barley, maltyness, and chocolate… Yum! … And did I mention how full and rich this tea is? As it cooled and I added a touch of raw sugar I was able to get a bit of caramel out of my first cup as well. I can see why people enjoy this one so much.

Re-steeped I get more grain/barley and it seems a bit sweeter on it’s own w/o adding my sugar. I’ve lost some of the chocolate though. Still good enough to drink though!

Flavors: Chocolate, Malt, Roasted Barley

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90

I tried this yesterday afternoon. I usually start with a black tea and graduate to lower caffeinated teas as the day progresses. I was craving something black and grabbed this out of my sample box.,.. Thanks EvaGrimm for sharing. I kind of wish I had gone with something else as it made my acid reflux flair for some reason… dang getting older and having stomach issues in the gene pool! I enjoyed it anyway.. just made a mental note that if I get more of this to not drink it when the stomach isn’t cooperating.

Smells of wonderful sweet blueberry when dry. Steeps up to the same flavor and reminds me of a sweet blueberry muffin…Nom.. Nom. I’m not sure I get cream cheese in this, but that’s fine with me.. Maybe it’s simply in the creaminess of the blend. This would be an amazing compliment to a nice hearty breakfast.

I’m surprised I enjoyed this one as much as I did as often my Hubby favors berry teas before I do… Maybe because this was more dessert-like, although there have been a few I’ve enjoyed. I’m wondering what this would be like iced…? I’m sure it’s great that way too. My brother-in-law loves blueberry desserts and I could see him loving this too.

Flavors: Berries, Cream

Preparation
190 °F / 87 °C 1 tsp 8 OZ / 236 ML

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91

Having a bit of a lazy day, I didn’t pick up any tea until lunch… Shockers!

I’m not sure I would have picked this one up on my own. I really enjoy mint teas, and cinnamon, although I don’t think I’ve had them together yet.. before now. I’m not much for floral blends, and this has lavender scattered through the blend.. Hmm.. I can smell it in the dry mix too. Smells of mint and lavender.. but favoring the mint. I will have to admit I’m having a bit of trouble with smelling this blend due to the fact that I started a cold brew of 52teas grape iced tea blend and my hands smell of that.. even though I’ve washed them.. thinking that’s going to be some really grape tea!

Steeped, and with a less than my normal amount of sugar-I tried to hold off but I always add sugar to mint tea, I have to say I was pleasantly surprised. I get peppermint with a bit of floral from the lavender. Nothing is overstated. I can’t pick out the cinnamon or the rooibos, and don’t know what to look for for birch, but I imagine they come together to tone down the peppermint and blend the lavender into a nice smooth cup. Peppermint can be harsh, but in this blend it is smooth and rich tasting.

Thanks CelebriTEA for sharing this with me.

Flavors: Flowers

Preparation
180 °F / 82 °C 3 min, 0 sec 1 tsp

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79

I’m not sure why I chose this one tonight being that most of my tea today hasn’t worked for me. I guess I was hoping something new might take me out of my slump. So weird I went for this one because I’ve been avoiding it… Lemon in tea… as a child it was my nemesis. You see, my dad, who always meant well has this idea that if he likes something, the everyone else should too… and wouldn’t you know that he liked to mix sweet tea and lemonade… Yuck! If both happened to be in the fridge at the same time it went something like this..
Dad: Have some tea and lemonade
Me: No thanks
Dad: Have some tea and lemonade
Me: I’ll take one or the other
Dad: They are better together
Me: No thanks, I’ll take just one
Dad: Here, try mine
Me: No dad, I’ve tried it before
Dad: But it’s better this way
Me: Fine.. (takes a sip)
Dad: See, you want some don’t you?
Me: Just some tea, thanks
Dad: You don’t know what you’re missing.

Don’t get me wrong, I love my dad dearly, he’s a great man. I’ve just never been found of lemon in my sweet tea and having had pressure to drink it that way was never a help.

EvaGrimm sent me this knowing I was wanting to stretch myself with citrus blends, & knowing I might full well dump it, Thanks for sharing it anyway!

Dry leaf it smelled of rooibos and lemon. Steeped it initially tasted of woodsy rooibos and lemon (kind of like dish soap smells). As it cooled it changed for me in a good way. It smells of a sweet lemony baked good, and tastes similar to a lemon pound cake with the lemon (not quite as strong as the cake normally is) and buttery goodness. I can still taste the rooibos in the blend, but only if I search for it. I did add my normal touch of sugar to add to the cakey flavor.

It has yet to be determined if I would order this or not. I think I prefer orange over lemon so far, but this one is stretching me again. I definitely enjoyed this much more than I thought I would.

Flavors: Butter, Lemon Zest

mj

Ugh, yes, what is with the “Arnold Palmer” obsession? I have no need for lemon (or lemonade!) in my sweet tea!

Suziqzer

I didn’t know there was a name for it.. But glad to hear I’m not alone. Putting two good things together doesn’t always make one better one!

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90

Had a cup of this yesterday and I’m nearing the end of my sample of it.

This is a nice smooth black tea that does well on it’s own, or with milk and sugar.. of course I had to try it that way.

I will be sad to see this one go but I look forward to trying more straight blacks to find one that works as that nice basic black tea that I won’t fret about adding things to because it’s “too good” a tea to mess with. Although it would be nice to have a small amount of a tea like this to fill that need too.

I’m thinking about adding things to a basic black like cocoa nuts, mint, coconut, and maybe some things I can find at my health food store … Might be fun.

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Profile

Bio

37 yr old wife and mother who left her day job to take care of our son. Now running a property management business with my hubby.

I grew up on Lipton -hot w/milk & sugar, Lipton iced w/fresh spearmint and sugar, and Celestial Seasonings Sleepytime … Don’t criticize.

I came across Good Earth Original Sweet and Spicy out of chance and it spurred my interested in trying new teas because it was a flavor I had never had before in a tea. I’m now new to the world of loose leaf teas and looking forward to learning what I like as I journey through some new flavors. Hubby has always enjoyed the occasional cup when we’ve been out and about at restaurants.. now we will find out what good teas are really all about! On with the adventures!

Still relatively new to loose leaf, but I’m learning… Coconut, cinnamon, chai, chocolate, mint, & pineapple are just a few of the flavors I enjoy. I have found that I can do green teas so long as there are other flavors as well and it isn’t the primary flavor. I have only found 1 rooibos blend that was too woodsy for me, most of the time the base is hidden or blends well enough w/flavored versions for my liking. I’m beginning to enjoy fruit teas more and more. I occasionally like a straight black tea.

Hubby likes milder flavors, any base, berry flavors, sweet aromas, sometimes tart, and or floral, and chocolate to my surprise! Almost the opposite of me.. go figure!

My 8 year old just took interest and loves root beer.. so far Butterbeer is a hit, but we haven’t tried any root beer or cola teas yet.. soon thanks to the Marvelous MissB for sending some samples. He enjoyed Winter Nog (Della Terra) recently, but turned away something else I gave him.. darn if I can’t remember now what it was!

Location

Indiana

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