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While I tried many teas during my stay in Germany, there are few I know enough about to write about here. I would like to note that tea is far more popular in Germany than here in the US. And the kind of tea that is drunken is far more variable than what you would find in the UK. It seems that people really enjoy herbals of all kinds. In fact, they like to drink them for the healing properties, such as fennel tea for digestion. There’s also a large demand for rooibos and fruit teas. And I’m not the hugest expert on German tea drinking, but even green tea seems more popular than black. Maybe it’s just the people I know. In short, Germany is a great place for tea lovers. They seem to take tea with lemon juice and rock sugar. When I added a bit of milk to mine, everyone was like “oo, so British.” hah!

I also looked into getting some German rock sugar that I hear so much about. Funnily enough, when I went into a local supermarket, the rock sugar was being marketed as British. I’m a bit confused. I bought some other dark sugar instead. I don’t know if I got rock sugar. I’m confused. I need to do some research.

While visiting with my husband’s family in Germany, I spent a bit of time in Chemnitz. It’s a small city with a nice down town shopping center area. I spotted this coffee/tea shop next to a place selling regional hand carved Christmas decorations. I just saw the word “tee” and I ran straight for it with my husband and brother-in-law following reluctantly. There’s a decent selection of tea here and the lady working there was really serious and knowledgeable about tea. I ordered a cup of Kukicha to go and I was really impressed with the care she took to brew it properly. Usually, even at upscale tea places, they just add some leaves and hot water and hand you the cup, leaving you to wonder at the temperature and how long the tea had been in there already. She took her time and let the water cool, added the leaves, timed the steeping, then took out the leaves at the appropriate time. The resulting tea was perfectly brewed and delicious.

The BIL ordered a 125 gram bag of this tea. (Yes, I’m finally getting to the tea). He had meant it as a present for someone, but then found out that he didn’t need to give this gift after all. I received this tea instead. Score! I had no idea what a maracuja was and no one was able to explain it to me. Apparently, it’s a passion fruit, but it seems that that yellow variety is more common in Germany (or so I’m told). It’s got other tropical fruit flavors in it also. I think the leaves are large and lovely but the flavor is so crazy! It’s really fruity but it tastes so odd and candy-like. It doesn’t really taste like passionfruit. I’m not really liking the flavoring but the tea itself is a good quality. I think I’ll give it back next time we’re in Germany. He seemed interested in trying some himself.

Hello my Steepsterites! I hope everyone is well and having a wonderful holiday. I’m traveling at the moment and finding a lack of good teas. Germany actually has a really good tea culture. coffee reigns here, but tea enjoys a pretty high status as well. Rooibos is plentiful, as are herbal teas of all sorts. But I just don’t have the equipment or place to make a good cup of tea usually. sad. But I did bring some odds and ends of teas and tea bags from my collection. I’m finishing this sample of milk oolong at the moment.

Steeping this in what I think is called the ‘old man’ method. Put leaves in a mug and add hot water. Drink straight out of the mug. My mom does it this way usually. It’s really interesting because instead of getting the different notes and flavors in different steeps, you get them all in layers as you sip. The tea starts out floral and creamy and ends up savory and vegetal at the bottom of the mug. I’m enjoying this a lot more than the first time I had it. It has also been forever since I last had an oolong.

Can’t wait to get home to my tea and my puppies!! And keyboards where I know the locations of the symbols I want…

It’s bubblegum. Very fruity, but candy fruity. Orangey candy. I’ve found that I really don’t like the smell of apple pieces in tea. Thankfully, I couldn’t smell the apple in the final product.
I dunnoooo… I don’t really want to drink a tea that reminds me of bubblegum. I think can drink this and enjoy it, but it’s not really for me. I guess this is the point after a second date where you decide you just want to be friends.

Yummy chai! The smell of the dry leaf is heavenly. The rooibos is definitely in there, but not strong. It’s behaving despite a long steep. There’s a slight burn from the peppercorn. Cinnamon and cloves and cardamom. Mmmmmm…. so tasty. I love spices. I might have been born with a piece of cinnamon in one fist and a cardamom pod in the other. The coconut makes it’s all smooth and decadent feeling.

I’ve been looking for a perfect caffeine free chai that I can keep on constant supply. This is a strong contender. One day, when I’m in the mood, I may try it sweet with milk.

