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I had this tea this morning with my hospital cafeteria breakfast (which was filling and delicious, despite the fact that the cook seemed to think that a cabbage leaf was an appropriate garnish for a plate of pancakes). Anyway, I had to make do with ordering a cup of hot water to use for tea, so I have no idea what temperature it was steeped at, although it couldn’t have been more than about 180° F. Anyway, it turned out to be a wonderfully light complement to my bagel and strawberries (the hubby ended up eating the pancakes).

As a side note, the reason I’m in the hospital is because I now have a brand spanking new little girl named Charlotte! We’re both doing fine, and will probably go home tomorrow. :)

Backlog!

So, the hubby and I finally tried this one last night. I was in the mood for green tea, but I was despairing that our green tea stash is so low on variety… and then I remembered that we had gotten this one in the “happy bag!” It smelled so grassy/grainy, very hay- or wheat-like, that we just had to try it.

So glad we did! It steeped a wonderful lime-y green color (the hubby likened it to lime Kool-Aid), and it smelled of popcorn and matcha and wheatgrass. The taste was just what I wanted—fresh, light, and savory, like a smoothie made with green vegetables. Yum!

… I haven’t written many tea reviews lately because I just keep drinking the same teas over and over again, going back to old favorites that I’ve reviewed already. Like this one (although calling it a favorite is a bit generous—it was chosen more for the fact that it fit my mood than that it’s a favorite). I decided today is a pajama day, because it’s cold and I’m hugely pregnant and I don’t feel like going anywhere. I WILL do laundry today… but not yet. Right now, it’s Project Runway Australia and this tea, which is just the right combination of light and earthy that I was after. :)

Hmm, I wish I’d have known this was a red rooibos before I selected it to bring to work with me today… Both the bag and the brew smell quite strongly of rooibos, pretty medicinal. However, from the brewed tea at least, I am getting quite hefty smells of caramel, like jarred caramel sauce after it’s been warmed. Not so much apple, though, and the chamomile isn’t earning it any points, either. (I’m only a fan of chamomile in certain applications, anyway, because it tends to taste like bland lemonade to me, without any of the citrus-y bite that lemonade should have… if that makes any sense.)

Whoa. In the first few sips, I’m getting nothing BUT apple and chamomile. The caramel didn’t show up until the fifth or sixth sip, and the rooibos has mercifully taken a backseat. The overall effect is not as unpleasant as it might have been, but still not something I’d ever think of and go “yeah, I’m in the mood for THAT.” I’ll probably finish this cup, but I definitely won’t be buying this. Thanks to IrishBreakfastLass for this one, though (I think… I may be remembering incorrectly who sent this to me, and if I got the wrong person, I’m sorry!). Glad I got to try it.

I’m… not sure what to think of this one. I don’t know if it’s the guayusa I don’t like or the peppers. This is the first guayusa tea I’ve ever tried, so I really have no point of reference for this. I get mostly an herbal-y kind of flavor, sort of like mate and rooibos and… rosemary?… all combined together. The peppers have QUITE a kick to them, which I’m also not too fond of (the hubby hypothesized that this might have been caused by an accidental oversteepage, which we were a little guilty of). Sweetening it only compounded this problem. We tried adding a little half and half, and initially it was a better, but it didn’t last long. I think I just don’t like it, to be quite honest. I’ve tried it all the ways I can think of, and I can’t make myself drink an entire cup. Maybe guayusa tea is just not for me… which is why I’m not going to rate this one.

I think I brewed this one too hot and scorched the peach flavor right out of it. Note to self: don’t do that! :(

This. ‘Cause why not? It’s 72-ish degrees outside, and I’m taking a break between cleaning spurts. Not much to say, had this tea before (although apparently I didn’t log it then… oops).

Yay, samples! This came in the monthly newsletter, and I was very pleased when I took it out of its package! This is, again, another very impressive fruit flavored tea from Lupicia. The apple definitely makes itself known, both in the smell of the loose leaf and after it’s been steeped. Even unsweetened, the mouthfeel of the tea is very much like the juice from a tart, fresh apple. The green tea base is quite lovely, too—vegetal and slightly astringent, which pairs quite well with the apple. Well done!

Okay, so I know I’ve been saying red rooiboses aren’t doing it for me nowadays, but having had this one before, I knew that the rooibos flavor is just a side note in this particular blend, so I was okay. Plus, I blended it with Teavana’s Cha Yen Thai, one of my absolute favorites of theirs, which added some excellent spice and coconutty depth. The chocolate flavor came out right near the end of the sip, which was just perfect. I highly recommend doing this blend, if you happen to have both of those teas. They are similar enough not to clash, but different enough that each of their quirks (the coconut and the chocolate) still shine through well enough. Sort of like well-adjusted siblings.