357 Tasting Notes
My classes start today at noon, and my textbooks arrived today at around 11 from Amazon, What great luck! I decided to grab this black tea today, as I got up a little earlier and I’m sure I will drink a full pot of it before my caffeine cut off time.
I love the caramel taste in this tea, but I’m not sure if I can taste the saltiness. The finish on the sip isn’t that typical sweetness that I associate with caramel, but more of a dryness that might be associated with salt. So maybe that’s where the salt comes in for me? That might be a stretch. Overall this is a nice tea, not something I would need stocked year round, but certainly one that I would pick up in a sample size in Fall and Winter, for when I am craving these types of dessert teas the most.
Off to school for me…well, online school that is.
I’ m in a chocolate mood this morning. I eyed up the cavernous Costco container of hot chocolate mix my hubby brought home a few weeks ago, but decided against cracking it open. Instead I reached for my Della Terra Chocolate sampler and grabbed this one. The balance between the black tea and the chocolate are sublime. I’m drinking it black, but I imagine milk and sugar would also be delicious. Best of all, it’s satisfying my chocolate craving without sugar overload. This one is topping my Della Terra Teas reorder list.
my fave. chocolate drink right now is Numi’s chocolate pu- erh (need to re-stock with loose) granted I have only tried a couple of chocolate teas.
I haven’t tried any Numi teas yet. When I do, I’ll be sure to give that chocolate pu-erh a try. Thanks for telling me about it Kasumi
When it’s brewing, this tea really smells like warm strawberry pie. I made a big pot of this last night and drank some hot, then fell asleep and drank the rest of it cold this morning. I accidentally left the leaves steeping overnight, and yet it didn’t taste too strong. Is it possible to get an over steeped taste from honeybush? I’m constantly over steeping my various honeybush blends, and in my opinion, I haven’t once ruined the taste. Maybe I’ve just been lucky though.
I really want to like Matcha, but I’m thinking making it myself is not the best place to start? It just doesn’t taste right. Too…I don’t know how to describe it? Grassy? Maybe I’m getting the ratio of water to tea wrong? I know it’s good for me, so I’m determined not to give up on it quite yet.
Pure matcha is usually pretty grassy. The only one I’ve tried without strong grassy notes is the KaiMatcha, which is more buttery.
Maybe try tossing some in a smoothie? It’s less intense that way but you can still taste the matcha, so it might help you get used to the flavour.
I tried the matcha at David’s. Couldn’t stomach it. KaiMatcha is amazing, and the flavoured ones from Red Leaf to :)
@Alphakitty and Indigobloom – Buttery is more my thing. I’ll have to give KaiMatcha a try. I’ll have to check out Red Leaf also…once I drink down some of the tea I already have of course ;)
@softrevolution – That’s a good idea. I’ll have to save what I have left for when the smoothie weather returns.
I drink my matcha as a latte, pretty much exclusively. Most of the matcha I have is lower quality though. (1 tsp per 12-16oz almond milk, plus sugar to taste)
I hear you Canadianadia, I feel exactly the same as you do… for some reason, Matcha is the ONLY tea I don’t care for. Wanted to love it for so long but just gave up! My supply of it is strictly used for smoothies. But I enjoy so many other types of greens that it doesn’t seem to matter much :-)
I rarely drink alcohol, but my Dad made Irish Cream, so I had to try some last night. I asked for a teeny tiny taste and he obliged by putting a bit in the smallest glass he had. The cup was probably only big enough to contain a few mouthfuls. Apparently it was still too much for me. By time I reached the bottom of the glass, I was tipsy. My hubby got me home with minimal incident other than me laughing non-stop at nothing in particular. When I got home I grabbed this tea to help ease the inevitable stomach ickiness I get from alcohol. Unfortunately I didn’t escape without any discomfort, but thankfully it didn’t last too long. I’m not sure if this tea actually did anything to help the situation, but I’m sure it didn’t make things any worse. It’s minty and soothing with a natural sweetness and unlike my Dad’s delicious Irish Cream, it doesn’t make me tipsy.
Homemade Irish Cream?? That sounds heavenly! My hot chocolate would never be plain again. :)
It really is quite tasty. I don’t know his exact recipe but in case you’re interested, here’s a link to one that sounds similar http://allrecipes.com/recipe/original-irish-cream/detail.aspx?event8=1&prop24=SR_Title&e11=irish%20cream&e8=Quick%20Search&event10=1&e7=Home%20Page
I selected this as the first tea to try out of my chocolate try me pack. It’s smooth and lovely with no bitterness, but to me the S’mores taste is really taking a back seat to the black tea. That’s not a bad thing; it’s just not what I was hoping for.
Now that I look at my dry mix, I’m starting to think I should have shaken the packet a bit more before scooping out my tea, because it looks like there’s still some obvious settling. Maybe my next attempt with this tea will be more up to my expectations. I must admit that when it comes to flavored teas, I’m partial to ones that are in-your-face. I’m sure my preferences will eventually grow beyond this, but for now I still taunt my flavored teas with: “C’mon, hit me, I dare you” “Is that all you’ve got?!”
Hmmm…perhaps talking smack to my tea is a hint that I should lay off watching ultimate fighting for a while?…nah…
This tea totally tastes like maple syrup, but for some reason it also reminds me of those Halloween toffees. The ones with the orange wrappers with the black and yellow images, I think those candies are supposed to taste like molasses though, so I might be alone with this comparison?
I’m quite picky when it comes to rooibos, so I thought I wasn’t going to like this one. I was pleasantly surprised. It’s quite tasty and the woodiness somehow works with the flavor. I have some left, but so far it looks like this one might be going onto my reorder list.
Good luck with classes! Lucky you with the books, I still have no idea what I’m supposed to have yet and mine start tomorrow!
School began at 8am for me blah. I can’t believe it’s begun again already! Good luck with your classes :)
8am is far too early for class! Is it cold where you are? Mornings here have been terrible. Thank you!
Yep I’m in Calgary agh. Frigid usually. And it’s 8am all term M-Th. I wonder what I was thinking haha!
Ouch! Four days too! I only have to be there Tues/Thurs so at least it is only then. I had a 8am class last spring and I can remember almost falling up the stairs on the ice!
@Tamm – I hope you are able to get your books without any frustrations. In the past I remember standing in line for hours to get into the university bookstore just to find out that the books I needed were out of stock. Thankfully my school’s bookstore has evolved from this to provide students with the book-list earlier so that we can order them in advance. Good luck with your classes also.
@Courtney – oh man! 8am in cold Calgary weather – 4 days a week! YIKES! Hope the elements cooperate with you. Good luck with your studies also.