California Tea House
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See All 49 TeasRecent Tasting Notes
I got a bag of this tea some time ago because one of my husband’s favorite desserts is Tiramisu. Tiramisu is a take it or leave it kind of dessert to me, so I wasn’t in any particular hurry to try this tea myself, but I finally did today.
It doesn’t taste a thing like tiramisu to me. All the added flavoring and candy bits serve only to mute the flavor of the rooibos, leaving it flat and blah. The flavors themselves hardly stand out at all.
Preparation
I snagged this when California Tea House was doing their Memorial Day promo where this was free with a $25 order. Holy crap, right?
The tin it comes in is vacuum sealed and once popped closes snugly. The matcha is bright emerald green and everything I’d hope for from a good matcha.
The smell was sweet and creamy. It evokes this sense like I’m smelling sunshine on dewy treetops in the early morning.
I sifted it, but it honestly fell through so easily I doubt this step was necessary.
It frothes up beautifully and the color is fantastic. The taste was full-bodied and rich. And if I didn’t know any better I’d swear I didn’t use water and had used cream or half anf half.
The taste is spinach and buttery, sweet, rich edamame-ness. The sweet notes are only enhanced as as it cools. There is also a depth of flavor that sometimes pops almost a rich nuttiness or cocoa notes.
There were also no clumps (or much at all) at the bottom of my cup when I finished. And the aftertaste lingers too, and I feel like it’s springtime in my mouth.
So, thank you so much for this promotion. I don’t know if I’d had bit the bullet otherwise and then I’d be missing something wonderful.
Preparation
Additional notes: Yep, I should be working on the tea boxes in my possession but I just needed this tea to go with my butternut squashy oatmeal I made (invented?) for breakfast with a bit of leftover squashed squash and some maple syrup. It was the PERFECT flavor pairing! Back to the tea boxes!
This is one of the many teas I scored in Rachel’s sale (whenever I say Rachel, you can assume I mean iHeartTeas since I’m pretty sure I haven’t actually swapped teas with the other Rachel with the actual username Rachel!) That was an awesome sale and I appreciate it — thanks, Rachel! This one sounded amazing. And it is! The leaves are very wirey and equal parts gold and black. I’m glad they don’t actually look like monkey paws, since that doesn’t sound very appetizing anyway. After a four minute steep it’s a sweet, slightly malty, slightly chocolatey flavor. Exactly how I love my teas. The second steep is also nice. Pretty darn good. Not as good as the best tea ever I had the other day, Butiki’s lion assam. But that is to be expected. I promise I won’t try to compare every tea with Butiki’s from here on out! But that one will linger in my mind a while!
I’m not getting quite the depth and boldness that some of the reviewers got from this tea. It’s an ok cup, but nothing spectacular. It could use some sweetener. It seems to have a flavor similar to red dragon pearls from thepuriTea, though not as bold. I remember the dragon pearl tea having a harsh un-sweetness about just as this one does.
Preparation
well, i was thinking that i really shouldn’t write a note about this today. cuz my tastebuds aren’t on their best game. and i probably should have steeped this a little lighter. and i DO have more leaf so i can try again. and i’ll do a second steep of this cup. but i kinda also feel like this tea just isn’t for me.
the smell of the leaves was great!
but there’s something about the brewed tea i’m just not finding appealing. i suspect that lime and green tea just don’t mix well for me? maybe?
i might get back to you after the second cup…
thanks for this taste moraiwe!
I picked up some more of this during BrewTEAlly Sweet‘s stash sale. So, so tasty. I still find that it tastes just like tiramisu. Definitely one to be kept in regular rotation. I also just learned that it’s fantastic iced. It tastes like a latte, without the calories. Good enough to make me rethink my position on teas that taste like coffee.
Mmmm tiramisu in tea form. This is just dead-on. There isn’t even much more to say. Very creamy, strong caramel/toffee and cocoa flavors. I’m also detecting vanilla and coffee, though neither of those are in the ingredients…
Many thanks to whatshesaid for the sample!
Preparation
I love love love this tea! On it’s own it’s pretty good, but add a little raw sugar and some milk or cream and YUM. It’s such a great dessert tea! I also love the fact that it is caffeine free, which means I can enjoy it at night when I get those sweets cravings. No tea will ever replace cake 100% (in my opinion, anyway) but this fabulous tea is the next best thing!
