Red Leaf Tea

Great Canadian TTB

Normally when I think of Red Leaf Tea, I think matcha but after this cup, I might need to look into their teas. Not only does this smell amazing but it is incredibly creamy and delicious. Thank you Sil for including it! I am tempted to keep it but I know I will place a RLT order soon enough so I can pick up more for myself then and this can go on for others to enjoy :)

Great Canadian TTB

So many of you know I am not a lover of EG but I have had some success with flavored ones so I decided to give this a try. That was a mistake as there seems to be no raspberry in this cup to mellow the bergamot. You never know unless you try though so thank you AshleyElizabeth (I think) for the opportunity.

Had this tea last night but didn’t get a review it. It really reminds me of the Earl Grey Rooibos from Rishi Teas. Now that tea has been an old standby in my tea cabinet. Not everyone loves Earl Grey but anything Earl Grey to me is like comfort food. Just love it. So back to this tea. It has a strong wonderful Earl Grey aroma and flavour that blends well with the rooibos. Still, I wouldn’t be able to tell this from Rishi’s tea. I am just surprised that anyone could not love this tea. Then again, I LOVE floral and Earl Grey.

Y’know, it just occurred to me on this gentle, sunny Sunday morning that I don’t think I’ve ever actually had passion fruit on its own (aka not as a flavoring). Anyway, I’m getting what I think of when I think of passion fruit in this tea. I’m also getting a plant taste? It’s kind of odd. I’m not sure if it’s coming from the oolong or the passion fruit, but it’s making me scratch my head a bit. There’s also some astringency drying out the back of my throat. A very perplexing, but enjoyable cuppa this morning. Thanks to bluebelle for the sample!

Sipdown! (387/377)

Still weak, but okay. Will not replace, but I’m not hating this last cup!

I’ve been hoarding this sample and I have no idea why. I really enjoy Red Leaf Tea’s black teas, their Irish Breakfast is my go-to when I need brisk morning tea. I needed one this morning, but I’m eager to get some sipdowns in, so I reached for this instead. There’s enough for two cups, both of which I plan to drink today. Yay!

I’m kinda disappointed in this. It’s kinda weak, but the aftertaste brings in some berry, oddly enough. Maybe it’s the yogurt I just ate.

So this is good enough, but I think I’ll stick to other teas.

This surprised me. It has that plasticky straw floral element I associate with the Earls I don’t like, that Med grocer bottled orange blossom essence and jasmine thing. So you’d think I’d dislike this, but there’s enough great layered other stuff going on—a surprising thick juiciness, indeed the sparkling but also fruity dry wine quality, etc.—I rather enjoyed it. An unusual and lovely white blend.

I made some pretty stupid choices and said some dumb things this weekend, but drinking this wasn’t part of that, thankfully. I used 2 servings worth for a banana smoothie, and another serving as a cold almond milk mix. The rest I rubbed over some white chocolate covered pretzels.

I’ve never actually had amaretto before, although I’ve had a few amaretto flavoured things. I gather that it’s cherry-like. It’s not an everyday flavour, but I’d consider picking some up. Thanks, Sil! Here’s looking to a fresh week filled with new tea (and school assignments).

I got too of these as samples with my two orders from red leaf. I am very glad I did, b/c this might just be the favorite that I’ve tried. I’m assuming the flavoring is delicate with a standard matcha base. It looks as though there may be some sugar incorporated, making it a little sweeter than others. This is good not only hot, but also iced. Again, I haven’t tried it as a latte, especially since I think it’s good enough on its own. I can definitely taste caramel here, but it’s subtle, and quite sweet, but not cloying.

Oh my god! So much bergamot! Not good. I am not getting any raspberry flavour, most likely because it is covered up by the extremely perfumey bergamot. I was pretty excited about this one. I like earl grey’s blended with other flavours, especially berry. I really like David’s earl’s garden. But this was a miss and now I have a huge bag of this that I’m not going to drink, Any takers? Don’t let my glowing review deter you from trying this.

