Bayswater Tea Co.

So Fjellrev’s swap package arrived today and it smelled AMAZING! Being so late at night, a caffeinated tea with coffee beans probably wasn’t the best choice but I am pretty sure it was the source of the delicious smell so I could not resist.

Tastewise, this is really quite delicious. It is akin to what I believe mocha tastes like (I have never had it so this could be wrong but in my mind it is a coffee flavor that is a little bit chocolatey). There is also a nice hint of vanilla. It is similar to Teavana’s JavaVana (one of the few Teavana teas I like) but a bit more mellow. I imagine this would make an awesome latte though it is still very enjoyable as a straight tea. Thank you, Fjellrev, for sharing this tea with me. I can definitely see why you like it so much :)

In other news, DAVIDs has a hibiscus creamed honey. WHY? Why does that sound like a good idea? Don’t you think you have enough hibiscus in your teas already DAVIDs?

Another vanilla black sipped down something fierce. Wouldn’t purchase it either but man, am I ever craving some of their other teas. I haven’t had them in ages.

I had this last night with some Jack Daniels, half and half, and a pinch of brown sugar. See, I’m not a fan of JD, and I’m trying to get rid of it since I have half a bottle left, so I’m thinking of ways to do that. I figured a vanilla tea would go well with it and achieve that vanilla bouronesque feel.

I don’t know. There’s something about the JD that I don’t like. I did taste the vanilla flavour from the tea in the background, which was nice, but I’m going to have to find other ways of using it up.

Bought this back when I went to see John Cleese but still haven’t reviewed it. Shame. It’s a decent vanilla but not amazing. It does however remind me a bit of those vanilla-flavoured caramels that come in little cubes. Furthermore, that’s how I recall describing Vanilla Comoro, so in other words, this kind of reminds me of a caffeinated version of it. I haven’t tried H&S’s caffeinated Vanilla so I have no idea how it would compare to that.

It’s best with half and half, I think. A little astringent on its own, but the cream brings out the vanilla caramel qualities.

im cheating and having this as a latte, with chocolate machiato… more to come haha

Another swedish chef tea! though i almost wrote swedish fish… speaking of fish, what do you call a fish with no eyes?

FSHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

better yet, what did one snowman say to the other?

“I think i smell carrots”

badoomp!

this tea? sort of vanilla like…but not so much. I think i might blend this with the machiato tea that swedish chef sent me as well and see how that helps. bad tea? no. good tea? no…middle of the road dirty dime a dozen… wheeeeeeeee!

Finished this one off today in latte style. Still loving it and still a fan! On my reorder list for sure as i love the blend of chocolate and coffee in this one.

heck ya! i had this in latte form this morning to start my day and i was back in my happy place. THIS is how this tea is meant to be prepared. heck ya.

now that i screwed that one up again…there’snow a note on this package that says DRINK ME AS A LATTE…’cause i forgot again lol still loving this one and trying not to hoard my bayswater teas since i can call on the west coast peeps to package me up more sometime…or you know…fly 500 miles just to be that woman who flew 500 mils just to buy her tea… cough da da dalanda!

Note to self. Read previous tasting notes if you haven’t had this in a while. Looks like i loved this in latte form, so maybe i’ll do that tomorrow. TOday though, as a tea this was pretty perfect. Just the right balance of coffee like chocolate, creamy tea. Overall, i’m glad i cracked in to this one early… esp since there are so many orders incoming lol

Final Count: 138 no change. Must get at least 3 in tomorrow to make up for it…ignoring of course the fact that 11-15 new teas will be added to my cupboard tomorrow. bah!

mmm final cup, straight, not latte just a good cup of tea from this morning! thanks so much for sharing this one with me fjellrev…i really loved it while i had it!

mmmmm… this + vanilla in latte form was perfect tonight. Had a giant mug of latte goodness while watching an episode of fringe before testing tonight. On the whole, this is one i’d consider having in my cupboard from time to time. while there are a few coffee beans in the blend, they don’t leave that weird icky taste i’ve come to associate with some teas that have beans in them. I enjoy coffee as well, so this was a pleasant cup of goodness. Just enough left to have another cup tomorrow! :)

Another tea from my dearest swedish chef…i’ve had success with a few bayswater teas..but man i hate their online/lack of presence. I tend to only get to enjoy them when the west coast ladies send them my way. I had this in the morning as a latte and it was delicious! I can’t decide if i like this one, or the other 2 that cavo let me try more. The only thing that bugs me about this tea is the name because it seems redundant to me..or something. anyway this tea? love it! so glad i was graced with just a bit extra of this one :)

blaaaarg… nope. not for me. baby sat the steeping, water etc.. and it’s still a gross non pumpkin sort of clove water ick factor for me. oh well haha can’t win ’em all!

