Della Terra Teas

Special Thanks to Liberteas for this one

Backlogging because I couldn’t add anything yesterday but I did make some notes!

This was a bit more of a gentle EG – not that POW you would expect. There is a quiet creaminess to it too which was nice but certainly not overdone.

This was pretty darn satisfying!

This tea’s name always gets “Creole Lady Marmalaaaaaaaaaaade ♬” stuck in my head. I’m not a connoisseur of chocolate teas. I think I may have had one, once, but I’m not sure. It’s possible that drinking a few other chocolate blends will ground me, but for now I’m blown away, flying high on cocoa clouds. Like yesterday with the Oatmeal Raisin Cookie1 blend, I again almost ate this tea. Dear, dear Della Terra, if you keep on like this, I assure you, some such accident will occur at some point. =)

Dubbele Chocolade smells so, so, so good. You know how no one laughs quite like babies? If someone doesn’t understand what I mean by “squee,” just go look at a baby laugh. They all squee. There is so much joy to express that they simply can’t contain it in their little bodies. They laugh like they will burst at the seams if they don’t. Joy is to baby as chocolate is to Dubbele Chocolade: it’s like the packet will start dancing in your hands if you don’t open it and let the chocolate out.

Here’s a surprise: I sipped my tea, unsweetened, and it was…good! (The good wasn’t the surprise, the good unsweetened was the surprise.) Not good enough for me to finish it that way, but hey, ♬ it’s my teeeeacup and I’ll brew how I waaant to… ♬ I added some sugar and sipped again, and again it was good. In a pinch, I could drink this as-is, which wins it some major points (and earns it a slightly higher rating than Oatmeal Raisin Cookie). But since I didn’t have to, I didn’t…

It’s that time of year again, when the seasonal stuff appears in supermarkets that the mean people don’t let me have year-round. One such thing is Silk’s line of specialty soy milk. Since my tea was still “just” good and not zomg-amazing, I added some mint chocolate soy milk. I really had no idea what sort of concoction would result from this experiment. I’m happy to report that it was incredible. So incredible, in fact, that I’d drunk half the cup before I sat down to write this, so now I have to turn around and go right back to try for a second steep. Thank you, Della Terra Teas! Dubbele Chocolade joins Oatmeal Raisin Cookie as a citizen of my Happy Place.

Maybe, just maybe, I’ll try a cup plain or with just sugar at some point. But right now, I am having waaaay too much fun experimenting in my beverage lab. I still have a few finishing touches to put on it, but soon I’ll be able to take some photos and share my pride ‘n’ joy with you all. =)

Tea amount: 1 level tsp/~4.75g
Water amount: 6oz/~175mL
Additives: A splash of mint chocolate soy milk and ½ tsp demerara sugar

1 http://steepster.com/bleepnik/posts/137359

I’ve never been an especially big fan of Earl Grey, which is what this one seemed to resemble with the bergamot, but I still picked out this tea for one of my try-me packs. I gotta say, it may’ve been because it’s so pretty.

I remember not really liking the first cup of this I had, but I think I must have oversteeped/put too much leaf in it or something. Because this second cup is very delicious – the dry tea still smelled a bit overpowering, but the liquor ends up with that nice mild and dark orange-y tea scent. It’s very thirst-quenching to me, with the orange taste lending a refreshing note. It also has a nice, slight bite to it that increases as it cools down. And my Earl Grey-loving boyfriend seems to definitely be a fan of this one!

Additional notes: Sipping this favorite. The magic of this one is what is like pumpkin pie filling in the blend. I’m not sure if it’s still made that way (my pouch is older), but describing it as “pumpkin spice” does not do it justice! That just sounds like the spices that go in pumpkin pie, but those are there too. Canned pumpkin filling!! It’s not in the description and you can’t really see it in the picture. The tea just tastes a little squashy/pumpkin. So good.

Additional notes: I want to thank both Dinosara and Momo for selling/sending little pouches of this one. I had a little pouch too, but this is my FAVORITE PUMPKIN TEA!! I just love that there is actual pumpkin pie filling in this blend, I just wish there were moooorrree. Pumpkin pie filling is just genius and should be an idea for all those pumpkin teas that just add spices in it. So I can definitely see going through three small pouches of this! I accidentally steeped this one for 20 minutes, but it was still delicious!

