Joy's Teaspoon

I haven’t had too many Kenyan teas but the few I’ve had have always been very earthy crunchy teas. This CTC tea from Joy’s Teaspoon is rolled into little balls almost like gunpowder. It’s got a taste similar to assam but only slightly. It isn’t bitter but it is strong and perfectly acceptable without milk and sugar. The taste reminds me of unsweet granola or wheat germ. I also can taste a whiff of coffee but that might be my mind playing tricks on me because I know its an African tea. It really is quite nice when you want a morning tea but not an Assam or Ceylon blend.

Also want to add that this came in a very generous sample from Joy’s Teaspoon which makes me definitely want to get some more soon!

Another wonderful sample from Naomi at Joy’s Teaspoon! This beautiful green has a mild cherry touch. It was perfect for my upset stomach. Warm and smooth and relaxing. Not sweet or bitter. Looking forward to my next steeping. I may try increasing the time to see if I can get more of the cherry.

I’m using up the last of this, and it’s been about a year since I last logged it, so I’m pretty proud of the fact that I was able to make a sample last an entire year. College helped, because I could not make loose leaf in school—too messy, and not enough space.

I don’t remember what I said about this tea in the past, though I’m sure I loved it. I love it still, as it has the wonderful Bergamot flavor, but toned down just a bit, with a hint of berry. The description says Raspberry, which I think is mainly what I’m tasting. Any of the other berries, I wouldn’t be able to name outright, though I can taste the flavors. I think blackberry would possibly be one, though.

All in all, it’s a very rich, wonderful taste, and I’m enjoying this tea as it rains, and rains, and rains. Good weather for tea!

Thank you so much Naomi from Joy’s Teaspoon for sending these along! You have been wonderful!

Smell: Very berry. (Berry berry!) And I like that. I like that it is labeled and smells the way it is labeled, you know? I want to smell berries in my tea if that’s what flavor I’m supposed to get. I didn’t look over what type of berries, but I’m going to guess blueberries and blackberries.

Taste: Ooh, yummy! I could taste lots of berry flavor, definitely blackberry. But what I loved is that I could still taste the classic flavor of Earl Grey, but it was very smooth and subtle enough that it let the berries shine. I really loved this tea, and I want more!

Got this as part of an Ocho Sampler from Joy’s.
This has a very well balanced and well blended pear and cinnamon flavor.
Also, the tea base is not overly complex but present and the flavors certainly do not overshadow the tea itself.
The pear actually tastes quite natural! Pear is a difficult flavor to get right in my opinion but I feel that this has been blended masterfully so that you get a natural pear essence and not so much that the blend is trying to over compensate or be too upfront.
The aroma is stronger than the flavor itself which I feel is a good thing because usually when you do get a very strong pear flavor it is not all that palatable!
This tea is done right.
The cinnamon is not too assertive – either – another flavor component I find often is over done.
I am very impressed!
I had this both with and without sugar in the raw – I enjoyed it both ways.
I being one with the persistent sweet tooth however liked it a little more with sugar but it was not a startling difference as I only added a touch and that was all it needed!
Would be amazing iced!
Don’t save this one just for the autumn season, pear is delicious any time of year and the cinnamon is not chai like strength. Although again – stronger in aroma than on the palate so don’t let the strong smell worry you!
I have found all too often flavored teas to be on one of two ends of a spectrum – either SO strong and riddled with fake flavorings that you just can’t even drink it unless you don’t mind chemical crud in your tea OR so weak that you strain to savor any flavor at all.
This tea is done perfectly so that you know exactly what flavors you are getting without having to play hide and seek with them yet not so overly done that you gag on it!
Great selection – you should get some!

Ohhhhh my my my. This is pure velvety heaven. Thank you Naomi at Joy’s Teaspoon for this fantastic tea! Opening the 6oz sample – yum. I am a Respiratory Therapist and I don’t like the smell of cigs, but have you ever smelled a very fine vanilla tobacco? Add a sweet lemon dash and this is it!! Steeped for 4 then 5 mins per instruction. I prefer 4. At 5 I was worried it was borderline Lemon Pledge tasting. This tea is a mixture of creamy white cake and lemony goodness. Don’t get me wrong it is not overly sweet, it just makes you think of caaaakke. Strange note, it was hard to keep hot. Weird. But no matter the temp, I feel it would be terrific. Oh I am so ordering this again. Soon and a ton of it.

