Arbor Teas
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Lovely! Squeaky-Clean, Crisp Green! This smells like veggies…almost like green peppers along side a lighter aromatic spinach. The taste is creamy but also a lot like asparagus or Brussel sprouts which I LOVE. This has a buttery end sip on to the after taste and it’s great. There is a hint of nuttiness to it too…maybe chestnuts or maybe almonds? Chestnuts!
YUM! One of the best Dragonwells I have had so far!
Steep Information:
Amount: 2 tsp
Water: boiling 12 oz
Tool: kati loose tea system (my Review here.)
Steep Time: a little over 2 minutes (http://steep.it/)
Served: Hot
Tasting Notes:
Dry Leaf Smell: orange, clove, the cinnamon I had to look for
Steeped Tea Smell: black tea
Flavor: black tea with a nice background of cinnamon and clove
Body: Full
Aftertaste: citrus, astringent, toasty (hard to describe but like the baked part of the tea stays with you)
Liquor: nearly opaque dark red-brown
Post-Steep Additives: + 1 honey stick = a little more of the spices come out.
At first was expecting more spice, from the name, but I was pleasantly surprised by this being a nice strong black tea with hints of spice. They play second fiddle to a lovely cup of tea. The smell does make you
think of the holidays, and overall i drank about 3 cups of this today at work – they kept disappearing before I could write my review.
I believe I could have used one heaping spoonful instead of two in the 12 ounce mug.
I love that i got a hand written note! It makes me smile when people include notes in packages. The note gave a little information on the Arbor Teas commitment to the environment – including information about their 100% backyard compostable packaging. The note was printed with vegetable-based ink on FSC-certified paper containing 100% post-consumer waste and processed chlorine-free.
This tea is organic and Fair Trade Certified. That would be worthless if the tea was not good, but this tea is delicious so it’s an added bonus for everyone. It is a lovely tea and only missed out on a 100% rating because it’s not something I MUST keep stocked at all times.
Pictures http://amazonv.blogspot.com/2010/12/arbor-teas-loose-leaf-black-tea-holiday.html
Preparation
Had two mugs this morning, then took it to work in my Thermos. Bumping up the rating a little bit, because I think I was able to appreciate it a little more than I did the first time. I’m definitely going to have to try more green tea, but I don’t know if my cupboard can take it.
Preparation
So, this was the Dragonwell that I actually meant to grab from the cupboard. It’s amazing how quickly samples amass, and how little attention I pay sometimes.
This one is much better. I’m not a big green tea connoisseur, but it has its moments. The vegetal taste (which was also present in the Adagio, but in a less pleasant way) reminds me of something I can’t put my finger on. Not grass or hay. Almost… asparagus? Or some other green vegetable. That one is going to bug me until I figure it out.
Preparation
Holy spices! This has to be one of the most potent smelling chais I have come across! VERY SPICY! VERY!
Now…most of you know I never add anything to my teas – even chai…but…you know what they say…never say never, eh!?
Here’s a first – Mark it on your calendars!
I added chocolate milk to this today…just a little…
I was actually looking for my peppermint stick soy milk – it’s seasonal – but I couldn’t find it at my local herb store…bummer…
Even with the chocolate milk this is pretty spicy but it’s also nice this time of year, I suppose. I really can’t add milk to regular tea…it grosses me out…but this worked. I’m not saying I will do it often but I did it today.
Stand alone this was very spicy – mostly pepper, cardamom, and ginger. With adding milk it was nice a smooth with a nice amount of spice…it was hard to pick out the chocolate in the actually chocolate milk part but I suppose it helped sweeten and even it out a bit and it all worked out in the end. This is alright!
I’m still looking for a back-up to the Infusion Tea’s Plum Oolong…this really isn’t it…but there are a few completely different tasting notes and thoughts I have on this Oolong…
This smells and tastes wine-like…a very sweet and tarty wine or alcoholic beverage. I like the way this one starts but then it turns a bit too tart for my liking. I will give it some ‘props’ tho because it’s not as tart as it could be and I can certainly drink the entire cuppa! Yup! You got it! It’s because of the hibiscus! Ug.
