Tealicious Tea Company

It’s strawberries and cream, but some of the bitterness from the tea makes it smell like strawberries and dark chocolate.

I steeped this too long the first time (five minutes, whoop). I was told it was a black tea, and the leaves look it (being a purple tea…), but once you steep it, the leaves turn green.

Steeped at three minutes, and still a bit strong. Will probably cool down the water next time. It’s strawberries, cream and a slightly oversteeped green tea. Getting steamed vegetables and a bit of roast. There’s a hint of cream in some sips, and lingering strawberry.

The aroma’s strong dry, but still there when brewed. Actually carries over into the taste quite well. The sweetness of the honeybush goes very well with that sort of sticky sweet taste of the apricot and peach.

This was the last of the three samples I was given for my Battle of the Earl Greys project. Like the others, it won’t be listed on their website until the release of the new fall lineup in October, so I had to make some inferences about it and how to prepare it.

Overall, it’s a pretty good Earl Grey. The black teas and bergamot are nicely balanced, but some floral elements (cornflower and rose, I think) have been added and they make themselves known in the aftertaste. The astringency is surprisingly potent when compared to how mild the tea is in general, but a nice dash of milk evens it out.

The biggest surprise with this tea was how well it re-steeped. The second cup tasted nearly identical to the first, with the bonus of reduced astringency. I have enough left for one more cup, and when I make it I will definitely re-steep it.

You can read my full review here:
http://wordsabouttea.blogspot.com/2013/08/queen-victorias-earl-grey-by-tealicious.html

I kind of forgot about this tea because I found out my apartment complex wants to raise my rent 7.5% and it’s already teetering on way too much. I’m hoping I can talk them down…

So because it’s also sort of shark week time I am so upset about this and I just want to freak out even though it’s not THAT big of a deal in the grand scheme of things I just really love it here and the people in the office like me and I just even if it just was just half of that increase I’d stop freaking out. So of course now I feel like I HAVE to go there tomorrow when I really need to wait a few days and not cry while doing it.

Anyway. Tea. This is one of the better maple flavored teas I’ve had, it doesn’t taste grossly fake at all.

I am drinking it cold because to calm myself down I went and made some new lip balm. I got a few sips in while it was hot and it was definitely more mapley then with a hint of vanilla. Cold it’s just black tea until the very end when it’s like maple syrup going right down your throat. I wish I hadn’t let it go to waste cold!

Thanks, Autumn Hearth, for the sample!

Many thanks to LiberTEAS for coordinating the 12 Days of Christmas swap and sending three wonderful teas for the third day! Yesterday was busy, busy, busy for me. My boys and I picked up sister one and her husband to go meet sister two and her family an hour away at their city’s annual Christkindle/Christmas Market. They used to have lots of vendors with booths from their sister city in Germany, but they’ve scaled back in the last two or three years and there were only two booths from Germany and half a dozen others with local artists, vendors and baked goods.

We were hoping to find a Christmas pyramid for sister two’s husband but were disappointed (luckily I had found one online that she liked and I ordered it late last night and I got notification that it shipped this morning from PA, so should be here in plenty of time). Funny side story about that, apparently in my tired state I enter my maiden name for shipping an billing, but I believe my correct name for the credit card. Sigh.

We had a very nice time taking part in the kids activities. We went for a “train” ride (really a tram/tractor with nice cars) the conductor was wild, doing donuts on the paths along the lock and Rowan, his cousins and even mom and dad were smiling and laughing. They also had a “toboggan” chute, plastic slides that could seat three, down three soapy slides. The boys also had fun playing with marbles inside the museum at the lock (featuring Akron made toys, ceramic, tires, blimps and other industries). I also had a really nice local lager, dark sweet and tasty!

