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Happy Birthday to me happy birthday to meee!

B’day tea number 2!

The flavors meld really well together, I can distinctly taste the boozy rum, the lime, orange, the hay and melon notes of the white. I bet this would make great iced tea!

Happy happy birthday to meee! First tea of the day yayyy!

[side note, I may have underleafed this time. mehhhh]

The first tea I tried from the Not my cup of Tea TTB!

I frickin LOVE cherry vanilla soda. I have some Cherry coke zero and vanilla coke zero in my fridge. Right. Now. So when I was digging through this massive (and well packed, might I add, MAJOR Kudos to Michelle!) TTB last night, this one caught my eye.

I’ve had maybe one or two ‘soda’ flavored teas and I really like that concept. Especially for introducing soda lovers to the idea of flavored teas as a substitute. I’m currently working on a kombucha flavor using Root Beer Barrels as a base.

Too bad this one was a big ‘ole flop. It could have been executed so well too! The cherry flavor was too strong, I only got a whisper of actual cola flavor, the vanilla was light to non existent and the base tea was not right, I tasted dust, wood, and dry potting soil.
I’m hoping it was just a shade too old, or the fact that the TTB is traveling in lots of climate changes, etc. I had such hope for this one!

Once again, it is time for purse sample teabag day!

I was not expecting it to stay cool and overcast today, so the large jug of iced tea I cold brewed the night before was just not doing it for me. I pulled this one out on a whim and brewed it up.
The black tea base is so nonexistent it makes me so sad. I do get some astringency in this brew. The orange is a very familiar orange. Think orange hard candy, not the fruit. 5 or 6 years ago, I would have gone grapenuts for this tea. I used to love the combination of orange and black tea. I think I still would if it was a better tea with natural citrus/raisin/cocoa notes, and a better flavoring.

S-s-s-sipdown!
I thought it’d shake things up and gongfu the last bit of this guy. What could go wrong?

Word to the wise: don’t. The first couple of sips were definitely a bumpy ride. I measured up what I thought was going to be way under my usual, but woahh, it came out strong, and not unlike strong chicory coffee.

I ended up steeping it for 4 short sessions and put the resulting liquid into a mason jar to cool overnight in the fridge. In the morning, it turned out to be a great ice cold black tea!

Hooray for experimentation?

Thanks so much scribbs! this was an excellent sample of an excellent and classic Chinese red. I had fun drinking it! The tea was gracious enough to brew up all of it’s goodness slowly, letting me enjoy every last drop to it’s fullest. The soup was thick and brothy, and a brilliant red. The taste was heavy in my mouth, and the flavors lasted long after each sip. I got no astringency whatsoever, it was so even and smooth. The aroma is similar to fresh baked whole wheat bread, with perhaps some dried fruit snuck inside. Upon further inspection, I detect creamed honey and thick malt coating my throat. It still retains that bread quality without becoming like crunchy old toast. This would make for an excellent breakfast tea!

See my review here:
http://sororiteasisters.com/2015/04/17/tangyang-gongfu-black-tea-tao-tea-leaf/

First tasting note? Ah, so much pressure!
I wasn’t expecting to like this tea as much as I did. It smelled like hippie perfume. Nothing says yummy like drinking a bottle of essential oils!
No, but seriously. That scent combined with the slightly sweet and smoky black tea like a charm. It wasn’t soapy or incense-y. I say give it a try if you can!

In depth-ish review here:
http://sororiteasisters.com/2015/04/18/nurture-4-black-tea-verdant-tea/