78

I guess the lotus stamens or whatever used to be in this tea are no longer, because my baggie doesn’t appear to contain any at all :( Oh well. The tea probably still tastes the same, and it’s nice – spiced and fall-flavoured, though fairly light on flavour overall. It’s nice enough though, and with a 2-minute infusion, the base is kept pretty smooth.

I see I have a note that recommends I add maple syrup for even better flavour… sadly, I just had to dump mine, because it went moldy, probably because the container wasn’t sterilized properly when it was poured in. The hazards of buying syrup from random roadside vendors, I guess. My boyfriend had to dump over a litre of his too, for the same reason. (I had maybe 300mL left). Sigh.

Anlina

Ugh that sucks about the syrup. It’s so expensive to buy too – I’d be so upset if I had to dump out that much.

Cheri

That is disappointing. Good syrup is expensive but worth it.

Fjellrev

Geez, I never thought that it could even go moldy, but lack of sterilization makes sense.

Butiki Teas

Hmmm, we never used lotus stamens in this tea. Maybe you are thinking of Pistachio Ice Cream?

Kittenna

I don’t think I meant lotus stamens (right, that’s Pistachio Ice Cream) but there was definitely something orange and fluffy in this previously, which I remember from the samples I got as well as the bag Raritea and Indigobloom split quite a while back (we had to shake it up to make sure they each got equal amounts). Maybe it was the pumpkin?? Actually, looking at the tea image – my tea doesn’t even look quite right (I dumped it all out into a bowl) – there’s nothing orange. No pumpkin??

Butiki Teas

Oh, sounds like the dried pumpkin might have not made it much into your bag. Oh no. That’s odd, really odd.

Kittenna

I wasn’t sure if it was a cosmetic ingredient that maybe you had run out of (I know the Strawberry oolong used to have teensy little flowerbuds in it, which ceased to be present in my mom’s last 2 oz.), but given the ingredient list, presumably it’s the pumpkin. [I sent you a picture of my tea on Facebook] :)

Butiki Teas

ok, I’ll check it out. We never stopped adding the pumpkin. The only thing I can think is that maybe you got the very top of the tin and the pumpkin flakes had fallen a bit. I’ll see what you posted on Facebook. I could always refund that tea for you.

Kittenna

In response to the maple syrup – yeah, I don’t think syrup itself goes moldy without being… infected, but where I was seeing mold was on the inside of where the lid was, and a bit in the handle (it was a mini milk-jug container). I’m well-versed in sterile technique, and am very good at not contaminating things myself – so I know it wasn’t my fault, especially given the mold in the handle as well. Sigh. And then there was cloudy stringiness in the syrup as well… and the aroma from the bottle smelled kind of like acetone. Exact same thing with my boyfriend’s. We threw out probably $20 worth of syrup. Next time, we’ll probably freeze portions, or buy from a bit more reputable place. Heh.

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Comments

Anlina

Ugh that sucks about the syrup. It’s so expensive to buy too – I’d be so upset if I had to dump out that much.

Cheri

That is disappointing. Good syrup is expensive but worth it.

Fjellrev

Geez, I never thought that it could even go moldy, but lack of sterilization makes sense.

Butiki Teas

Hmmm, we never used lotus stamens in this tea. Maybe you are thinking of Pistachio Ice Cream?

Kittenna

I don’t think I meant lotus stamens (right, that’s Pistachio Ice Cream) but there was definitely something orange and fluffy in this previously, which I remember from the samples I got as well as the bag Raritea and Indigobloom split quite a while back (we had to shake it up to make sure they each got equal amounts). Maybe it was the pumpkin?? Actually, looking at the tea image – my tea doesn’t even look quite right (I dumped it all out into a bowl) – there’s nothing orange. No pumpkin??

Butiki Teas

Oh, sounds like the dried pumpkin might have not made it much into your bag. Oh no. That’s odd, really odd.

