Tearunners

greetings everyone. i hope you are staying safe and healthy during this pandemic. it’s scary, eh? (I’m a Canadian so I say eh, heh). i am grateful for my husband, even though he has to work during all of this, as i’m sure many others here do too, or have loved ones who are at work or caught up in travel bans, in hospital or home sick – hugs!),
i am grateful i have food and shelter and wish everyone could have both.
i am also grateful for a large supply of tea!
but sadly, this Irish Breakfast doesn’t really pass muster. it is too perfumy, acidic, lemony to taste like Irish Breakfast tea to me. it’s light. i like a darker, stronger taste alas. it’s the completely wrong taste for Irish Breakfast.

The second tea I tried from my tearunners subscription box. To me, this one had no flavor. I carefully prepared it according to instructions. As it cooled a faint bitter note emerged. I don’t know if the flavorless bit is just me and my stupid anosmic nose. It might be. This one certainly sounded good. I’m a bit disappointed in the two teas I’ve tried so far. And I don’t want to be! I will try this one again another time. I generally do not add sweetner to my tea, but maybe I will try that next time. I still have two straight black teas to try so I’m not giving up on TeaRunners. Since I paid in advance for 6 months I can’t give up yet ;) But I think I’ll try an old favorite later tonight.

i confess that i don’t really drink iced tea and i’ve brewed this one as hot tea . it’s a sunny and cold February afternoon on a Saturday. i live in a place where winter is a six-month-long affair. i see no point to iced tea now or most of the time. tea, for me, is meant to be hot and comforting whether in February or July in a/c. this is a very plain tasting tea and i’m good with that. it’s strong with a bit of an astringent aftertaste that brightens it.

‘Samurai’ Traveling Teabox – Tea #13
I don’t think I’ve ever had white pearls?  They’re smaller than black dragon pearls, but bigger than most rolled green teas.  The flavor is light and delicate, despite unraveling to quite a large amount of leaves.   The first steep wasn’t as flavorful as I’d like, but the second steep, oddly enough (this is the oddest tasting note ever) tasted like Necco candy hearts… maybe the lemon ones.  I don’t have any of those around despite it having just been Valentine’s Day.  But a very distinct and obvious flavor of lemon candy hearts.  It’s the weirdest thing.  Sweet, with hints of lemon.. I’m accustomed to some white teas occasionally tasting like lemon.  But I could swear there are melted candy hearts in this mug and it certainly didn’t taste like this in the first cup. The third cup was back to tasting like the first, like actual tea and not melted candy hearts, so I don’t know what magic happened with that second steep. I wish all of the steeps were like that.  Maybe with precise steeping parameters.  This is currently on sale, if anyone is interested.
Steep #1  // 1 teaspoon for full mug // 40 minutes after boiling  // 3 minute steep
Steep #2  // 22 minutes after boiling //  2 min
Steep #3 // 12 minutes after boiling // 2 min

after having returned from groceries this afternoon, i made myself a mug of this tea. the first taste and lingering taste is sweet cane sugar. the aroma is earthy when still unwatered and malty post brew. i forgot to reset my kettle from 100 to 93 C for this one. i’ll try it again at the right temperature. but right now, it isn’t doing much for me.

it’s another sunny cold morning in February. i’m drinking a mug before the arctic expedition to the grocery store. this tea has such a delicate flavour that i was going to write it off as bland, but as i let it cool, i notice a caramel taste that is quite pleasing. it is smooth, probably a good afternoon tea, if you don’t mind high caffeine. i might try steeping this longer next time to see if more of the flavour can be teased out.

this is an absolutely lovely tea. i’m drinking it post tai chi, post lunch on a cold and sunny February afternoon and it reminds me of summer. the first taste is sweet and blue/black berry ish and the lingering taste is pine. it’s a delicious blend. i suspect it would make a fine ice tea as well. i’ll let you know in july.

