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I’m a little surprised there’s no other reviews here.

So, yesterday/this morning I had a horrible no good very bad migraine. I couldn’t keep anything down, which unfortunately included tea, and even more unfortunately medicine.

So. Yeah. Good times.

This guy probably steeped in the fridge aaaaaalmost 48 hours as a result. I really think it benefited richly from this long steep. The result from it is probably the first DavidsTea that I’d consider purchasing.

The juniper flavor comes through really well. It’s this not-quite-blueberry-but-still-purple-tasting berry that I really like (gin drinker here). It’s also one of the few I actually get the true flavor of acai in! It has a subtle berry sweetness, but undertones of cocoa.

The tea base doesn’t come through until the end of the sip, and if it weren’t for that, I probably would have guessed I was drinking juice. And I mean that in a good way. It’s just really richly berried and oh so refreshing. This would be a great addition to my summer iced teas (if I needed any additions to my summer iced teas…).

This was a surprise extra in a trade with jessiwrites and if my excel spreadsheet is right Shmiracles sent me some as well. So, thanks both of you. I really like it!

So, I know this is supposed to be pie. But Fiance and I used to help his grandma grow her rhubarb every year and she’d give us two pans of strawberry rhubarb sponge pudding in turn. The animal cracker bits and big chunks of strawberry really evoke that image to me. (The post steeped leaf even more so. Like. I want to get a spoon and eat it.)

The smell here is like sticking my nose in some warm strawberry jam. Where it smells sticky and sweet and you just want to sit there. I can pick up the hibiscus, but I’m not afraid of it.

The same jammy smell comes off the steeped leaf.

Can I just say? This was the best natural strawberry flavor I’ve ever had in a tea. It was sweet, but not cloying or candy-like. Just really juicy ripe strawberry sweet.

I’m also picking up a little floral with the strawberry. Then cinnamon which really pushed the feeling of pie crust into the next level for me. The end notes are where the tart notes come in and they really do remind me of rhubarb.

Stacy, your use of hibiscus is masterful here and adds a lot. I’m surprised to find, I don’t think I actually hate hibiscus…just lots of hibiscus.

Another great blend!

The thing I really like about Darjeeling teas is that they’re wonderfully nuanced.

This one cold-steeped was no exception. There was sweet floral that touched first, followed by nuttiness with smooth malt notes and then finishing with some earthy muskiness.

I still prefer my Giddapahar estate teas, they’re a little smoother with slightly less atringency. The earth flavors here though, really shine.

It’s like if I’m having a bad day, bad week or think I’m sick of tea for a while, I can grab one of these and it just coaxes me out of my slumps.

Summers are always good for these slumps because Fiance has several week long business trips in quick succession and I get weirdly lonely. I think the birds do too (or they feel it off me) because they don’t sing as much either. Perk up little peepers.

Baby Video Game Rant: Playing Dragon Age 2 on Nightmare mode as a first playthrough without playing Dragon Age: Origins is becoming an exercise in frustration. Sigh I’ll probably dump it back down to Hard before my controller ends up in my TV.

Back to tea: I love the smell of this dry. The strawberry is really prominenet with a touch of floral. It’s like a tropical fruity coctail of yum.

I must have cold steeped this too long though because I feel like I’m being punched in the face with ginger. It’s not super zippy aggressive ginger, more like a soft fuzzy teddy bear paw punching me in the face with ginger.

And it’s a weird contrast with the sweetness of the guava flavor (which they nailed). I’m missing the strawberry entirely, but the base adds a nice floral note that would pair well with the guava if I wasn’t getting punched by gingered teddy bears.

I snagged this when California Tea House was doing their Memorial Day promo where this was free with a $25 order. Holy crap, right?

The tin it comes in is vacuum sealed and once popped closes snugly. The matcha is bright emerald green and everything I’d hope for from a good matcha.

The smell was sweet and creamy. It evokes this sense like I’m smelling sunshine on dewy treetops in the early morning.

I sifted it, but it honestly fell through so easily I doubt this step was necessary.

It frothes up beautifully and the color is fantastic. The taste was full-bodied and rich. And if I didn’t know any better I’d swear I didn’t use water and had used cream or half anf half.

The taste is spinach and buttery, sweet, rich edamame-ness. The sweet notes are only enhanced as as it cools. There is also a depth of flavor that sometimes pops almost a rich nuttiness or cocoa notes.