Kittenna

I wasn’t sure if it was a cosmetic ingredient that maybe you had run out of (I know the Strawberry oolong used to have teensy little flowerbuds in it, which ceased to be present in my mom’s last 2 oz.), but given the ingredient list, presumably it’s the pumpkin. [I sent you a picture of my tea on Facebook] :)

Butiki Teas

ok, I’ll check it out. We never stopped adding the pumpkin. The only thing I can think is that maybe you got the very top of the tin and the pumpkin flakes had fallen a bit. I’ll see what you posted on Facebook. I could always refund that tea for you.

Kittenna

In response to the maple syrup – yeah, I don’t think syrup itself goes moldy without being… infected, but where I was seeing mold was on the inside of where the lid was, and a bit in the handle (it was a mini milk-jug container). I’m well-versed in sterile technique, and am very good at not contaminating things myself – so I know it wasn’t my fault, especially given the mold in the handle as well. Sigh. And then there was cloudy stringiness in the syrup as well… and the aroma from the bottle smelled kind of like acetone. Exact same thing with my boyfriend’s. We threw out probably $20 worth of syrup. Next time, we’ll probably freeze portions, or buy from a bit more reputable place. Heh.

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Bio

I have always been a tea fan (primarily herbals and Japanese greens/oolongs) but in the last year or so, tea has become increasingly more appealing as not only a delicious, calming drink, but as a relatively cheap, healthy reward or treat to give myself when I deserve something. I should clarify that, however; the reward is expanding my tea cupboard, not drinking tea – I place no restrictions on myself in terms of drinking anything from my cupboard as that would defeat my many goals!

My DavidsTea addiction was born in late 2011, despite having spent nearly a year intentionally avoiding their local mall location (but apparently it was just avoiding the inevitable!). I seem to have some desire to try every tea they’ve ever had, so much of my stash is from there, although I’ve recently branched out and ordered from numerous other companies.

I like to try and drink all my teas unaltered, as one of the main reasons I’m drinking tea other than for the flavour is to be healthy and increase my water intake without adding too many calories! I’ve found that the trick in this regard is to be very careful about steeping time, as most teas are quite pleasant to drink straight as long as they haven’t been oversteeped. However, I tend to be forgetful (particularly at work) when I don’t set a timer, resulting in a few horrors (The Earl’s Garden is not so pleasant after, say, 7+ minutes of steeping).

I’m currently trying to figure out which types of teas are my favourites. Herbals are no longer at the top; oolongs have thoroughly taken over that spot, with greens a reasonably close second. My preference is for straight versions of both, but I do love a good flavoured oolong (flavoured greens are really hit or miss for me). Herbals I do love iced/cold-brewed, but I drink few routinely (Mulberry Magic from DavidsTea being a notable exception). I’m learning to like straight black teas thanks to the chocolatey, malty, delicious Laoshan Black from Verdant Tea, and malty, caramelly flavoured blacks work for me, but I’m pretty picky about anything with astringency. Lately I’ve found red rooibos to be rather medicinal, which I dislike, but green rooibos and honeybush blends are tolerable. I haven’t explored pu’erh, mate, or guayasa a great deal (although I have a few options in my cupboard).

I’ve decided to institute a rating system so my ratings will be more consistent. Following the smiley/frowny faces Steepster gives us:

100: This tea is amazing and I will go out of my way to keep it in stock.

85-99: My core collection (or a tea that would be, if I was allowing myself to restock everything!) Teas I get cravings for, and drink often.

75-84: Good but not amazing; I might keep these in stock sparingly depending on current preferences.

67-74: Not bad, I’ll happily finish what I have but probably won’t ever buy it again as there’s likely something rated more highly that I prefer.

51-66: Drinkable and maybe has some aspect that I like, but not really worth picking up again.

34-50: Not for me, but I can see why others might like it. I’ll make it through the cup and maybe experiment with the rest to get rid of it.

0-33: It’s a struggle to get through the cup, if I do at all. I will not willingly consume this one again, and will attempt to get rid of the rest of the tea if I have any left.

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