SpecialTeas

Cookies for breakfast. Lovely, comforting cup. Tea has slightly nutty flavor balanced nicely with the spice.

Had this last night to test my new Perfect Steeper by Eight Cranes to see how well the filter worked with the tiny rooibos pieces. And it reminded me why I love this tea. Lemony and creamy and just darned good.

And the Eight Crane’s Perfect Steeper worked REALLY well on the Rooibos.

I’ve been thinking about this tea for a little while, and so I knew it was time to make some more. It’s shocking how good this smells, even when you’re “braced” for it. I just love how it tastes so much like lemon cake, complete with frosting.

No dessert for me tonight, just a cuppa of this with a little sweetener. I’m more than good to go. (bumping my rating just a little)

Just opening this package was heavenly – it smells just like lemon cake, complete with frosting. I had a hard time getting my face out of the container to make up the tea! It brews up a lovely brown-ish red, and carries it’s heavenly scent over to the steeped tea.

Drinking it, it made me really happy. Lemon and sweet and a little earthy. I brewed this up because I wanted more tea, but no more caffeine, since I’ve had more than my share today. I wasn’t actually looking forward to this one much before I opened the package, but now I’m glad I got it.

YUM!!!

Wow. Opening this package was a treat. It smelled fruity and dark and almost sexy. Yum! No one note stood out to me, but the blend of aromas was a treat.

The dark and the sexy left when it was brewed up, but the fruity remained now coupled with a high sweet note.

I was surprised by the color. It contains hibiscus and beetroot – but it wasn’t as deep red as I thought I’d see. Just a pretty light red shade.

Taste-wise, it’s very pleasant. Light and fruity. The apple and plum blend together well, and personally I can barely taste the hibiscus. I think this may be a little wussy for an iced tea, but I’m enjoying it hot.

Had this again this morning. Wasn’t as good as I remember, although I think I got the water a little too hot. I didn’t get any hints of anything, just a mouth full of grass. Boo.

But I’m not going to drop the rating because I think it’s my own fault with the temperature.

But this may have been influenced by the dream I had right before waking in which I found out Klingons make tea out of different varieties of metal filings, and that the flavor of this tea is really influenced by the type of tea pot used. (My brain is a scary, scary place sometimes….)

Very subtle, very mild. Tiny tiny fruit hints at the beginning of a sip, with a nice green finish. I like this a lot. Which is funny since I tend to prefer the more bold flavors.

Did a work day out in the woodshed with my husband – where I’m getting over my power-tool phobia. I used a table saw, hand-held jigsaw and a evil little something else saw and didn’t a) freak out or b) hurt myself or others.

It’s a cold miserable day today, so I made us tea to help us through the work. A giant pot of this tea was PERFECT. Warm, sweet, and cookie-ish. Perfect.

A wonderful tea for a grey icky afternoon.

After reading everyone’s rave reviews, there was no way I could not order this tea when I put in an order with SpecialTeas.

But my first experience with the tea was not the most positive. I brewed up a cup last night, and while the scent of the tea was LOVELY, the cup itself? It was bitter. I could taste the nutty cinnamon cookie goodness that everyone raved about, but it was overshadowed with the bitter bite of overbrewed tea. I’d even timed it this time (I admit, I usually forget and just wing it on steeping times).

So, before coming out here and writing a meh review, I tried it again this morning. Much better. I steeped it a much shorter time (2.5 rather than 3 minutes) and added a little less tea to my brew.

Much better. I understand now the extreme NOM factor previously stated. I’m glad I went ahead and actually ordered a full 1/4 lb of this one rather than just a sample.

Auggy’s right. This smells like Pledge. I actually smelled it and thought Pine-Sol, but those two are pretty close. Also, maybe a little bit of cedar. It’s not really a scent that inspires confidence when what you’re smelling is something you’re about to ingest.

Luckily, she’s also right in that it doesn’t taste like that. This was a milder tea for me, so far as teas go. Somehow, though, the combination of the lemon and the chamomile reminded me of potpourri. Originally, they combined to make me think I was getting a woody kind of taste, but now I’m definitely thinking it’s closer to potpourri. Eh. I can see where the thought was. Maybe if the lemon was a little bit stronger, this wouldn’t taste so strange, but…eh.

Just…eh.

My first Assam . . . I am pleased to report that this one has lived up to all the hype surrounding teas from this region.

Reminiscent of a good chocolate stout, it begins with a honeyed nose that translates into a bold, malty flavor and finishes with not a little astringency.

This tea has the personality of a wizened and worldly hard-ass.
I’d call it a burly cup.