ESP Emporium

Another tea that I bought to make ice tea with this summer. I haven’t tried it hot, and probably will not, so I can’t note on how it would be if not over ice. Over ice though it is a pretty refreshing tea, not too sweet. The melon was a bit over powering, so I have been halfing it with unflavored green tea that I have a decent stock of, and that does the trick just right. Good tea for a hot summer day.

I always like to pick one “adventurous” tea to put into my cart, and this was what I picked that was out of my comfort zone when I ordered from ESP Emporium. It’s… not what I expected. There is a tart flavor that is very similar to that of original yogurt, which is a little off putting to the flavor of the tea. I am a big fan of plain yogurt too! The mango provides a bit of sweetness, but the flavor is just strange. I made a cup hot and then also tried it over ice, and neither one of them worked for me. Not bad, but definitely not something I would be ordering again.

After trying this tea I must agree with the other tasting notes here. The look of the tea isn’t as lovely as in the photo, but I have found that to be the case with most ESP Emporium teas. It has very tart notes, but even still is not unpleasant. I can’t imagine it making a very enjoyable hot tea, but it makes a pretty yummy iced tea. I have tried it alone and also mixed with a basic black tea, which helps tone down the tartness a bit. The brew time seems a bit long in my opinion, steeped about 6 minutes is enough in my opinion.

After reading the tasting notes on here I am starting to think I did something majorly wrong making this tea. I recently ordered a large batch of different teas from ESP while they were having their 4th of July sale, and this was the first one in my cart. That being said, when the package arrived today, it was the first one I made, but regretfully I did not get past the first sip. The tea smells wonderfully, but I found the taste to be very similar to a black licorice type candy. (Which I am not a fan of!) The after taste was similar to what I was looking for when trying this tea, but unfortunately I just can’t stomach drinking it. Disappointed and hoping that some of the other teas I bought turn out much better.

Additional notes: This was the perfect tea for today. The dry tea smelled a bit stale, since it isn’t exactly new, but the tea tasted the same. I was able to steep two teaspoons in my new infuser. The mug is clear so I was able to see the fun bubblegum pink color from the beetroot. The flavor is like a snickerdoodle cookie, but this time I was able to see where the apple comes in. It’s still so good!

For some reason I was expecting more apple, I don’t know why, since I wanted a nice apple tea. BUT this one is good anyway! It is just like Joy’s Teaspoon Almond tea, which is one of my favorites (hmm.. possibly they have the same supplier, I don’t know). Very delicious fragrance and taste. And I love that it doesn’t have hibiscus in it! This is an example of a herbal tea that really doesn’t need hibiscus to be amazing. I love the pink color that the beet root leaves. There isn’t too much of a cinnamon flavor, but it is better that the almonds shine! The apple flavor isn’t too strong either. I guess I’ll just have to keep searching for a scrumptious apple tea, but this one is a fantastic almond!

I am going to skip all the fluff regarding how this tea looks and just put it out there. Holy cow this tea rocks! Smells great and tastes greater!! I have not tasted a pear in years and years so who knows about that flavor, but who cares-the mango rooocks!! Perfectly flavored – Not to strong and not artificial at all. Oh man. I am having my second pot already today. Yum.

Update 10 days later…Weird. Revisited this tea today. I am wondering if my taste in tea changes from day to day. For some odd reason, I am not liking it nearly as much now. Hmmm

I am not impressed with this tea. As per the other ESP teas, it consists of some white tea leaves and even more random non-tea leaves. Also, there are huge flowers which are about 4-5 teaspoons in size. So I crunched up the flower and added parts of it to the steep. The smell in the tin and while steeping is more milk chocolate than pomegranate. This would have been fine if it had tasted of pomegranate OR milk chocolate. Unfortunately, other than a drying feeling left on the tongue, there really wasn’t much flavor at all. Very disappointing.

In the tin this tea smells exactly like sparkling grape juice. The tightly rolled white tea leaves are apparent. There is also a menagerie of different types of leaves of unknown origin as well as many blue cornflower petals. Blackcurrents abound, and I assume give this tea it’s sharp smell and taste. once brewed this tea maintains its tart aroma. And although the taste of the tea is light and somewhat sparkling, I was hoping for more of the wonderful grape pop to come through. I will definitely try this one cold. I think it will be wonderfully refreshing. 
Edit: Yes this was better cold. I think this one cold is something the whole family will enjoy!

