Ambrosia

Shae Advent Day 25

This one tastes pretty rich and nice, almost chocolatey. I’m enjoying it with some milk, and it’s so smooth. It’s a tasty tea to end the advent on! Thanks so much to Shae for all the awesome tea selections! I definitely have some new favorites now!

A bit of a dry mouthfeel, that I’m not particularly fond of. Definitely cherry and chocolate at first, and I’m getting a bit of the vanilla as the cup cools. There’s something almost stevia-like in the aftertaste.

Ambrosia has delightful notes of cocoa, malt, dark cherry, vanilla, and marshmallow. It’s smooth and creamy, nice mouth feeling… A thickness feeling and has a long-lasting finish. It is a complex tea with lots of underlying notes especially of fruity layers such as stone fruits, apricots, apples, mainly baked cherries, however, the vanilla and chocolate notes are on the forefront. Other notes throughout are baked bread, malt, berries. It is energizing and calming at the same time.

Gaiwan, 200℉, 5g, 110ml, 7steeps: rinse, 5s, 10s, 20s, 30s, 40s, 60s,120s

I have also tried it as directed, western brew. Excellent that way too.

Wow – the cocoa notes in this tea! Rich, dark, cocoa that complements rather than overpowers the tea. Surprised that there’s only tea and vanilla in this blend, since it’s so full-bodied, earthy and complex. I shamefully did not do a second steeping, which is such a waste. Next time I brew it, I’ll make sure to get all I can out of it. Wonderful quality (as one would expect from this vendor), perfect for breakfast on a chilly day. Or after dinner on a chilly evening. Or anytime the mood for a bold tea strikes.

It’s so different with something I ever drink before.

Good tea

I don’t drink many blends, but ordered this as a dessert tea. It was lovely while it lasted. I used a tiny bit of raw sugar. Yum!

I finished this a couple days ago without ceremony, which is disgraceful.

It tastes of rich dark wood, ripened cherries, and heady vanilla. It also reminds me of cream soda, with less sugar. Needless to say, it’s on the reorder list for when I’m fabulously rich or the Canadian dollar isn’t so terrible- whichever comes first!

I picked this tea up during Black Friday sale. I quite literally purchased the last ounce available at the time. You may notice that this review is very similar to my Golden Orchid review; I comment on that below.

Opening the bag and taking a whiff is a real treat! A rush of cocoa and vanilla, with nice maltiness to back it up. A bit like fresh brownies.

The tea steeps a nice dark brown, and retains the lovely aroma.

The taste is exceptional! Smooth and full, lots of flavors. No need for sugar, as the vanilla beans give plenty of sweetness. The black tea blend is excellent, and would stand up well on its own without the vanilla. No corners were cut in putting this blend together. I should note that this tea is flavored with actual beans, which gives it a nice smoothness versus a typical “flavored” tea using extract or other processed flavoring.

A second steeping holds up well, but I find that I need to about double the concentration to maintain the same strength as a first steeping. (In other words, I use half as much water in the second steeping.)

Overall, a superb black tea! It works well as a morning wake-up or an after-dinner dessert companion. This is going on my must-buy list. I don’t usually enjoy “flavored” teas, but this one is done very well. If you prefer “straight” black tea like me, and you’re looking for something with a fuller flavor profile, don’t hesitate to pick this up!

I tried this side by side with Whispering Pines’s Golden Orchid. If you’re wondering, this tea uses Tahitian vanilla beans, while Golden Orchid uses Madagascar beans. I think the difference between the two is that Ambrosia has a more pronounced vanilla flavor. Other than that, they are identical in my opinion, so their reviews will be very similar. Whether Ambrosia is worth the additional price over Golden Orchid depends on how much you like a stronger vanilla flavor. I give both the same rating.

Today i’m packing my knitting stuff, my daily use stuff and my clothes. Tomorrow my brothers are coming to load up my bed etc. That means today is my last day in bass hell. I was hoping for a quiet, relaxing day of packing.

The bass started up today at 10:40 am this morning. I want to go over there and punch him in the face and scream at him that couldn’t he for F’ing ONCE not play his bass at top volume? He once told me, “I like being respectful.” Well, respect this, you selfish, inconsiderate @$$wipe! Grrrrr.

My tea is packed. Actually, it is all in one of those large sized reusable grocery tote bags. To celebrate, I decided to brew a small pot of Ambrosia to sip while I pack. It is a great tea. So, so smooth. The flavor is rich. No bitterness, no astringency. Truly worth the price tag.

I have a collection of teapots and I know I can’t take them all so I decided to pack my DAVID’s clear glass bubble tea pot for mom’s. It supposedly holds four cups. I find it holds TWO, but then, like C.S. Lewis, you can’t get a cup of tea big enough for me. Anyway, I left out a couple tea bags for when I’m here later packing and cleaning. The microwave and a paper cup will suffice for those days.