Java Momma

The TTB has arrived! So big, so many teas… no chance to try them all!
Tea #16

First true dismal from the TTB.
Like Shae it’s pretty much generic fruity tea. Bases are clashing each other. And in the end the aftertaste was just plain awful. Can’t name what it was like, but it made me almost to throw up. Yuck!

Sampled from the Strange VariaTea Traveling Tea Box

A classic blended black tea base with a very light strawberry flavor on top. It actually smells like a very natural strawberry flavor, and what I can taste is pretty natural too. It’s just quite faint. A pleasant, unassuming morning cuppa, but nothing to write home about.

Sampled from the Strange VariaTea Traveling Tea Box

I always want to like vanilla-y green teas more than I do! I just find vanilla + black tea to be a more natural and enjoyable pairing. I liked the grassy sencha base on its own just fine, but it didn’t really fit with the vanilla layered on top.

#SVTTB Round Two – Tea 20/???

Cold Brew!

One of the last teas I pulled from the TTB to try! I wasn’t sure if I wanted to do this hot or cold, but in the end the weather ended up deciding for me. I think it’s my favourite of the mix of Java Momma blends i tried. I don’t get much cinnamon at all, but the sweet candied red apple note is very pleasant and well balanced with the brisk black base. It reminded me a lot of the candy apple/red apple flavour that Adagio uses in some of their blends like Kentucky Bourbon and the Candied Apple seasonal Halloween one. Not sure if it’s the same or just very similar, but regardless I’m a fan of it in Adagio’s teas so I’m a fan of it here too.

#SVTTB Round Two – Tea 8/???

Cold Brew!

I’m so inundated with tea samples right now from the TTB, tea orders, and my vacation so it’s going to be an interesting balance of what to drink the next few weeks. I do want to get the box ready to ship out fairly soon though, so I’m trying to make sure I’m getting in the teas I earmarked to try.

I though this one was pretty disappointing, especially compared to the perfectly solid orange flavoured black tea I tried from this same company. It was very, very lightly flavoured with just a hint of strawberry alongside a really neutral standard black tea blending base. Smooth and easy enough to sip on (and better than just cold water), but certainly lacking anything distinct to the taste. Never would have been able to blindly identify this as strawberry – it was just that light.

#SVTTB Round Two – Tea 4/???

There’s a couple teas from Java Momma in the box and since it’s a new (to me) company I figured I’d try at least a few. This one was respectable. Pretty standard black tea blending base; not a lot of distinct notes but good body to it. The orange note was really well defined with an almost Grand Mariner type quality to it. I don’t know the last time I had a black tea with just orange flavouring in it that didn’t also feature cream/vanilla flavouring or some type of acidified ingredient like apple or hibiscus and it was kind of strange to be tasting orange without anything to “balance it out” but not in a bad way…

I don’t think this is something I’d buy for myself though as it’s just a little too plain.

TeaTiff Traveling Tea Box | No. 10

I was so excited about this one, but the flavors didn’t come through for me. It’s a mix of black tea, puerh, oolong, strawberry, and pineapple (I think that’s right). It just tasted generic honestly, that’s the best word I can think of to describe it. I didn’t really taste any of the individual flavors, just “flavored” black tea. Of course it could have been the way I steeped it or the specific mix of ingredients in my teaspoon. I may try it once more before sending it on, but hopefully others will find a way to enjoy it where I couldn’t

Pulled this out of the SVTTB and made it as a latte. I wanted to like it but if I’m being honest, it just tasted like vanilla grass.

Pulled this from the SVTTB and it was an okay orange black tea, albeit not particularly interesting in any way.

Sipdown! (23 | 23)

Another gifted tea from Gabby! I believe this is the same as Adagio’s White Blueberry iced tea pouches. I don’t actually drink cold brew or iced tea, so I cut open the pouches and sipped it hot.

It’s a nice sweet and mellow blueberry white tea. The tea itself has some gentle hay and grass notes, the blueberry is fairy mild but mostly tastes authentic. Perhaps more like a dried blueberry than a fresh one, but definitely not like candy.

Not something I would repurchase, but I enjoyed it as a relaxing afternoon cuppa. And the name is very cute. :)

Sipdown! (17 | 17)

This was a gift from Gabby, thank you!

So I think this is a repackage of Adagio’s White Chai, as this company seems to mostly resell Adagio from what I’ve seen. It’s a nice enough light chai, although I do question the purpose of including the white tea at all when it’s as the fifth ingredient and I can’t taste it anyway. So this mostly tastes like an herbal chai mixed with lemongrass and a hint of coconut. It’s a pleasant cuppa but heavier on the clove than I would prefer, I’m not tasting a lot of the other spices.

I like the concept, but it’s not one I would order for myself.

My first chicory blend, it’s lightly sweet, spicy, warm, and cozy. It mostly tastes like a Cinnabon mini roll dunked in a bit of coffee enjoyed while watching Halloweentown. All the fall vibes, all the coziness. I’m so sad it’s a limited edition I have to try to grab more.