Culinary Teas

I was going through my untried, unopened teas and saw this. Now, I absolutely love lychee/lichee. It is one of my favorite fruits! I am so thankful that they sell it at the farmer’s market store by the H-mart. Anyhow, I ripped the package open and placed it in a clean tin. The scent was intoxicating. The scent is so strong and sweet smelling almost to the point where I was thinking, “is this real?” The black tea leaves were small, thin, and wiry.

This tea brewed up a nice, dark brown color. The scent is still strong, but a little more subdued compared to the dry leaf. The taste is amazingly delicious. It is not bitter at all, so I decided not to add anything to this tea. It is best left untouched. The lichee taste is there and isn’t overpowering as the black tea base was perfect. The black tea and lichee scent was well balanced. There was a hint of nuts or toast in the back. The slight sweetness lingers behind. What a juicy tea! I am glad that this tea isn’t the usual “fruity, tart” tea in the ways of fruit teas. There is no astringency at all. It was so smooth going down my throat. I love when black teas are this way.

WOW! I am awake now! This has a nice amount of caffeine in it.

Loose tea smells of sweet cordial cherries – the chocolate, cherry liqeur, and maraschino are all present. Same goes for the tea – dark chocolate, liquid cherry filling, and maraschino. The cherry flavor is artificial tasting, as any maraschino is. The black tea base is assertive in this one, bitter and strong, but it actually tastes good with the sweet candy flavor. A keeper!

The Tea Nation has this orange spice black tea and it is superb. I only wish I could buy it easier. The only place I know that sells it is Ollies and they run out regularly. (:

Thank you LiberTEAS for this sample. I’m gonna jump right in and say that this is a bold cuppa. My palate was a little sleepy from the half hour I laid down- that was supposed to be sleep (4th week on third shift that this has happened) so the first sip GRABBED me. I was about to write something to the effect of ‘if this is Canadian breakfast I’m starting to think that they’re all lumberjacks and steelworkers-including the women’, but within a few sips I got used to and started to really appreciate the boldness it has (and yes I realize that women can equally fill the roles of lumberjack and steelworker. My wife and I are both commercial/industrial painters who may be climbing steel,hanging off the side of a building,or just painting the walls of a brand new hospital on any given day,so no offense intended).

Soon after I got used to the initial boldness I started really seeking out the malt aspect. I must agree with the makers description that there is an oak characteristic, though I’m not too sure how flowery it is. For me the touch of sweet I find is subdued by an equal touch of smoke…almost a mesquite, but ever so slight. I- ‘THE ASTRINGENCY WEENIE’ am shocked to find that the astringency most other taste notes spoke of was hardly present…at first. This may be because, out of fear, I elected to steep this for two and a half of the three to five minutes suggested. At first, I only found slight dryness on the roof of my mouth with very little on my tongue not sure if that’s normal or not.
As the cup cooled, as cups always do, the astringency rose a bit as well as the malty notes. Now my tongue was getting that dry, almost chalky, feeling.

Second steep was three minutes with a little less water. As before the cup started out smoother before cooling. Out of curiousity I checked it when pouring my cup-one hundred ninety degrees farenheit. It’s not as complex either. Maybe a little less water still would be in order. Mostly what’s left is a semi-sweet malt flavor that gains astingency when it cools. That’s all I got, a pretty good cuppa especially to start the day with.

tunes-Benny Goodman=Mambo Swing,Louis Prima=St.Louis Blues/Just A Gigolo(David Lee Roth didn’t write this song),Charlie Byrd=So Danco Sambo/A Carol For All Seasons

My first Steepster swap! Thanks to Will Work for Tea for this lovely surprise! I love Pumpkin, I have been patiently awaiting the comeback of Pumpkin Chai from DT and felt this could hold me over until TOMORROW when it’s re-released. So, I busted out my pot to brew up my CaveMama tea and then I dropped my digital thermometre in the water :(. So I just went with boiling water. After I prepared it, but before I tasted it BoxerPapa showed up and tasted it. His response “Can you make me some of that, but stronger?”
It’s good thing I only need it until tomorrow…
I had read the reviews that this was a weaker tea so I tried to compensate by using 1.5 tsp in 6oz water. I steeped 4 minutes on mine. BoxerPapa got 5 min and a rounded 1.5 tsp. . . He didn’t complain so I assume it was satisfactory.
The taste to this tea is quite light, but good. The cream (I would guess vanilla?) is a bit more potent than the pumpkin and you can’t really taste the tea nor does it give you much of a jump start. But, this would be a good after dinner tea!

