Blueberry Black

This one is new from Spice & Tea Exchange and I first tried it when a friend of mine brought it over with her cool blue cast iron teapot to brew in not too long ago. I haven’t been able to forget this tea since then and today I finally went out and bought some.
It smells incredible. Blueberry scrumptiousness. I love that there are real blueberry pieces in it and that its a Yunnan black tea.
I really like the Spice & Tea Exchange, its the only good tea store experience I can have down here.

The first pot I made is just not the same as the first time I had it… but perhaps I need more time with it. Maybe her tea pot was seasoned with this tea as she told me its been the only one brewed in it for a while.
What ended up making this tea awesome for me this time was a cranberry orange white chocolate cookie from whole foods. It was amazing and I didn’t know I even liked cranberry orange.

Anyway, I’ve been on a crazy blueberry tea kick lately, and tried some other blueberry teas not worth mentioning. I wanted to add almond milk to this but it has to defrost from being in the back of the fridge (yeah thats not normal) so I had to use regular milk instead. I also used blue agave and its much better now.
I want to figure out how to create those blueberry tea mistos I used to get at Starbucks before they took them away.

Sipdown! That’s really all I have to say, haha.

That and… I tried half of my cup iced. I may have made it a little weak, but it was still pleasant. Though for some reason, it seems to have made the bitterness come out a bit more.

I thought I’d give it another go, this one. Well, I’m glad I did because this is much better!!
There is a lot more blueberry flavour now. It still won’t replace my secret love of the DT version by any means, but at least I am finding this cup enjoyable.
Shame though, that it seems to be a flavour distribution issue, as well as a base choice problem.
SO. This particular cup would garner a rating of about 77. Darn inconsistencies.

This is my final The Spice and Tea Exchange (TSTE) entry in the trilogy purchased by my thoughtful wife last weekend. I hate to see these selections come to an end. The first two that I tried, Black Chocolate and Lapsang Souchong, were simply amazing. Let’s see if TSTE can keep the run alive!

When I opened the zip-lock pouch of black leaves with blue, yellow, and brown specks, a very strong fruity/blueberry aroma was instantly revealed. It was a natural smell, not fake or chemical.

I steeped the leaves at 212 degrees for four minutes as recommended in the instructions on the pouch. The brewed color was a deep amber. A robust blueberry odor gushed from the pot.

My first sip produced a sweet, smooth, and very blueberry taste in my mouth. The flavor was much like the smell: sweet, full, and very natural, without any artificial inclinations. The taste was like fresh blueberries had just been picked and squeezed over the tea. The black tea attribute was in the back of the bus at no disadvantage to the great flavor.

The taste remained delightfully unchanged with all subsequent sips (and then gulps). Bitterness was nowhere to be found. The aftertaste was sweet and fruity. It reminded me of the glass of natural blueberry juice I drank a while back.

I wasn’t that fond of fruity teas as most of the ones I tried seem to have a chemical or perfume-like taste. However, the flavor of this tea was excellent. It was wonderful at breakfast and I’m sure it would be equally terrific at lunch, dinner, or iced. This blend was great enough to make me give the fruity tea category another chance!

To say that I am extremely impressed by the quality and flavor of TSTE’s teas would be a gross understatement. As I mentioned in an earlier tasting note, their selections are somewhat pricey at about $5.50 per ounce. Having said that, I also feel that the quality matched the price. All three of the selections that I tried were absolutely incredible. I may need to send my wife on another trip to the Washington, D.C., area soon! :-)

Iced Tea!

Y’all know I love a good blueberry tea, especially a black! This was very refreshing with a pretty strongly jammy blueberry flavour contrasted against a nice, simple brisk black tea base. There’s nothing about this that stands out as especially unique or distinct but the execution was really well done with a simple blueberry blend. Plenty flavourful and just quite tasty. I’d happily drink this one again!

Work tea #1

This is nice. The base tea is a bit woody, but it does have substance and body. The blueberry flavor is a bit odd. Some sips it’s right there, a delicious juicy blueberry flavor. Sweet and fruity. Other sips… nothing. I’m not sure why it’s that way, but if this tea were more consistent I’d be tempted to pick some up for myself. As it is, I’m glad I got to try it from the stash of teas they keep for us at my work. I think I’ll leave it at that.

I oversteeped my first cup but immediately noticed that while the bouquet of blueberry (I would describe it as blueberry pie) is strong, the flavor of the black tea was mild and clean. The blueberry did not overpower the tea even though the scent was strong to the very last sip, indeed to the tiniest drop left in the cup. This tea is an enjoyable change of pace for someone who typically drinks Irish breakfast tea in the morning and Earl Grey in the evening…day in and day out. The aftertaste is surprisingly pleasant: not at all bitter and somewhat mood enhancing in and of itself.

This is SUPER blueberry-y…like seriously. This is going to be phenomenal iced. It is mostly sweet blueberry but there is a little hint of tart and it is SO much nicer than the chai I tried from this brand last week, I am shocked. I am also going to try cold steeping it.

During our time in Gatlinburg, we visited The Village, an awesome little set of shops. Old friends of the family run The Cheese Cupboard there and so it has been a regular stop for as long as I can remember. Imagine my surprise when I looked at the website and discovered the Spice and Tea Exchange was just a few doors down from The Cheese Cupboard! They make my wife’s favorite coconut oolong, which she had just run out of.

It was a cute little shop, more spice than teas, and the teas were kept in glass jars and clear plastic baggies on the wall, which…sucked, but whatever. Each tea was bagged by the ounce, and you could get 3 ounces for $12, so that’s what we did. A bit pricey, but it’s also in a tourist part of town. This is one I immediately reached for and I’m glad I did. In the process of packing for the trip, I packed a lot of herbals for my mom, but forgot to pack anything caffeinated for me and the wifey.

More than half the bag is gone, this tea one I reached for often in the mornings. Now that I’m home, I set it to coldbrew overnight and it is yummy. Very fruity, but there’s a cloying artificialness that will keep me from trying to get more. Still, I will definitely stop in every time I’m in the area.

I love blueberry teas. Although I suspect I have rather high standards. This one isn’t a favorite. It has a slight “possibly” blueberry flavor. It actually reminds me a bit of black current flavoring. The aftertaste is perfumy. The base is smooth, not bitter or astringent.

I brewed this as a standard tea and then chilled in a pitcher overnight in the refrigerator.