I had this today, though i’m not sure i should have. For whatever reason this just wasn’t sitting with me today. The scent or something was just off as i was trying to drink this. That being said, this is pretty true to life in terms of the flavours/aromas. If you are a fan of amaretto, i would suggest trying this one. My flavouring was distinctive and i found that to be intense enough, but i don’t think that robust would be too much flavour either heh not rating it since i think it just wasn’t my thing this morning.

This tea reminds me how much I love just straight black teas. This is also a sipdown! 372 with tea/382 with teaware. We’re trying to establish a one in, one out in regards to buying new tea, so I’m trying to make up for the 50 new teas we’ve ordered in the last few weeks. This is lovely, but I have so much Nepal black and other straight black teas that I don’t feel the need to replace it. It’s sweet and bracing and yummy.

This tea scares me. The floral notes are SO strong in the bag that I’m hesitant to even try it. It smelled great until I got this weird chemical floral note and thought… uh oh. Well, I’ll try it. It’s here. The smell is so strong as I drink it though, it’s a bit offputting. The flavor is predominantly floral, and then it kind of melds into an EG. I kind of wish this was more TARDIS-like… a bit of caramel with zero florals.

Okay, in an attempt to be able to drink this, I added some cream and a drop of vanilla stevia glyercate. Yea, still super floral, although it does mellow it out a bit. I’m going to have to pass this along, because I’m actually having an allergic reaction to the flowers now. Sigh.

1.5 tsp in 12 oz.

oy..i have some catching up to do and very little desire to do it since i’m tired and just want to go to bed. I had this in the morning, since i’m still trying to get around to having some match every day…or close to it. :) I enjoyed this one, though i’m still thinking about tiramisu. This has a smooth, delicious irish creamy taste to it. My sample is distinctive, but i think it would probably be best as a Robust flavouring. As usual, i had this as a latte. It was the perfect start to my morning. no sweetener necessary for this one, though with a pinch of sugar the taste popped just a little :)

Time for a caffeine kick. This is a little hard to distinguish from other vanilla flavors, but there’s a butteriness and a deeper flavor that make it more obvious. I’m really liking this cup but I’’ll do a full review when I’m more awake.

Also note that I made this cup with a handheld milk frother and there were no clumps! Hooray, no more clumpy matcha for me.

This was my first matcha proper. I added 2oz of water, and 8oz of milk. And it was yummy. Omg yum.

The caramel flavor wasn’t really a big deal though. I was hoping for a bit more pizzazz. Since this was a sample, I’m not sure how much flavoring was added, etc. But it was still tasty. I look forward to trying other matchas. :D

I strongly recommend Caramel Matcha as a choice of flavored matcha! To make it taste just like caramel, buy it with at least the “Robust” option. It also has a very subtle cinnamon taste. When you open the bag, it smells great, and it seems to taste better the each time you drink it! It tastes much better when you make it sweet with sugar, so if you make a pitcher of it with sugar, use at least 6 tablespoons of sugar for it, but use 2-3 tablespoons for a big glass of it. If you do not want to feel very guilty about all the calories from the sugar added to your Caramel Matcha, use Sweet ’N Low to sweeten it (1 1/2 packets per big glass), because Caramel Matcha does not come already sweetened. Caramel Matcha tastes best when made hot by the tea cup or coffee cup with sugar because hot water brings out the flavor more. I prefer my Caramel Matcha iced, though. To make it last longer, make it by the pitcher, because you will miss it when it is all gone! I will buy Caramel Matcha again because it is a great sweet treat, and you can get it at http://www.redleaftea.com/matcha-tea/caramel-matcha.html.

Yet another RLT sample…this one is so, so much better than the eggnog matcha I tried last time.

There’s a sweetness and subtle caramel flavour that really enhances the green matcha base. I can’t believe how amazingly comforting it is when blended up with ice, whole milk and a little bit of raw sugar – it’s become my go-to drink after the gym when I’m craving something healthy that’ll still satisfy my sweet tooth.

