Hesper June Send Message

I had a bit of this tea left and I could not resist the ice cream recipe I found.
(Hubby gave me an awesome ice cream maker for our anniversary)
So, I made Caramel Matcha Ice Cream.
Oh, heavenly days, was it a dream.
I am ashamed to say that Hubby and I ate the whole batch minutes after the ice cream maker finished making it.
It was so creamy and dreamy and green!
I know this is not a tea drinking review, but if you have a chance to make some matcha ice cream, I say do it!
My recipe was custard based.

I have waited a really long time to try this tea.
A Big Thank You to SIL for giving me a sample so I can finally try this much loved (at least by Steepster folks) tea.
And I thought this would be a good tea to re-introduce myself back into the tea tasting world.
Yes, I do think I finally beat this horrid upper respiratory flu thing that had me down for nearly 3 weeks now.
I still get horrible coughing attacks that last about 10 minutes, but I believe my full taste and smell has returned.
I could not keep my nose out of the brew basket when I was making this tea.
It smelled SO good brewing!
I smelt chocolate and avocados, some earthiness and something sweet.
Wow! If this tea tastes half as good as it smells, I am really in for a treat.
Then the dreaded wait time till it cools enough that I can sip.
The color is stunning, such a rosy gold, it so lovely to look at sitting in my bodum cup.
Taste is more delicate than I thought it might be, however that does not mean it lacks flavor.
Chocolate and honey.
Avocado and wood.
Floral and creamy.
Baked goods and earth.
This tea has it all, gently unfolding in taste, like a journey where you are not sure what is around the corner.
This tea is a real treat and is well deserved of its Steepster love.
Thank you so much Sil, for giving me the chance to try such a delightful brew.

I am feeling better and stronger today and was thinking that this afternoon I would do some long overdue tea tastings.
But, alas when I drank some of this tea with my lunch and it tasted and smelled like hot water…I realized that my smell and taste still have not returned.
HUGE SIGH
But, I am glad I am finally healing and I am not coughing the entire night now.
Someday, I shall return to you all with taste buds and a nose…someday.
Read previous review for how this tea really tastes:)

Blah.Blah.Blah.
I thought I was better, but alas I was fooled.
I did too much too quickly and my nasty flu thing came back with a vengeance.
Not sure why when the throat aches and the nose runs, I reach for this tea.
It just soothes the spirit.
I can’t wait till I smell and taste and get back to reviewing all these delicious teas I have around, but for now, I have a mug of this, a new book and snuggly pets.
See previous notes for more on this tea.

Too much water.
That is what my doctor after numerous visits decided was why I am anemic and lacking iron and other minerals in my body.
And sadly, I have one of those smart doctor’s, who knew that I drank tea and knew that it is not a dehydrating as soda or coffee.
Plus, that I still drink a fair amount of water in a day.
So, he decided that all the minerals were getting flushed out of my body.
He told me to cut back to my total amount of water (tea included) to 3 quarts a day.
Drat.
Then this last weekend, I finally got that horrid flu thing that has been going around (probably because I have been in the doctor’s office so much)
Which, weirdly enough, the flu did not bother me as much as cutting back on my tea consumption.
I just can’t believe it, most Americans do not drink enough and are constantly dehydrated, but me…no.
Anyway, I really wanted a Chai tea this morning, since I am still drippy, coughy and achy.
Chai always hits the spot.
But, alas, I am totally out of Chai tea!
How did I let this happen!?
I remembered this tea that I received in food basket at Christmas.
I was so surprised when I pulled this out of the basket, especially since its loose leaf. Most gift teas are bags.
But, I was glad!
Anyway, on to the tea.
Orangey black tea is the first aroma, slightly robust smelling.
A real orange smell, not bergomonty.
Then, the spices emerge, cloves and cinnamon.
Taste is orange and spicy.
The black tea taste not as strong as it smelled
This is not a chai. Does not even resemble one, but it is hot and slightly spicy.
I do not consider it a waste of my alloted tea water for the day.
I tried to log on a couple times last week but each time, steepster must have been having some problems.
Glad to see you all are still here:)

