M&K's Tea Company

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drank Witch's Brew by M&K's Tea Company
4843 tasting notes

Backlog:

This was a limited edition blend that was released around Halloween. I actually ordered it a few days or so after Halloween, I think.

My full-length article outlines the story that expresses my appreciation for this company’s customer service: http://sororiteasisters.com/2014/11/29/witchs-brew-black-tea-from-mks-tea-company/ I enjoy doing business with companies like this.

The black tea is a blend of Ceylon and Assam. They offer a solid background of flavor. The licorice root is strong. It’s a ‘honey roasted’ licorice root, so I also taste notes of honey. I’ve since tried some of this honey roasted licorice root in a chamomile blend and I think that the honey roasting is nice – it softens the sometimes sharp edge of licorice root.

Sweet toffee notes and a strong chamomile flavor. Floral. It’s good, but it’s a tad on the bitter side. I could have done without the bitterness, fortunately, some of that subsided as I continued to sip.

Nichole/CuppaGeek

This is one of theirs I missed out on. Hopefully they re-blend it for this year.

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Backlog:

yeah, this is the kind of tea that you want to drink first thing in the morning. It’s the kind of tea that kicks you in the backside and gets you going. The kind of tea that shakes you vigorously to get you to wake up.

The sip starts out sweet yet bold, with notes of caramel and molasses with malty notes, earthy tones, hints of stone fruit and whispers of flower. Toward the tail, I pick up on citrus flavors.

A really lovely breakfast tea.

Here’s my full-length review: http://sororiteasisters.com/2014/11/22/morningtime-black-tea-from-mks-tea-company/

Nichole/CuppaGeek

I ordered some of this last week. Can’t wait to try it.

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drank Sweet Violet by M&K's Tea Company
4843 tasting notes

Backlog:

I’m always confused at how to categorize flower teas/tisanes like this. So I categorized it as a flowering herb. Neither of these categories is a satisfactory term for what this tea is though – at least, not in my opinion.

This is lovely. I wasn’t prepared for just how much I’d like this. This is one of the nicer flower teas that I’ve ever tasted. It’s better than chamomile. It’s similar to a rose bud type of tea but I find rosebud tea to be slightly sharper than this. This is softer, fluffy tasting. Creamy.

This doesn’t taste perfume-y or soapy. The floral notes are actually ‘barely there’ – I’m tasting only a very gentle floral taste. This is more of a creamy experience.

Here’s my full-length review: http://sororiteasisters.com/2014/11/18/sweet-violet-tea-from-mks-tea-company/

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Today I needed a celebration tea and this is the one I use for just those occasions. This tea holds up over time and just makes me happy. I wish it was offered all year round because I find myself hoarding it. I love the cinnamon green roobios goji berry combination. It is like drinking or eating sweet cinnamon berry flavored honey. I love this tea and I am hoping that M&K bring it back this year along with their Pumpkin tea for the fall season.

Why do I need to celebrate? My boyfriend proposed to me last night! I am still incredibly shocked and crazy excited. If you want to read about it, check out the link below. Thank you for all that have already congratulated me. I’m still on Cloud Nine!

http://www.cuppageek.com/index.php/2015/08/01/so-today-the-exploding-kittens-game-arrived-and-now-we-are-engaged/

Nicole

Congrats!

Nichole/CuppaGeek

Thanks Nicole!

Sil

Woooohooo! Congrats! So awesome

Daylon R Thomas

That’s awesome! Congratulations!

ChariTea

Congratulations!!!

Teatotaler

Wishing you continued joy and happiness! :)

Mikumofu

Congratulations! :D

Shae

Congratulations!! This is so exciting!

Pattea

Congrats!!

Kristal

Congrats!!!

Nichole/CuppaGeek

Thank you everybody! I appreciate all the congrats and kind words. I’m still reeling from all of this! :)

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If you haven’t tried this company, you need to. It is amazing! Their customer service is great and their packaging is awesome. They even included handwritten post cards with each purchase. Super cute. But their tea is amazing! This one especially. It tastes like heaven in a cup. I’m not a fan of strong cinnamon teas but the cinnamon is delicious in this one with a very smooth green rooibos base and just a hint of butterscotch. I begged them not to make this a holiday tea so now I’m currently hoarding a bag of it. I was able to get about 5 infusions out of my first trial. I’ve tried about 10 of their teas and this one is my favorite but they’ve all been delicious. I will be so sad if they do not bring this one back.

