188 Tasting Notes

85

Having this tonight because I was so craving a cup of my new found candy cane (peppermint) tea from The Spice & Tea Exchange, Chocolate Candy Cane Tea -which is black based and caffeinated :(. Gonna wish I bought more of it! Already off their website … Hope they bring it back next year!

This one fits the bill for a late evening tea that is a nice peppermint. Knocked down my rating a bit due to my new love in peppermint (just wish my new fav was decaf so I could enjoy it more often before bed-just had too much caffeine today already).

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90

Wow… first tasting note for this one.. Being a newbie, not sure how I feel about that.

The sun is shining & the snow is finally melting away from the roads making me think it might be nice to get out and go somewhere without being beaten by the packed snow on the roads like the last few days have been. So pretty out.. Love the snow when it’s not so cold you can’t enjoy it and when it doesn’t interfere with travel (& school.. an extra week of Christmas break could make anyone stir crazy!).

I finished a cup of Chocolate Candy Cane from The Spice & Tea Exchange, a new favorite, a little while ago and went looking to try something else new. ColumbiaKate had asked if any of us that she sent samples to had tried her new Duck Dinah’s Tea yet, so I reached for the samples she sent. This one smelled yummy as I pulled it out of the package. Sweet, orangey, yummy goodness… very much reminds me of sweet orange cranberry bread. Sorry.. just couldn’t resist but to try this one first!

Upon steeping, the fragrance dulls a bit, but that’s ok… time to taste it. Reminds me of orange creamsicle, which is not usually a favorite of mine, but this is nice. Added a pinch of sugar after my first sip, smaller amount than I normally would use since it’s sweet fragrance lends to it feeling a need for less. The flavors of slightly earthy deep orange and cream both come through and neither are too strong (probably why I don’t care for a true creamsicle-that and a creamsicle is sooo sweeett!). Not sure I’m finding the almond, but it may be part of the sweetness I’m smelling, and it may give part of the creaminess as well, not sure.

I will have to try some of it iced to see if it would make a great selection for summer as well. If it keeps it’s flavors, I could see it being a nice treat rotated with my standard home made fresh spearmint iced tea.

This is the first tea I’ve found with orange overtones that appeals to me. Thanks Columbia Kate for sharing something extra and unexpected with your sample :)

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79
drank English Breakfast by Twinings
188 tasting notes

Growing up my mom sometimes made us black tea with milk and sugar so I almost always take my straight black teas the same way. I haven’t had too many straight loose leaf black teas yet as most of my purchases have been experiments of flavors. This one is in tea bag form and was a gift for Christmas.

This is my first English Brkfast tea to my knowledge, mom always used to get the basic Lipton which to my untrained tastebuds was a treat. I have to say this one is very familiar, especially after adding a bit of milk and sugar. It is a better, stronger brew than my long time friend that didn’t lose it’s color with a touch of milk.

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92

We don’t have many tea buying options in my area, other than bags of the grocery store variety so when we were on vacation the past week and I saw The Spice & Tea Exchange in the distance.. I just had to visit.

A couple of years ago we went into one of their stores and I was much more into cooking than I was tea. While we were there though, Hubby picked up the tea sampler pack and fell in love with their Blueberry Black. He has been trying to make that tea last because he hated to see it gone.

The first thing I did when we went into the store was go right in and find the Blueberry Black and had them make up a 2 oz bag for Hubby. He steeps it weak, so it should last him a good while. They had so many that peaked my interest that I had trouble deciding what to get. I wished they had had sample bags of their teas so I could take a few with me and then go back later before we left the area to pick up what I really liked in larger quantities.

This was one of the teas I picked up. The smell was fresh and inviting, and not too strong for peppermint. I was wishing that the holiday teas would be on sale since it was after Christmas, and even asked the sales associate and she couldn’t give me a discount.. always worth trying. The associate was pleasant and after browsing the tea section for awhile, I asked her of the holiday teas which was the most popular & which was her favorite… she said the Chocolate Candy Cane Tea. I picked it up, as well as the Gingerbread since I knew they were both seasonal varieties and the gingerbread smelled very nice too.

I have opened the bag to smell this several times and every time I think I’d love to try a cup but wanted to wait until I could enjoy the first one fully. I finally did that today. It smells fresh of peppermint and sweetness, with a bit of rich chocolate… smells like Christmas candy in a cup.

