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It’s funny maybe more ironic I guess. We were in Florida at the beginning of the month visiting my wife’s Aunt in Tampa and there was a tea place that I wanted to visit last year when we there. We got a chance to go to Hookers which is a good place but this time around we went to Ming Ming tea. We went in the owner was talking about how he had the spring 2014 crop in stock. I thought to myself….2014 is already on it’s way :) So the shipment came about a week later and basically it was like Christmas again. Especially since my duties have changed at work and it’s a little more hectic. I have to tell you that I was never a green tea fan until I have tried selections from Teavivre. The dry leaves resemble blades of grass. There is an pleasant grassy flavor with this one as well as a hint of roasty flavor, spinach too. Kinda like fresh mowed grass. Which was what I was doing when the blade on my mower came off. So tea time it is! This is another great offering from Teavivre.

I’ve had this one for quite a while in my cupboard. Pu-Erh is my favorite out of all teas. There is just some I love about the bold full bodied flavor you get from the Pu-Erh. If it’s Pu-Erh I like it even if it happens to be a cheaper variety that tends to be on the fishy side. To liken it to beer terms this seems to be more like a lager than a stout. The aroma of the dry leaves seems to be closer to a straight Yunnan black than a Yunnan Pu-Erh….and there is explanation to my ignorance after reading on the Teavana website that it is blended with Yunnan and not just a straight Pu-Erh(something is rotten in the state of Denamark). Either way this is a pretty good offering from Teavanna that won’t break the bank either. I find more and more that I have to be thrifty when I feed the tea habit. I have found that mixing this with the Teavanna’s Chocolate Orange Tea makes for quite a treat. I tsp each ratio. I will probably keep this one on hand.

I hear Neil Diamond singing hello my friend, hello. Ah I love this tea! So good and from what I understand I have the version before they re-blended it. I don’t know why they would want to change a good thing. This is a treat as I’m trying to get rolling this morning.

I have to admit that I have been bad reviewing teas lately. I’ve been drinking tea daily but since I do about half of my work at home now…normally I’m scheduling music or producing John Tesh. When I say producing I mean listening to make sure he’s not talking about something like what happens to your brain when you smoke pot or when you take your first sip of a margarita. Those topics don’t work on a Christian radio station. So this was another sample that I received from Teavivre. I have really enjoyed the oolongs that I have been able to try from Teavivre. I have to say that sometime I’m going to have to have to try osmanthus flowers straight up. I have had a few teas with it but never by themselves. I may have to take a field trip to one of the asian market that carry them on the east side of Cleveland. I opened up the package and the aroma reminds me of a ginseng oolong. There is a sweetness in the aroma that transfers to the cup. It’s another great offering from Teavivre. One of my personal oolong quality tests is how many steeps I can get out of the leaves. So far four good steeps out of this tea. Really enjoy this one.

So I found the Jade Monk teas at Earth Fare and I was intrigued. The equivalent of 7 cups of green tea, and mixes with cold water. So I saved this one for coming home from a gig after doing two weekend gigs and dragging at church on Sunday. No better time to try it. This reminds of drinking a fireball candy. It’s really sweet. The stevia and fructose make it a bit to sweet for my liking. I did however notice feeling a little more awake during service. I think I would rather stay with straight up matcha. This is just ok more reviews to come. I’m digging the new look and feel of steepster.

Happy polar vortex everybody. In other words holy crap it’s cold in the Buckeye state! I started the car this morning because my wife still had to work and my finger tips were red just from pulling the car out of the garage. I’m not complaining though the boss closed the office so I didn’t have to make the the drive to work, the heat works, water pipes are good, and I got to spend the whole day with the little man. In need of an afternoon boost I grabbed this. I’m excited because it’s an oolong so I know I’m going to get a few cups out the leaves and because it’s from Teavivre. Most green oolongs I have tried either tend to be floral(Jasmine) or buttery. This one is definitely more floral. I love jasmine teas and the first cup definitely has some jasmine characteristics that I’m tasting. Really good. I’m finishing up my 5th cup with the same set of leaves. Each consecutive cup seems to be less floral and be more nutty. Another great offering from Teavivre.

Celebrating the new year with bowling, delicious food, and some good tea. My wife and I are co-chairs with another couple for our church’s capital campaign, and a few weeks ago we were talking about tea at one of the meetings. So after a game of bowling we head back to their house to enjoy some great food. This is what Les had received from his wife for Christmas asked if I would like some. How could I turn down such an offer :) Les is fairly new to loose leaf tea and I said the great part about teas like this are that you can get more than one steep out of the leaves(to his surprise since he had been tossing the leaves after a steep). No surprise this is a great tea. It may be the first time I’ve had Teavana’s Black Dragon. I have had Teavivre’s offering of this tea. Same quality and flavor. I love the chocolaty and malty notes of the tea. The better value….well that’s not for me to decide ;)

Today we celebrated Christmas with my family. My brother and his family in from Michigan and it’s always a great time with great food, and enough calories that could keep the Hindenburg from taking flight. So of course now I need something to settle the old tummy. My secret…1 bag lemon ginger and 1 bag peppermint. I wouldn’t exactly call this a tea for taste, but it sure works after a heavy meal. Very medicinal and a little spicy. I like both of these by themselves and together make the ultimate tummy tamer. It’s kind of like an herbal ginger ale.

So my taste buds must be completely different than everyone else. I picked this one up a while back I got roped into the fall blends. I’ve been really enjoying rooibos lately since I’ve dropped my daily caffeine intake by about 80%. I really like this one. I’m not sure if I would say that it tastes like spiced apple cider. There are hints of apple, citrus, and hibiscus. I’m not sure why when it comes to herbals there seems to be an abundance of hibiscus. That may very well be the tea blending question of the century. What this tea really reminds of is mulled wine. I find that rooibos reminds me a lot like wine. There is a comfort factor with this. Warming up next to a fire after a hayride or playing in the snow. I think this one is good, but not outstanding. 2 teaspoons 8oz cup is what I have found to be the best proportions.