i’m going to hold off on rating this because i accidentally over steeped this a little. And by a little…i really mean a little. and it’s awful. lol virtually undrinkable. i’m guessing it’s really all my fault because my swedish chef didn’t find this awful. Soooo jury can remain out on this one for now haha

Another tea from the swedish chef. Note to anyone drinking this – drink it hot. don’t let it cool. I really liked this when i was drinking it shortly after brewing it. It had a unique sort of flavour going on that peaked my interest. Sadly i got distracted with doing actual work and before i noticed it, it had cooled. when cooled it has a weird floral cinnamon taste with a bit of bitter something on the side. Hot it was cinnamon and cardamon and cloves and yummy. This would be something i’d think about restocking in small quantities in the winter :) so thank you swedish chef! :)

This was a wonderful sample from my dearest swedish chef (fjellrev)….She sent me a lovely package of teas that i haven’t had from bayswater including this one. I started with this one because i figured it would be my least favourite. Heh Coconut and i are not usually friends. This coconut is the sort of coconut that isn’t that awful rancid turning sort. If there was ever a coconut to love, it would likely be this type. That being said, i don’t love this tea because it IS a little too coconutty for me. I really enjoyed the aroma of this one though. Appreciate the share though my dear swedish chef! Looking forward to all of the goodies :) No rating because i think coconut fans would like this one!

FInal Count: 156

Two at once sipdown so that I can try this recommended combo! I am happy to be drinking these teas again, but sad to be sipping them down right now.

I like this blend of the two, especially since the divine temptation mellows the smokiness of the creme brûlée. However, I still love the divine temptation by itself most of all, and I may seriously have to acquire more of that tea eventually. I am a sucker for a well-done desert tea!

Mmm, I’m in a dessert tea mood, which is nice because I have a pile of tasties from OMGsrsly and not much to do today.

This is an interesting one. It tastes a lot like the burnt-sugar caramelized crust of the creme brulee but not a lot like the cream custard itself. I think the burnt-ness of it is what evokes coffee a bit. It’s a bit too burny for me overall, but I am still enjoying this pot it this afternoon. Interested to see how it will play out when I mix with Divine Temptation.

I had to skip a tea (herbal, at home), and hopefully I will remember to drink it tonight. But that moves me onto this one (#3) next. Soooo deliciously nougaty. I don’t have much more to say about it except thanks again to OMGsrsly for being my tea mule and getting me more of this delicious tea.

Yummmmmm. Special thanks to OMGsrsly for getting me a stock of this tea. I had forgotten just how much nougaty goodness was contained within this tea. When the hot water hit the leaves it smelled amazing.

This tea is the perfect example of just when I think I’ve found my favorite tea in nearly every category, some category shows up to prove me wrong. Who would have though I would need a nougat tea?? Or that a nougat tea could be this good? Not me, but I was wrong. Thanks again OMGsrsly!

Snow day! Our students have been given a reprieve because there was an exam today but the university closed due to quite a bit of snow (for southeast Ohio).

Thanks to OMGsrsly for this tea. Nougat and hazelnut sound awesome, and it certainly smells awesome. Sweet, nougaty, marshmallowy, and of course a bit nutty. The flavor is great. It’s funny because just a few days ago I had Eight Candles from Della Terra, which had marshmallows in it and was sweet but not that interesting. This tea has nougat bits in it, which theoretically act in the same way as the dried marshmallows, but the blend is just so much more successful to me.

This tea is really what a dessert tea should be for me: it tastes like a rich, nutty nougat but it’s not actually sweet on the tongue. How does that work? I don’t know, but it does. Plus the base is so much nicer on this one. I mean, it’s not a fine black tea or anything, but it has a presence, and lends body to the blend. There is a hint of bitterness that comes out as it gets cold, but that’s only at the very end and otherwise while warm this is delightful. Thanks for sharing OMGsrsly, this was really nice (and I have enough left to do a Divine Temptation/Creme Brulee mixture as well)!

Sipdown! Lovely bedtime tea, and I get a re-steep tonight, woo!

Wow… this one was a pleasant surprise last night. I was not in the mood for rooibos, but this is the tea I picked out of the basket, and I figured I should really try it, since Cavocorax was so nice to give me some! So I brewed it up, and to my surprise, it actually tasted like chocolate orange! (Keep in mind that within the last two weeks, I have consumed 2 delicious Terry’s Chocolate Oranges. Mmmhhhhh.) Unpleasant rooibos flavour was absent/minimal, and it was big on flavour. There was some oiliness on top, but I’m pretty sure it was from little melty chocolate pieces. It wasn’t scum, like you get in teas with little candy bits.

Anyhow, I have too much rooibos to want any more of this around, but I’d highly recommend it as a caffeine-free chocolate orange option for anyone who’s looking for that sort of thing.

(Cavo, I know you recommended 10-20 minutes, but I sometimes find that that brings out unpleasantness in rooibos, so I went with 4 minutes, and it was perfect for me.)