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We had some time to kill today while we were out, so we decided to stop in and have sandwiches and drinks. I don’t go to Tim Horton’s often so I’m not familiar with their tea selection. To order quickly I just asked for green tea. I was able to drink it, but it didn’t taste good at all. If I wasn’t told that it was a green tea I wouldn’t have been able to recognize it. It tasted bitter and murky and oh so disappointing, especially when compared to the yummy little chicken sandwich they made me. Furthermore, the price for Tim Horton’s bagged tea confuses the heck out of me. Their prices range by the size, but regardless of the size you still only get one tea bag. The only difference is that you get a larger cup and more water. But to confuse their logic even further, after ordering, we went back and asked for a cup of hot water, and they gave it to us in a large sized cup for free. whaaaaat? Now that’s a head scratcher.

The hubby and I went to Costco when we were hungry – big mistake! We rarely eat junk food but today we ended up coming home with a bbq chicken pizza, and a bag of frozen French fries the size of a toddler. I had originally selected a salad, but hubby found the fries on sale, and we just can’t pass up a deal. So when we got home I baked the pizza and a good portion of the fries and we ate too much while watching a less than mediocre movie. So surprise, surprise, my tummy is fighting back.

Grabbing my spearmint tea was instinctual, in fact I wonder if I subconsciously intended to sabotage myself into needing to try this tea, I mean, I bought it less than a week ago, and it’s the last herbal tea remaining in my untried stash…coincidence?…hmmmm…

This tea is minty and refreshing with an enjoyable natural sweetness. When I drink this tea it feels like a light shower for my insides, no, wait…that sounds creepy. How about, my intestines are smiling? …nope still creepy… Well whatever, just take my word that it’s a welcome feeling after eating too much junk food. The tea tasted lovely hot, and now that it’s cooled I’m still loving it. ahhh…feeling better already!

I’m not usually a huge lover of orange peel or clove as ingredients in most tea, but it works pretty well for me in this one. The little gold sugar balls remind me of the ones we used to use to decorate Christmas baking when I was little, you know, sugar cookies, cupcakes, etc. Overall it’s a pretty tasty tea, but not one that I will need to keep stocked in my cupboard.

This is my favorite oolong thus far. It’s lovely and light, and oh so delicious. The vanilla flavor goes together so nicely with the oolong. Although I got three steeps out of these leaves there was an obvious deterioration in flavor as compared with each preceding steep. That first steep though…oh my! Heaven

She’s a keeper!

Once upon a time, not that long ago, this used to be one of my favorite teas. (Did any of you think I was going to start talking about a fairy princess, with that “Once upon a time” start?) That was before Steepster, before my adventures into non grocery store tea companies, before my selection of loose leaf teas, and before all the good things that come along with a developing tea palate.

Side-by-side this tea can never compare to the taste, strength, and quality of my loose leaf teas, but still, I will always enjoy it. There are just too many memories associated with it, for me not to want it in my life. This tea aided me in staying up late to complete school projects, it accompanied many a meal, it provided valuable moments of relaxation during kitchen, bathroom, and various other home renovations, and I served it to the best real estate agent ever who sold our home for us, and is now helping us search for a new one.

This tea has a berry fruit scent that I now admit is a little artificial, but I still enjoy it. Why? Because of the memories. When brewed, the liquor is a definite pink color. I remember our agent asking for tea with milk and sugar and not thinking, I selected this one. It looked disgusting. Seriously, green tea with milk in it looks pretty nasty, but add the pink hue, and ugh! So very wrong! I told him he didn’t have to drink it, and I could make him something that looked more suitable for human consumption, but he said he didn’t mind, and drank it. He really is the nicest guy.

This tea is honestly nowhere near the best, miles behind the competition, but I finished my box today, and I plan on picking it up again in the future; If not for the taste, then for the memories.

I felt so groggy this morning. I don’t think I really woke up until the middle of my workout; Which likely means I was doing completely ineffective zombie movements during the first half of my exercises like I belonged in Michael Jackson’s Thriller music video. Greaaat! It’s better than nothing I suppose, but it’s certainly not the butt-kicking cardio I intended.