i adore this tea. it is silky, robust and tastes lovely with milk. there’s a hint of sweetness but not so much as to overwhelm the inherent Ceylonesqueness of it. if i didn’t have so many different teas to choose from, i can easily imagine drinking this as my regular tea. it’s perfect for mornings. it’s gentle but still strong.

the bergamot flavour is strong and the tea is quite sweet. it’s not the best earl grey i’ve ever had and it’s not the worst. it’s not a show stopper. at 4 mins steeping time it should be fine, but it has a slight bitter oaky aftertaste that i’m not sure goes with the spirit of earl grey

this tea is what i imagine a cello would sound like if played in the woods amidst a forest dense with trees, a little light coming through from the sun. it’s lovely. light yet a hint smoky, sweet yet solid. i think i’m in love with this tea. i haven’t felt this much love for a tea since my darlings Irish Breakfast and Lapsang Souchong. mmmmmm. here’s the sound the tea evokes for me: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cpE94_RoOro

a subtle and delicate tea that evokes a summer’s eve as the sun is just beginning to set. the floral taste is an undertone to the citrus and the sweetness. the citrus remains as a sustained note. while i don’t taste the lavender strongly, i can tell it’s there.

a silky smooth sweet and delicious tea that is good for breakfast or for later in the day

the best part of this tea for me is the aftertaste which is a tad fruity and sweet, with some astringency, making it bright in the mouth. perhaps i haven’t figured out the proper steeping time but aside from a hint of powdered cocoa taste, the tea tasted very much like straight hot water, except for its aftertaste

this is a robust tea with a light peach flavour and aroma. i don’t really taste any peach. i’m not particularly into ice tea, so i drink this hot with milk and it’s a satisfying afternoon tea on a cold first day of the new year.

a lovely comforting tea i’m drinking on xmas night. i added milk to it. sometimes i’ll add a half teaspoon or so of black tea to give this a bit more strength, but it’s fine on its own. the overwhelming flavour is cinnamon. a slightly astringent aftertaste. it is a creamy and delicious tea.

can also be served as an ice tea, but it’s December 24 and grey outside, so i prefer hot. it is a delicious reminder of summer. has a bright and light flavour. tasty with milk. a little on the astringent side, due to the rosehips, no doubt.

this tea is sweet with a delicate flavour. i find it a little sweet, but it’s robust with hints of darkness. sip this tea with your favourite cello composition playing in the background on a dark, early winter morning.

It’s time to put away the Birkenstocks and fire up the full spectrum lamp! FALL IN PENNSYLVANIA IS UPON US.

How am I celebrating my favorite season? Pumpkin spice, baby. Did you think I would rise above being basic? Fool. I am an ELDER. MILLENNIAL.

This is a mix that leans in hard on caramel. There’s not a whole lot of salty, and only a dash of pumpkin. No, this is mostly a soothing, sweet, creamy mix that tastes like candy and rich black tea.

If you haven’t hit the Pumpkin Spice Latte from Starbucks yet, this is a lovely alternative.

I drink this on a lazy Friday after staying at work late last night. This raisin-y, darjeeling-like oolong has notes of amber and spice and sweet, slow honey. It doesn’t have quite enough kick to get me going, but that’s what I get for choosing an oolong instead of a black/pu’erh/mate tea first thing. I didn’t notice, when I picked this one, that it said “medium” caffeine. MEDIUM? WHAT DO I LOOK LIKE — A QUITTER?!

Anyway.

It’s so weird when a straight tea tastes like another thing. Like, how? How do pure leaves taste like cinnamon and honey? What witchcraft are they performing?

I know that Jewel Staite (the owner of Tearunners) tends to be in shows with fantasy/sci-fi elements, so maybe she had some kind of magic hookup? MAYBE STARGATE WAS A DOCUMENTARY?

As the tea cools (maybe I got distracted by this review?), the piquant cinnamon flavor becomes even more pronounced. That’s pretty awesome. I don’t know the science (or even the appropriate spells). If anyone has a lead on that, please let me know.