Yes, I saved this one to review on Halloween! The name is accurate with this one, just like the apple pie was yesterday! If I’m not mistaken, this looks to have little bits of pumpkin pie filling in the blend? Like the stuff that you’d buy in a can and then somehow it is dried for tea? If so, what a genius idea! I was definitely getting a pumpkin flavor, and not just the spices that gets added to anything pumpkin flavored. It had a great balance of the spice with the squashy, vegetal pumpkin! As usual with Della Terra, the black tea base isn’t overpowering the flavors. The second steep was just as good, since I used just-boiled water. Peeking in the infuser, the pumpkin filling pieces or the sprinkles weren’t completely melted into the tea. I really like this one, and I think this is the best idea on how to make a pumpkin tea… pumpkin pie filling! (But if anyone knows that this isn’t pumpkin pie filling, please correct me if I’m wrong!) Another amazing tea from Della Terra! This is why I knew I shouldn’t have tried so many in their sample packs… I will want to buy full ounces of most of the teas I’ve tried!

Do not like this one. It’s not very strawberry and the chocolate is mediocre.

I broke my taste buds… no seriously. This tea, tastes nothing like chocolate and strawberries as I drink it…but if i hold it in my mouth and swish it around under my tongue…then it’s like HELLO chocolate and strawberries. It’s weird. I’m disturbed. i also know it’s just me…‘cause i made the other half try it and he’s like ooh chocolate and strawberries. So I’m just not going to rate this tea. Apparently i’m not allowed to taste it properly haha

So I’m going to have to try this one again tomorrow…I’m not getting the same flavour as everyone else. It’s not bad, it’s just not what I’d hoped for. I’ll give it another shot tomorrow and hold off rating it until then :)

Apologies for the backlogging. Steepster was down for a bit.

Anyway, my boyfriend actually won this tea from Della Terra Tea facebook contest, but I borrowed some anyway to see what it was all aobut. I enjoy a good pu-erh tea blend if it’s done right.

Even though the reviews of this are mixed, this is definitely a very good pu-erh blend. I’m getting chocolate notes and it blends well with the pu-erh base (which I can definitely taste). As the tea cools off, it’s enjoyable hot OR cold. I was expecting to have to add some milk to round this out but it didn’t need anything in my opinion. Maybe next time I’ll throw in just to see how it goes.

On the chai side, this does fall a little bit short, though. Which is fine by me since I’m not really a OMG SPICY CHAI person. However, if someone wanted chocolate pu-erh with a little kick? Eh, don’t expect to much. This probably could have benefited from more spices if that’s what they were going for.

It’s still very enjoyable, though, and definitely one of the best pu-erh blends I’ve tried.

So, now I know what it’s like to just sort of dissolve into a big puddle of yum. My people, if you like-a the oatmeal raisin cookie, and if you like-a the tea, and if you like-a the yum, you will lub this blend.

The fun began as soon as I opened the packet. I would’ve been able to identify this tea blindfolded. It pretty much screamed, COOOOOOKIEEEEE, causing me to immediately morph into my natural Cookie Monster state. I almost upended the packet right into my mouth, but then remembered that it was tea, and that it probably wouldn’t be as good an idea as Cookie Monster was thinking. There was absolutely no mistaking the oatmeal raisin cookieness in the aroma. Steeped, the tea smelled equally good, only very slightly muted since, well, I no longer had my nose stuck right in the packet.

Sip, sip… [frown] sip, sip… [frown some more] I don’t even know why I bothered trying this unsweetened, except that it’s my habit to at least take a sip or two before I mess with it. But I mean, c’mon, cookie. So I added some milk and sweetener, and it was much better. Cookie Monster smiled. Liquid coooookieeeee! It smells better than it tastes. Not that it tastes bad, it’s just really hard, I think, to capture the in-your-faceness of the fragrance in the flavour. Maybe if I’d steeped longer? I dunno, I’ll try that next time. For now I’d say, “excellent, with some room for improvement.” I award this blend citizenship of my Happy Place.

[Edit] NOMNOMNOMNOM

Tea amount: 1 level tsp
Water amount: 6oz/~175mL
Additives: A splash of vanilla soy milk and about ½ tsp cane syrup. Cane syrup is new to me. I saw it in the supermarket the other day and thought it would be interesting to try. The jar says it’s great for baking and on pancakes and waffles, so I figured oatmeal raisin cookie tea would be perfect for it. That was a good call. =)

The name doesn’t lie! This is definitely apple pie! A nice sweet apple, doesn’t taste artificial at all, with some cinnamon. I think Della Terra uses different apple flavorings for their apple teas. This is the one I like better, that I think is also in the apple cinnamon yogurt rooibos that I love. The black tea base is perfect for these flavors, not too strong. I think there is also a slight bakey pastry flavor (maybe from the almonds?) but I might be imagining that, since the apple pie filling portion of this tea is so spot on! Another win for Della Terra!