Love this tea iced… just sweet enough, but not overpowering, and the black tea base doesn’t overpower the flavors! This is also one of the best smelling loose teas I’ve ever had… The vanilla smells artificial, but the berry is one of the least artificial-smelling artificial blueberries I’ve ever smelled. Love this one.

This tea is delicious warm – you can clearly taste the black tea, but there’s also a mild blueberry flavor, and a sweetened creamy vanilla flavor. Its also pretty good cold, but the flavors get stronger. The blueberry is sweeter, the cream is milkier, and the tea flavor is more pronounced and a bit bitter. The good news is that the bitterness tastes great with the sweet and creamy taste of the tea. Just lovely.

Even worse cold. This one is destined for the trash.

The hibiscus scent is very strong from this brewed cup, as is the flavor. You can clearly taste the fruit, especially from the red berry and lemon, but the hibiscus leaves a somewhat heavy floral taste there that makes everything else taste just a little off. Sadly, the tea is a bit bitter, even with sweetener added, and even through the best filter I’ve ever used, there are floaties in the bottom of the cup. Maybe its better iced…

A really great way to get going on those days when I’m feeling like I’d rather sleep. This definitely has some invigorating qualities to it.

This tastes rich and toasty, reminiscent of a cup of coffee but better because yerba mate doesn’t leave me feeling sick a few hours after drinking it the way coffee does. A very satisfying cuppa. I added about a half a teaspoon of turbinado sugar and it enhances the warm, roast-y qualities of this tisane.

A really good mate!

Thanks, Darby, for trading for some of this! The description says dark chocolate, but my pouch of tea definitely had white chocolate and NO dark chocolate… huh. But there was a big ol cherry in my infuser, so it’s definitely cherry. Sadly, not much of a cherry flavor or a chocolate flavor. (There was oily stuff at the top of my cup though.. I’m guessing the melted chocolate chips.) The black tea flavor is pretty good though, so it’s worth it to drink it just for that. And at LEAST it doesn’t have that terrible fake cherry-cough-syrup flavor!

Azzrian Thanks for this one!

This certainly SMELLS like Wild Blackberries!

The taste is that of blackberries AND the greenery…leaves and stems! It is a bit bitter but nothing I can’t handle.

Be cautious not to over infuse

The black tea base is fairly strong considering all the flavoring in addition to the base.

Thanks for this one, Azzrian

This smells even sweeter than other Toffee-Type Teas I have tried…perhaps it’s because it’s notably Butterscotch/Caramel Toffee? Not sure…but the aroma is pretty wonderful!

This only ‘brews’ up to a medium brown in color and it IS a mellower black tea base on the tongue.

I find the taste of this pleasing but it’s not overly intense. It’s very buttery-butterscotch and the caramel flavor is present as well. It’s sweet and creamy and buttery. This has a dreamy and creamy lingering aftertaste but it’s not the morning kick I needed as it’s not overly bold or intense.

Still pretty yummy, tho!

Thank you LiberTEAS for this nice sample!

There are some very interesting characteristics with this tea. Plenty of mixture in the dry leaves, even noticed some smaller broken green colored leaves – looked like an oolong.

Now to the fragrance of the infusion. Immediately, there was a familiarity with the flavor and boldness of this brew. It was more intimate and brought me to my southern coastal roots. It wasn’t the cinnamon brown colored liquid that spoke faintly, then more pronounced between each sip. It was the aroma and the salty oceanic presence that drew me in the most. There was a medium astringency, however this wasn’t the most noticeable of all note.

Warning: This next reference will seem odd and over-dramatic.

I am not kidding when I say that there was the taste of – steamed crabs! There, I said it. Get over it! :) Yes, there’s a few very strange people that will drink a tea and compare it to a decapod crustacean, more specifically – Callinectes sapidus, better known as the blue crab. And yes, I’m strange. Now, before you chalk me as a complete idiot, let me make the connection of where I’m coming from on a taste standpoint.

There is a certain strange sweetness and almost indescribable flavor that one discovers while consuming the body meat (not claws) of a freshly stewed blue crab. Look up Crab Etoffee and you will be headed the right direction in understanding my experience. I had to add sugar and milk to test how this taste held up to the additions and found it added a creamy, buttery depth to this broth, I mean brew.

