Market Spice

Rose and lychee are two things that play together better than I could have imagined.

I typically like lychee when it’s a perfectly balanced fruity floral flavor, but the rose here really emphasises the floral qualities of the lychee, while not being super potent (but certainly present) itself. The result is a delicately perfumed but not overwhelming cup that I enjoyed quite a bit and could see filling a lychee or a floral tea fix. Everything is in balance and even the base is present in the cup, which is sometimes a miss is floral teas.

Thanks for the sample Eva!

Thanks Eva! I never would have thought to try this because the few apple teas I have tried did not smell or taste that great (bag tea). The dry leave smells like fresh sweet apples and it taste like a tangy apple dipped in a little caramel and still smells wonderful, I keep sticking my nose in the cup because I can’t believe how good this smells compared to the other teas I have tried and I bet this taste even better with a tiny bit of sugar.

This has been a crazy weekend of running errands. Thankfully in the midst of the chaos (mostly of stuff that I didn’t want to do), I included a quick trip to Seattle to visit Market Spice. Being in Pike’s Place Market, the place was packed! I went down my long list of teas to try and was sad to see that they didn’t carry a lot of the ones listed on their site. This shop is small and limited on space, so if you visit, just know that they don’t carry all the teas on their website. I just wish the site included a list of teas that are in stock at their shop (and steeping instructions)!

This was one that the clerk recommended so I purchased 1oz. to try. I’m already a big fan of Earl Grey but never had one that included lavender and rose. The lavender isn’t overwhelming and actually pairs well with the bergamot. The rose is a subtle background flavor but I’m surprised that I can taste it at all against the bergamot and lavender. This tea is delicious and I really regret not buying more of this!

I received a sample of this from Eva in our Mystery Swap. Thank you.

This just isn’t for me. The smell alone just didn’t sit right with me. I gave it a go, but unfortunately it is just not my cup of tea.

I received a sample of this from Eva in our Mystery Swap. Thank you.

I wasn’t immediately like OMG Hibiscus, no way, but after reading so many people hating on hibiscus I was a bit leery. I know that there are some teas that I have liked in the past that have hibiscus in them so I thought I would give this a go. Oh man. Now I understand what hibiscus is used for. Hibiscus seems to be the flavor that adds a bit of tart to fruity flavored teas. eek. So I don’t mind teas accented with hibiscus, but straight hibiscus. Yikes!

I received a sample of this from Eva in our Mystery Swap. Thank you.

I made a cup of this tonight. It is a mix between honeybush and chamomile. The description says lavender, but I do not taste any lavender in the mix. It was a nice relaxing cup before bed.

I received this in a Mystery Swap with Eva. Thank you!

I am beginning to think I just do not care for orange flavor in tea. This is another one of the orange flavored teas that is just not calling me back to drink it again. I only got the orange out of this tea, not the creamsicle portion. I enjoyed the cups I had, but this is just not for me.

I received a sample of this tea from Eva in our recent mystery swap. Thank you

This tea was really nice. It was light on the spice but blended well with the base. I drank my second cup of this with milk and sugar and it was a nice treat.

I was looking for something black and orange/bergamot this morning… surprised myself! Never thought I would go for citrus, but here I am.

TeaTiff sent this to me quite awhile back, Thanks!, and I wasn’t crazy about it then.. it was ok but not a favorite, but thought I would give it another try since I still had a bit of a sample left.

I am sooo sooooo terrible about finishing any sample bag, whether I like the tea or not… just terrible! I’m going to have to learn to do it or I will have a whole bunch of little baggies with one lonely little serving left in them. If I like a tea it’s even harder if I know it will be awhile before I would consider an order w/it’s company or if it’s difficult to get. When I see all of your sipdowns I get jealous that I have such a hard time with that. I do think Hubby would welcome more purchased teas in the cupboard if I could manage to get myself to do a better job of it though. Must work on it!

This one is much like I remembered it, maybe a bit better now that I’ve come to enjoy citrus in my tea more. I steeped this a little cooler this time to try and avoid the pepper flavor I got last time I tried it. Although it was less present, it was still there.. although more tolerable. I don’t know if pepper is a flavor I would come to crave in tea, but I have already surprised myself w/citrus. I do love pepper in some of my foods! so who knows?

Thanks TeaTiff for sharing this one with me with another sample you sent me :)

I’m pretty new to Earl Grey teas & haven’t ventured into them much because I’ve tended to avoid most citrus in teas thus far, especially if they have any main notes in the flavor profile. I may come around to some of them, but grew up not liking the ice tea/lemonade blends that my dad thought were so amazing.

This one intrigued me from the start. The smell of the dry leaf is amazing, sweet and rich.

Steeped this one is a nice base and comes through as creamy, very little bergamot, and I get a peppery finish which I am uncertain about. I’m a lover of pepper on foods, but not sure about it here. I may have to give this one another try at a lower steeping temperature and see if that changes my thoughts on this one. I think I would enjoy this one w/o the end taste of pepper.

I received a sample of this from Eva in our Mystery Swap. Thanks!

This one said rose, so of course I have been putting it off and putting it off because rose scares me. I brewed it up, started drinking and thought hmmm where is the rose. This too me has the redbush nutty taste, with a hint of sweet and a hint mint…. Mint, where is the mint coming from. Then I get on steepster and low and behold that is exactly what the descrition says, mint! Woohoo my tastebuds didn’t lie. I like it!

So after drinking this the entire night I was craving it. I had to up my rating quite a bit. When you go to bed thinking about a particular tea it must be good right?

