Nina's Paris

The minute I opened the sample, I knew this one would be good. Sometimes you just have that feeling. Je t’aime had this almost custard-like vanilla and caramel type smell. It was almost overpowering in the best way possible.

I was pleasantly surprised by how well that amazing dry tea translated into a delicious cup of tea. The vanilla and caramel didn’t weaken all that much and was pleasantly creamy not cloying and over-sweet. I also love this black base quite a lot. It’s sort of smoky and has a bit of astringency to it. The sweetness of the vanilla and caramel and the kick of the base play very well together—in harmony if you will. The only negative I have, is that this tea is pretty much a one shot deal. The resteep was too weak and I just tossed it. But based on how amazing this one was on the first steep, the lack of resteep-ability can be overlooked.

Thanks to Laurent for the sample.

This is the second of the samples I received from Laurent of Nina’s. Since I tend to bounce off the walls half the night if I have too much caffeine, I’m always interested in new caffeine-free alternatives.

This packet was labeled “Bélier”, and when I couldn’t find that on the website I emailed Laurent, who told me it was this blend. I was a little surprised, because it smells more like a fruity caramel to me and lacks the colorful petals, but that may be due to the small sample size.

I used two teaspoons of tea in my 16oz infuser mug and added my usual tablespoon of raw sugar. I wanted to make sure I didn’t over-steep, so I paused at six minutes. It was still a little light, so I went the full eight.

Now that it’s steeped, I’m having an easier time picking out the cherry. I guess I was expecting something more… potent, since the last cherry tea I tried tasted like cough syrup. This is wonderfully light and fresh. It’s just slightly woodsy and pleasantly sweet, and it makes me think about the tiny chips of wood that would fall from grandpa’s carving knife, and how wonderful it was when he taught me to whittle too.

Overall, this was pretty enjoyable – and even more so because I can have it without going into super-hyper mode!

Thank you so much, Laurent of Nina’s, for giving me the opportunity to try this tea!

When I smelled the dry blend, my senses were overwhelmed with peach. The summer sun outside seems like a wonderful counterpoint, and I couldn’t wait to make it up. I used my 16oz infuser mug and added 2 teaspoons of tea with my customary tablespoon of raw sugar.

Because some of the other people who’ve written about this said they had better luck with a two minute steep, I briefly paused there. After a tentative sip, I decided to go for the full three minute steep and I’m glad I did. The first sip had been a very light fruity flavor, but now it tastes like its come into its own.

I still taste the fruit blend, especially the peach, but now it’s much stronger and the strawberry and cherry appear in the aftertaste. I can’t pick out the blood orange, but when my husband stole a sip he told me he could identify it in the aftertaste.

This tastes wonderfully summery, and perfect for a day like today. Out of curiosity, I’m going to put the rest of my cup into the refrigerator to chill, and I’ll let you know how that goes.

Update: When this is chilled, the cherry picks up speed and actually comes close to the prominence of the peach. It’s tasty, but I think I prefer it hot. For now, I’m going to go cut up some fruit, because this has me craving the real thing!

First, thanks to Nina’s for the sample!

My first thought after sipping this tea was, “Confound it, cat, would you QUIT scratching the doorpost? I have to sand and repaint!” My second thought was, “This reminds me of Marco Polo and Tower of London a little bit.”

Further thoughts confirmed that this is a little bit like an Everlasting Gobstopper—give it a few moments, and you’ll catch something else. What I took for lemon after it cooled was the orange; now that it’s nearly gone, there’s the cherry. Good cherry, not cough syrup. Lots of wonderful and subtly sneaky flavor changes.

I suspect this would be nice chilled, too, if the cold temp doesn’t completely overpower all the gentle fruitiness. Fruit tea fans should give this a try, for sure.

Much as I have tried to make it so, this is not a whap-you-in-the face fruity tea. However, it is an excellent, subtle tea with multiple delicate fruit flavors and a luscious scent. Let it be what it is and you will enjoy what you have.

First, many thanks to the really friendly people at Nina’s Paris for the cute Emily Littella sample bags (itsy, bitsy, teeny, weeny, tiny). Just perfect for two teaspoonsful.

After reading the description and other reviews, I expected a full frontal Froot Loops assault. Also, based on other reviews, I kept steep time short (2 minutes with another minute-ish re-dump after deciding it wasn’t done yet).