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100

So, before I get into the tea review, I want to take a minute to thank everyone who reads my ramblings! It has been an awesome year, and I greatly look forward to another year full of tea! I should warn you all that there is a slight chance that this will be my last post until the first of the year. Ben will be swooping in tomorrow night and having a brief visit before we take an epic (though not as pretty as the one mom and I had this fall) road trip back home. So I hope you all forgive me for wanting to spend the last few days in PA focused on packing up, re-acquainting myself with my long missed boyfriend, and having many tear-filled goodbyes with my mom. If I find time I might blog, if not, have an excellent rest of December!

Today is the last of the Christmas teas (actually no, I have a few stashed away in my notebook for a July Christmas or something along those lines) and I am not going to lie, I saved my favorite for last. M&K’s Tea Company’s Winterwolf (which is an awesome name, fun fact, when I was in my ‘Japanese obsession phase’ in my late teens, I went by Masshirona Okami, yeah I was a dork) is a blend of Wolfberries (also known as the beloved Goji Berries) roasted in honey, Green Rooibos, Vietnamese Cinnamon, and Natural Butterscotch flavor. The aroma of this tea is yum, I had a very hard time not eating the goji berries, seriously, I love those things so much! It is a blend of warm cinnamon, butterscotch, honey, sweet freshly mown hay, and of course goji berries. I love their sweet and slightly tart aroma oddly they remind of the sweet aspect of tomatoes, I know that sounds a little odd, but they have that quality to me.

So, with great self control, I did not eat the gojis and placed the tea into my steeping basket and let it soak. After a few moments I noticed something awesome…the aroma coming out of my cup is egg custard pie. That is, hands down, probably my favorite dessert ever. I seriously did a double take when I sniffed it, and then did a little happy dance in my chair because yum! There is of course goji berries as well, and now I am tempted to add them to egg custard next time I make it. The liquid is spices, goji berries, egg custard goodness, and a bit of sweet hay that almost gives it a crust-like aroma.

So, now that the tea has steeped, I am eating the goji berries. It is a good way to pass the time while waiting for the tea to cool, anytime teas have little nibble bits in them and I am not expecting a resteep I tend to eat the bits, but I also do that on the last steep of green teas too. So, the time of truth, the time of tasting…and HOLY BUTTERSCOTCH CUSTARD PIE, Batman!! Holy Mary Mother of Mudkips, seriously! I want to create smellovision and instant ‘taste things through the screen’ because oh my that is yummy. It tastes like warm egg custard pie, the good kind that has cinnamon dusted on the top and the sugar on the top layer has caramelized. There is definitely a hint of crust in there as well, and of course, the beloved goji berries add their sweet berry goodness to the tea. I really love the wolfberries because they do not have an overpowering flavor, they are sweet and very juicy with an almost floral taste, and they are wonderful at imparting this into the teas they are blended with. So yeah, this was definitely my favorite of the holiday teas, it might not scream ‘Christmas’ but it makes me feel immensely happy, and really, isn’t that what the holidays are about? Now, I need to use my Christmas money to buy a big ol’ thing of this tea, I do not need to run out of it!

For photos and blog: http://ramblingbutterflythoughts.blogspot.com/2014/12/m-tea-company-winterwolf-tea-review.html

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91

I can feel the holidays closing in on me like a tinsel laden noose. With that in mind I spent the day being an utter lump yesterday since I knew that starting today it was back on full tilt until Christmas. Really, I wish the holidays were less stressful and busy, I would like to actually enjoy them, but nope. So starting next year I am inventing my own holiday in hopes that maybe it will be a little more relaxed. Happy very early Snowliday!

Today’s holiday themed tea in my attempt at nothing but Christmas teas until the 25th (wish me luck!) is Mintberry Pine from M&K’s Tea Company. A blend of Sloe berries roasted in honey and hibiscus, Malawian, Japanese, and Chinese Green Teas, Pine Needles and Bark, Spearmint, Peppermint Extract, Natural Blueberry Flavoring, and Natural Cranberry Flavoring, I admit the mention of pine in the ingredients is what really excited me since I get super hype whenever I see anything woodsy in flavor notes. The aroma is pretty great, a blend of pine trees, mellow mint, and vegetal greens make up the majority of the sniffing notes, but at the finish there is also a nice bit of tart berry and a touch of honey. I like that the mint does not overshadow everything and that you can definitely smell the pine, it is like a minty Christmas tree!

