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So like many reviewers of this tea, I’m drinking it only because I’m sick and can’t be bothered to go to the store to get real ginger. It’s not bad really for a bagged tea. I added a slice of lemon and lots of honey, so my assessment of the taste will be off, but there’s a nice little ginger kick. And I can just leave the bag in my mug and add water as needed, which is perfect because I really can’t deal with much more than that right now.

I was in Vancouver for the weekend, and I absolutely had to make a stop at Apres-Midi. (It looks like they are in the middle of rebranding to The Gastown Tea Company.) I primarily went to get more of the Masala Chai, but of course I can’t leave without smelling all the other teas, so also bought this wonderful tea.

I tried my first cup straight up. Steeped for 5.5 minutes in water that hadn’t quite made it to boiling. It’s a great tea. Not quite as strong or sweet as the scent would have you believe though.

Second cup was 5.5 minutes, same water temp. This time I added a bit of sugar and soy milk. It’s much more caramelly this way. A bit more creamy too, although I suspect that actual milk would bring out the cream more for me. In all, I like this very much. I should try this against the Creme Caramel Rooibos from DT to see which one I like better.

I love coconut anything, so I this definitely made it into my first order with Stacy.

Dry, it smells very coconutty. There’s a generous amount of coconut pieces in the tea. And I’m a big fan of rooibos so this should be awesome. Brewed, it smells almost caramelly? I drank it with some sugar and soy milk because, well, that’s the way I felt like having tea tonight.

I’m not actually getting the amount of coconut flavour that I would expect from the dry scent. It’s there, but far in the background. Not much creaminess either. Actually, it tastes and feels “watery” if that makes any sense. I put the recommended amount of tea in my steeper. Maybe I have to put more? Or steep it a bit longer? It’s still a pleasant tea, but not quite what I had in mind.

I’m not going to rate this until I give it another chance.

OMG! I thought that Luscious Watermelon was melony, but this is THE melon tea. In the Philippines, my aunt would take a cantaloupe, shred it into a pitcher of cold water and ice, and put a tiny bit of sugar. This is the tea recreation of that drink.

The dry scent definitely lets you know that you’ll be tasting cantaloupe. I’m not entirely sure what temperature my water was at; I boiled it then let it sit for about 5 minutes. The brewed tea is a lovely golden colour and smells grassy with melon notes.

I drank a bit of it straight so I could judge the taste. It has that same feel in my mouth as my aunt’s cantaloupe juice. A tiny bit of sugar made it taste the same too. This is such a light tea, but I wouldn’t have it any other way. I’m just amazed that there is a cantaloupe tea in my hands :)

This is also the first tea I’ve tasted out of my recent order from Stacy. It’s my first time trying Butiki Teas. The service and communication with Stacy was excellent. And if this is any indication, there are great things to come from the rest of my supply!

Finished the last of this yesterday. 3 tsp with 1.5 cups of So Good soy milk. I really enjoyed this matcha mix, but found it a little too sweet for my liking. Yes, that sounds odd given my massive sweet tooth, but I’m much happier with my matcha from Red Leaf where I can control the sweetness level.

Aha! Back to my beloved teas after a couple of work trips. The downside to preferring loose leaf tea, I find, is that it’s much harder for me to make a decent cup of tea in a hotel room.

I had high hopes for this tea. Maybe because the name brings to mind those fuzzy peach candies. Maybe because this is yet another chai in my eternal quest for the perfect chai. Either way, it was not what I was expecting.

It’s a very nice, mild peachy kind of tea. I don’t get any sense of the spices that are in the ingredient list though. So my disappointment is primarily due to my own expectations for this tea. If you like flavoured white tea, then I would say to give this a try.

I’m going to give this a try iced sometime. Maybe that will change the flavour profile a bit.

Time for a quick spot of tea while I wait for my ride and the 1.5 hour drive to the airport for the 4 hour flight to Ottawa. It seems fitting that I’m visiting the capital for the first time on Thanksgiving, when I’m grateful for this new job and new path in life.

Anyway, I love this tea. Today I had it with 1.5 teaspoons of sugar and some soy milk. I find soy milk makes my teas feel creamier, and I need less sugar. (Remember, my mug can hold 24 oz of yummy, delicious tea.) I think the vanilla notes come out more in this version. I’ll need the caffeine of this black tea to hold me up till I can sleep on the plane.

Oh, gotta run! See ya!

Ooof, I had a really late lunch or really early supper, depending on your point of view. Perogies with sour cream and bacon bits. So yummy, but I ate too much and much too quickly, so now my tummy isn’t feeling so great.

This mint tea is helping. Considering my dislike of bagged teas, this isn’t bad at all. It has peppermint, spearmint, licorice and ginger (all organic). Everything is balanced nicely, and I don’t even mind the licorice because it gives the tea a certain sweetness. (Typically, I detest licorice.) Mint tea is just about the only tea that I never feel the need to sweeten anyway. And my tummy is feeling slightly less heavy and less bloated.

Lesson learned: eat meals on time, or else have mint tea on hand :)

Tons of chores today to get ready for a work trip to Ottawa. So I need a good pick me up. Today I made this with 16 oz of steeped tea, 8 oz of hot soy milk and 2 tsp of rock cane sugar. And yes my tea mug can hold that much; it’s a wonderful handmade mug I bought in Orcas Island, Washington years ago.

The tea is still good, not great. I think I’m really missing the cinnamon, and I’d like the ginger and cloves to be kicked up a few notches. This is a nice chai for someone just getting into chai and is afraid of drinking something too spicy. Which I find a little funny given the name of the tea.

In all, it’s a decent chai. I’ll experiment with what’s left in my stash, but I probably won’t buy it again. Particularly since I don’t know when I’ll be in Regina next. ;P

Oh, and taking a cue from tunes&tea, I’m listening to a mix of fave soundtrack songs: A Love Before Time (Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon), Deliver Me (Brokedown Palace), Distant Worlds (Final Fantasy XI), I Am a Man of Constant Sorrow (O Brother, Where Art Thou), Walk Through the Fire (Buffy the Vampire Slayer), and more.

So here’s try #2 with Chai Comfort…making it the “traditional” way according to the package instructions. One bag per cup of soy milk, simmered for 30 minutes.

First of all, 30 minutes feels too long. By 10 minutes, it was already fragrant and a nice brown from all the spices. I held out for 25 minutes, then I couldn’t stand it anymore. (All my tea drinking still hasn’t taught me patience.)

This method is so much better than the regular steeping method. It’s rich from the soy milk, and there’s a spicy kick that builds as you get further into the mug. No sugar needed at all which is a bit of an oddity for me. I really enjoyed this mug of chai. I’ve raised my rating from 39 because of this. It would be higher if the tea was good with both methods.