Tabby Send Message

This is the black tea provided where I stayed with Kaliska during Dragon*Con, at the Ritz-Carlton in Atlanta. I took it with me, and am just now giving it a taste.

It smelled promising when I took the bag out of the packet and sniffed. Like a strong, clean tea. Upon tasting, it has a nice malty, almost savory taste that lingers in my mouth. It’s pleasant and smooth, but unremarkable. Not the best black bagged tea I’ve had, but there’s not really anything wrong with it.

The packet said that it’s a blend from India and Africa, but it tastes like a plain old Assam to me.

As far as the assams I’ve tried in the past have tasted, this one is a little mild. It’s a mellow, slightly musky black tea. Pretty unremarkable, but will make good fodder for mixing and making in big batches. I’ll probably overlook it next time I’m at the market, as I liked their ceylon a bit more.

I’ll have a picture for this tea up tomorrow!

Backlogging from earlier today. My brother and I had this iced with a little sugar. It came out perfect this time, I think. I let the water stop bubbling just before it hit the leaves, which I think keeps it from getting that odd aftertaste darjeelings can have if the water is too hot. It’s almost like an oolong that way. Anyway, I’m going to have to make a pitcher after tasting it again. So good.

I live!

Sorry, I do this. I disappear for months at a time, then return. And hopefully I will be returning to Steepster with full force. Mainly, I’ve been gone since I haven’t purchased many new teas. I’ve been working on my collection, trying to get through what I have before I move along. Also, the heat here in Atlanta has been devastating, which leads me away from tea a bit, except for in iced form. Which I haven’t had time to brew in batches.

Anyway, this tea was delicious as always. I’m beginning to run low, but I am prepared to let it go. I brewed it double-strong after four days of partying hard at Dragon*Con, and flopped down onto the couch with the boys for the episode of Doctor Who I missed. It was slightly bitter, but I love bitterness, especially paired with creaminess. It was thoroughly enjoyed and will be again.

I’m nearing the end of my little tub. I’ve made several pitchers and countless tall icy glasses of this tea. I had a feeling it would be my summer staple this year, and it definitely has been. I’ve also been experimenting and blending it with other teas to create flavors like Raspberry Apple, Raspberry Plum, or Raspberry Darjeeling, etc.

I will definitely pick up another tub when I go back. I still can’t believe 5 oz. of loose leaf is only $2. Also, I’ll be trying the Earl Grey and whatever else catches my eye.

My brother received a box of this tea as a gift a few months ago. We finally got around to brewing a pitcher of it for sweet tea last night. It’s very mild but not weak. It tastes and smells like generic, everyday black tea, but without any harshness. There’s no bitter aftertaste. It’s completely smooth and malty. My brother described it as sort of creamy.

Others have said that it can stand long steep times without getting bitter, so I will definitely try that.

Mmm, tea plus alcohol, we meet again.

This smells heavenly. Fruity, lemony, sort of like a good Earl grey, but very sweet. I know it’s made with oolong, but I can’t tell by the scent. I’m taking it as a shot, since that seems like the best way to judge the taste.

Oh. Wow. This tastes like Earl grey, too, and it’s wonderful. However, it doesn’t taste anything like oolong. I kinda get the feeling that they don’t expect people to know the difference, as with lots of mainstream pseudo-tea products. But I’m going to have to snag a bottle in case they discontinue it. It burns just enough, and it’s not as sweet as I was expecting. It’s clean, it’s zesty, and it gets you drunk. This is going to inspire some interesting mixed drinks.

Alright, so I gave this tea another go. I made it iced instead of hot, and I think I got a better batch. I definitely used enough leaf this time and it turns out that it’s about as strong as the raspberry blend I also have. I’m bumping up my rating, because I love anything apple flavored and this is no exception. Yum.

The first thought I had when I opened the container to sniff was “Wow, Sour Apple Blowpops”. This is definitely a green apple flavored tea, not apple cinnamon. The package doesn’t list ingredients, but there is no way this isn’t artificially flavored somewhat. It’s too strong and candylike.

I found that even after almost five minutes, this tastes a little weak. I’m keeping my rating a little low because of it. The apple flavor is very pleasant and nice, and it lingers in my mouth, but it’s not as flavorful as I expected from the scent. Next time, it gets a longer brew time and more leaf. Then maybe I can make a more final judgement.

Thanks to Zij-Ra, I got to try this oolong yesterday afternoon.

I didn’t take part in the preparation of this tea, so I can’t describe it much. Zij-Ra didn’t use an infuser, as she explained it wasn’t necessary. I was really impressed to see why. The leaves, though rolled tightly, expanded and uncurled to reveal that they were entirely whole. This is something quite impressive to me since I mostly stick to (admittedly low grade lately) black teas. It looked lovely in the cup, and I found myself looking down into it as I sipped, watching the leaves swirl about.

As for the flavor, it was most definitely an oolong even though the leaves are a little lighter green than some oolongs I’ve tried. I added a little honey to enhance the flavor, which seemed to bring out the oolong’s nuttiness. However, it did seem to taste a lot like a green tea as well, for lack of a better description. It had more of that fresh taste than I was expecting.

The steep time is just a guess since we never took the leaves out. I waited a pretty long time, probably more than I logged, because I’m sensitive to hot water.