The nicely steeped leaves (and needles and berries) starts off with pine, moves right to mellow mintiness, and again, finishes with tart berries and honey. It is a funky aroma, blending winter with its cooling mint and pine along with spring and its vegetal green and berries, more last snowfall than solstice, but I am a nut when it comes to mental images I get when sniffing/tasting things. The aroma of the liquid switched the order around on the notes, starting off with tart and equally sweet berries, I have never had sloe berries so I am unable to really compare it to anything, it is like a blend of blueberries and juniper. Though apparently giving a quick look on the oh so useful Wikipedia, they share a ‘pick after first frost or will be tart, bitter, death’ with persimmons, so that is neat. The more you know…Anyway, next we get a nice cooling bit of slightly sweet mint and then the beloved pine aroma.

So, tasting time! The tea starts out with cooling mint, it is not super mint gum or toothpaste, it is mellow and has a distinct vegetation undertone which is probably the green tea, but mint can taste a lot like herbal vegetation when it is fresh. I used to spend a lot of time eating fresh mint and drinking mint tea as a kid, ah those were the days. I also used to chew on pine needles because I was a weird kid, I had this thing where I felt I didn’t really understand a thing until I thoroughly sniffed and tasted it, probably why I do not understand a lot of poisonous plants, but yeah, pine was always my favorite thing to gnaw on. Luckily the next flavor note to pop up is the aforementioned pine, it is resinous, slightly sweet, and well…piney! After that we move onto the berries, a nice tart and sweet blend of blueberries and something else, which I believe is sloe berries, again trying to describe it is hard because it is a unique new taste. It is a blend of slightly unripe plum, blueberries, tartness, and juniper, I like its unique taste and would like to get my hand on some to try on their own. The green tea base is present throughout the tea, it does not have any real distinctness and adds an underlying greenness to the whole sipping process, this is a great winter evening kinda tea, to sip while staring out the window hoping for snow.

For blog and photos: http://ramblingbutterflythoughts.blogspot.com/2014/12/m-tea-company-mintberry-pine-tea-review.html

Nichole/CuppaGeek I love their teas!! Winterwolf is my favorite!
TeaNecromancer

Oooh it is mine too :P I am hoping to have that one on the blog either on the Eve or Christmas, crazy schedule preventing of course ;)

I also hope to get myself more than just a sample! So good!

Nichole/CuppaGeek

Oh I snagged a big bag! Love this company!

TeaNecromancer

Hehe, lucky you! Money was a bit tight so I was only able to get a 5-for $5 sampler. I have done that several times and found many teas I plan on getting big bags of, so many good teas!

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100

Today was the perfect day for tea, the real epitome of autumns in the Appalachian mountains (ok, valley between the Blue Mountain and South Mountain Ridges.) It has been chilly with alternating rounds fog and rain, the sky has been dark, and I definitely broke out my fuzzy coral colored sweater. It clashes pretty badly with my teal hair, which of course makes me love it all the more. The only thing that would have made it better would have been having my cats around to snuggle with, but exposing my mom to new and exciting teas was equally enjoyable.

Since today was the epitome of autumn, I decided to review a tea that makes me think of autumn every time I drink it, and not just because it looks like a pile of leaves I pulled out of the backyard! M&K’s Tea Company presents Organic Kyobancha, from the Nakai Seichajo Tea Farm, Wazuko, Kyoto, Japan. This bancha is a favorite of mine, named for its place of production (or Harubancha for spring time) it is created by leaving the tea leaves on the plant all winter and then plucking them in spring and giving them a good roasted. It is low in caffeine, meaning I love drinking it before I got to sleep or on days I feel really icky, it is a feel good tea. The aroma is so perfect for this time of year, it is roasted and sweet, there is a hint of smoke, a bit of leaf loam and autumn leaf pile, and possibly my favorite note; marshmallows. Yeah, this tea smells like roasting marshmallows, making it the sweetest of the two Kyobancha I have experienced so far. My sweet-tooth is excited.

I could have brewed this in my new (vintage) Kyusu, but I really wanted to try out the gaiwan I got for my birthday because it looked like it would make a perfect Houhin! The brewed leaves are quite rich and nicely roasted, it reminds me of the aroma of distant bonfires on an autumn evening, there is also a bit of loam and marshmallow sweetness. The liquid, oh wow, it is super sweet! It smells just like toasted marshmallow and toasted bread, maybe even a marshmallow on toast!

So, my plan of using this gaiwan as a Houhin works perfectly, so yay! The taste is WONDERFUL! It is quite different from the other Kyobancha I have had, that one had mild sweetness but it was much more roasted almost to the point of savory. This one however is delightfully sweet, it tastes just like a fire roasted marshmallow, with a rich note of toasted tea and dried autumn leaves (not the wet taste of loam.) The mouthfeel is very smooth and well rounded, it goes down so easily…I find I need to make a whole pot of this tea because I enjoy it that much.