Smells like a candy store orangey and yummy. The longer you smell the more lemony Citrusy it smells. Looking into the pouch the majority is green tea not just filler which I like. Little bits of orange peel, cut almonds and little squares of caramel. I’m also seeing tiny little twig pieces, perhaps from the picking process. Not what I expected to find in a good tea. The smell while brewing you can definitely pick up the caramel pieces, dark and soothing. First sip I was not expecting a smoky flavor. Unfortunately, I’m mostly get fake orange flavoring. I was expecting more of a creamy texture but that could depend on how many caramel pieces you get in each teaspoon. I will have to explore this one further.  I don’t want to give up on it yet. 

I’ve had this several times, can’t believe I hadn’t rated it!

Today I am trying it differently, gongfu this time.

It is quite good, warm notes with a honey touch. Nice burnt edge typical of Assams.

Well dang – again – a tea that is riddle with hibiscus flavor and fails to impress. I am so disappointed at this point I am done ordering ANYTHING that has hibiscus in the ingredient list unless I have heard from others that FOR SURE the hibiscus does not take over the whole tea!
Disappointment.
I should have read the other tasting note BEFORE ordering my fault.
BAH BAH BAH!

Additional notes: ICED This is the first iced tea I tried! I took a mason jar with a lid, put three teaspoons of this in, and filled it with water, stuck it in the fridge a few days. When it’s time to drink, I pour it through my mug (with a bit of sugar added) with the infuser, so it filters out the leaves. The mason jar makes about two mugs this way. As I was pouring the water into the leaves, the color was instantaneously a deep purple.. so I was worried about the hibiscus but the flavor is pretty good! The hibiscus is cut down rather than when it is hot, so that’s a plus. I can actually taste the apple and the papaya. This is a good way to used my hibiscus blends then. Here goes some crazy amounts of iced tea then… it’s hot out though!

I decided to buy this tea because the picture of the leaves is gorgeous. How does that not look delicious? The tea that actually showed up in my package didn’t look QUITE as vibrant, but everything is there. Sadly, the flavor isn’t. The hibiscus sure is though. Even with hibiscus, fruit teas don’t have much flavor anyway, so I don’t see how hibiscus will improve things with its tartness. I’d rather just have the other flavors featured, even if it’s milder, than have everything drowned out with hibiscus. I think more fruit teas should also have a base of another type of tea. This is an okay tea, I just wish the hibiscus hadn’t overpowered the other flavors. This is my least favorite from the 10 I’ve tried from ESP Emporium.

Yum! I’ve been drinking this a lot lately once I get to work. I especially like it with just a tiny bit of sweetener to really make the rose sing. I can only manage to get one floral rose steep out of it though. Second steep is always very watered down tea with no rose aroma or flavor. Still, this first infusion makes up for the lack of re-steepability.

Mmm, it’s like walking through a garden of roses in the English countryside. Or at least that’s where I imagine I am instead of my drab government office. (I exaggerate, it’s not that drab). Yay for tea! Rose tea can turn any office into a more enjoyable place! :)

5/5 ESP Emporium Teas

I’m finally reviewing the last tea from my recent ESP Emporium purchase. And I’m finally feeling a little better after a horrendous two days of P90X. Yesterday was Yoga, and even though I can’t do half the moves and generally harbor a strong dislike of yoga, it really made me feel better. It stretched out all my sore muscles so that I am actually capable of walking today! Hooray!

On to the tea, this smells luxurious! The dry leaf aroma is pure roses. It’s like I stuck my nose in a giant bouquet and took a deep breath. It’s also slightly perfumey, but mostly it’s a natural rose scent. Mmm, the aroma translates well into the taste. This is definitely genuine rose!

The black tea base is pretty subtle and nondescript. It definitely doesn’t taste like the Orange Pekoe I know. It adds a slightly metallic zing to the taste. I added a tiny splash of milk, but the zing was still there. Then I added an even tinier bit of sweetener. Not enough to make the tea taste sugary, just enough to make it lean towards sweet and distract from that weird metallic zing. Of course, I could also be imagining the zing. I did just eat egg whites with cheese, so maybe my taste buds are compromised.

