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I was in Montana this last week visiting my grandparents and I found this tea at a local cafe. I had to try some, it’s just not a vacation unless I come home with new tea. When I penned the package the dry leaves smelled exactly like a creamsicle. I steeped for 3 minutes with boiling water. The tea keeps that same smell. It is a lighter orange in color and slightly cloudy I think due to the melted white chocolate. It tastes like a warm melted push pop. I think i am going to try it iced since this just seems like an iced flavor to me. I did not add any thing to sweeten or milk. It is a sweeter tea already. It is a very nice orange tea.

This is a fine malty blend and a strong tea. This is a tea that would give any holiday elf a little extra lift this busy time of year. It is too strong for me if prepared as directed. I brewed for 4 min at 160 and it has less bite from the Assam.

I made this tonight after feeling overly full from a savory stuffed pumpkin. The look of the dry pieces is as pictured. It smells gingery and peppery and like chocolate before brewing. I brewed at 180 for 5 minutes. The tisane smells more like chicory and ginger. It tastes initially like chicory but the chocolate smooths it while the pepper and ginger give it a slightly spicy note but some of the chicory bitterness lingers on the tongue though not in a bad way. It isn’t sweet like other tisane a I’ve recently drank but is very nice if you don’t want sweet. I think it is a tisane for people who also enjoy coffee.

To day I pulled this sample I bought from Tea Frog out of the pantry. I am a little stuffy today from all the recent rain kicking up my allergies. The dry leaves smelled slightly sweet and floral (maybe Jasmine?). I brewed for two and a half minutes at 170. The wet leaves smelled more vegetal with only a hint of the dry leaf smell. The tea is a pale amber in color and smells similar to the wet leaf. The taste is slightly astringent with the same vegetal base note, mildly nutty and slight sweet aftertaste. I don’t know if I would but this again, I’ll have to try again when I am less congested but it is a pleasant tea to drink this morning.

Alright Ashmanra, you got me with all your yummy sounding taste notes of lattes. Today I had to make my own. I got this matcha powder a couple months back. It does smell like Irish cream. I added a teaspoon to Starbucks frappachino double walled insulated cup and added a half cup of water and shook hard. I added water to the first line, added some honey, added milk to the second line, stirred like crazy and then added ice. It was so yummy and creamy. I will definitely be making more of these.

I got this as a sample from Teavivre. The dry leaves are tightly rolled medium and darker green little pearls. I didn’t pick up much roast-y aroma from the dry leaved, more vegetal to me. I did my first infusion and noticed a definite roasted aroma like roasted Hubbard squash. The infusion is a light yellow green in color and smells similar to the wet leaves but not as intense. The first sip is vegetal and slightly mineral to me with a sweet finish. As the tea cool I pick up more of the sweeter notes.

I picked a little tin of this up in a tea store in Nice this summer and forgot I even had it until yesterday. The dry leaves smell of cinnamon, clove, almond and similar to Pleine Lune except more cinnamon I think. The wet leaves lack the same strongly spicy aroma but the nice tea base is more evident. I don’t smell much vanilla (maybe due to my tea’s age?) even after the tea is brewed but I do pick up some of the orange scent.

Tasting the tea itself the first notes are cinnamon and clove with orange following and almond lingering. It is a happy little cup of Christmastime.

Unwinding from seeing Django Unchained which was classic Tarentino and really fun so I thought I’d give my new honeybush tea a try. Dry the leaves smell very strawberry, maybe it is the big chunks of freeze dried berry. The wet leaves smell similar but not as strong.

I brewed for 5 min with boiling water. The elixir has more notes of what I think is rhubarb in the aroma. The initial taste is berry and juicy somehow with later notes of rhubarb and lingering buttery and sweet notes. It is better as it cools and I can pick up more notes. It will probably be very good iced.

I am going to try to be better about logging teas, we’ll see how long this lasts. It is a raining morning here after several days of sun in a row and a beautiful coastal hike yesterday. I felt like a stronger tea this morning to get moving. My cute little 12 pound puppy was 54 pounds when I weighed him on Friday and he is only 5/6 months old, I think he may be part elephant.

Back to the tea, I am taking it with milk and honey today. I think the berry note I picked up the first time was more a result oh honey choice than the tea itself. It is a brisk tea even with milk but no bitter notes. It remains a good choice for starting the morning and the week.