Maple and rooibos are two of my favourite flavours, so I expected this blend to transport me immediately to my happy place. My first impression, unfortunately, is that something is a little off in both its fragrance and flavour.

Upon opening the little ziplock baggie, I detected something vaguely medicinal photobombing the maple. The brew also had the same smell. I’m now sitting here with a cold, empty teacup, sniffing madly and trying to figure out what’s bugging me. My current theory is that maple is sweet and rooibos has its own sweetness, and possibly the two sweets aren’t meshing together very well for me. I really thought this was the perfect blend, but my nose and tastebuds are telling me I might be wrong.

The flavour is more harmonious than the fragrance, but still not quite amazing. Next time, I want to try sweetening my cup with a bit of maple syrup.

Tea amount: 1 level tsp
Water amount: 6oz/~175mL
Additives: None at first, then about ¾ tsp demerara sugar.
Dry mouth factor: 1/10

Second steep. Longer steep time, plus milk and agave. Verdict?

Aroma: The steeped tea has a much fuller, mellower fragrance with the addition of (vanilla soy) milk. It’s still mostly pumpkin pie spice, but now I think I might be able to guess that it’s supposed to be pumpkin pie, if I didn’t already know.

Flavour: Milk + sweetener definitely made a huge difference for me. The improvements in the fragrance translated to the flavour, as well: the end result was a much creamier concoction. Surprising to me was the fact that agave somehow worked much better than sugar. I added it on a whim because the box of agave straw things was getting in my way and I wanted to (start to) finish them.

Aftertaste: Out of nowhere, coconut. There’s no coconut anywhere. I don’t have coconut milk, there’s no coconut in the tea, but there you have it. Coconut. So weird! Good weird, but weird.

It’s a pretty weak second steep, so I’m glad I took the time to play around with it. Now that I know milk and sweetener improve the blend, I’ll give it a proper go with fresh leaves next time. In the meantime, I’m increasing the rating a bit to account for the improvements I was able to discover during this experiment.

Tea amount: 1 level tsp
Water amount: 6oz/~175mL
Additives: 2 agave straw thingies and some vanilla soy milk
Dry mouth factor: 0/10 (because milk)

In the aftermath of tropical cyclone Sandy (no problems here, thank you for all your kind thoughts and prayers), what could be more comforting than Grandma’s pumpkin pie? Okay so my grandmother never made pumpkin pie, but it sure sounds good. =)

The little pumpkin candies in this tea are very cute. I was tempted to try one, but then I forgot about it. It smells very, very autumnal, a combination of all the warmth and spices that generally go into pumpkin pie and other seasonal desserts. I didn’t get a pumpkin feel from it, but to be honest, I’d have to open a can of pumpkin pie filling and stick my nose in it to remember the fragrance. The brew is a little lighter in colour than I anticipated for a black tea, but it does kind of look like liquified pumpkin pie.

I’m torn on the taste (and therefore the rating). This is a really nice pumpkin pie spice tea. A pumpkin pie tea, not so much. It’s warm and yummy and comforting and smells really great, but I’m still not getting any pumpkin from it. Next time, I think I’m going to try sweetening it with just a touch of condensed milk.

Tea amount: 1 level tsp
Water amount: 6oz/~175mL
Additives: None at first, then about ½ tsp demerara sugar.
Dry mouth factor: 2/10 (really low for a black tea, in my experience—awesome)

NOMNOMNOMMM!

I got this huge sugar chocolate crazy craving. Even more dangerous, a tub of Red Velvet Cake ic ecream in the freezer! That ice cream and Trader Joe’s cookie butter are EVIL! I took a spoon of ice cream and was like yum, but no more! But I was still crawling for sweets – Time to switch to tea!

Of course, I pull out some really desserty teas – this one won! I made it as a latte. I’m at the end of my bag (just 1 serving left!) so the tea is the smushed side, so it seems I got more graham flavor with a little chocolate.

Must hold out till dinner! Then brazilian jiujitsu and after that I’ll be safe from evil ice cream in the freezer!

Marshmallow Monday?

DRY: mmm! This tea smells just like brownies! Very close to smore brownies I make! http://joythebaker.com/2009/04/smores-brownies/#
Lots of bits in this tea – need to do a good bag shuffle to ensure you get all the little bits!

STEEPED: Light brown tea, smells chocolate liquor like and roasty. The marshmallows dissolved too!

TASTE: Perky bold black tea up front. Graham flavor pops up clearly to me. Chocolate and toasty flavors swings in some sips. Marshmallow sweet aftertaste. The black tea is kinda bitter to me – maybe a shorter steep or lower temp might help out there.
Sweetened, the chocolate comes out more and the black tea tastes quite roasty. Slightly cooled, the sip tastes just like smores on some sips – best flavor!

