The Tea Girl

Cold Brew!

Hate to say it, but I think every time I drink this tea I fall just a little bit out of love with it. The green tea was pretty strong in this brew and it just had that sort of lawn clipping-esque grassy note that is very hard for me personally. I also just felt like the lemonade and blue raspberry notes were a little lacking. Thin and just surface level sweet in that kind of fake-y way that stevia often comes across as. I just wanted more intensity in sweetness and acidity/tang.

Geek Steep S3E17 – Paper Girls (Graphic Novel)

Since this was my fandom pick, I knew exactly what I was getting into so this was an obvious pick for me when it came to what I was going to drink for my reread.

The flavour was perfect because it has this sort of ethereally timeless nostalgic quality to it. Though a blue raspberry lemonade probably feels most appropriate for the 2000s, I can really see it being a flavour from the 1980s forward. It has that bombastic sort of childhood quality that’s just, like, a little bit campy? I thought it fit right in with the time jumping in this series which starts in the 80s but also covers Y2K, the mid 2010s, and the far future as well.

And then there’s the colour reference. One of the most stylistically distinct parts of this series is the artwork which is often highly saturated monochromatic colour schemes that reflect the tone of the story. Large blocks of reds, blues, purples, and yellows. It’s beautiful and striking. Though this tea really steeps up more of a green colour than blue, the imagery the name conveys was so perfectly in line.

Really, really happy with this combo!

Cold Brew!

Had this one earlier in the week. I’m starting to think that no cup I make is going to be as good as that very first one I had. It’s not that this tasted unpleasant, but it was no where near as punchy and flavourful as I’ve experienced. More of a light to medium bodied and very grassy green tea with blanched vegetable notes, with hints of lemonade and blue raspberry. Without the intensity of flavour, the base and the flavourings come together in a kind of off beat and weird way…

Steeped this one up because I was experiencing a strong craving for it, but in all honestly the mug came out very flat/bland tasting and lacking any real discernible lemonade notes and I’m truly not sure why. It was incredibly disappointing though.

Steeped this one up a couple nights ago and it was super juicy and delightful! There was an undertone of this more grassy green tea that did help balance of the overall sweetness level, but mostly it was a very juicy blueberry candy and lemonade flavour with a pleasant light pucker to it! Really tasty and I’d been craving something like this for a while so it hit the spot.

I was a little hesitant to buy this tea because of the green tea base but the flavour description really made me curious enough to give it a shot. I don’t care much about the “blue” gimmick of the butterfly pea flower in this blend, which is probably good because it steeped up a green/grey colour. However the taste was lovely! Sweet and punchy lemonade flavour that tastes like the kind of sugary tart and refreshing lemonade you pick up at a summer carnival after a packed hour of rides. Pretty delish!

Sipdown (1598)!

This is another one that I definitely missed when I was looking at the site and I think that’s a shame because I liked this a lot. Of the four free samples I received and tasted through this weekend, it’s the one that I would absolutely want to purchase.

Like most of the fruity teas from The Tea Girl so far, it is much of a candy-style of sweet peach flavour. However, I think that’s perfectly to be expected with a name like Fuzzy Peach and I think the taste itself is great. It’s bright and juicy with enough of a tang to it that I do think of the Fuzzy Peach candies but not so much that it’s sour or unpleasantly sharp. In fact, I would be surprised if there’s not a cream or vanilla flavour in this tea because as lovely and vibrant as that sweet tangy peach note is it’s also balanced and offset by the silky and creamy undertone and finishing flavour that creates a ‘Peaches and Cream’ vibe. I love a blend that can be both things and the balance here is delicious! It’s also not heavy and I didn’t feel like the flavours built up to a cloying sweetness by the time I had finished the mug.

I know there’s lychee flavour in the tea but I don’t really taste it too distinctly. I imagine it’s contributing a lot to the juicy and fresh feeling of the peach. Peach and lychee get paired a fair amount because they bring out that juiciness in each other (and sometimes for the floral undertones too).

I don’t think I actually own a good peach rooibos tea, so I feel like this would actually fit a whole in my stash. Definitely one I will keep in mind heavily for future orders!

Sipdown (1599)!

This is another tea that I did actually consider ordering but the minimum was 50g which was a lot for something that I felt fairly confident would be similar to other teas already in my stash. Plus, it’s essentially a blueberry black tea and even though that is a flavour profile that I enjoy a lot it’s also something that I feel I have incredibly well covered by DT’s Blueberry Jam. I haven’t really found anything that’s been able to ‘dethrone’ that tea for me.