I believe this was the correct tea. I received a sample of this from Eva in our Mystery Swap. Thank you!.

I love chai and man this was yummy. Holly cardamom! The smell and taste was very heavy on the cardamom, but very good. I drank all 3 cups in one sitting. A little sugar and milk and I was in a very happy place. Thank you for sharing this with me Eva!

2/10/14 Sample from TeaTiff! 1.8g/6oz/200F/3min. Very light cup with a nice rose/lychee fragrance. I wish I could have leafed this more heavily – I can tell I would love this brewed more strongly. The lychee and rose play well together.

this was my ‘sidekick’ tea this morning.

i have a small 6oz teacup and saucer at my desk plus a large 24oz mug. (they are both beautiful beautiful things.) so on the special days, the days when i really really need the help, i will basically brew a whole 30oz of tea at one time.
and delicate teas, nuanced teas, and cherished or small samples usually get the tiny sidekick treatment.

and this EG Creme was a darling. warm and smooth and soothing.

it’s supposed to super snow tonight …well, i’m sure MANY of you would laugh at our version of ‘mega snow’, but southerners do have a tendency to enjoy the drama when they can, plus southern Virginia doesn’t usually get much snow in general, in fact i hear that some years ago we used to get no snow. so everyone is still in that mind-frame and thus generally ill-prepared.
the city gov isn’t even really good at consistently plowing the streets because they don’t budget enough for what used to be a very rare occurrence.
you get the idea. DRAMA-RAMA!

since i might not have work tomorrow, i’m gonna bring all my swaps and samples home with me tonight. Wishful Thinking!!

thank you Eva for this warm and tasty bonus!

I received this in a Mystery Swap from Eva. Thank you!

Wow! This rocked my world today. Creamy, raspberry, and calming white tea all mixed into one. I wish I had way more of this to play around with. This seems like it would be good iced as well. Thank you Eva.

This tea is every bit as delightful as I remember. But what’s even more delightful? EvaGrimm who sent this amazing swap package.

http://s770.photobucket.com/user/courtneyns/media/Steepster/6D6C2F0D-20BF-4660-B7AF-DFD56C55193E_zpsddhzo62u.jpg.html?sort=3&o=0

The Star Trek handmade mug cozy. OMG. I can’t even. Star Trek is one way to my heart guys. The other way is marine biology.

Yum raspberry! I love a good raspberry tea. This is reminding me of the raspberry in 52Teas Raspberry Cream. The white base works great here, and the raspberry comes through clearly, with a hint of creaminess to round it out. Really a great tea. I would consider reordering this one.

Thanks for sharing VariaTEA!

I received this tea in a “Mystery Swap” with Eva. Thank you!

I have been really leery of floral teas. I had a few in the beginning of my tea drinking that just make my mouth hurt from the over powering perfume-y taste. So this tea had me scared, but while I was trying rose teas I thought I might as well give this a go. I was pleasantly surprised. This was nice and very well balanced with the black tea base. I have not had a lychee tea yet. I think I could pick up on this taste separate from the rose but was not 100% sure. I will enjoy the rest of the sample and this tea has opened my mind to lychee and rose. Thank you Eva for expanding my horizon.

Sipdown!!

Thank you Eva for sharing this with me. I could not find any information whatsoever on how to make this tea so I brewed it at the same temperature as the other white I was making. Unfortunately, I didn’t think it would hold up to 5 minutes of brewing so I cut the time in half which has left the tea tasting weak. The sip is very smooth though and the aftertaste is 100% raspberry. I wish I had some sort of guide as to how to prep this but it didn’t turn out too bad.

I received a sample of this tea from Eva in a “Mystery Swap”. Thank you!

I have been sampling EGC’s lately, I have had a few leading up to this one. This was meh for me. It was a pretty weak base with a really low level of bergamot. I was busy cooking so the cup cooled and I took a sip of it cold. Despite it not being my favorite hot, the cold version was pretty tasty. The creaminess shone through and covered up the weakness of the base.

This came to me via a “Mystery Swap” with Eva. Thank you so much for sharing this with me. This is one I would have never picked for myself because it has rose chips and Chamomile, but am absolutely in love with!

There are very few herbal teas that make me think man I want more. This one is going to have to go on my caffeine-free want list. This is so nice and calming. I get, mint, I get lemon and I get vanilla with a hint of fruity. The cup keeps getting better as it cools a bit. This sample will not see tomorrow!

Sipdown!! (204)

My tea drinking is slowed due to visitors so I may not hit 200 today but that hasn’t stopped me from trying.

Good bye tasty caramel apple tea and thank you Eva for the chance to try it!

It seems like I am the first to leave a tasting note. This is so much pressure but here goes nothing…

When I experience teas from a new company, I am always a bit hesitant that I won’t like it. That doesn’t stop me from trying because you never know unless you try. I think if I expect the worst, than I am always pleasantly surprised (and very occasionally not-so-pleasantly justified). This is definitely a pleasant surprise that I got to try courtesy of Eva.

The black base is smooth and muted, leaving room for the caramel apple to shine. Honestly, this is like a slightly less sweet version of the tasty caramel apple chips by Seneca (the company, not the college: http://www.senecasnacks.com/index.cfm?navid=20). However, whereas with the chip it is clear you are having caramel and you are having apple, in this cup, the two flavors blend together for a sweet and yet fresh tasting cup. Thank you for sharing Eva! I was definitely pleased with this tea :)

After not posting on here for quite a while, thought I’d get back to it… so here we go again. Starting off with a favorite tea, it’s bed time, and I need a cup of tea right now.