COMMENTS: Hmmm, I love this tea but some parts I dislike – not sure if I’m liking the black tea used here or maybe I need do adjust the steeping times. However, this one has to be the best black tea/smorey marshmallow tea I’ve tried so far.

I have so many delicious teas right now! I’ve been in a real black tea mood this past week so I brewed this up today with lunch.

This is a beautiful tea to look at, with bright yellow pineapple pieces and flecks of white coconut standing out against the black tea. The dry leaf and the brewed tea smell just like pineapple! I took the first sip and tasted lots of coconut, which I love. As it cools the pineapple has really been coming to the forefront. In addition, this tea is not bitter or astringent in the slightest, and I think it would make a fantastic iced tea. I’m really impressed by the flavor of this, as I tend to dislike teas that taste “artificial” to me, and this does not.

I am also thinking about my dad today, who lives on the south west coast of Kauai. They had an emergency weather alert last night but he is fine now and at home. I’d send him some of this delicious tea but I think he actually gets sick of Hawaiian food!

This has been my favorite tea from Della Terra yet! After I burned through the try-me sized pack, I immediately had to go for another two ounces (and it helped that I’d won a coupon from them from one of their numerous, generous giveaways).

The smell is immediately comforting to me. “Mellow” is a really good descriptor – it’s juicy, floral and fruity (with two of my favorite fruits!), smelling almost like an exquisite candy. It’s excellent both hot and cold, sweetened and not. I’ve mostly been drinking it hot (where the creaminess seems most prominent for me), but when iced the mango and peach flavors really come out. It’s extremely refreshing and light that way, especially with a little honey added!

Tonight is a tea review and story night!

First, story: where I live in San Francisco, parking one’s car is a real pain in the butt, so I take the bus to and from school/work. Some days taking the bus can be a real pain in the butt too! But today MUNI (the bus/train system in SF) gave everyone on my bus a special Halloween preview show, albeit unintentionally.
It was about 7:50 when the bus pulled up, we all filed on and it lurched forward to the next stop. And then stays stopped for about five minutes. Suddenly, the lights start turning off and then on again at random, and people start getting spooked and whispering to each other. The bus driver calls out that she thinks the bus may be dead, but she is going to try restarting it. So she turns the bus off, lets it sit for a few minutes, and turns it on again. Right as the engine coughs and sputters as it attempts to LIVE (Frankenstein cackle) the back door opens and closes several times in fast succession, and a few girls standing by it scream in surprise.
Sadly the bus stayed dead and our Halloween show ended, as we were directed to get off and wait for a new bus to pick us up in about ten minutes. By the time I got home I was really in the mood for some good TEA!

Second, tea: This smells sooo good. I think now I may not have used enough tea in my steeper, but this still has a lot of flavor. At first all I could taste was cinnamon – for some reason I can really tolerate hot beverages, so that may be a product of my sipping right away before it cooled. As the tea started to cool I could taste brown sugar, and then the sweet raisins. Yummy dessert tea! I think I am still a bigger fan of straight teas than I am flavored, but I like this and it was a nice cuppa after my spooky bus ride. ;)

This was really good! Its sweet and creamy and delicious! It reminds me a lot of DT red velvet cake but not as sweet. Yum its so good.

I don’t know why the name of this was changed, but it seems like it fits. There is a ton of spicy heat in this one, with a bit of sweetness added with the peppercorns. The black tea isn’t the main focus here, as it is more of an herbal tea. I don’t find too much cinnamon either. I definitely wouldn’t call this a cinnamon cider, so the name change fits. It seems like Della Terra has different apple flavors for their teas. I don’t like the apple here more than the Apple Cinnamon Yogurt Rooibos. This one seems a bit more fragrancy than the sweet dessert type apple in the rooibos blend. I like this, but I wish they would use the other apple. (This same apple seems to be in their Caramel Apple blend.) This reminds me of Yogi’s Aztec Sweet Chili.

This tea sounded so interesting, when I won a Della Terra Tea contest, I had to go for it. You just don’t see pu-erh blends like this everyday. As others have said, I thought the pearl balls were for show, but they actually melt in the tea itself. Very neat!!

This tea has a very nice taste and is a nice starter pu-erh or good for someone who doesn’t like straight pu-erh. I myself have a hard time drinking pure pu-erh (see what I did there?), and I find this very good. The pu-erh is not overpowered, you can definitely taste it, but it’s not so in your face either. A nice flavored tea.

Still have to try this iced since apparently it’s amazing, according to all the other steepter reviews..

Yum so good! Sitting looking out the window knitting a sweater, drinking this tea. Today is a perfect day :)