Cornelia Bean

LIttle bit of a sourness, the same way that crab apples can be sour – but with a little less bite, and definitely softened by the fact there are other things like cinnamon and blackberry in this. You definitely get cinnamon notes; less so the blackberry, other than the general sweetness of having fruit in the blend. It’s also a little lemon-y.

I actually liked this cup a lot; sourness and all. Sometimes it reminds me of apple pie, and sometimes it doesn’t – this was a ’doesn’t’ time, but still a nice cup.

Hot, with a bit of vanilla agave.

Even straight up, this tea reminds me a lot of apple pie. Tart, crisp apple notes with underlying sweetness, and then a cinnamon note which seems to sort of replicate the taste of a cinnamon sugar dusted pie crust. It’s a flavour profile I really enjoy: that apple cinnamon combo, but just a bit more weighted towards the apple. The use of vanilla agave here just really pushed that apple pie imagery to the extreme though, and even added an ‘a la mode’ component. But, like, the tiniest little baby scoop of vanilla ice cream – a lot of the vanilla ended up just tying the cinnamon and pie crust imagery together.

Anyway; it was very nice! Smooth, rich, delightful – with just a bit of tart crispness.

Cold Brew!

I’m still disappointed that this one doesn’t brew up blue/green in colour – that’s arguably one of the coolest things about spirulina so it kind of sucks it doesn’t happen with this one. Oh well, it tastes pretty good and that’s the most important thing anyway. Even as a cold brew, it’s still very much an apple cinnamon/apple pie kind of flavour. Differences I’d say at that this is a little more tart apple/Granny Smith in flavour with a little bit of a stronger grassy undertone to the whole thing from the various herbal elements.

Still very enjoyable, though. Blue or not.

#VacationTea

So, we got to Winnipeg yesterday afternoon – and literally the first thing that we did was go shopping at Cornelia Bean! I’ve tried several teas from this store before, the majority of them passed along to me by Dexter. From what I can recall, most were in the range of average to very good so I was excited to actually get to check out the store in person.

I think, all in all, I ended up getting eight different teas that were actually Cornelia Bean ‘branded’ and then one of the Algonquin Tea Co. herbal blends they were carrying as part of a partnership. It was a really nice experience though! The atmosphere of the store is really nice and relaxing, and I feel like with the large table/desk in the center of the store that it’s the kind of place one could easily hunker down in for an afternoon to get some studying done in a quiet, peaceful environment with good lighting and accompanying tea! The best part, in my opinion, was just the conversation I had with the woman working at the desk who, though I’m not 100% sure, I believe was the owner. She was very sweet – and after my Dad very awkwardly/proudly boasted that I was a certified Sommelier we ended up having a really nice conversation about the TAC certification program – in particular the extent to which the program discusses tisanes/herbs in general. We also talked very briefly about the terroir similarities of Nepalese teas and Indian teas, such as Darjeeling – since the two countries share a border/are so close geographically. It was just a super positive experience in general!

As I was smelling away at the different teas, I stumbled upon this one. Though I’ve never had Spirulina tea, I’ve had several different things with Spirulina in them before and honestly I’ve always quite liked them. To be fair, I don’t know exactly what it takes like on its own though. I know a lot of people aren’t fans of the flavour though; I’ve just never experienced any unpleasantness myself. When I saw this one, I was intrigued by the smell though and I pondered aloud what it looked like visually when brewed because it DOES have that really distinct blue-green kind of hue.

The lady we were talking with (I really wish I had caught her name!) offered to make me a cup, and I happily took her up on the offer! I ended up trying it just as we were checking out, and I took like three sips and then apologized to her for having to make her do more work – ‘cause I 100% wanted to grab some of this to take home with me! It was actually so, so good! It’s hard to describe it; it tasted eerily familiar in flavour but also completely unique/different.