I didn’t pay close attention to my steep time as we had company and I was a bit distracted. The steeped cup has an inviting fragrance, but not so intense as the dry leaf. I added a bit of raw sugar as I couldn’t see myself drinking a candy related tea without sweetness (growing up with all my tea sweetened makes it hard to get away from). I must say this tea is yummy. I was a bit afraid it would be too intense of a peppermint or that the chocolate would come across as fake or just too rich. It is a perfect blend of mild peppermint rounded out with a bit of chocolate. This is the first tea with chocolate I can say I really enjoyed the first cup of.

The second steep I allowed to sit longer and again added a touch of raw sugar. It too was good, although a bit milder, and the chocolate came through more at the end of the sip.

I’m a bit saddened that after I tried this I went looking on their website and see that they have already pulled it from their Limited Edition teas. I almost wish I would have bought a second ounce… Hopefully they will offer it again next year when I need some Christmas in a cup, because I’m sure I will have finished this one by then.

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75
drank Winter Nog by Della Terra Teas
188 tasting notes

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85

I had been looking for this tea this year and had trouble finding it. Found it on an end cap today and snagged it, should’ve grabbed two!… but wasn’t sure how’d I’d like it.

It seems like I may have had some of this around last year, but not sure what happened to it. Living in Indiana, we get the occasional mouse in the house.. eeks!!… and I’m thinking it was in the drawer I had to discard a few items from. Luckily we are good at getting rid of the rascals!

I’ve been eager to try this again, but somewhat skeptical since I don’t care too much for iced peppermint tea- much prefer spearmint! I’m also not a big fan of green teas, unless there are other flavors to blend with it, as in this tea. It smells nice while it steeps and makes me think Christmas in a cup. It is a nice change to my usual favs of cinnamon &/or spice. It gives that minty coolness in your mouth which is a good contrast to the warmth of the tea as I sip. Warm, minty (not so much as candy cane, but just enough), and a touch of sugar to make it yummy. I’ll have to have another cup!

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68

I love love love cinnamon and spiced teas… so after reading some reviews on the Harney & Sons Hot Cinnamon, I went for it in the decaf version to try and avoid a little caffeine in my day.

The smell in the tin is amazing! Sweet and cinnamon.. Yum! My first attempt at drinking this blend left a little disappointment. I was expecting something near red hots in a cup.. as some had expressed in their reviews. I get more black tea in smell and flavor after it’s brewed. I usually like black teas, but the flavor of this one carried through all the cinnamon and I was hoping the tea to be an undertone. It’s a good cup… just not amazing. The black tea flavor did mellow a bit as it cooled, but still very present.

Maybe I need to mix up the contents of the tin a little to make sure all the goodies haven’t settled to the bottom. Then we’ll see if I’ll change my impression after I’ve tried that… Hoping so.. I was so excited about this tea.

I’m tempted to try the herbal version and the regular version sometime to see if they are more of what I was envisioning.

K S

There has got to be something wrong. Did this come off a store shelf? Thinking maybe its old or exposed to too much heat/light. This should be almost over the top spicy.

Suziqzer

K S Thanks for commenting back. I was wondering if i had read all the tea logs/comments on it wrong.

I ordered it directly from Harney & Sons on their Cyber Monday sale. I would think that’s about as fresh as one could get. I will give it another try and if I feel the same way I may write them a comment and see if they had an odd batch. It certainly smells cinnamon enough.. Just wish the cinnamon was stronger than the black tea flavor.

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55
drank Egyptian Licorice by Yogi Tea
188 tasting notes

Hubby had already raided the tea bags josiejade sent us and decided to try Tazo’s Passion tea. Not my speed, especially not hot, so I went for something different.

After looking at a couple of reviews here, I decided on this because many describe it as spicy and sweet… much like my favorite teabag from Good Earth teas (Original Sweet & Spicy). This was my first experience, to my knowledge, with licorice in tea. I have been one of few in my family to actually enjoy a black jellybean now and then, so the name didn’t scare me. I have to admit when I opened the bag I was a bit underwhelmed by the fragrance. It was earthy w/no spice. Upon steeping, I felt the same way. I expected a bit of a sweet scent with either licorice or cinnamon coming through.

First sip, mild flavor, not spicy… not like I had hoped or the name suggested. Hard to pick out any distinct flavors even after a few sips. Then I began to notice after I swallowed, a mild bit of spice in my mouth and the sweetness. The sweetness would linger for quite a long time. As it cooled, the flavors didn’t intensify or become distinct, but the sweetness did.

Not really sure how I rate this one yet, but glad to have tried it for the experience of the sweet aftertaste. Luckily there is one more teabag in the box so I can try it again. :)

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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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