ESP Emporium

Thanks for this MuppetLove!

This smells sweet and neat – dry. Once infused it diminishes a bit and smells a bit more like various nuts and not as sweet.

It’s rather smooth considering the ingredients but I’m really enjoying the pistachio and almond combo along with the cumin and peppercorns that are at a nice level of intensity (or lack there of – really).

For some reason I am thinking how awesome this would be with caramel and/or chocolate.

But it IS still nice as-is! YUM!

I am having a tough day today so I’m hoping this Happy Goji tea will cheer me up… I do like this one and I would get more if I ordered stuff from ESP Emporium.

Tisane of the afternoon… I really like this one!

See previous notes for more info.

This tisane came from my recent ESP haul – definitely good to have another tisane which doesn’t contain hibiscus.

It sure has a lot of weird ingredients — African stinging nettle leaf pearls? carrot flakes? I was pretty skeptical at first but I’ve enjoyed this quite a lot. It’s a very fruity blend that’s a tiny bit on the tart side due to the goji. I can’t actually taste any carrot but the rosebud gives it a tiny bit of sweetness. This is one of my most favorite recent tisanes and there’s no hibiscus in it, which is a bonus!

This does make me pretty happy and you can also pick the goji berries out and eat them after you’re done. I did make a cold brew out of this last week but I prefer it hot for some reason…

I think I might need to get some of this in bulk when my current supply runs out.

Sipdown! This was the rogue sample from momo that found its way into my box of samples from Lynne-tea. Therefore, I finished it.

I was going to say that sadly, I didn’t really taste too much with this one… but it looks like I felt the same the first time I tried it as well. Ah well. Perhaps it’s a case of flavour lost during transport, or something. It does sound like a delicious flavour combo otherwise…

Although the dry tea smelled much like DavidsTea’s Kiwi’s Big Adventure, with yummy-smelling fruity kiwi chunks, I’m getting virtually zero flavour from the brewed-up tea. I used 1.5 tsp of leaf at ~81C for 2.5 minutes, and all I’m getting is a vaguely fruity water. :( I guess I will try the re-steep for a bit longer period of time, but I don’t have high hopes. I can’t even really taste the green tea. Oh well. Thanks anyhow, Amanda!

This is the first of many I will be trying from Muppetlove! YAY! Thanks so much!

Awwwww yeah! THAT’s some Niiice Vanilla! And YES! That’s NICE with 3 i’s!

This has a satisfying medium strength black tea base and the Vanilla is dreamy and creamy.

This is CHARMING.

Thanks for this one, too, Amanda!

I was overly intrigued about this one because of the ingredients!

black tea, freeze-dried red/yellow peach crunchy (concentrated peach puree, tangerines, concentrated strawberry juice, concentrated black carrot juice), freeze-dried strawberry pieces, safflower.

At first I didn’t really know what I was smelling but I knew it was nice and pleasant and fruity! The flavor was very nice…strawberry and peach, mostly. Once it cools a bit I could taste the tangerine more, too.

sidenote…I would love to try a black carrot flavored black tea…or maybe white tea???

Anyhow…the flavor in this one was really REALLY tasty on my tongue. I would love to try this one again and maybe even purchase some for my tea cabinet.

Juicy! YUM!

Sipping a quick cup…wasn’t hot enough tho…I know it’s good, tho…see other notes…

Apparently my random tea “grabs” are trying to tell me I have a sweet tooth today! Special Thanks to Amanda for this one, too!

This wasn’t overly aromatic or overly chocolaty but the overall flavor was pleasing to my palate. It’s sweet and and creamy and caramelly and has hints of chocolate in there somewhere as well as a little rose in the mix.

This is very comforting! Darn Tasty! I wouldn’t mind more chocolate BUT it’s a goodie regardless :)

Thanks again, Amanda!

Received my swap package from Awkward Soul today! (And feel terrible because I haven’t sent mine out yet :/)

Brewed up a few teas a while ago, although they’ve since gone cold. Still going to review them! I couldn’t believe that the instructions for this one said 203-212F water – this certainly looks like a green tea to me?! So I went with ~82C.

The aroma is kind of fruity-floral. Or juicy floral. Although it tastes a touch rosy to me, the juiciness is making it quite delicious, actually! There’s an interesting hint of smokiness hiding in here as well. I… actually rather like this one, although I’m suspicious that it’s not actually the tea it’s supposed to be. I’m not sure if I infused this for 2 or 3 minutes, but there is a bit of bitterness showing up. Not sure if it’s an oversteeping or overleafing problem though, could be the latter. I’m only tasting the green tea a little bit here, but it’s better than in some blends!

Anyhow, thanks for a sample of whatever this tea may be, Awkward Soul! It’s pretty delicious! (Looking more closely, I’m pretty sure this is not the right tea. I saw a Strawberry/Lychee one by ESP pop up on the sidebar; that one would make far more sense. I have to go check my packets to see if I messed up or something!)

Re-steep (2.5 min) was a bit bitter but alright. Should have stuck to 2 min. I don’t think a third infusion would be worthwhile.

2nd tisane of the evening… no I am not having a rocking Friday night but I have big plans for the rest of the weekend so I don’t feel too bad for being nerdy today. This tea should be called “almond apple” because it is quite fruity in addition to the almond. I wonder if this is the same exact tea that Joy’s teaspoon carries? Has anyone tried them both?

