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My eleventy-eleventh note! Didn’t even realize I’d broken one hundred.

Made two cups in the Breville…yes, I know it’s for loose-leaf, but for two cups, there’s plenty of room in the basket for the bags. And it worked really well.

I’ve been brewing this with water that was too hot. I’ve never temped the water before, just guestimated the temp. This cup is fresh, clean-tasting, light. I can taste more of the guava as well, and the pineapple is even more delicious. Previous cups have been heavier, denser, but this one…it’s crisp and bright.

Much more delicate and floral when brewed at the recommended temp. Stronger notes of honey/pollen as well.

I loaded my One-Touch with this last night. How did I live without this machine before now? After a night spent tossing and turning and trying to sleep, I woke up to a pot of tea. No putting the kettle on. No finding a clean strainer. No spilling of tea due to sleep-induced dexterity. Just pour.

Yes, I do notice a difference in the taste of this tea when made with the Breville (I shall have to name her, she is quite special). The taste of the tea itself is much more developed and prominent, with the peach as a very delicate note. It’s still very much one of my favorite teas.

And the Breville keeps the tea at the perfect drinking temp. swoon

I got my belated birthday present in the mail today: a Breville One-Touch Tea Maker. Good Mail Day!!!!

What to brew in it first? Oh, the decisions!! I finally settled on this rooibos blend. It’s one of the first that I purchased from Cuppa, my local tea haunt.

There’s a few loose leaves in the brew since some bits were smaller than the holes in the brew basket. But the taste!! This is definitely the best I’ve had this tea. Brewed for my usual 10 minutes…wow!!

It tastes like a chocolate-covered banana, or like chocolate chip banana bread. It’s sweet without being sickly-so. Banana, real banana, not a candy banana, flavor is the first note, followed quickly by the chocolate, and then with a mild rooibos finish. If you’ve not had this tea and like bananas, you really need to get some!

And the One-Touch is awesome. Already plotting what tea I’m going to put in it to have ready for me at 5 am.

(edited because I had to experiment with making italics)

I’ve not added a tasting note on this? How is that possible? I drink this at least twice a week. I found it the past Valentine’s at my first visit to World Market (oh, yeah, that was a good tea day).

I think I’m with the minority here, but I think the rooibos is a good base for this tea. It’s a mild strawberry flavor, more like preserves rather than real strawberries. And the chocolate is more cocoa than milk chocolate, which I think is really nice. I’ll definitely be picking this one up again when next Valentine’s rolls around.

Wild cherry bark is the first listed ingredient and cherry is definitely the first taste you get. That’s followed closely by the taste of rose hips, then hibiscus, and the cup finishes with a slight hint of mint and lemon. This is one of those teas where the flavors actually match the list of ingredients nearly to the letter (though I don’t get much orange from it). The liquor is a beautiful cranberry color, slightly browner than a traditional hibiscus tea. You definitely get the tartness of a hibiscus tea, but the other flavors are much stronger and make this more fruity than tart. Sadly, I’m getting low on this tea, too. Would definitely consider buying again, but will probably buy something new first (there’s just way too many teas/tisanes out there to try).