Another wonderful tea from Joy’s.
The buttery nutty sencha gives a lovely backdrop to the flavors of almond and cherry allowing for a creamy milky mouthfeel!
A little more pricey than ESP’s of the same name but I have not tried that one yet.
What I love about this is you can in fact still taste the base of this blend quite well.
My daughter and husband also enjoyed this one very much and it was nice to have a cup of tea with them.
Hubby said it was “tasty and no over powering and for me just right”
Its sweet but not cloying and the cherry flavor does not have that funny after taste commonly found with cherry flavored teas.
I am in love with Joy’s teas – oh and she has a MEAN oregano as well! I have been sprinkling it on top of everything I have ate today! VERY aromatic and flavorful. Well okay thats not tea related but wanted to give it a mention :)

My daughter and I made lemon cupcakes with buttercream frosting thinned a little with fresh lemon juice.
Instead of adding water to the cake mix (yeah we didn’t go homemade we took the lazy way out) we added this tea.
Let me tell you these are the best cupcakes E V E R.
Like fluffy airy clouds of melting lemon yumminess floating on your taste buds.
Yay for Lemon Zest!
:)

Its yummy but I don’t think I am in love with it as much as others are. Its still a dang fine tea though and I feel that Joy’s makes all their teas of the best quality! I just wish it was a tad sweeter. To me it smells a bit better than it tastes yet it does have a very very creamy mouthfeel and an EXCELLENT natural lemon flavor!
I think this would be AMAZING iced with some raw sugar.
YES I AM capitalizing things a lot in this review for some reason.
I also realized I have not had ANY caffeine today!
Hummmmmm time for something with a little “ZEST” to it haha see what I did there?
I too agree with what someone else said (apologies to the person who’s name I can’t recall) this tea is not really ZESTY more sweet and creamy.
Its very nice and I will be ordering some!

I bought this tea in Joy’s Teaspoon Ocho Sampler months ago. I love the idea that you get to create your own sampler. It’s so personal.

Anyway.

I had about half of the sample left, since when I first tried it, I really didn’t care for it. But I was craving something dark tonight, and didn’t want to sit through a gong fu brewing, so I figured I’d try this again.

The leaves are very small and broken. They’re a deep, rich black, and the dry smell is something of cedar and pine, with fleeting hints of plum. When brewed, it really is a beautiful purple color. It’s a very pale lavender, not like anything I’ve seen in any other tea.

When steeped, it loses the wood notes in it, and if I hadn’t prepared it, I would swear this was an oolong. There are light notes of cedar, but those take a backseat to the vegetal scents and the sweetness, almost butteryness of the smell. Naomi is right – it smells very clean. There’s a little bit of bitterness in the aftertaste, but it’s not unpleasant.

All in all, I like this tea a lot more than I did when I first tried it. I’m not sure I could afford to purchase it, as it comes in at about $20/oz… but it sure is a good cup tonight!

So, since I like being honest in my reviews, I’m going to admit that this tea tasted much better the second time around, even though I did give it a pretty decent rating the first time. Reason why it’s better: I didn’t have to tamper with it as much to get it to taste good to me.

First time I did this: Steeped 4 minutes at 212 degress, and put in 3 packs of sugar, and a bit of milk, AND some extra chocolate chips. It was wonderful, but it took all that.

Second time (now): Steeped five minutes, at about 205 degrees or so, and added 1 and a half tablespoons sugar (this time regular white, not raw cane in the packet.) I think the extra steep helped bring out the natural flavor much better.

Smell: Still cocoa-y and yummy.

Taste: Way more chocolatey from the start, and a bit more sweet milk chocolate rather than more bitter dark. It also tasted creamier. :-) I’m happy to report I’m upping the rating (my original rating was 83) and I’m hoping to order some of this sooner than later.

