Culinary Teas

I’m trying to go through and backlog all the teas I had this spring and summer but was too busy to review. Pretty daunting, but some headway’s better than none, right?

Once I quickly figured out I’m not nuts for Culinary Teas’ black base for its flavored offerings (Ceylon usually, I think?) but do appreciate the aromas and flavors, I put most of ‘em in the “cold steep” pile…and learned to my delight they are fabulous that way. This was the stand out for sure. I emptied the pouch in no time at the beginning of the summer, loving every refreshing glass. It was so good that way I’d reorder it just for that purpose. Yum.

Backlog:

A really good Rose Congou! I had heard much about chilling Rose Congou, but it was something I had never tried until I got this Rose Congou Emperor from Culinary Teas and I decided to try it out. It’s fantastic iced! It might even be better iced than hot. That’s not something I can say about every tea because I am a hot tea drinker more so than an iced tea drinker (although I do keep a pitcher of iced tea in the fridge at all times now because it’s nice to have something chilled to drink with meals and such)

When iced, this Rose Congou reminds me a little bit of baklava that has been flavored with rose water. The rose is soft, not at all perfume-ish or soapy.

Here’s my full-length review: http://sororiteasisters.com/2013/08/04/rose-congou-emperor-tea-from-culinary-teas/

Dark Chocolate and cherry, what’s not to like? I’m not getting the cough syrup, medicinal cherry that others are mentioning. This works for me. It’s not complicated, just a nice chocolate cherry tea. I would buy this again.

Backlog:

A really impressive rooibos blend. The blueberry is intense here.

The sweet, nutty flavor of the rooibos creates a sort of pancake-y kind of flavor, and accents the blueberry notes well. Very good iced or hot.

Here’s my full-length review: http://sororiteasisters.com/2013/07/18/blueberry-bang-rooibos-from-culinary-teas/

Tea #2 from the TTB.

The smell is my favorite part. It’s got that wonderful earthy quality that puers have, which reminds me of hiking through the woods without another soul to be seen. The puers I’d tried previously tasted like rainy woods, but this one smells dry and warm and toasty because of the caramel toffee. I am definitely a fan.

I was initially a little disappointed by the taste, because I expected the caramel to be stronger, but it’s pretty subtle. The taste in general is pretty inoffensive, without some of the harshness or earthiness that some puers tend to have.

I should note, however, that my experience with puers is pretty limited. I tried a couple different ones at a friend’s two or three years ago, after which I semi-regularly drank the World Market version and Lupicia’s Strawberry & Chocolate as a dessert tea… But dessert puers really appeal to me, and since this is one of the few I’ve tried it’s definitely in the running!

Does anyone have any good dessert puers to recommend?

From Considering a new Travelling Tea Box

I haven’t had many pu-erh teas yet and to be honest I haven’t liked what I tried. This one, however, I enjoyed, probably because the toffee masked some of the features of pu-erh I usually find objectionable.

Initially, Pu-erh dominated the nose, but as the tea cooled slightly the toffee came forward, to the point where I smell more toffee than tea, though both are apparent. The extremely rich and powerful taste manages to balance the Pu-erh flavor with the toffee. The tea provides a strong base, giving depth and power, while the toffee kind of floats on top, adding flavor.

I thought I would need to add sugar, but it tastes fine without it. There were little chunks of toffee in the tea, so those probably add some sweetness in addition to flavor. The finish is weak compared to the tea, with just hints of toffee and very little tea.

I’d say the aroma is the best part of the tea: well balanced, strong, and interesting. The taste is good, but a bit less integrated, and the finish is a bit disappointing.

Tea #6 from Another Traveling Tea Box

I’m backlogging this one from Saturday night (when it wasn’t 40F out and chilly, thankfully)

This is a very fruity green tea, with a sweet, but not cloying, strawberry flavor that doesn’t need any additional sugar. Even with the strong strawberry flavor, the grassiness of the sencha isn’t masked and comes through as well.

I really really enjoyed this, but I’m sending the rest of it on as it doesn’t seem like a flavor profile I’d like hot and it’s getting too cold for iced tea.

Backlog:

Yummy. Really YUMMY!