With sweetener added, it reminds me of a lychee tea. It tastes a lot like honey! But I can tell it’s still rose and that’s just my imagination wandering in search of ways to describe the taste without saying “rose” a hundred times. Oh well, it is a rose tea after all. So, I suppose it’s fine to be a little lacking in the adjective department this morning. Rose rose rose! :P

It’s a little strange to be drinking liquid roses, but I’m really enjoying this! The floral aftertaste is quite lovely, with roses softly lingering on my tongue long after the sip. I feel like I’m sitting in a rose garden in the midst of summer with a light breeze ruffling the rose bushes and birds chirping from branches overhead. Maybe it’s a secret rose garden hidden behind high ivy-covered walls with nothing to give it away save for the lovely scent of roses on the air. Mmm, this is a lovely tea. And now I really want to go watch The Secret Garden. :)

EDIT: I think I probably was imagining that metallic zing. I no longer get that sensation from this tea.

Also known as Morning Explosion around here. A burst of sweet, creamy black tea flavor.

4/5 ESP Emporium Teas

Oh, the pain! The pain! Day 1 of P90X was bad. Day 2 was worse. I haven’t even done Day 3’s workout yet, and I honestly don’t see how I’m going to. My whole body hurts. Plyometrics is a b****. Who came up with twelve different versions of jump squats for an hour and decided it was a good idea? Ugh, someone put me out of my misery! It’s time to have a nice cup of tea and try to relax. Operative word being try.

The dry leaves smell exactly like strawberry fruit roll-ups. The leaves are slightly flattened, long, and vibrantly green with lots of large dried fruit pieces and only a couple stems. The suggested steeping parameters are quite broad, so this might take some experimenting to make perfectly. I went with a quick 2 minute steep at 180 degrees.

The flavor is light and fruity. It reminds me of drinking the juice out of a fruit cup. Sweet and sugary, but not in an overpowering way. It’s a natural fruit sweetness. The base is somewhat buttery with a touch of floral, reminiscent of a green oolong. It’s not grassy though. The aftertaste is only slightly vegetal, which tells me this is definitely a Chinese sencha.

I’m going to try a second steep for 3.5 minutes at 185 degrees. The berry notes are quieter in the second infusion, but the green base is still going strong. The fruit taste comes out more as the cup cools. It’s not distinctly any one fruit, rather it’s just generically fruity. A slight astringency is becoming apparent at the end of the sip.

This is good! I love the buttery oolong-like qualities. I think I’ll really be able to enjoy this. :)

First, the unsteeped leaves in my sample bag do NOT look like the picture up there. But I love the idea of this tea. Jasmine, roses, strawberry.. they should all work great on such a great green base. They DO, but I expected a stronger flavor maybe because of all the great ingredients in it. The flavor itself is very fresh and clean. Floral and slightly fruity. The steep color is a light yellow. I’d say it’s a great tea, I just wish the flavors were stronger!

I got this in a swap from Azzrian. Thanks!

Basically this breaks down to a chocolate, coconut tea. They seem to be balanced pretty well. They show up holding hands instead of brawling for my attention. I remain unimpressed with the actual tea here. It’s gotten lost. It must be a pretty mellow tea. I did use an extra scoop in the pot. I tend to do that because I have a funny sized pot. It’s 42 ounces instead of 40 ounces.

The real problem with this tea for me is I have a tea that is much like it but better in my opinion. I get more tea taste and support flavors with the Buccaneer from SerendipiTea. I’m glad I got a chance to try it though. So, thanks again Azzrian.

