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Hmm. I was hoping this would taste more like those instant coffee substitutes, but with almond and vanilla flavours.

Reading other reviews, it definitely reminds me of root beer, as well as burnt sugar.

I used 1.5 tsp in a 16 oz mug, with LOTS of honey and some cream. I steeped for 8 minutes, which may have been too long. I think I’m going to have to play around with brewing this (and I’m not going to be ordering another 100g!), but so far, it’s decent…

Comfort tea FTW. Again, I love chicory root, so it makes sense that I really like this tea. I’m having it with a bit of vanilla sugar, and lots of hot unsweetened almond milk tonight.

Since I ended up at the hospital today, I needed some comfort. Tea latte to the rescue! (I mucked up my shoulder somehow a couple weeks ago, and even with massage/chiro, it’s not getting better. In fact, it’s more painful than my last bad cycling crash. So I went for x-rays, and have a CT scan later this week.)

8 oz almond milk, 1/2 tsp matcha powder, and 2 pumps Starbucks Vanilla Spice syrup. It was so good! I ended up falling asleep before finishing the cup, but once I woke up I just stirred it up and finished it. The grassy green flavour of the matcha was just perfect with the vanilla spice. Good thing I have a whole bag of tea, and a whole bottle of syrup!

This is an excellent morning tea. I keep the brew time to 3 minutes in order to ensure no bitterness comes through, so the tea is just somewhat astringent with a rich, malty taste. It’s so incredibly good with a little milk and honey, and just as good with just a little milk.

In my cup, it’s almost a milky red ochre colour. So pretty. Definitely something I’d like to keep around, although I think I’ll try some other versions of English Breakfast before I make a final decision!

I had this tea on my list to try, so when we went into David’s today I decided to get a cup to go. It smells amazing – lots of strawberries! However, it’s not as full as strawberry flavour as I had hoped. The white tea base went a little bitter, which is something I can’t stand. After sitting in my (new!) mug for a few more minutes, I think the stevia helped the strawberry flavour come out more, but it just isn’t what I had hoped for.

I did add a little honey to the tea to see if it helped, but it didn’t really. The result is that this is a tea that I’ve taken off my shopping list, but if I received some as a gift I would probably drink it.

I cringe at the thought of how old my container of this tea is. I think I bought it in 2006 or 2007 when I was working full-time at a contract job. My container is still mostly full, probably because the lemongrass is cut fine enough that the tea was difficult to strain through my teeth, and I hadn’t discovered the delightful Finum strainer yet (My favourite tea at that job was Golden Phoenix.). Now, I may be wrong and I may have purchased this on a more recent visit to Victoria, but… I’m probably right, and yet I’m still going to drink this stuff.

Dry, the tea still smells a little citrus-y, and a lot lavender-y. Wet, it has a smoky smell that essentially smells like old lavender blossoms and pu-erh… so, old lavender blossoms. Sipping on it is still delightful, though. There’s a bit of sweetness from the rosehips, a lot of citrus from the lemongrass and orange peel, and the smokiness comes out as lavender. There isn’t enough lavender to make it soapy, even though the tea has… been well aged.

I remember I used to think this needed sugar, but evidently my palate has matured. This is good, and I’m excited to finish what I have (!! I know!) and plot for a new order from Silk Road. Maybe I’ll go visit, or maybe I’ll bribe someone to come visit me! Or maybe I’ll just stay at home in my PJs and order online. Tough decision. :)

This is the tea I made first thing today, with a little milk and honey. I really enjoyed it, but following it up with DavidsTea Nepal Black may have been a mistake.

Between the two teas, I prefer Nepal Black. I think I’m going to have to do a comparison tasting soon, to see if I can identify why I prefer that one over this one. And then comes the fun part of trying to articulate the differences, when I don’t know much tea lingo.

I had this one in my travel mug today, with quite a lot of honey (for me) and some soy creamer. Oh, it was so good. Reading other peoples notes helps me identify the flavours, and there is definitely maltiness, and the tea itself lends a sweet flavour that actually makes sweetener unnecessary. Well, unnecessary unless you’re going to a 4 hour long seminar class and you need to stay awake and also be alert enough to participate.

I recently put in an order at DavidsTea, and got 100g of this one. I really like it, partially because the flavours survive so well in my travel mug!

Yep, I like this one. Again, it’s amazingly milky with just a bit of that green grassy seaweedy flavour that I’m coming to associate with oolongs. Since I had a disaster with my Cuppow lid this morning, and had to dump my tea out before I wore it all, and I’m studying at home today, I’ve decided to work on steeping one tea as many times as possible.

Steep 1: I’d still prefer to steep less than 1 minute, but I don’t have a timer that does seconds. I bet there’s an app for that. :)

Steep 2: 45 seconds. Better than the first steep, because I found a timer app. Yay! It’s kinda caramelly, kinda milky, sweet, and has a little grassiness.

I’m really enjoying exploring the teas at this wee local shop. If you live in Vancouver (or even visit), I totally recommend checking them out. Their menu is posted on Facebook.

This one is apparently from the same place as their 2012 Oats ‘n’ Honey, but it is much less prone to bitterness, and less astringent. The tea is somewhat delicate in that its flavours really don’t come through in a travel mug. However, in a regular mug it’s amazing.

As always, I add a little honey and milk, but this is another black tea that I add things to more out of habit, rather than actually needing to add things to it.

I don’t really know how to describe this tea, but wow-oh-wow, do I like it a lot. (I’d actually make some more right now and sip at it to see what I think, but I recently woke up from a 7 hour.. err.. nap, and need to be able to sleep at some point tonight.)