VERY pistachio-Y. Almost a little LIME-Y, too. Toasty, Nutty, Vegetal, quite…GREEN, really. I’m not tasting the chocolate notes they mention but maybe it’s the chocolate notes that contribute to the creaminess on the back end. Pretty good, just be sure NOT to over infuse – it can get a little bitter!
Additional notes: I’m always amazed at how well this tea holds up. It has always been one of my favorites. Another company had it a looonnnggg time ago too. It was one of my first ever loose leaf teas. Both those companies aren’t selling it anymore. So if anyone knows where this blend currently is being sold, PLEASE let me know!
Also, I hope all you tea fans in the area of Bluebird tea shops were able to hang out at Bluebird shops today for their renaming parties! They are no longer Bluebird Tea Co. They are now Bird & Blend Tea Co.
For some reason I prefer their old name.
Yeah, I do to! I’m not sure why they needed to change it.
It was for legal reasons. A UK restaurant had a trademark on Bluebird and filed a dispute because they had a house blend tea. They wrote a detailed blog post about it.
Remind me to never go to that restaurant.
OH. Thanks for the info. I’m with Lexie Aleah on that one.
This is the blog post that details the legal dispute and why they had to change their brand name: https://bluebirdteaco.com/us_en/a-change-is-gonna-come
Now that I read their explanation, I don’t mind the new name. :D
Also, does this mean the Steepster gods have to wholesale change the names of the Bluebird teas?
I have no idea how that works. They never did when Tealux changed to Tealyra or when Red Leaf Tea became Matcha Outlet so there are lots of dup entries/entries listed under one or the other… drives my librarian cataloger brain crazy. I sooooo wish I had the power to merge records like I do at my day job!
haha. Yup. It’s going to drive me nuts too.
That is going to suck for the company too. People unfamiliar with their brand aren’t going to know where to look to see reviews and ratings under the old name. It will be like starting over as far as testimonials go.
What if Steepster could change the name on all the teas to “Bluebird/ Bird & Blend” for a while? And then maybe in a year or two switch to Bird & Blend?
I like it, but I think that would require getting the attention of an admin and they seem pretty scarce on here these days. :/ Worth a shot tho!
hmm, i’ll try asking when I get a chance.
Dinosara was so nice in sending this one along with a bunch of other nice teas! (It was so thoughtful that you remembered I was looking for this one.. I’m not sure how you did! thanks so much!) I had been checking their site (californiateahouse.com) to order some for months, but they have only been selling it in four ounce packages. I certainly don’t need that much of one tea if I have so many other teas. I was initially interested because someone told be this one was similar to my beloved but extinct SpecialTeas Vienna Winter Green (I had to look though my messages to see who told be about it and it was Mercuryhime — thank you!) So I’m so happy to be able to try this one and see if it is the same!
…And it does seem the same! I asked someone at CTH if it was the same blend and they said “not quite” but this seems pretty close to me. It has all the same ingredients… and man is it a rare list. The steep color is a buttery yellow, just like the flavor. This one really can’t be steeped over two minutes or it will get bitter. Definitely my favorite green tea with such a great mix of toasty, nutty flavors. It is so nice to find a replacement for the SpecialTeas blend! I wonder if their other blends are the same or similar? Hopefully this one will still be there when I need more… and I might even get the four ounces.
The SpecialTeas blend has such a nice Steepster history for me:
1) Nichole sent me some of the Vienna randomly when I first joined Steepster, and it became a surprise favorite for me.
2)Mercuryhime sent me some more of the Vienna when I ran out and also suggested the California Tea House blend, so I knew to look for that one.
3) Dinosara sent me some of the California Tea House blend after remembering I was l was looking for it!
I will never stop being amazed at the kindness and generosity of Steepsters! It is very appreciated!
Yay, so glad it lived up to your expectations!
Yep, that’s because I’m pretty sure it’s the same blend. :D thanks again!
I’m glad my recommendation worked out for you! I always thought that CTH was supplied by Specialteas. I wonder where they get tenor stuff now.
Their, not tenor. Ugh. Autocorrect.
I was just about to steep up a second cup now, before I saw your comment. :D thanks again!
My first order with California Tea House. Opened up the bag and I thought I was in my favorite Italian restaurant having some Tiramasu. Brewed it up and it had a very nice flavor. Especially good after work.
I drink it with sugar and a touch of milk to make it a touch creamier.
Please don’t numerically rate your own teas.
Yeah seriously. shinobicha is right… You’re ruining this site