It was a nice tea though! Very full bodied and robust black tea with a nice deep maltiness and a hint of a floral undertone with a sort of drier kind of blueberry note. Definitely blueberry with skin on it, not just like a blueberry juice. I liked how natural it was and I thought it was a nice balance, especially with the other mild red fruit undertones that were also present. It’s always great when the black tea base isn’t masked. However, I was correct in my assumption that it’s not better (at least to my palate) than Blueberry Jam from DT, so I’m glad I didn’t go with the 50g of it…

Tea Photo: https://www.instagram.com/p/CYuhEa2OZmu/

Song Pairing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J7aSCuMck-g&ab_channel=TheRubens

Cold Brew Sipdown (1600)!

I find this one pretty sweet and it definitely leaves that lingering sticky back of throat sweetness in my mouth, but the flavour is so good. I think I totally skipped over this one when I was placing my order so it was a nice surprise. It gives me strawberries and cream vibes, but like a candy style of strawberries and cream. It’s mixed with a slight tropical edge; I think it’s passionfruit but it tasted very similar to the pineapple flavour from Pineapple Express to me. Another sweet and syrupy soda-type of flavour flavour. It was well suited to this method of steeping though, which was the impression I got from smelling the dry leaf, so I’m glad I just went for it!

I will say that I feel like I could find this type of profile from a bunch of tea companies and – in fact – I can think of a couple teas in my stash that are similar. So, while I do like it a lot, it’s not something I feel like I necessarily “missed out” on ordering…

Sipdown (1601)!

I was inspired by TeaWithJann (on IG and Youtube) to place an order with The Tea Girl to reorder one of the teas I’ve tried and loved as well as pick up a handful of others to try. To my surprise and delight they included four single serving samples. Additionally, all of the teas seemed really well selected and picked out based on what I’d ordered – I definitely felt the intention behind choosing similar things!

I actually considered ordering this tea but was hesitant about the green tea, so I was very excited to see it included. I think the pineapple flavour here is just so lovely; it reminds me of the Pineapple Coconut Party which is the tea that I wanted to restock because I enjoyed it so much. Very sweet and juicy thick pineapple flavour that reminds me a little bit of a Pineapple Soda. People who’ve had Pineapple Crush will know what I mean. It’s offset by the grassier edge of the green tea and a slight toasty note from the rice. Kind of gives me the vibes of a gently grilled slice of pineapple.

Ultimately I think I am glad I didn’t order it because I think the green tea was a bit much for me. However, I enjoyed this cup of it and I’m really happy I got to try it out!

Sipdown (1515)!

Thank you to Sil and VariaTEA for passing this tea along! I steeped this in a fill your own/drawstring teabag and I feel like I shouldn’t have left the teabag in while drinking. The start of the mug was sweet bright orange sherbet and silky sweet vanilla custard but as the tea kept steeping it got more like a hibiscus dominated orange with chalky tasting cream. Definitely a sad way to finish a mug that started so positively but it feels like it was just on me for not ideal steeping conditions…

Iced!

I mean, this is just such a fun tea. It tastes a lot like if you have a Dole Whip but just topped with whipped cream, shredded coconut, and maraschino cherries. Does that make for a sweet and kind of childish tasting iced yet? Yeah, totally – but it’s also really tasty. Plus, who doesn’t want to feel like a kid again every now and then?

Love this as a summer refresher!

Cold Brew!

Happy to report that my glowing first impression still stands. This is just such a delicious blend with a really rich, creamy coconut and delicious complimentary notes of candied pineapple and maraschino cherry. I go back and forth a little on thinking of it like coconut cream pie or pina coladas or, like, some type of tropical ice cream sundae. It’s just fruity, decadent, and delightful. Really, my only con is that it’s also very oily from all of the coconut fat. However, I can get past that.

Cold Brew Sipdown (1498)!

Thank you to both Sil and VariaTEA for passing this one along – I’m a little surprised at both how distinct the taste was given the more generic visual of the tea along with how much I liked it. The coconut is very fatty and silky in a way that reminds me heavily of a good slice of Coconut Cream Pie with all the grated coconut shaving on it and the thick filling that almost melts in your mouth. It’s the first flavour I get with each sip and the last as well with a nice tart tropical pineapple and hibiscus medley wedged right in the middle. I could probably drink a very dangerous amount of this tea in one sitting when cold brewed, and it’s easily my favourite tea from this company I’ve tried so far…

Latte Sipdown (209)

Thank you Sil for sharing but this wasn’t for me. Made it as a latte but it was still overly grassy and drying from the floral notes. I do get a nutty top note but it plays into the grass. I don’t like it.