I’m still planning to try a bunch more samples before committing, but this one is on my short list of “likely to restock.” I’d definitely say it’s worth a try.

It was shortly past midnight on a bone chilling December evening, not four days past a Yule rife with danger – our hired acrobat having consumed more Chardonnay than would be strictly recommended and ending his final act on a tumbling act through a second storey window – when I curled like a python around a grassy cup of matcha I’d received from my grand-maman shortly before her elopement. This being my first taste, I felt a duty to commemorate the moment aloud, so that my 38 Legolas poupées d’action would not remain ignorant to the significance of the moment.

“HOW UNCIVILIZED,” I said, evoking a young Richard Burton, “HOW UNCIVILIZED to even consider sullying a fine matcha by flavouring it. Perhaps that sort of thing happens in a circus funhouse, but not here!” Yet as I raised the cup to my lips, the scent of vegetal gaiety I had expected was joined by a peculiar tendril of dark sweetness. Could it be—-? I cautiously let slip onto my tongue a drop of bubbly emerald. Caramel. CARAMEL. In a second it swept me out of my humdrum life and into the arms of a sugary fever dream. Was that indeed Jory, my first true amour, rinsing his hair in caramel as he had done prior to his devastating burning-caramel-induced baldness? A memory I had long thought lost was awakened like a centennial bloom. Grand-maman, ever the Puck to my Hermia, had let loose one last trick from her quiver of deceit.

As I floated back down to Earth and time slowly took up its forward march, I shook myself out of my caramel haze just long enough to stretch my trembling fingers to my keyboard and began typing: http://www.redleaftea.com/matcha-tea/caramel-matcha.html With my other hand I reached for my address book and flipped slowly to Js. Caramel Matcha couldn’t wait … and nor could Jory.

Backlog:

It’s tasty. As a chai, it’s not overly spicy. It’s kind of warm, I guess, but it’s a mellow warmth. The chocolate is not as rich as I’d like it to be. It could certainly use more chocolate. It could use a few scoops of cacao shells to rev up the chocolate flavor. But, I enjoyed what chocolate flavor was in there … and I enjoyed the smooth, creaminess that came from the chocolate.

Nice. Not my favorite “chocolate chai” but I enjoyed it.

This was my first flavored match, it was very good! Although i didn’t notice much of a caramel flavor it was still very satisfying.

These little pressed disks are adorable. And for the first 30-40 seconds or so, while it was still beginning to unfurl, it puttered around the top of the water line like a little boat. Eventually it got weighted down, but that was fun to watch. About the midway point in steeping though, it totally looks like a sea creature lurking in my water.

After a five minute steep, the brew color was a a fiery burnt orange — really pretty, and the aroma was fragrant, mildly floral (in the chamomile sort of way), mildly sweet, and mildly berry-like.

I’m a bit mixed on the flavor, because I’m mixed on chrysanthemum and I don’t enjoy it as much as chamomile (despite their similarities). It’s definitely chrysanthemum with a bit of tartness and natural sweetness. The tartness does become kind of a sweet-tart berry flavor as the cup cools, though. If you have unsure feelings on chrysanthemum, this probably isn’t a good choice because it is very potent in that department. Even so, I would probably drink this again, because it isn’t offensive and lives up to the promise of chilling out that its name implies.

Thanks KallieBoo!

mmm i quite like this one, though i’m not sure it’ll be a reorder since im really liking some of the other "creamy’ teas that i’ve picked up since getting this one. This is the sort of tea you could add a splash of caramel baileys to, to really make it delicious and fun to drink haha

I haven’t had a chance to try this on it’s own yet..so i picked this out tonight. HOLY CRAP PPL! this one smells INCREDIBLE…seriously it’s like deliciously amazing crazy ass creamy, yummy OMG i want to eat you all up tea.

…and then you brew it..and it’s not nearly as insane as the smell but it’s still a pretty decently flavoured cup of tea. So i’m enjoying it..but man, i wish it tasted like it smells… many that smell makes me happy! haha