86 Tasting Notes

89
drank Fantasy Island by DAVIDsTEA
86 tasting notes

Home after a long work trip. It’s so nice to relax with a cup of tea. I think 5 minutes is too long for this one. It’s way more astringent that I remember it being. But, the coconut makes it nice and creamy, and the raspberry give just a hint of fruity flavour. I added some milk and sugar to counteract the astringency, and that made a big difference.

Preparation
205 °F / 96 °C 5 min, 0 sec

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48

I got this tea through the Foodie Pen Pal program over at theleangreenbean.com. It’s not a tea that I would normally pick out, so I was intrigued.

It tastes like the green tea that you would get at any random Chinese restaurant. Now granted, I don’t have a really refined palate for green teas, so maybe I’m missing something. Maybe if I had steeped it longer as another reviewer said, then I would have found that sweetness in sweet gale. As it is, it’s pleasant enough, but not something that I would get again.

Preparation
205 °F / 96 °C 8 min or more

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75

I drank the last of my stash last night. Sigh. It was good while it lasted. I love the soothing hint of spearmint through the citrusy-fruity tea. This was one of the teas that I could take traveling with me and not worry about whether I had milk or sugar handy in the hotel room. I like it well enough, but won’t be restocking until I get through more of the tea in my cupboard.

Preparation
205 °F / 96 °C 5 min, 0 sec

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90
drank Ceylon Star by DAVIDsTEA
86 tasting notes

Second cup of the day: a nice mug of Ceylon Star.

Dry, this smells like chocolate through and through. The mix is so pretty with the whole star anise and coconut flakes. Once brewed, the tea has a much milder chocolate scent. I don’t get the spicy, licorice scent that others are getting, but then again, I still getting over this cold.

This tastes soooooooo good! I can taste the chocolate and coconut. The star anise is just in the background as a mild spiciness. Not licorice, which I was worried it would be. Adding a tiny bit of sugar accented the chocolate. Adding 2% milk didn’t enhance the tea at all, but it didn’t detract from it either. All in all, I’m glad I picked this one up.

Preparation
200 °F / 93 °C 5 min, 0 sec

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99
drank Caramel Matcha by Red Leaf Tea
86 tasting notes

First tea of the day :) I’m trying to get back into my normal tea drinking habits (i.e. not more Twinings Lemon & Ginger). Plus, I bought myself a proper chawan right after Christmas, and it’s high time that I started using it.

I love this matcha, but try as I might, I haven’t managed to drink it straight up. I always end up turning my matchas into lattes. I’ve read that if you find it too bitter, then you haven’t whisked enough. I can’t seem to whisk enough to ever make it less bitter. I know I’m doing something wrong; I just haven’t figured out what it is yet.

So, I’m drinking a caramel matcha latte. Mmmmmm! I love the scent and taste of the caramel. No need for sweetener with this one, which is rare for me and tea. I love the feel of drinking from a proper chawan too. It’s comfortable in my hands, and comforting to hold and drink from. This was a great way to start my day!

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88

Thanks to tunes&tea for this generous sample!

I’ve been sick for the last 3 weeks, so all I’ve been drinking is Twinings Lemon & Ginger tea. I’m sick of it. So I dug through the awesome box that tunes&tea sent to me for something new. I figured this would be good, considering the ginger will help my cough.

I like this. I think I would like it more steeped in milk, chai style, but brewed straight up with some milk and sugar is really nice. Maybe my illness is stopping from catching the strength of the spices like other reviewers have noted, so I’ll have to try it when I’m feeling better. Luckily, I got lots of it so I’ll be able to enjoy this tea for a while.

Preparation
Boiling 3 min, 0 sec

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99
drank Caramel Matcha by Red Leaf Tea
86 tasting notes

After a 10 day work trip, I am so happy to chill in my apartment for a bit. My manager gave me the day off. Slept in, played with the kitties, and drank some tea.

Today I made this as a latte with soy milk. There’s nothing like making your own tea after a long trip where you couldn’t find a decent cup of tea to save your life. Even the coffee chai latte I had at David’s Tea wasn’t all that good. So I’m back home, and I can make my tea my way :) As I’ve said previously, the next time I order this matcha I’ll be getting the robust level of flavour, but it’s still yummy. I love the touch of extra sweetness that soy milk brings to the tea. I may have another one before I face this wonderful day off.

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92
drank Blueberry Zabaglione by 52teas
86 tasting notes

I’m feeling kind of out of it tonight so I took the chance and brewed up a black tea for the evening. I actually chose this because I saw Indigobloom’s review of Strawberry Zabaglione while my water was heating up. And it’s a good thing that I read it so I knew to keep the temp and steeping time down.

When you open the bag, it definitely shouts blueberry. That’s a good sign. The brewed tea maintains that strong scent. I was a little worried because it brought to mind that Disney tea I tried a few months ago, but I have more faith in Frank than that.

Plain, there is a bitterness that Indigobloom also notices in the Strawberry Zabaglione. Like her, I found that a half teaspoon of sugar solved that issue nicely. And a splash of milk adds to the creaminess of the flavour I think. I’m really enjoying this mug, and hopefully it will stand to another steeping. More importantly, I hope it keeps me going till I finish what I have to do and still lets me sleep tonight (finger crossed).

Preparation
185 °F / 85 °C 2 min, 0 sec
Indigobloom

Too funny! glad I could inspire you :P
and make it a better tea experience!

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92
drank Cookie Dough by DAVIDsTEA
86 tasting notes

Since there is no David’s Tea in Red Deer, a good friend of mine brought along some tea when she came to visit me this weekend. Thank goodness for awesome friends! When I saw this come up on the David’s Tea website, I knew I had to have it.

The dry scent is sublime. It’s definitely cookie dough, through and through. There was a half a walnut in the scoop, so I broke it into a few pieces to blend better with the rest of the tea.

Steeped, it really is like liquid cookie dough. Now, I’m not one for eating raw cookie dough (too afraid of raw eggs) but I’m all for sweet teas, especially those that moonlight as dessert. I like it plain, but a teeny bit of sugar brings out dough aspect for me. I’m going to have to take the other reviewers’ suggestions and try this as a latte as well :)

Preparation
205 °F / 96 °C 5 min, 30 sec

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48
drank Lemon Herbal Tea by Lipton
86 tasting notes

Blah! Ran out of my Twinnings Lemon & Ginger tea. I took a few bags of this lemon tea from a hotel somewhere (I travel a lot for work, so not sure where).

With lots of honey and a slice of lemon, it’s not too bad. I’m not impressed that the number one ingredient is hibiscus flowers. Lemon is the 5th ingredient on the list. If I wanted a hibiscus tea, I would have looked for that. I want a lemon tea! However, it’s soothing my throat and that’s all I care about right now.

Oh, and unlike the Twinnings tea, I can’t just leave the bag in my mug and resteep as needed. Way too tart if you try that. I really need to gather up the energy to go to the grocery store to get more lemon, ginger and honey.

Preparation
Boiling 4 min, 0 sec

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Workaholic, optometric assisting guru, trainer extraordinaire, photo geek, kick-ass volunteer; all in 1 not-so-neat package!

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