This is a pretty good tisane, like Muppetlove I’m also kinda psyched that it doesn’t contain any hibiscus. this steeps up a funny color — it’s a light pink because of the beetroot, I guess.

It smells very apple and almondy in nature, sort of reminds me of a pie or an apple strudel in the aroma. The flavor is more apple-y than almondy and I was wondering how this would taste chilled or with some soymilk.

Overall, not bad but it isn’t destined to be a favorite. I don’t know why it’s so difficult to find tisanes that truly thrill me…

Hmm, this is an interesting tisane that I picked up on the latest haul from ESP Emporium. I was hoping it would be more pumpkin-y but I’m picking up more on the honeydew and apple element here. It isn’t too bad for a fruity rooibos tea, especially with soymilk added, but not quite what I was expecting from a tisane called Pumpkin Cream. I don’t have a whole lot more to say about it, will probably finish it off eventually, although not in earnest.

Tea of the afternoon here – I still have lots of FF darjeelings from last year but this is one of the only SF ones I have. Probably do NOT need to buy any more darjeelings this year unless I can get this cute guy I know interested in tea. ;-)

I don’t ice too many darjeelings, but it’s been so freakishly warm here in San Francisco. I made some of this earlier today and just tossed it over some ice. It’s really good this way — a bit fruity and sweet. It doesn’t even need sugar!

I placed an order last week through ESP Emporium because I got an Amazon discount deal. Do I need more tea? Of course! :D

Actually I don’t have too many SF darjeelings, so I thought I’d give this one a whirl. It was steeped in the infuser mug for around 3 minutes at 180F. The predominate notes here are woody with very light muscatel and peach flavors. It’s a bit more astringent than what I normally prefer in a darjeeling — I already feel my heartburn acting up a wee bit. I may try a shorter steep next time around.

Nothing special here for me, just an ok darjeeling…

Sipdown! 826.

You know, I could see myself picking this one up again. I see I previously also liked it a fair bit – there’s a clear, creamy lime flavour (more along the lines of 52teas’ Lime Jello than Della Terra’s Lime Chiffon, in case anyone’s wondering), and at 2 minutes, the cup is quite smooth. I imagine it would make a great iced tea, so perhaps once my stash is a bit lower (i.e. next year), I’ll wait for an ESP Emporium sale and pick up a bag of this for summer 2014. (I can hope!)

I think this is what I brewed up tonight, courtesy of Amanda (but the box is downstairs…).

This is pretty good! The tea is creamy and a bit sweet, and tastes melony and a touch limey. Nothing like 52teas’ Lime Jello, but still lime. I’d probably give it a longer infusion next time for more flavour (it’s kind of watery), and because there isn’t any astringency or bitterness at this point. Promising flavour, though!

Thanks Amanda!

This sample came from Anny Oxidant & the Tea Bullie – thanks for sharing!

I like fruity teas so I was keen to try this one. Pear is a flavor that seems really difficult to get right in tea, if you ask me. This looks to be a flavored Chinese tea blend. I don’t see a lot of fruit chunks in it, but there’s a few rose petals strewn here and there (how romantic!)

This was steeped for around 3 minutes in the infuser mug. Hmm, this tea is fairly smooth and gentle. I am picking up on both pear and mango, and they are blending well together. oooh, I should make a pear mango smoothie someday! :D

I liked this one, it’s gentle and flavorful without being too fakey, sweet or artificial tasting. Probably will not need to run out and buy anymore but I’m enjoying the cuppa I have.

Thanks for the sample, Anny!

Thanks Azzrian for this one!
I drank a half of a cup hot and the other half cold while trying to submit trouble tickets for Steepster Dashboard issues today…eeek! I’m going thru Steepster withdrawls!

I do like this one cold a bit more than hot but both are good.

All of the ingredients are mellow but sweet, citrusy, berry/fruity, and delightful! This is an interesting flavored rooibos! Thumbs up to ESP for this creative cuppa!

I wouldn’t brew this tea for the 4 or 5 minutes as recommended above. It seems to over brew fairly easily. It took me a few cups to really hit it right. 3.5 minutes at the most. So far I have found this tea to be a little thin in aroma and character. The flavor is good though. It hints of Darjeeling which is expected. I agree with the other tasting notes about the hay and vegetal flavors. The finish is pleasant, and mildly astringent. This would be a good tea to drink if you are consuming a lot of tea in a day and you aren’t pausing consider it. It’s good, but not great.

I just HAD to buy this one since it sounds like the perfect tea — BASIL (my favorite), lemon, strawberry, rose petals, all on a nice base of rooibos! It is good! I just wish the flavors would shine more. The main flavor is like a creamsicle type flavor, which I’m guessing is from the lemon, though I didn’t see many of the lemon granules in my unsteeped tea leaves. (Do you call them leaves if it is rooibos?) The rooibos has a mild enough flavor that it allows what little of the other flavors there is to shine through. I still think think this is the perfect combination of ingredients, I wish they stronger here though! Still very delicious, especially when it got to 97 degrees today (though I know that ain’t nothin for other parts of the US right now.)

This tea is a real gem! It smells amazing right out of the tin and down to the last drop, and the flavor notes are balanced perfectly. It makes a wonderful hot cup and a top of the line iced tea. I have to be careful when I make it that I don’t drink the whole pitcher in a single setting. This tea is worth ordering from ESP even if it’s the only thing in your cart. Excellent!