As for this tea, the smell and taste of bananas are plainly recognizable. I’m not sure about the dream or cream part of the description though, but I’m drinking it plain. Perhaps the creaminess might ring a little more true with the addition of milk and/or sugar? I enjoy bananas occasionally, but I have to be in the mood for it, and I’m thinking the same might go for this tea. It’s quite good especially in the way that it captures the taste of bananas, but it’s not a “gotta have it now” kind of tea for me.

I can taste the rooibos in this tea…I don’t love rooibos. I think the woodiness of the rooibos in this tea is a tad strong. This tea reminds me of the smell of landscaping cedar chips on a rainy day, with a touch of mint. Although I like the smell of cedar chips, it’s not something I want in a tea. Honestly, I didn’t like the first sip of this tea, but by the fourth or fifth sip I liked it enough to say it’s decent. I can taste the chocolate if I think of it, but it’s far from obvious. I don’t regret trying this tea, but I don’t see myself repurchasing it once my little sample is done.

I go a little refresh/reload crazy when Steepster gives me the “someone forgot to turn off the kettle” message. “Click …damn…click…damn…click…argh!” whoa…easy there drama queen :P

In my recent trip to David’s Tea I bought a little sample of each of the winter collection teas that were in stock. Sadly some of the collection was not there – sold out I suppose? (When I saw some were missing, I let out a mental “Boooo!” but I filtered that out before it escaped my lips ~ lol). Luckily they had cookie dough. I’ve been so excited to try this one ever since I first heard about it. I’m happy to say that it lives up to the hype that I created in my head…mmm…Delicious! The walnut is an interesting ingredient. If I think “walnut” while I drink it, I can taste it plainly, but if I think cookie dough, the walnut magically melds with the rest of the ingredients and gives that end taste of a cookie.

This tea makes me think of when I baked my first cookie as a child. Yep, I said cookie, as in the singular. I think there was supposed to be enough dough to make a couple dozen cookies, but I was really little so my lack of stirring skills ensured that a good portion was wasted on the floor and the surrounding mixing area. I also sneaked some tastes of the dough before I was caught and told not to eat it, for fear it might make me sick. Finally, I crammed the dough balls so close together that it fused together to form “The Uber-Cookie”. My parents tried to warn me, but eventually gave up. As my friend says, “life lessons- you can’t teach that stuff”. I’m happy to report that my current cookie baking adventures go a lot better. I dump less of the dough on the floor, and I now get actual separate cookies. I must admit, I still occasionally sneak a taste of the dough…mmmm….yummeh!

My tea stash has been shrinking and although I have a couple of tea orders on the way, my selection has been looking a little sad lately. Every day I think, “o.k. this is the day that the mailman is going to knock on the door with a special tea delivery”. But with each emptied packet and passing day of a tealess mailbox, I question if any of my tea orders will arrive before my collection is depleted. So I caved and treated myself to a Davids shopping spree which included this tea. I probably bought more than I should have, considering I have the mail orders on the way, but I bought sample sizes, so I tend to polish those off fairly quickly.

I was especially running low on the caffeine-free options that I drink in the afternoon/evening/night. It was busy at my DT store, so I selected this one based on a quick sniff. When I got it home I had a better look at the ingredients and realized that it had a few of my not-so-favorite ingredients including the dreaded cardamom. The very thought of cardamom makes my nose crinkle, and my brain think “ugh yuck”. I should also add that I tend to be indifferent to red rooibos tea most of the time, and cinnamon and rose blossoms are also ingredients that I don’t want to dominate a tea. This tea is an exception to my fussiness towards these ingredients. It’s delicious! I’m not sure how DT managed to find such a perfect balance of ingredients that I tend to be fussy about in my tea, and make them dance so wonderfully on my tongue. I kept waiting for the disappointment…Drank it hot – I liked it…Tried it cold – delicious!

Minor imperfection – This tea has a light grease residue on the top, and it’s left behind on my glass, which I suspect might be from the coconut, but it’s not that obvious, that’s just me looking for something wrong in a tea that’s so right. It’s not a tea that I’d keep stocked year round, as the flavors taste like a Fall/Winter tea palette to me, but I’d definitely look forward to repurchasing this as a seasonal treat.

I enjoyed this when I first bought it, but the more variety of tea and tisanes I drink, the less impressed I am with this one when I come back to it. It’s not bad, it’s just another tisane that gets increasingly tart as it cools, but with a coconut taste added in there. I’m glad I gave it a try, but I won’t miss it once it’s gone.