There were also no clumps (or much at all) at the bottom of my cup when I finished. And the aftertaste lingers too, and I feel like it’s springtime in my mouth.

So, thank you so much for this promotion. I don’t know if I’d had bit the bullet otherwise and then I’d be missing something wonderful.

I have a bowl of samples packages on the counter that I would really like to get through by the weekend. Only time will tell!

This sample came from Tasty Brew who, if you haven’t had the pleasure of trading with her, has the cutest stickers for her baggies. Because what could possibly be wrong in the world when you have a beer bottle in a teacup?

The dry aroma is very vanilla, and there’s definitely a creamy/milky aspect…with maybe a touch of homemade caramel sauce. The wet leaf has less vanilla smell and is more, well, tea-y.

The taste is a nice vanilla. The bean pod pieces seemed to impart a smoothness and a creaminess I wasn’t expecting, but really like. The depth of flavor isn’t quite what I was expecting (and I really need to review Periwinkle because it is awesome for this) but the base is okay and holds it’s own. I think the smoothness here is what I like most about this one.

I’ve got some low-key jazzy piano going and it really pairs well with this mellow cup.

Sipdown!

This one came to me thanks to QueenOfTarts. So thanks!

When I first tasted this one, I knew it was really really familiar, and then I realized that the Walnut Green at Georgia Tea Co. was pretty much the same thing. Oh well!

But this one has a weird lower layer of fruity sweetness that feels out of place. I call it a lower layer because the sweet seems to start at the bottom of my tongue and then work it’s way up to the top and settle where I would normally expect it to. It’s odd. I’m odd. Whatever.

I still really like base of sencha and the coconut adds a nice creamy feeling. I definitely taste the walnut and nuttiness and it’s well balanced. I’m also finding that most nut teas live kind of a weird feeling in my mouth…waxy but not quite. Either way! Good tea. Just like the other better.

Sipdown!

You know how cucumbers smell when you pick them fresh from the garden and they’re still a little dirty? That’s how this tea tastes cold steeped.

And it might sound a little (or a lot) meh, but I absolutely mean that in a good way. I mean, there’s not too much better in summer than a fresh cucumber washed, peeled and sprinkled with a little sea salt (and maybe a pinch of fresh dill). This tea captures that really well with it’s crisp and refreshing cuke-ness.

So. I definitely prefer this one cold; it is really fresh tasting that way. It’s just not something I think I’m keen on in my tea, but I could definitely see why someone could like this.

So, thanks again Kaylee for the chance to realize that I’d much rather eat my cucumbers.

A huuuuuuuuge clump of cranberry fell into the thermos when I went to steep this last night! I was actually surprised to find as many as they were floating around in the leaf.

But!

I finally got around to cold steeping this guy!

And I think I like it better hot.

There’s a weird soapy floral note that feels really out of place when it’s cold brewed. The soapiness goes away with a little sugar, but the floral sticks around and hits my tongue before the sweet-tart berry that I actually expected (and looked forward to!). There’s a depth of flavor I hadn’t expected and the sip ends on a sweet blackberry note which is nice, though.

I’ll try an extra strong normal brewing over ice before I change my rating, but I am so bummed this isn’t what I thought I was going to get.

This came to me thanks to QueenOfTarts!

Okay, I love grapefruit, and of course by some twist of fate I can’t eat grapfruit because of certain medications I’m on. And, of course, Fiance eats more grapefruit than is fair, so I’m so glad this is as good as it is and I don’t have to share!

The dry leaf smells subtely of grapefruit and I thought I got the tiniest amount of floral and grass, too. The floral disappears from the wet leaves, but the grapefruit is amped up.

The base is brothy and has that edamame beaniness that I really love about Dragonwell. And the grapefruit flavor is natural and dances across my tongue, and it’s juicy. Like really juicy. Then it gives way to the base and then resurges on the tail end with a tingle and a wave. The tingling on my tongue threw me off a little at first, but it’s that same tingle that comes with eating actual grapefruit.

The creaminess of the base with the flavor of realy grapefruit is so wonderful here. It’s like pairing that was just meant to be.

Unfortunately I drank it down before I could add sugar (oops), but as far as I’m considered it’s just about perfect now.

I’m kind of giddy from this one. It’s magical!

My willpower just caved so hard and I had to place an order. GAAAAAAAAAH.