Then we went out to eat at an “Irish” sports bar called Barley House. We bit disappointed with that one, but twas good company. I drove everyone home and as it got dark everyone in the car but me fell asleep, I dropped off sister one and her husband and they took a half an hour nap. Stopped home for the husband to use the bathroom, grab some things for Rowan (he stayed asleep in the car with the door cracked open and brew this tea which I really should have had for breakfast, but I was feeling odd and dehydrated when I woke up,perhaps from matcha overload.

This is a very nice blend, not as mapley as I would have thought but well balanced, smooth with a nice sweetness and it didn’t get astringent. I steeped it a second time and offered a sip to my husband who then asked if it was marshmallow flavored, he loves marshmallows, me not so much, but luckily I didn’t make the association ;)

Then it was off to see The Hobbit, which I had some issues with but was overall good. I may write a review after we see it in 3D but I don’t think this is the place for it. I’ve rambled enough in this note anyway!

It’s getting more and more difficult to decide between the different teas in the Battle of the Earl Greys, but now we only have six face/offs left!

This was a very close one, but in the end, there can be only one ;)

http://wordsabouttea.blogspot.com/2013/10/victorian-earl-grey-by-simpson-vail-vs.html

Jake and I just had a wonderful time comparing this tea to Adagio’s Earl Grey Bravo. It was a bit of a close bout at first, before this one came out in front! It needs to settle a bit, but when it does the quality and enjoyment just skyrocket!

You can read the re-cap here:
http://wordsabouttea.blogspot.com/2013/08/earl-grey-bravo-by-adagio-vs-organic.html

I was given a sample of this tea to review, but because it’s part of the new fall line-up, it won’t be on their website until October. I do hope they add it a little early, because I would love to get more of it both for moving forward in the Battle of the Earl Greys on my blog and to just sit back and enjoy.

This is a surprisingly well-balanced and enjoyable Earl Grey, and I was very tempted to just find a comfy place to curl up with a book and enjoy it. The bergamot was strong enough to give it the distinctive Earl Grey flavor profile, but mild enough that it was sweet and lacked any astringency. No dry mouth with this one!

Unfortunately, I have to preserve the rest of the sample for the next round, but it did re-steep well, which also holds it apart from many Earl Greys.

You can read the full review at:
http://wordsabouttea.blogspot.com/2013/06/organic-earl-grey-by-tealicious.html

Mmm maple! Thank you Liberteas for this 3rd tea for the third day of Christmas! I’m really craving pancakes after trying this tea…seriously I want to pour it on my pancakes it tastes so yummy. I’m just going to go have a moment with my tea over there for a moment…

As usual, I am a day late on my tasting for the 12 days of Christmas swap! This is one of the 3 Day 3 teas from Liberteas, sadly the only one I’ve had a chance to try thus far. It’s been a busy week—my boyfriend is in the hospital so much of my time has been spend traveling & visiting. I actually brought Day 4 with me today but the water they gave me was icky and tasted like coffee :/ So I am going to cold brew it and the French Vanilla from Day 3 to bring to him tomorrow.

Anyway, this tea! I love maple and this is scrumptious. It’s not a heavy, rich maple but quite light without losing that inherent maple texture. It’s not quite as maple-y as the Tea Guys blend so it’s quite nice for an afternoon tea, not something that has to be relegated to dessert status. It’s a bit malty too with some caramel notes, perhaps a hint of vanilla? Nicely complex, especially given how overwhelming maple can be!

one tea of 3 from Day 3 of The 12 Days of Christmas
Mapley oh maple… Canadian at that.

This is yummy! Freakin love this. It’s so mapley good. I accidentally over steeped it & had to add a bit of milk. But it was still sooooo delicious.

pic
http://instagr.am/p/TTZ_9EMGar/

SIPDOWN! On the plus side, if i ever want to revisit this tea, they’re here in Toronto. Bumped the rating up a bit since this steep seems to have worked out better than the last. This is a pretty tasty maple tea. I’m looking forward to seeing how it compares with another maple tea i picked up yesterday. hmmm…

on a side note…so much tea drinking this morning! i love it! Not only that, all my tea is spread out across my dining room table so that I can get organised and see it all at once. Sooo great!