I think that if this hadn’t been oversteeped and scorched, it would have been amazing and perfect. I got this at a bakery on a cold night to warm me up, but couldn’t control the water temperature. Anyway, the tea was astringent and a bit bitter, but underneath that, there’s a really delicious fruity sweet flavor with a bright green base. I bet that if I had steeped it properly, it would have been delicious. The fella even had some and he doesn’t even like pineapple. He thought it tasted sweetened even though it wasn’t. Might make a good drink when you’re craving sweets of the fruity nature. Drink tea instead of eating lollipops?

Thanks to Uniquity, I finally get to try this tea. It’s been on my shopping list since forever! I know I just wrote a post about how I’m not the hugest fan of black tea, but this one sounds so fantastically flavored and everyone likes it! I’m weak for hype, I guess.

So this tea is malty, sweet and caramelly. I feel like the vanilla is really there as a support for the caramel. I did add some milk and sugar, but I feel like it was better without. While I really enjoyed the flavor, I think I’m the only person in the world who’s not a fan of Harney’s black tea base. I can’t detect anything wrong with it, but somehow, I’m just not a fan. It’s smooth. It doesn’t get bitter. It’s rich but not too bold. It’s pretty mellow and comforting. Maybe I’m just crazy. Maybe I have to train my palate for black tea. Maybe it’s a subconscious fear of caffeine even though I know this one is decaf. I still keep expecting the jitters and the pressure behind my eyeballs.

Any how! Love the flavor! Love that it’s decaf! I’m sure the tea base and I will get along over time. :)

So, I’ve never been a fan of black tea except for the milky sweet variety or the interestingly flavored variety. Sometimes I have a craving for black tea, but as I drink it, I realize I’m not enjoying as much as I want to. So I never make an effort to have black tea around. In fact, I sometimes take steps to avoid getting black tea. I know this makes me an anomaly in the tea world. But everyone makes this tea sound so special, I had to give it a try.

I’ve never had tippy black tea before. The leaves really are very cute somehow. I guess my palate is not trained on blacks because all I can say about the smell and the taste is that it’s a black tea. It’s got a bit of sweetness and leafiness. Surprisingly, I get no caffeine jitters from this. I just feel like I have energy bubbling below the surface. I imagine this is how caffeine makes most normal people feel. :) Over all, this is very pleasant. It is the smoothest most drinkable black tea I remember having.

I did have to repress an urge to add milk and sugar at my first sip. I still can’t say that I love black tea, but I can drink this one and enjoy it even without additions.

I’m really tired today. It’s been kind of depressing. I totally needed an uplifting tea. Citrus always struck me as a cheery scent so I gave this a try. THe smell totally reminds me of chinese yogurt drinks. It’s also like Pink Berry, which I love. The lime is a really nice complement. I didn’t really like it hot, probably because of the slight tartness. I loved how it felt creamy though. I like it a lot better now that it’s cooled down.

The smell is great but the taste, not as great. It was alright, but I probably won’t buy any more.

This reminds me of banana bread. I can’t say I’m getting much chocolate, nor am I tasting the peppercorn. I’m relieved that the banana isn’t stronger. The last banana tea I tried was over the top banana and it was really too much. This seems a much more natural banana flavor. I was hoping for more chocolate though. The rooibos is also not shy here. It’s a good support for the light flavors.

I can’t say I’ll want to drink this again, but it wasn’t bad.

Thank you Uniquity for the chance to try this tea. :)

The moment I smelled this tea, I knew I had to have it. I was at the David’s Tea store with a huge assortment of silver tea canisters sitting in front of me. A helpful lady is opening canisters one after the other as I point them out. I sniffed each tea 2 or 3 times before deciding if I wanted to get some. But then this tea came along. The lid was barely open before I said, “Yes.” I don’t know what it is about the flavor of almond extract, amaretto, marzipan, etc, but it is intoxicating and alluring. It’s not much like fresh actual almonds, but it is amazingly decadent.

Anyway, this tea is almond extract and marzipan and amaretto merged with fruit punch. I feel like I’m having spiked fruit punch for breakfast. This actually sounds like a good idea. Am I normal? AND, the best part is, my drink is from a second steep. I made my husband this tea last night, then put the used leaves in a cup of water and put it in the fridge for the night. It tastes awesome. How does a second steep of a rooibos taste so awesome?