The second steep is much milder, both in taste and aroma, even though it is milder it is still quite enjoyable. The smoke notes are entirely gone, replaced with toasted tea and marshmallow. The taste is pretty much identical to the smell, which is always entertaining! I really enjoy the sweetness in this tea, naturally sweet teas are delightful, plus it being so evocative of autumn makes me happy, especially on those days when I am longing for autumn.

For photos and blog: http://ramblingbutterflythoughts.blogspot.com/2014/11/m-tea-company-organic-kyobancha-tea.html

Flavors: Autumn Leaf Pile, Loam, Marshmallow, Smoke, Toasty

Shae

This sounds really wonderful! You had me at roasted marshmallows. ;)

TeaNecromancer

Hehe, yeah, I was pretty much lost in this tea when it hit the roasted marshmallows

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75

Happy My Favorite Holiday, everyone! All the really fun Halloween themed stuff happened yesterday, so today I am just chilling and listening to music, and of course waiting for tomorrow when the candy goes on sale. Actually my breakfast was really scary this morning, it is getting close to grocery shopping time, so I improvised a meal of mustard covered sardines and a can of beanie weenies…yeah, it was nasty-good. Pennsylvania having a different day for ‘Halloween’ than actual Halloween will always throw my groove of, how am I supposed to go ghost hunting if they were all out yesterday?

You know what the scariest part of Halloween really is, the amount of time I spend searching out the perfect tea to review for the event. So many pumpkin themed teas out there, and honestly I don’t really like most of them because they lack a crucial gourdish element. Imagine my squee of glee when I saw M&K’s Tea Company’s Pumpkin Patch Spice, it has that most excellent element I was so missing. An herbal tea, it is a blend of: Butternut Squash (I totally had that for dinner last night actually), Green Rooibos, Pumpkin Seeds, Cloves, Chinese Cinnamon, Alfalfa, Honey, Pumpkin Powder, Vanilla Extract, and Natural Pumpkin Pie Flavor Blend, quite the impressive list of ingredients. Before I get into the tea itself, I have to say I find the packaging used by this company to be awesome, it is eye-catching and full of useful information, I love when labels are loaded with details. Ok, ghosts and ghouls, it is time for tea analysis, so get out your best costume noses! The aroma of the dry leaves is, well, it is pretty great, you can definitely smell the pumpkin and squash, along with the sweetness of honey and richness of spices, there is also a slightly nutty aroma making me think of crust. Don’t mind me, I am just going to drool a little thinking of pumpkin pie, because wow, this tea makes me think of it.

Time for steeping! Since it is an herbal tea I have a few minutes to kill (currently working on a very silly playlist describing one of my RPG character’s romantic angst) but the aroma wafting up is killing me, so good! The wet leaves smell like cooked pumpkin and squash, lots of spices and a touch of sweetness, it reminds me a little of the way I eat cooked butternut squash, just a hint of spices and a bit of maple syrup. The liquid is quite spicy and sweet, there is of course the aroma of cooked pumpkin and squash and just a hint of greenness at the finish.

Tasting time was fun, I shared a cup with everyone in the house and we sat and watched some Youtube weirdness while sipping. I will start by saying this is the best Pumpkin themed tea I have had, hands down, it is not perfection (I have a very distinct idea in my head, oddly enough, something I do not usually do) but really close to it. The taste is great, the squash and pumpkin have a real presence, I feel very much so like I am drinking Pumpkin Juice (yes from Harry Potter) it is not overwhelmingly sweet, just the right amount of a honey taste. The spices are really well balanced, not overwhelming and none of the mouth burning belly ache that I get from overly cinnamoned teas, so that was a love. The only thing this tea was missing was foundation, it is very gentle at the midtaste and I wish it had a little more body. I found myself thinking that maybe a little rooibos (the red more so than the green) or even a bit of a roasted green tea would give that rounding out that I crave. It was a small thing, but since I am on the perpetual quest for the perfect pumpkin tea, I feel a bit ok being super picky. I feel this would be a great tea to sip when getting over an illness or right before bed, or maybe even to accompany a piece of pie?

For blog and photos: http://ramblingbutterflythoughts.blogspot.com/2014/10/m-tea-company-pumpkin-patch-spice-tea.html

Flavors: Butternut Squash, Cinnamon, Clove, Pumpkin, Spices

Preparation
Boiling 4 min, 45 sec
Tealizzy

Yum! It is really hard to find the perfect pumpkin tea!

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