Needed more. I’m getting fruity, especially a wonderfully natural-tasting cherry (so many cherry teas taste like candy flavorings), but it’s very pale and subtle. In this case, the sample size may work against it—not enough to get a good scoop of all the “goodies.” The tea base is good; smooth.

Just enough for one more cup, in which we’ll go longer and stronger in a smaller cup. This has the potential to be superb, just wish I’d had more to play with. (Then again—that’s the point of a sample, eh? To interest you enough to want repeats!)

It is unfortunate that I am the first one to review this tea. I really do not like rooibos! I did try it anyway, and I can appreciate the black tea in this blend, and the vanilla/orange flavor, but that is about it. I think a rooibos lover might really dig this tea.

Sorry Laurent! Thanks for the samples though :)

First time to cold steep in the fridge—apple, apple, apple; happy, happy, happy. (Oh, and there’s a little rose in there, too.)

Our friend ashmanra advises that this is chameleon tea: three minutes for rose with apple; four for apple with rose. Opted for the latter. Very Granny Smith; very refreshing. As I was rocking and sipping (watching Tazo the Therapy Cat conduct his morning grooming routine), the thought came that this would be tasty sweetened. I’m not usually a sweetener…but the week’s been full of sour grapes. Maybe that’s why ;)

After my quiet cup of tea, which was Magicienne by Nina’s, I went outside to do a tiny bit of work on the new fence we are putting up. I didn’t stay out long because it is hot and humid and buggy out there! I am tired of Mosquitos!

When I came back in, I thought it was the perfect time for a cup of my sample from Nina’s. Summertime is the perfect time for mint teas to me. The mint is so refreshing, even when you serve it hot! But I have not been a huge fan thus far of straight mint tisanes.

Fortunately, this is nice and minty but you can still taste the green tea. I didn’t look at any special directions. I just prepared it as I do most green teas – 175F water for three minutes. This does not taste smoky to me. I know some people mention Moroccan Mint style teas being smoky, but I didn’t pick up on that. The green base is dominant, or at least as strong as the mint. I felt like the mint came out a little more as the tea cooled, but it still didn’t overpower the green base and make you feel like you had a herbal tisane.

I believe I detect spearmint in this, although it could be Egyptian mint, which I have never had separately from spearmint so I don’t think I could identify it on its own. I had that Wrigley’s taste, so I am pretty sure it was spearmint!

This was refreshing and cooling. I didn’t try it iced or sweetened yet, but I bet it would be good both ways!

Thank you, Nina’s, for the sample!

ETA: Nina’s has offered to send samples to reviewers, so if you haven’t tried them yet, please do! They have some excellent teas!

Welcome to Sipdown Central
This was a sample sent from Nina’s.
I used to drink alot of Moroccan Mint over ice, especially during gigs. It’s very refreshing!
Today I chose to drink this hot. I had the first cup plain, then I tosses a few fragrant Rose Buds (Frontier) into the pot, ala My Friend Rashad’s comments, & that was tasty too. It very much reminded me of an herbal tea from back in my Hippy Days, “Nuclear Casual Tea”.
I’m not always a fan of mint in my tea, although I enjoy it in my salads.
Thanks to Laurent for this sample.
This is a Sipdown, bringing me back down to 300 teas!

This is my favorite Earl Grey, at least back when it had a Keemun base. They changed it to a Ceylon base, which KS loves, but I prefer this one, the Keemun. I have been hoarding it since I know I can’t get it anymore.

I was proud of myself for getting my cupboard down to 123…and then found a bunch of tea I hadn’t added. And my samples are not included in that. Ah well, first world problems.

I had my morning oatmeal, – home rolled, not that nasty stuff from the store – and after breakfast shared a pot of tea with youngest as we read aloud together. I LOVE reading books aloud together. We are reading the Barker and Llewelyn series that GMathis recommended.

The Keemun base sets off bergamot so much better to me. Lemony Ceylon plus sour citrus? No! Ah, but the deep and dusky cocoa tongue-scraping Keemun with a little bergamot floating above…nice.

After which I went outside and tore down half a chicken coop and remade it, chased chicks, skinned my knuckle, and came the closest I have ever been to full on heat exhaustion, resulting in a short stay on the cold bathroom tile floor drinking water and waiting for the nausea to pass so I could cool off enough to go out and finish the pen. By then, I didn’t care if those little chicks live or die. If they don’t appreciate my labor and near death enough to stay inside the bloody coop, then they deserve to get eaten. (No, I don’t really mean it. But I felt really really bad. Heat index over 100F.)