I just love the look of the unsteeped tea. It has some great things in it: pistachios, sliced almonds, pink peppercorns. The smell is interesting. It’s sweet. Both the scent and flavor remind me a bit of a dessert roll with orange icing or like a creamsicle flavor with less orange. And in the ingredients list, orange is actually listed so that makes sense. I think the majority of the flavor comes from the last ingredient: flavoring. I don’t see the flavor coming from the almonds, pistachios, cumin or peppercorns. It’s more of whatever kind of flavoring they add to it. Maybe I didn’t steep it at a high enough temp or long enough time. The black tea itself isn’t a strong flavor, but you wouldn’t really want a strong base to go with these flavors. Overall, it’s a good tea. But I wish the ingredients would have shined more than the “flavor”.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lapacho

I used to drink this a lot until I gave it all away to a friend who had another friend who was ailing from something. She thought it might help her. I have no idea if it did or not.
I am one of those people who believe in tea’s medicinal qualities, as well as herbal healing etc however that is not my primary reason for enjoying and drinking tea.

Still I felt it fair to post the link above so those who are inclined can learn more about Lapacho.

This is a very nice tea – lapacho or otherwise it is very well blended with excellent flavorings! Just like a creamsicle with a light peppery bite.

This may appeal to Missy and Dylan or anyone who enjoys a chai. While it is not a chai and does not have most of the flavors IN a chai it is somewhat spicy although not overly so and has a great earthy base from the lapacho.

This reminds me of walking in the woods sucking on a fresh orange with that little added kick of vanilla which came through in both taste and mouthfeel.

I will enjoy this somewhat regularly – even more so in winter. Would be quite excellent iced as well.

Note steep time does not go high enough – you DO in fact steep this for 25 minutes then allow to sit just a little.

Sadly I have to agree with CHAroma.
This tea is okay and all but its flavored more like those cheap chocolate eggs you get in your easter basket as a kid, or adult, whatever floats your boat.
The aftertaste is artificial and it coats the top of your mouth in a cloying way.
The coconut is decent though as I have had my share of bad coconut flavorings – its just that there really wasn’t much OF it so maybe if it had more of a presence it would have tasted bad too.
I should not say BAD as this is not BAD – I too would not pass it up but I would not seek it out and won’t re-order it.
No offense to ESP as they have many blends I have tired and enjoyed thus far with my first order from them.
IF this had been the ONLY chocolate tea I had ever tired I am sure I would like it a lot more but I would still identify that fake chocolate flavor no matter what yet needing a chocolate tea fix is what it is so I would like it more if I had not tried better such as Butiki’s DELICIOUS Raspberry Truffle!
http://steepster.com/teas/butiki-teas/22052-raspberry-truffle
I’m just confused by this blend. Dried coconut and coconut flavoring yet the cocobut really does not stand out.
Chocolate chips AND white chocolate chips. Makes me wonder if I stuck a piece of white chocolate in my mouth with regular chocolate (no indication here if it is milk or dark by the way) if I would even taste the white chocolate. Now I need to try this WIN a reason (excuse) to go buy chocolate (again).
Seems to me that the darker chocolate would cancel the white out.
I had to investigate … I dumped a bunch of the dry tea into a cup.
Very large shavings of coconut .. tasted pretty old, lack of much flavor other than just slightly nutty.
Chocolate “chip” more of a fanning of chocolate! I mean TINY – almost did not identify it in the blend at all! Tasted of very bitter milk chocolate EWEEE.
White chocolate – although white in a black tea base was even more difficult to find these “chips”! They are dry and powdery and chalky. SO tiny I could barely pick one up and they mushed between my fingers easily when I did! It did not taste that bad though.
So what we have here is a half hearted attempt at what could be a very nice blend but sub-par ingredients were used.
ESP is going to hate me probably with this review and I cringe to think of that but I have to be real.
I am getting more and more discerning as I try more teas and while I hate to sound tea snobbish … I don’t know how to end that sentence.
So now the cup has cooled a bit and I thought maybe more flavors would come out however it is the opposite. Its as if they took a nap on me.
And this is after munching on chocolate chips and coconut – I should be getting some of that residual flavor but no.
I will rate this low – I would rate lower due to just being completely disenchanted with this tea as a whole but because it is not NASTY and I am not duping THIS cup although I will dump the rest sitting in the pot due to just not wanting to fill up on tea I don’t care for and keep room in thy belly for those that I do – I won’t rate TOO low.
Into the trade box you go Bon Bon!

Thank you Amanda for requesting this in a trade! I have not enjoyed this in a long time and it was well overdue!
It is very pleasant!