The descriptor I finally settled on, about halfway through finishing the cup, was “Apple Pie, but if you made it with crab apples”. It was sweet and tart, with warm cinnamon notes like what you’d get in baked apples/pie crust. It has more going for it other than that though – particularly a lemony quality alongside that sort of crab apple tartness. I wish I could isolate the taste of the spirulina – I just don’t think it’s gonna happen, though. I still think there’s another mystery flavour in here than contributed to the wonderful flavour – but without a complete ingredients list I can’t be sure.

Anyway, definitely not something I expected to pick up – but one I’m happy I got to try in the moment and decide on. It was good! Plus, it’s nice having another mate option!!!

Holidays TTB

There’s only enough left in here for one, maybe two cups. This is good though, it reminds me a little bit of England – there were a few days where I just hung out in my pjs before bed reading and drinking Lemon Ginger tea and this is extremely reminiscent.

This one of few green teas that I’ve actually enjoyed and the green tea base is prominent. I can’t taste any creamy notes, but the lemon/citrus flavor is not as distinct as I would have expected, so it very well could be that there is creamy notes but they are just cutting the initial sour lemon flavor.

GCTTB

Sipdown!

I had enough for about 2 cups of this so I coldbrewed it overnight. Bright pink liquor, peachy smell, but the flavour was very tart. There was also a weird undertone I couldn’t describe – I guess it was a result of sitting in the box for so long and absorbing other flavours.

Thanks so much to Inkling for sending me some of this! I couldn’t find brewing instructions online, so I went with the Steepster average of 180f for 3 minutes. This is surprisingly hefty for a white tea. I really quite like it. Very good toffee flavor, smooth and thick mouthfeel, nice savory-sweet aftertaste. This makes for a nice dessert tea. I got a good second steep at 180f for about 5 minutes (didn’t time it the second time).

Sipdown!

GCCTB4

This tea is not for me. The peach came across as too artificial tasting. I’m just really sensitive to artificial flavours so I think others who drink them might like this tea. It definitely was peachy.

GCTTB

Had this one as a cold brew. It was pretty true to flavour – juicy peaches. Delicious :)

Sample sipdown – thanks to Anlina for the sample!
This is pretty good. The dry tea has a really intense toffee aroma, which is there but much lighter in the brewed tea. The base tea has a light, vegetal, sightly sweet flavour. I’m getting mostly cucumber notes from it, actually. I like both the base tea and the flavouring, but I’m not totally sold on the combination. I think the toffee flavour might go better with a sweet Chinese black tea, maybe. Having said that, I’ve slurped back the whole cup while typing this review, so I can’t complain. :)

HGTTB

This is a weird tea because it smells amazingly like ooey-gooey caramel and that’s the first taste that hits your lips. However, that caramel slowly morphs into a rich root beer flavor. Up until that point it is delicious but then the mate takes over and that luscious caramel/root beer becomes wet earth. It’s not mad but I just wish the mate was left out of the mix as that would make this one amazing cup of tea.

I decided to use the rest of my sample from Roswell Strange to make a small latte with this tea because I had extra milk from the Brasiliano latte I was making simultaneously. Unfortunately, as soon as I poured the milk, I remembered the curdling issue of Hot Tropic so I had a moment of panic and then decided to drink it quickly before the milk got a chance to curdle. However, as I sip, I can’t help but feel like I am drinking a glass of lotion. It’s weird and creamy but the coconut/pineapple combination is leading to a somewhat sunscreeny type taste. Blech. This isn’t horrible tbh but there are so many companies that do this flavor combination better that I am not sad to see this go. Still, I appreciate the share so thank you Roswell Strange for the chance to try something new. 203.

Three tsp generic green oolong, three tsp of this in my DavidsTea mason jar – cold steeps about 9 hours.
It’s really good – I’m not sure I can taste the oolong at all, but that’s probably a good thing – added more for the caffeine than for flavor. It’s a tart mixed berry iced tea that’s more like juice than tea. Ok I did add some sweetener, but I don’t think the hibiscus is over powering, just adds that bit of tart that keeps fruit flavors from being too candy like.
I really like this and will for sure buy more.