A friend saw my post on Facebook that I had new samples and she was so excited. She wanted to come try them as soon as possible, so we got together yesterday and she tried Mon Secret. She loved it, and said she will probably order it with her next batch of teas from Nina’s.

She wanted to provide some tea as well so she brought her tin of Earl Grey. It has been about a year since I have had it, but my opinion is unchanged. This is one of the best, if not THE best, Earl Grey I have had. I love Keemun tea and it makes a wonderful base for this amazing bergamot. Some teas with bergamot just taste like bathroom cleaner to me. This tastes like elegance.

Did anyone see the recent medical study completed in Britain that confirms that bergamot is good for raising good cholesterol and lowering bad? Sounds like a good excuse to drink more tea to me!

Tea was served with whole wheat toast slathered in honey mixed with coconut oil and sprinkled with Penzey’s Vietnamese cinnamon, goat cheese and crackers, and chocolates!

My sample was enough to make about 16 ounces of tea on the first steep. I drank eight ounces of it hot and plain. It was one of the best Earl Grey teas I have tried. I added some simple syrup and put it in the refrigerator to chill.

For my “dessert” tonight, I poured the cold sweet tea into my Zoku slush and shake maker. It. Was. Heavenly. The bergamot in this is so nice that instead of getting a mouthful of cologne (which is how some EG makes me feel) I enjoyed a fruity treat with lots of tea flavor.

My friend who had ordered Earl Grey dropped by and I found out that she has only tried the sample so far, as her order has not yet arrived. She loved her sample though! Of the five samples I just received, two are teas that I already own a tin of and have already reviewed, so I passed them on for her to taste!

Earl Grey lovers, this is a very nice tea with pure, natural tasting bergamot and best of all, a great tea base that isn’t covered up by the flavoring! And it is awesome frozen, so if you make tea pops or tea ice, it is a great summer tea!

This is a sample provided by “Nina’s Tea” for review.

I had encouraged a friend of mine to order some samples from Nina’s back when the first offer went out. She did, and she ended placing an order of her own, and this is what she wanted most. She and her daughter love Earl Grey and they couldn’t wait to try Nina’s version. And the when I was at her house last week I forgot to ask if we could try it! Argh! So I was happy to see it in my Nina’s samples that Laurent chose for me.

I steeped this not knowing anything about it but that it was Earl Grey, so….tea plus bergamot. I liked the aroma right away. This isn’t the kind of EG that assaults my nostrils and makes my nose burn. The bergamot is very present but it is a nice moderate level that doesn’t kick you in the face.

I was most happy about the tea base, though. The color deepened quickly on steeping, and the tea smelled smooth – not too strong, not astringent, but not disappearing under the bergamot, either. And it tastes great. When I looked up the tea I saw that the base is Keemun, a favorite of mine. No wonder I like it! This is not a strong, smokey Keemun whose roasty and chocolate notes scrape your tongue. (I like that in a plain or chocolate Keemun, by the way.) This Keemun carries the bergamot but then you are left with an aftertaste of just tea, and then little whiffs of light bergamot come back.

I have given away a lot of Earl Grey tea that I just couldn’t stomach because of poor base tea or bitter flavoring. This is one that I would be glad to keep on hand just in case Captain Picard ever drops in….

My samples from *Nina’s Tea" arrived today! If you missed it on Facebook, Laurent invited those who are pretty active on Steepster to request more samples as there are a number of teas which have never been reviewed. I received five two teaspoon samples today.

I chose this one to be my first from this batch because I wanted something caffeine free this evening. I have not been a huge fan of rooibos but I don’t despise it, either. I had one or two that were truly awful and some that were rather nice.

I tried this hot and with no additions first. I found it to have a very clean flavor, with the rooibos being a nicer cherry taste than some that I have had. The blood orange flavor is very nice and I would say the two flavors are evenly matched here – neither one drowns out the other. It really didnt need any sugar for me. It was sweet enough naturally.

I wanted to experiment with it a bit, too, so I chilled it and added a little sugar to try it as an iced tisane. This was very nice, and a refreshing change from the many hibiscus laden iced teas.

