Art of Tea

Light, smooth, with a hint of flowery cherry flavor. The green tea base is delicious.

Finishing up the pb/choc blend that I attempted with this as a base (since my pb blend from Frank isn’t happening for a bit pout). 3 heaping teaspoons of it to 16 oz water. Smells like a reese cup, I did get that much right. Taste…not so much. Even with extra leaf, it’s just not what I was trying for. I’m thinking the chocolate extract that I have is old, or I picked too strong of a tea for the base.

(Numerical rating is for the LL Ceylon before I went messing around with it. Numerical rating for this wanna-be peanut butter cup blend is much, much lower.)

I attempted a chocolate-peanut butter blend with the last bits of this tea that I have. Chocolate extract, mini-chocolate chips, peanut butter chips.

It’s not bad, but it’s definitely no Reese cup.

It’s a wonderful, dreary, rainy day here in the Bluegrass, perfect for pot after pot of tea. This is my first ever Lovers Leap. It’s deliciously rich black tea, with an undertone of flowers (though I couldn’t tell you what kind of flowers). It has just the right amount of astringency to make this a great morning cup.

This is one of those blends that lives in my personal tea stash that I just love. There are some things about it that I’d like to tweak to make it perfection such as a slightly higher quality tea base and a maybe slightly fuller flavor profile, but it is still delicious. It is a nice blend of cinnamon and fig flavors with the fig actually dominating the flavor profile and the cinnamon bringing some welcome sweetness. There is something about the hot cup that reminds me of the smell of baked goods making it an awesome treat in the morning. It takes sweetener and dairy exceedingly well. Despite it’s imperfections, it is a staple in my tea collection.

Experiment: S’mores tea.

Ingredients: mini marshmallows, mini choc chips, Lapsang Souchong.

Result: needs work, but is tasty enough to warrant further trials.

I had just a touch of Mayan Chocolate Chai left from Meghann. Not enough for a single cup, so I threw it in with this to make 2 cups.

I am rather surpised at how much of the chocolate/spices come through like this. It’s not painfully spicy like the MCC can be by itself, but it still has a bite.

And, of course, I still love my Lapsang Souchong.

Sipping on this whilst sitting on the porch, enjoying the smells of woodsmoke fires my mom’s neighbors have going. Absolutely love this tea.

I think I need to use more leaf the next time I brew this. It’s very light and delicate this morning, with just the faintest hint of that wood-smoke flavor. I think I prefer it thicker and smokier. Still so good, and still reminds me of Aunt Della’s and fall. This is definitely going to be my fall/winter morning go-to tea. I need to branch out and try some other Lapsang Souchongs, since this is the only one I’ve had.

I think I have gotten a tea high from this. Or more like a tea buzz. I’m giddy and much happier than I’ve been all day. Then again, maybe it was the atmosphere/company.

I picked this out to try at Cuppa, and Ty warned me that it was very smoky. And then said I should try a cup before I had a pot. I agreed, since I’ve been noticing that most people don’t like Lapsang Souchongs because of their “campfire” taste.

I, apparently, am not most people.

I loved this. It reminds me of my Aunt Della’s house, back in the hollers of eastern KY in the fall. Sitting on her screened porch at dusk, swinging in the green porch swing, listening to the crickets. And smelling the smoke from people burning the fall leaves. This tea smells just like that. And tastes just like that. It’s rich and smoky and fall. Instant comfort. Must buy some for home when I go back (which will be in the morning).

It’s been a day. So, in true fashion, I’ve decided to let me day fade away whilst at Cuppa. Lemon bar? Check. Pot o’ tea? Check. Ecletic mix of fun yet relaxing music? Check. Great staff that recognizes you’ve had a rough day and starts you a tab? Check.

Since I’ve been so amazed at 52teas’ chais, I picked this one to try. Smells like cinnamon. Tastes like cardamom. Definitely not as good as Frank’s chais, but not too bad.

Having a medium-sized pot this morning to finish off the last little bit that I had of this. Not sure if I’ll keep this in stock here at home; I’m wanting to try more/different Earl Grey blends before I commit again.

Reading how other people on here “bring out the flavor” of their teas by adding sugar or creamer or milk, I decided to try some of the creamer that I had in this cup today.

raises eyebrow

Yeah…I don’t like creamer in my tea. It brought out nothing, and made the tea just kinda yucky. And this blend is way too good to treat like that.

I’ve decided that this is one of my favorite Earl Grey blends. The bergamot is tempered by the perfect amount of vanilla, giving this tea a wonderfully creamy taste and mouthfeel. The black tea base isn’t covered up by the flavors, either. A very nice tea to have on a cool (54 F!) morning with the doors open whilst wrapped up in a blanket.

I received this as a free sample from Art of Tea after winning one of their Facebook contests. The aroma of the dry blend is a delish…smells of caramel, bananas and chamomile. I personally thought that the ingredients played nicely together with the chamomile, banana and rooibos running the show. I also noticed a nice coconut undertone. Not sure if I get around to submitting a full review for of this for Teaviews, but I do like it and think it makes a nice night time blend. That said, I think this is one of those love it or hate blends and those that don’t care for bananas or chamomile should stear clear.