I found that you could taste more of the black tea if you help the liquid a moment longer on the tongue. This was definitely a nice experience, although I simply wasn’t in the right mood for this particular tea. I was searching more for a bold treat, even an option to make a chai-like drink. This tea didn’t quite match my mood this time. Maybe better luck next time. It was good nonetheless.

I got this one from Darby
The dry notes smell of caramel only. Once steeped it tastes mainly like a black with the slightest hint o caramel. I added some honey to try and save it, I got more of a caramel taste after that but was still missing the creme brule part. Additionally I added a bit of milk, and there comes the creme brule flavour, so good. Although it has now lost the caramel flavour.
It seems that I have had to add hobey and milk to many teas lately.

I added a stick of cinnamon and a few cloves to this before I took my brother to night class. (currently waiting in the lobby for it to end). The adding of the spices really added to and awakened this tea’s potential. It really taste like pumkin pie minus the crust. And oh the creaminess…. (K^>)

Story Time: Ok ever since I heard that The Who was going to be playing in Orlando I have been wanting to get tickets. At this point though I am determined to get the two floor seats that are available. I have been selling off all my old college books and other stuff on Craigslist; which is going pretty well.

On a tea note I was going to get a Brown Betty teapot, but getting those tickets is the priority now. Also I want to thank Verdant Tea’s for making individual sample sizes of their tea. I have been wanting to try their tea for so long now, but lacked the funds. Now I just need to find a good Gaiwan to test them in.

Tea Time
I got this awesome sample in a tea trade with Will Work For Tea.

The dry leaf smells very creamy and like pumpkin from the can with a minor sent of sour cream… interesting. It brews up a nice golden tan color too. The smell of it though is a bit odd. It smells very strongly of sour cream to me; the taste does not. ZOMG this tea is SUPER CREAMY!!! Very smooth and velvet and leaves a soft feel in the mouth. The flavor is not really a pumpkin spice, but more like a pumpkin and cream shake mixed with tea and a little pinch of spice. I can’t wait to try this with a cinnamon stick in it.

If you are a fan of TF2 you have to listen to this…. or even if your not, it is epic.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YbNwvQXkYrY&list=LLVE6XBMoZYemnrtOIql1QLw&feature=mh_lolz

Over all I would recommend this tea to people who want a really creamy and un-spicy pumpkin flavor

specifics
Water: 28oz
Pot: Glass
Sweetener: almost 1 tbsp in a 10oz mug
Leaf: 3 tsp

Additional notes: I’ve been drinking this ancientness because it tastes really good steeping the stove boiling method of brewing I’ve been doing. Despite never really tasting like white chocolate. But I’m enjoying the strength of the spices and black tea lately, especially on this snowy day. Almost sad to finish it! And yes, STILL boiling water on the stove but I have a new sinktop water filter on the way that will hopefully solve my chlorine water problem. Some of my oldest teas have been tasting really good lately, so that is some tea aging magic right there. I’m happy to drink some older teas before I have this water filter thing figured out. Soon!
2020 Sipdowns: 13

And in case anyone has missed it, there is a new travelling teabox started in the forums, the ‘Samurai’ TTB thanks to SkySamurai halfway starting it. More signups welcome!

Thanks to Darby for sending this as part of a trade! I figured this wasn’t JUST a chai as it is labeled since I saw a ton of black tea in it (more than spices anyway). It is also a black tea as the description above says. I have no idea why more chai isn’t mixed with black, since it seems it would make sense. But since it was mixed with black tea, the chai flavor wasn’t stronger. I couldn’t really taste the white chocolate though, and I definitely saw at least one chocolate chip go into my infuser. Not bad… I like it because it is probably the only chai/black blend I have right now!

Wow! Thank you TeaEqualsBliss for this generous sample!

This is one of the best rooibos blends I have EVER tasted! The taste is SO true – juicy, sweet, ripe and a little tart raspberry! The type that is so ripe, you will probably stain your shirt and mouth with it when you go berry picking. DELICIOUS! Is there a little bit of hibiscus in this blend? I swears on the precious that there is a perfect hint of tartness that takes this tea over the top.

Yum! No sweetener needed! No icky weird rooibos aftertaste! I am very impressed with Culinary Teas :)

I have just enough left to try it iced, but it was SO good hot that we’ll see what happens when the time comes.