It’s also because of the schizandra berries and rosehips, too! I, personally, would have preferred just straight-up Oolong with chunks of plum. Because this isn’t the case…I am ok with it…but I would have tweaked the name of the tea…maybe Plum Berry Surprise or “Plum & Then Some” Oolong or something…because it’s not just plum…there is more than just the plum.
Okay…so…now that I have gotten that out of my system and that my hot tea is cooling at rapid speeds today because it continues to be at tundra-temperatures…I’ll switch gears!
COLD or ICED…
This is where it is, folks! At least for me, it is!
I’m completely looking at this flavored oolong in a different light when it’s cold. I can totally take the level of tartiness with the hibiscus! I prefer this one cold! There it is. :)
When I review this one over at SororiTEA Sisters I will most likely do it from an Iced Tea Prospective…of course I will say why I prefer it this way in the post but it will be less of a rant and ramble than I am doing here. I guess it’s just been one of those days or weeks…I have finally decided to CRACK…
I can’t take much more snow and storms and cold and crappy roads!
Anyhow…back to the tea…
This iced or cold is MUCH BETTER and I am rating it mostly on the iced – since that is my personal preference here! It’s sweet and a little sugary and fruity and berry but smooth at the beginning with more tart at the end of the sip! It remains quite wine-like…maybe starting off more like a sweet and ending more like a fruity-dry. It leaves a drier fruit aftertaste as well.
So…how was that for a ramble and rant!?
Don’t get me wrong…this is a great tea for those who love their hot teas tarty and don’t mind hibiscus. For those like me who aren’t fond of the hibiscus – especially in hot teas – try it cold or iced. There are differences between the hot and cold versions. I, personally, prefer the iced in this case. I will say it has a nice wine- like color to it as well…comparable to some of the Arbor Mists colors…or wine-cooler type drinks.
End result for my preferences…fairly good cold.
If there is a stash of teas that make up your morning cuppa’s – this one should be in that stash! It’s strong and bold. It’s a solid black tea. There is something that slightly reminds me of an Earl Grey without the bergamot or something like that. I can taste the allusion of molasses that was mentioned in the description, subtly.
A wonderfully bold morning cup!
I had a wonderful cup of this earlier this morning and forgot to log! This flavored black is most memorable and one I will enjoy all year round despite it’s name! I think this is perfectly flavored – not too light and not overdone! Brilliant! The orange is perfect!
This smells wonderful! Black Tea, Orange, and Spice! VERY NICE!
Taste…
The orange is more prominent than the other flavors which I LOVE. The Black Tea tastes and the spices are about equal in strength and they are great together!
Even with the spices this has a lovely smoothness to it
WOW! I’m REALLY enjoying this…maybe a little TOO MUCH…ahhhhh!
The aroma is intense and I assumed it would be over-the-top in taste…by that I mean ‘hard to handle’ but it certainly was NOT hard to handle. This was very easy to handle…it’s also the most forgiving Earl Grey I have come across…I over infused and it was very generous not to get bitter which I am very grateful for! This is a medium strength black tea as well as a medium to medium-strong Earl Grey…which is fine by me because it tastes very good! I was pleasantly surprised and Arbor Teas EG and I have quickly become friends!
This is now the… sixth? Earl Grey in my cupboard. It’s a sickness.
This is a good, solid Earl Grey. The bergamot isn’t too strong, and doesn’t have that sort of perfumey or soapy taste to it, which some of the… lesser blends can have. I think it’s balanced well with the tea… it’s bold, but not overpowering. Yum-o.
Preparation
This reminds me of an orange spice tea I used to drink as a kid, only better quality. I’ve kind of lost my taste for orange teas, to be honest… and I wish this had a bit more spice to it, but it is a good blend all the same.
The first real snow of the year is blanketing everything outside, and I’m sitting here drinking this tea and reading The Princess Bride by Christmas tree light. This tea definitely lends to the holiday atmosphere. :)
Preparation
This is one that I hesitated trying until now… because, well, it’s Pu-Erh, and that’s my typical response to Pu-Erh. Hesitation. Apprehension. FEAR! Mostly because I am still “acquiring” my taste for it.
This one is actually quite good (for a Pu-Erh). The earthy aroma and flavor are not as strong as in many of the Pu-Erh teas that I’ve tried, and it has a very pleasant body and sweetness to it.
I’m off to write a review for this one.