Thanks to Naomi at Joy’s Teaspoon for this!!

Ok, it took a few minutes of tweaking to get this right, but after I did…
OH.
MY.
GOOD.
GRACIOUS!!!!
Yeah, that good. Ok, maybe……a little under that, and I am not really physically showing the excitement, but I can enjoy this tea. A lot.

Smell: Dry, in the bag. Chocolate-y. But dry, unsweetened cocoa chocolate-y. And I’m not too fond of that, usually, but this smelled yummy. Steeping it smelled like that, but kind of burnt, which I’m just going to atrribute it to the fact that it was in BOILING WATER. So yeah. Hot.

Taste: The first sip with no sugar was yucky, and had no real flavor to me. Sorry. Second sip after 1 packet of raw cane sugar, was sweeter, but still no good. Packet #2…eh, almost. A bit chocolatey, but not perfect. It took 3 packets for me, which is ok because I like sweet. I let it cool a bit, added a few extra chocoalte chips, and then took a few more sips.

The chocolate flavor is the bittersweet of dark chocolate, and again, unsweetened cocoa. To me, it is a subtle flavor at first, and then kind of grows, but it isn’t a strong, overwhelming flavor. Honestly, that’s kind of what I want, BUT at the same time I REALLY LIKE THIS TEA. After a few more sips, I added some cream and that finally made it perfectly chocolatey for me and just YUMMY. The chocolate is creamy and rich, but again, a bit bitter. You have to enjoy chocolate that’s not overly sweet (like dark chocolate) and you have to like something that still has the taste of tea. For me, I loved it, though it did take a few adjustments.

I used 1 1/2 teaspoons, 8 oz. of water, 212 degree and 4 minutes steep time. Add 3 packets of raw cane sugar, a few extra chocolate chips, and a little bit of cream and you are good to go! Just don’t go overboard!! :-)

UPDATE: I let this cool a bit, to “warm” rather than hot, and it is SOO GOOD! SO SO GOOD!! The chocolate has gotten a bit sweeter, like milk chocolate, though there is still the bittersweet notes. It all mixes perfectly, and the cream makes it SO MUCH BETTER!! Upping the rating…

Backlog from this morning!!

Thanks to Naomi at Joy’s Teaspoon for this sample, and the great personality! :-) Another perfect Earl Grey!! YAY!!! First off, let me say this now that I have had two loose leaf Earl Greys: I WILL NEVER DRINK BAGGED EARL GREY AGAIN. EVER. IF I DO, I’LL HAVE A SUPER GREAT REASON, OTHER THAN THAT, I’VE GONE CRAZY! Ok, that’s out.

Smell: Dry, in the bag. YUMMY EARL GREY CITRUSY WONDERFULNESS! I love Earl Grey! I love it! Steeping it’s about the same, just muted slightly. Nice dark color.

Taste: Ahh, nice and smooth, the wonderful flavor is just there and good and I love it! It’s a bit sharper than the other Earl Grey I had, but it’s not a bad bitter, it’s a light one, and it is that bitter I find in Earl Grey anyway, but it’s well done. Both this EG and Fusion Tea Room’s EG I LOVE, and I just can’t pick one. Yummy yummy yummy YUMMY!

Wow! Very nice. I brewed this the way I’d brew a black tea, because the name and the color of the leaves suggested a black tea. However, when I checked the website for more information about the tea (after I brewed it, of course! ha!) I learned it was an Oolong.

But, fortunately, it would seem that the Oolong leaves nor the basil have suffered from the exposure to the boiling water. This is really tasty.

The basil adds a peppery overtone, with a hint of sweetness and menthol. The lemon is most prominent right at the start of the sip, and then it quickly subsides into the background providing more of a touch of brightness to the cup rather than a distinct lemon flavor. The Oolong is smooth and mild, with a hint of peach note in the background.

A very enjoyable cuppa – I really like this one!