HGTTB

While hot, the base is clearly present in the scent, mingled with lavender, but the bergamot is playing hard to get!
The Lavender definitely comes through strongest in the taste as well, it’s pretty intense. There’s just a hint of the Bergamot I’m looking for. The base is tasty, but just bordering on more astringent than I’d like in an everyday tea. This is one I would make when I’m looking for a flavorful, more bold cup of Lavender EG. I’m really considering making an order from Cornelia Bean, there’s so many good teas in this box, and I’m so glad I participated. Huge thanks to Anlina for setting it up!

Edit: A couple minutes after I finished my cup, I sneezed, and all I could smell and taste was Lavender. ’Nuff said! XD

HGTTB

I wasn’t sure what to expect with this one, since the scent in the bag isn’t very strong. I’m getting just a hint of sour in both the smell and taste. I don’t know why, since nothing on the ingredient list would suggest it.

It’s definitely a lighter tasting tea than the last couple I’ve tried, maybe because of that, I’m underwhelmed slightly. Maybe I didn’t steep it long enough. Why do I taste fruitcake? Are you okay tastebuds? Anyways, it’s pleasant, and I’ll be happy to finish my cup.

Edit: When cooled, the flavour actually gets stronger, more toasty almond flavour. My like.

Nigiri Woodlands :
Welp, I honestly don’t usually have just straight black tea, so I can’t really compare one from another. I’m hoping that I can get a baseline soon though.

I know enough to able to smell that it’s a black tea, at least. Hrmm…. Malty and dark, but with this brewing time, very little astringency, I can certainly see how it would threaten to get bitter with a longer steep though. I get the barest hint of smoke that’s mentioned if I really try, but I was hoping for a bit more. So, lots of malt and wood, not a lot of smoke, with a sweetness carrying it. The further I get into the cup, the more dry it leaves my tongue.

HGTTB

Woo! So many good smells from this one. What hits me first is the sweetness of caramel, then bergamot and cream, followed by a little hint of citrus. This seriously smells so good, both dry and steeped.
The taste presents all of the same flavors, but the order changes up a bit, and I think the Bergamot shows itself a bit more. There’s also a toasty-ness that I really like, probably from the rooibos. There’s so many layers to this tea, and it’s like, you can taste each of the flavors distinctly, without one really overpowering the others, and yet they blend together and meld into smooth awesomeness. It’s been a while since I’ve found a tea I like as much as this one. There’s only a serving or two left of this one, and I think I’m keeping it. It’s a new fave.

I’m not sure if this is a case of – you know you have too much tea when….. or if I’m just loosing it (going senile in my old age….)
If you had asked me about coffee flavored pu’erh yesterday – would have said – love Davids haven’t tried any others – don’t have any in my house right now.
Then tonight I’m rummaging around in flavor town looking for something fun to drink and find this – where did this come from, obviously I bought it at some point. It’s in my Steepster cupboard, it’s on my spreadsheet, not registered in the brain….

Anyway…………….

I like David’s better – there is too much rooibos (?) or maybe mate (?) in here – that’s covering up the pu’erh. It’s good, it’s too cluttered, too much going on. I think this would be better as just coffee pu’erh without all the other stuff in it. Having said that – I think this would benefit from some chocolate – that would balance out the bitter from the mate. Next time I’m going to toss in a little cacao….

HGTTB

I really like orange teas. I also really like rosemary…in cooking. :) While i would call this tea an accurate one, it doesn’t work for me because it turns the tea into very much a savory tea. And orange for me isn’t a savory sort of thing…it’s sweet…and tangy but not savory. So this is a good tea, but it doesn’t work for me. The orange and the rosemary blend quite nicely, and the rooibos isn’t a very overpowering taste. It’s also not that sort of woody rooibos. So if that sounds like your sort of thing, id recommend this. :)