I took it one step further and put it in my Zoku Slush Maker. NICE! This made a great little slush and the cherry flavor of the rooibos seemed to lean more heavily toward real cherry flavor this way, mixing nicely with the blood orange. I think rooibos fans would really enjoy this, and it is a great summer drink iced!

Thank you, Laurent and Nina’s Teas!

I think the only time I’ve ever had a jasmine tea was when I went out for dim sum. It definitely goes well with dim sum. This tea smells heavenly. I enjoyed two steeps of it, the second of which was more enjoyable, since I didn’t oversteep it. It seems to like about a one minute steep. I think this is a tea I would like to have now and then. Would probably be delicious paired with a rice dish. Thanks for the sample, Nina’s Paris!!

I just enjoyed the sample of this tea that came with my Nina’s order. It smells amazing! Like piña colada, which is what I assume they were going for. I wasn’t sure about the steeping parameters since it didn’t come with any, and I don’t drink that much green tea, but it turned out pretty good at 176 degrees for 2 minutes. The taste is pretty light, but I definitely tasted some pineapple and maybe some creaminess from the coconut. Not overpowering flavor, but pleasant, delicate. I think I would consider getting more of this tea. It would probably be delicious iced, as long as it’s not oversteeped. Thanks, Nina’s, for the sample!! (Btw, I had this with a mango cupcake…great pairing!)

I learned something new with this tea. I love it when that happens. I thought gyokuro was a higher grade of sencha. It can be made of sencha but doesn’t have to be. What makes it gyokuro is that the tea bushes are covered for a few days prior to picking. This does some kind of mojo to the taste.

This is my first of this type tea. I have no idea if it is a good representation of gyokuro. I do know I really liked it. I used a cooler white tea type water temperature. Prepared this way it was not bitter. It was smooth, silky, not grassy, and I was happy to see Nina’s mentions in their description that there is a touch of the sea in the flavor. I picked that up before I read it. I love it when that happens.

We have been back “in school” for a week. I hurt my back AGAIN Saturday, an appraiser was coming to the house at 8:30 and youngest has an orthodontist appointment at 10:30. I really needed something special this morning. I wanted black tea but nothing too bold. I needed a little pampering.

Enter Pour Maman. It really is a great “Mama Soother.” The berry scent is so intoxicating, the black tea is tempered by the green, and it is really lovely. It must be. I just finished the whole pot and we are not yet nearly done with Algebra!

I tried new steeping parameters, mostly because I forgot how I made it before. I used 194F water for three minutes and it was super! I think this is a pretty forgiving tea, and even if you make it like a straight lack tea it just adds astringentency instead of becoming undrinkable. I like it best between 175F and 194F as I look through my notes. BUY SOME FOR YOUR MOTHER!

:D

I think I drank this every day while we were on vacation! Smelling the dry leaves is such a treat that you really must just do that for a while before you make this tea. The berry aroma is so fresh and natural.

I really prefer this tea made by green tea parameters. I tried it using hotter water and a slightly longer steep and it was good but my favorite way is 176F for three minutes. The black tea in the base beefs it up just a little bit without the green getting bitter. This is soooo good. Another big hit from Nina’s, I will be serving this for tea time Wednesday and I can’t wait to see how my guest likes it.

We are on vacation and my eldest daughter just joined us last night. She brought a Mother’s Day gift with her! How fitting is Pour Maman for Mother’s Day! After smelling it, though, I think it would also be perfect for a baby shower gift to a new mother, because the aroma is so sweet. The word “precious” comes to mind.

This is a blend of green and black tea, but I pampered it and treated it like a green all the way. What can I say? Oh la la! The aroma is like a warm blanket tucked around when you are chilly. The strawberry is the main fragrance, with vanilla and rose beneath. Absolutely wonderful.

I gave a sip or two to my daughter who does not care for black tea but likes some greens and she liked it very much. She also thought it would be great iced, so I may give that a try, but honestly, this is going in my stash of tea to drink when you want to wrap your hands around your cup and escape from the world. Magnifique!

Yeah! I finally get to drink some tea! Check out the picture of this one. It looks alien. It smells delicious. I sipped this hot, but the taste reminds me of a grown up shaved ice drink. I imagine this would be awesome iced with a little sugar. There are several different berry and citrus ingredients in this. I personally could only separate out the blueberry. It all blends so perfectly, maybe too perfectly? Nice lingering aftertaste. I sipped this slowly and enjoyed every sip.