I’m in agreement with the others on Steepster that think that this tastes a lot like Watermelon jolly ranchers … and I love Watermelon jolly ranchers.
This is sweet, juicy and delicious. A bit “candy like” obviously, so if you’re one who prefers a not-so-sweet tea this one might not be up your alley, but I’ve a sweet tooth and I really enjoyed this a lot.

It makes a great iced tea.

Here’s my full-length review: http://sororiteasisters.com/2013/06/02/watermelon-kiwi-flavored-green-tea-from-culinary-teas/

Backlog:

A really interesting Oolong. Sweet and floral, with a mild sweet pepper taste to it. I was really kind of surprised by the sweet pepper taste … in a very good way. I really liked it. It brought a unique and very compelling element to the cup.

The texture of the tea is soft and smooth, with a cleansing astringency that sort of wipes that soft, buttery texture off the palate in between sips. I like that the buttery notes don’t build too heavily.

A very enjoyable Oolong. Here’s my full-length review: http://sororiteasisters.com/2013/05/27/narcissus-oolong-tea-from-culinary-teas/

man… if blueberry cream cheese danish reblend tasted like this i’d be so much happier. theres a little bit of astringency to this, but the blueberry flavouring is pretty nice. it’s not super creamy, but it IS tasty. i added a little sugar and it made it oh so much better,cutting through the slightly astringent taste.

sample sipdown! Thanks kittenna :) This is a pretty decent chai tea. But it’s not pumpkin. It’s got a bunch of ginger in it that makes this an interesting blend and slightly different from some of the other chais that i like, but it’s tasty. Dropped the rating slightly though because pumpkin this is not. :)

thanks kittenna!

Well it appears that this is a tea i can get behind from culinary teas. It still wouldn’t be a staple, but at least i can get behind this one more than any of the others. There’s a creamy, buttery taste to this one and the base isn’t as harsh as the other teas i tried. It smells wonderful as well, just like a delicious caramel. hmmmm

thanks kittenna!

another sample from kittenna! this one i had better luck with. it smells a little like those strawberry shortcake dolls…slightly artificial but not bad smelling. the taste is more like a green strawberry tea and not so very “shortcake-y” However, in comparison to the last two disasters for me, this is loads better. Still though, the base has a bitterness to it that i really don’t care for. oh well, better to sample than have purchased :)

sample from kittenna I’m pretty sure i dislike the base of culinary teas or something. This was another one that i couldn’t handle. the taste that was left in my mouth after i spit it out was decent, but the first impression left much to be desired. I’m steeping these fairly lightly too, so not too sure what’s going on. I appreciate the taste though Kittenna!

thanks kittenna this is pretty nasty. While i realise i accidentally let this cool down, i pretty much took a sip and spat it out. Not sure if it’s contaminated or something but it was bitter, astringent and not delicious at all :( ah well, can’t win them all!

Thank you Stephanie for this sample. I had this iced and its quite delicious. Its delicate… with a slight floral hint. The cherry note is quite pleasing. I like how simple this tea is yet still very impressive. Thank you for this little slice of bliss:)

Backlog:

A really good Genmaicha. A good, warm, nutty and roasty flavor from the toasted rice, and the green tea has a freshness to it. The Matcha gives the cup a little bit of creaminess that I enjoyed.

Pleasant, sweet, and comforting. Here’s my full-length review: http://sororiteasisters.com/2013/04/16/genmaicha-extra-green-with-matcha-tea-from-culinary-teas/

So this is actually the second time I’ve made this, but I was so underwhelmed by it the first time I made it that I decided to just toss it back in my untried bin and after awhile, try it again. Lol.

Great pineapple smell in the bag, in a mouthwatering way. So I was pretty excited. And the brewed tea smells pretty pineapple-y also.
But after sipping it, I don’t really get much actual pineapple taste. Maybe I’m expecting too much, but if a tea is labeled pineapple, it should at least be pretty strongly pineapple. Even with sugar added, not much pineapple.
It could also be that this tea was so astringent to me that I couldn’t drink much more than half of it before pouring it out. Even 5ish minutes later my mouth is still all wonky from the astringency.

I’d keep this and finish it out, but that astringency is just too much. Ah well. One day I’ll find a good pineapple tea.