Finally! Everything I’ve been looking for in a cinnamon tea! It smells spicy like a cinnamon bear candy, but it doesn’t have that burning bite. Instead it has a fantastic black tea base, with a good strong but not overwhelming cinnamon flavor. It’s sweet and as everyone else has mentioned, a bit of a bakery flavor. It takes milk and sugar well, but if want to stay away from sugar it has a natural light sweetness (not a flavored sweetness). This is one black tea that actually tastes as good or even better as it cools down! So happy to have found this tea!

I got this sample from Joy’s Teaspoon with an order I placed more than a year ago or so at this point. At that time I did not drink chcolate in tea. I thought it was an abomination – but I’ve finally learned my lesson. So, I dug this out and embraced the lovely milk chocolate aromas from the dried (and steeped!) leaf. It smells sweet and appetizing but there is a hint of bitterness in the aroma. I find that even now some chocolate teas (such as DT’s Chocolate Chili Chai) are unappealing and even make me feel nauseous. We shall see how this one holds up – so far, all is promising. For the record, a co-worker just arrived in the switchboard office that I cover from 1 to 2 and said it smells like chocolate – so mmuch so that she thought I was having a hot chocolate, not a flavoured tea.

First sips are not as sweet as the aroma would lead me to believe. There is a bold chocolate flavour, which actually combines the creaminess of milk chocolate and a slight hint of bitterness from dark chocolate. The taste changes on my tongue, but has a very pleasant lingering flavour. The initial sip is darker than the rest, I find. It’s very rich and decadent, though a bit too dark and bitter initially.

I must confess that I have no fondness for dark chocolate. I like the adulterated milky stuff – with sweet Cadbury being my favourite of the commercial brands. I was hoping this would be like DT’s Read My Lips, sans mint, but it’s a different beast. A little more adult and not quite my thing, unfortunately.

Have not had time or energy to tea log today. Computer has been running slow all day due to cruddy internet connection. Started a new exercise routine which is kicking my butt BUT needed lol and trying to focus on work more.
Miss you all though and try to catch up late at night but will try to pop in tomorrow more and read more of your tasting notes!
For now I am going to cuddle up and watch How I Met Your Mother – we are into season 6 now (I think) and enjoy this wonderful lovely tisane – my favorite. Yummmmmmmmm

Just wanted to note – I re-steeped this three times and it was still going strong! YIPPE!

FINALLY my precious Almond Cookie and I are together AT LAST!
I have waited a long time to get this in my stash and I am a happy camper now!
I could not believe it was only a few bucks more for twice the amount – I got the 4.5 ounce tin!
Now I am sure I can make it last a LITTLE bit longer! :)
One thing I notice is this tea has a long lingering flavor after the sip. It helps you to drink it a bit more slowly by just enjoying the after taste!
Cinnamon and almond are very present in the aroma.
The flavor has a slight twang to it initially but is not a twang that punches you in the face its a combination of the apple and beetroot!
Then the cinnamon and almond emerge and a sweet vanilla flavor that lingers in the after taste with just the right amount of sweet on the tongue.
Love it!
:)

All I can say is that I am ordering this as soon as I have two nickels to rub together! I will buy this before FOOD! LOL seriously though OMG YUMMMMMM
Joy’s Teaspoon is becoming one of my favorites FAST!

By the way the steep time scale only goes up to 8 – I steeped as per the sites recommendation for 10 minutes.
:)

Quite Yummy! As close to a real mojito as you can get without the alcohol!
I liked this one can’t wait to try it iced. Thank you Joy’s Teaspoon for the sample!

This arrived today as as sample from Joy’s Teaspoon. It’s finally a sunny, somewhat warm day here in Pennsylvania and this tea is suiting that mood perfectly. The aroma of the dry leaf smells strongly of sweet-tart cherry, but the brew is more mellow. Mellow green tea blends with smooth almond flavor and leaves a sweet/slightly sour cherry note on the tip of your tongue at the finish. I love it.

This is a very dark china black tea and is very smooth. It’s smells of berry’s and has wonderful undertone of bergamot. The flavors are very well balanced. It handles milk well and a bit of sugar brings out the berry flavors. I thought it tasted like strawberry, but the ingredients say raspberry. Either way, a very delicious tea!