This tea experience was provided by the gracious Ashmanra
All these teas that she sent me, make me hungry for some European pastry that I have never had.
Which I know makes no sense, but seriously they make me think of some delightful decadent morsel.
I read about this tea before I brewed up a cup, so I knew what it was supposed to smell/taste like, but was still surprised when I stuck my nose close and inhaled…Figgy goodness galore!
It brought an immediate memory to mind.
A few years ago, before I got married, I cared for a 90 year old blind woman named Mary.
She was originally a teacher from California, but after she went blind she moved to Idaho to be closer to her daughter.
Her son still lived in California, and he had a Fig Tree in his yard, and would send her fresh figs.
Opening that box for her was always a delight, the smell that hit your face was like sugar and sunshine.
This tea has that same delightful odor.
There is a definite floral note to this as well, but nothing overpowers the other.
It really feels like I am sitting in a Californian garden…although I can’t say for sure, since that is something I have never done.
This tea is fairly dark in color.
I just brewed it for 3 minutes, but it is a dark burgundy.
First taste is actually lavender, which was weird, because my nose kept smelling fig, but it was unmistakably lavender in taste.
After that first sip, I could taste the Yunnan tea and then floral notes, as well, as citrus mixed in with the sweet figgy-ness of it all.
What a beautiful tea, and for some reason I keep associating it with California.
Maybe they should have a State Tea?
Thank you again, Ashmanra for sharing with me!

I love when a tea renders me speechless, or at least at a loss of words.
When I smelled this tea I just kept saying “Oh!” and “Mmmm!” and a few “ahhhss” were thrown in for good measure.
And this was all before I even had tasted it yet.
There was something so delightful yet familiar about the odor of this tea, although, I had never had it before, in fact this is my very first Verdant Tea, A huge thank you to Sil for giving me this to try!
So, since I was savoring its odor and had to wait for it to cool some before sipping I decided to read some reviews.
I think I am getting the cacao nib smell, and the malted milk too.
I think that is why this tea seemed familiar, comforting in fact.
This is a tea that hugs you back.
I do get the hints of avocado and jasmine too, which are both things that I just adore.
On first sip, I thought “Oh! Avocado for sure”
But then the second sip, I tasted cacao nibs.
More sips brought out all sorts of flavors from malt to floral.
Wow! What a tea.
I see from past reviewers that more steeps bring out more flavors as well.
What a delicious and delightful tea.
And since others have said it better than me, I think I will just go and enjoy this wonderful brew.
But…I am going to leave you all with two things…buy this tea because its the bomb, and thank you again Sil for sharing!

I have been drinking a lot of this lately.
Which is why I have not been seen on here as much.
I like this tea, but I have to admit, I have been drinking it a bit more for the health and diet benefits.
I actually have been seeing some weight loss due to drinking this tea.(by this tea, I mean Pu-erh itself, just not this particular tea by S&V)
I have missed drinking other teas,but I am loving that the waist line on my jeans are lose!
Upping the rating because of this new development,plus the taste is growing on me more and more:)
See previous note for more.

My amount of knowledge on Pu-erh is about as big as one of these cute little buttons of tea.
The only true way to learn what I like and don’t like is to drink more of this type of tea.
So, I bought some of this in my recent S&V order.
I am glad I did.
I think this would have been a good Pu-erh for me to start with.
It has all the typical characteristic pu-erh flavors but muted.
It would have helped me ease into the flavor, I think.
But, thats all water under the bridge, or water poured out of the teakettle.Whatever:)
This tea is earthy with notes of fruit and mushrooms.
It reminds me of firewood in the woodshed, not fresh cut firewood, but the firewood that has been in the shed about a year.
I know that might not be the most flattering description and one that a lot of you might not get.
But, I like that smell.
It reminds me of home.
I consistently get about 4 steeps out of this, with the flavor going from mushroomy wood down to more wood and a bit of fruit, but like a dried fruit.
The fifth steep is extremely soft and light, I usually do not go beyond that.
Pu-erh is a adventure, It is a tea that keeps surprising me.
I am not sure what an experienced Pu-erh drinker would think of this tea, it might be a little to light on flavor for them.
But, for now, in this part of my Pu-erh journey, I am immensely enjoying it.

Another tea from the gracious Ashmanra
My oh my!
This is on the totally opposite side from my first taste of Puerh tea.
Obviously, this is flavored so it should be in a different category, however the Puerh is still present in this tea.
But, I just want to talk about the smell of this tea for a minute.
It is incredible.
I mean, if I could I would walk around with two mugs of this all day, one to drink and one to make any area that I am currently occupying smell utterly divine.
The strawberry in this tea literally smells like a French Strawberry Cream Tart I had one time.
So fresh, and so creamy!
I only get a little chocolate, which I am totally okay with, since I am not huge into chocolate tea.
More like a chocolate drizzle over the creamy tart.
The puerh in the background is bringing a bit of earthiness to the whole mix.
Taste is a little different.
It moves from Strawberry Tart to Strawberry Field.
Strawberries warmed from the sun with a bit of field dust on them.
Thats what this tea tastes like to me.
Which as I sit, looking out my icy window at the frozen landscape, this tea feels a little like a promise.
Thank you, Ashmanra, for giving me a bit of summer in the middle of January.