Thank you to LiberTeas for tea #2 of day three of the 12 days of Christmas Swap! This is really tasty! The maple in this is really nice and not artificial at all. This is so delicious!

Thank you to LiberTeas for day three of the 12 days of Christmas Swap! This was only one of the three teas given. What a lovely tea! At first sip it reminded me of Della Terra’s 8 Candles and while its not exactly the same IF Della Terra should no longer offer 8 Candles after the holidays it may just be my substitute! The aroma is spot on for it!
It has a malty yet marshmallow like flavor.
Maple, vanilla, notes, VERY good!
Thank you again LiberTeas and what a cute way to package your teas for your day!

Chai Time! Now that autumn is officially here for me – it’s wet and cold outside, which means it’s the perfect time for warm, spicy chai inside.

This is a really nice chai. The black tea base is a little weak if it were to be compared to some chai blends that I’ve tried, but, the combination of spices makes up for it. I love the vanilla here, it negates the need to add milk to make this a latte, it’s sort of like a built-in latte without milk. And I think that milk here might weaken the flavors a bit rather than enhance them. But it’s all good because that vanilla is giving this the latte-ish kind of taste that I want.

The spices are nicely blended. The cinnamon, ginger, and pepper are balanced out with the cardamom and cloves and anise. The anise gives a hint of licorice-y flavor that melds together into the unified spice tones … it doesn’t taste “licorice-y” although I can taste the note there. I like the way it all comes together.

Very enjoyable.

Liberteas Thanks for this one, too!

I must say I did like this one but the flavors flip-flopped for me a bit based on Liberteas review. I could pick up on way more Lavender in this and the bergamot wasn’t as strong for me. Regardless it was still enjoyable! I’m sure glad I got to try this one!

PS
At I type this and the tea has had time to cool at room temp for a bit – I can taste the bergamot more towards the end of the sip on to the after taste. I do like this finish!

Neat tea!

Backlogging and SIPDOWN. I will miss this one! Fine Morning tea!

Great afternoon pick-me-up in the form of a black tea! YAY! See previous notes :)

I’m having a cup of this now…see previous notes for a lengthier review and tasting notes. I didn’t have my water hot enough but it’s still tasty…just a bit on the lighter-side

Upping the rating a bit…it sure did hit the spot this morning :)
YUMMO~

Special Thanks to Liberteas for this one!

I started my day with this one (well, after a Chai Latte from a local Coffee Shop, that is) and it was pretty good! It was bolder than I thought it would be. It’s lighter on the EG Flavors with a strong floral taste and rich black base. The citrus and EG is present but a bit mellower than most.

I like this!

This smells MOSTLY of Mango and Rooibos.

The taste is pleasing enough but not overly flavorful for as many ingredients as it has in it. I can mostly taste the Rooibos. It’s sweet with a hint of various tropical fruits. It’s not bad but it really doesn’t stand out either.

Thanks to Liberteas for this one!

The aroma lives up to the name – Apple, Pear, Tulsi – primary scents, here.

The taste is a bit different…

I can taste Tulsi, Rooibos, various floral notes, a combo of tropical fruits, a rooibos/tulsi combo again, a little apple and I’m sure the pear is in there but I’m not sure where.

At first I wasn’t crazy about the flavor combo but as it cools and as I sip more – it’s growing on me a bit. It’s not too shabby!

I think the best temperature to sip this is about 3 to 5 minutes after your infusion is complete…somewhere between hot and luke warm – closer to hot tho.

Thanks to LiberTEAs for this one, too!

Prior to infusion this smells AWESOMELY Apricot and Peach! Amazing Aroma!

It ‘brews up’ pretty dark brown and the aroma fades a little post infusion but is still nice!

This is a decent flavored Honeybush! Sweet, Fruity, but more importantly natural tasting! The after taste is pleasant.

Two thumbs up!