O is for…Orange Chocolate

Thank you for sharing Sil but this isn’t for me. There have been so many different teas with this flavour profile and it’s mostly been done better. I think the base teas just don’t suit this flavour profile as well as a black tea does. I mean I may be bias but this is a lot of orange and oolong and not enough chocolate. On the bright side the pu’erh isn’t super obvious.

Sipdown (214)

We had family visiting today and they asked for either a vanilla or coconut tea. Weirdly enough I didn’t have a lot of plain vanilla or plain coconut teas but I did have this. I was able to divide this sample from Sil into 2 servings so I could share.

While Sil didn’t really love The Tea Girl’s coconut flavouring, I enjoy it. It’s not as good as her vanilla flavour but this is a simple and clean vanilla flavour that pairs nicely with the smooth black base. Thank you for sharing, Sil!

Latte Sipdown (217)

Picked this as my latte tea for Mastress Alita’s sipdown challenge for the latte prompt. I make lattes often enough so it was just a matter of choosing a tea I felt like having as a latte.

This was odd. I felt like I lost my taste because this was much more bland than I expected. I think I just underleafed this though. The flavour I am getting is French toast but without anything to add sweetness. It needs sweetness. So this is fine but nothing special. Still fun to try though so thank you Sil for sending a bit more of this my way.

Salted Caramel Sweet Cream Cold Foam Sipdown (206)

Thank you Sil for sharing this with me. I decided to make a small latte with the sample and topped it with my salted caramel sweet cream cold foam. If I’m being honest, I don’t think that was the best pairing. The tea muted a bit of the salted caramel flavour so it was a lot of cream and custard/cinnamon. Overall it was a nice evening treat though. I just wish I was more into French toast/pancake teas than I have been lately.

Sipdown (1425)!

I think this sample came from Sil by way of VariaTEA – so thank you both! This isn’t something that I would want to buy, say, 50g of to keep on hand but I did enjoy the mug quite a bit. It’s full bodied with a brisk black tea base and lots of rich cinnamon notes. What I liked about the cinnamon was that it seemed to be a nice balance of more woody and drying cinnamon as well as sweet “red hot” cinnamon, so I kind of got the best of both worlds. I also really enjoyed the maple sweetness in the body of the sip leading into the finish. It was rich, without being sweet.

Sipdown (199)

Thank you for sharing this one with me, Sil!

Also hi steepster! I miss you a lot. My exam is next Friday and then I have July off before starting work in August. I have fun plans like reading my many new books, learning an instrument and a language, but tea will be a lot more apart of my life again so I’ll be back here too!

Today I literally made tea for the caffeine. I’m at the tax law part of my material and in addition to it basically being a different language despite looking like English, it made me super sleepy yesterday. So I am procrastinating getting back into it today and also arming myself with tea.

I picked this one because I wanted a strawberry black tea to go with my strawberry (/raspberry) tart breakfast bowl. The bowl was delicious. This tea isn’t bad. However, unlike the Tea Girl’s vanilla flavor – which is super strong and lovely – this tea is rather bland. Mostly just a fruit black tea. Not bad but nothing special either. Still fun to try though!

V is for… Vanilla Fluff!

Sipdown (1396)!

Thank you to Sil/VariaTEA for sending this sample along!

This didn’t really smell like vanilla and visually was very fruit heavy so my expectations were low, but I liked it a lot – it’s more of a fruit blend for sure but there’s something unique happening with the way the very thick creamy vanilla flavour is playing alongside those fruit notes. As best I can describe it, this reminded me of a “Dole Whip” – tropical, sweet and tangy crushed pineapple meets vanilla ice cream/whipped cream. However, then you need to take that Dole Whip comparison and shove in some hibiscus and a boozier “marshmallow vodka” type note into the mix too.

Big, big flavour blast – but surprisingly some complexity there too.

I wish I had more of it because I found it very interesting – but I’m honestly just grateful to have tried a new tea regardless! I’ll have to see what I think of the other Tea Girl samples – maybe enough will pique my interest for an order.

Sipdown (224)

V is for…Vanilla Chai

I am with Sil on this one that there is just too much anise for my tastes. I am still grateful for the chance to try it so thank you Sil for sharing!! In fairness, I had 4 of this company’s vanilla teas today and this is my first miss so all in all pretty successful!

Sipdown (226)

V is for…Vanilla Coconut

Sil, I am the others that finds this delightful. You were not a fan of the coconut but personally I am really enjoying it so thank you for the share!

It’s reminding me of sweetened coconut desserts. My sister used to make hello dollies with shredded coconut, chocolate chips, and condensed milk. This is tasting like the shredded coconut mixed with the condensed milk and I am a fan.