T2

Okay so I decided I should give this another go, having tasted good rooibos I wanted to go back to this to see if it was an initial shock that lead me to disliking it or if it was a genuine and lasting dislike.

I tried this blended with T2’s Sweet Spice and Just Cinnamon – and wow it was yummy, a very warm cup of Christmas. Sweet Spice was used last year as T2’s Christmas blend, it has no ‘tea’ in it and is a fruit tissane, as a result it’s very light and so suits well the hot Australian Christmas but every year around June I get a hankering for a warm Christmas flavoured tea and by itself T2’s Sweet Spice doesn’t hit the spot so I added Cinnamon and it’s close but still lacking with Red Green Vanilla it felt like a well rounded ‘full’ cup of tea.

The Red Green Vanilla didn’t taste bitter at all instead the rooibos strengthened the other ingrediants, the vanilla and cinamon blended well but didn’t overtake the Christmas vibe of Sweet Spice.

I was impressed with the way Red Green Vanilla carried the blend, so I would feel confident using it again. However, by itself it still fails to impress me and I would only recommend it for blending purposes.

I’m lifting the rating from last time (which was rather harsh) but still not taking it too high as it really needs more to become a satisfying cup.

This is my first rooibos and as a huge vanilla fan I thought this would be a good place to start. I was looking forward to a caffeine-free vanilla tea to have at night and was told it was similar to black vanilla tea.

Having not tried other rooibos teas I am unsure if this is an indication of the range or simply reflective of this one tea.

I did not enjoy the tea – I found it tasted like weak, bitter black tea with a very slight vanilla scent, not taste. To have something that was both weak and bitter at the same time was quite odd and the fact that I couldn’t taste the vanilla certainly didn’t help matters. There was no vanilla after-taste at all rather I was left with a very bitter taste in my mouth.

I would not recommend this tea as it stands and would suggest if you’re interested in trying it to get a sample of it first to see if the taste suits your palate.

This Chai is flooded with cloves and as a result the remaining spices and tea itself are drowned out. It tastes more like an undefined assault of cloves and generic spice than a black tea that has been mixed with different spices. It could do with less cloves and more cinnamon and ginger.

I have made this with milk and honey and also tried it with vanilla soy milk and honey (by warming the milk on the stove and having half milk half boiling water) I would recommend the vanilla soy milk and honey as it seems to allow more of the spices to shine through.

After trying this several times it has left me wanting to mix my own Chai as the proportions of spices really do seem off.

I would recommend this to coffee drinkers wanting to ease off the coffee and have a go at tea as it certainly doesn’t taste like ‘tea’ and can be made nice and milky.

This is the best remedy to sleeplessness I have tried so far and I have tried many most remedies even herbal leave you with restless and disturbed sleep and a feeling of a hangover the next morning.

But this is very effective at slowing down thinking – allowing for a feeling of restfulness and I’ve found sleep generally follows about 1 – 1 1/2 hours later.

I also find this tea very effective at giving you a short burst of feeling full which can be useful if you get an attack of the munchies before tea-time or just before going to bed. But it is a very short burst and so wouldn’t recommend as a main reason to drink this.

The lemonbalm provides a minty after-taste and the initial taste is an undefined sweet warmth. I highly recommend trying this herbal tea.

FYI: T2 says not to be taken remedially on the box.

It’s a joke to name this Monk Pear, because it doesn’t carry any flavours like pear at all to me. It’s just bergamot blended with some weird, artificial fragrance that doesn’t even smell/taste like fruit. It’s like a cup of Earl Grey that has gone wrong. Shame.

I love the name of this tea – the word “Arctic” conjures up the image of Northern Lights! I knew it would be a beautiful tea even before I tried it! I had a hot cup of this in a cold morning in Geelong, Australia. It was just like a fire in the Arctic… so warming and comforting that it made me forget about the chilly weather. The fruity flavour was pronounced but since it came from flavouring, there was no tartness in it at all. The fruity and floral notes complemented each other and I absolutely enjoyed both. The dreamy fragrance was simply hard to forget!

Confusing, that’s Liquorice Legs for you.

It is a calming tea, and could settle even the most upset stomach, but after it’s done that it will leave you with a very, very, sweet after-taste – which is of course the liquorice.

When had hot it is a nice after – lunch tea, perhaps after an over indulgence to help get rid of any bloaty feelings. Wouldn’t recommend eating anything with it as it is a very strong tea.

Turkish Apple is a refreshing tang drink, sweet whilst still giving off a crisp tartness, it makes a truly delicious iced tea in the heat of summer as the tang satisfies even the most hard earned thirst. Warm it is sweetly tart and very nice.

It is really best used as an accompanier to other teas or tissanes – T2’s Just Rose rose buds heighten the tartness and make the flavours really stand out from the sweetness – very very nice iced. When added to strawberries and cream it balances out the sweetness to give a refreshingly crisp after-taste.

Truly an ‘essential’ tissane to any collection.

For me this is Strawberries & Cream stoic cousin, it’s far less sweet than Strawberries & Cream and to me tastes less of strawberries and more of a generic berry. It is a lovely brew both hot and iced but it isn’t that sweet and certainly isn’t overpowering, I found it a little disappointing and wouldn’t buy again but if you like the taste of berries and want something light and more tart than sweet than this is for you.

Have tried the tea bag version of this and to me it is a very bitter tasting tea – it isn’t anything special just straight up English Breakfast and is quite strong. If you like straight up traditional black tea than this is for you, if however if you want a little tweak or something weaker than I would avoid this one.

Unfortunately, my crush on this tea has ended, it really has not stood up to the test of time. I find that it is far too easy to over brew it leaving to a very bitter tea with a sickly sweet aroma that doesn’t translate into the tea.

When made right it is still a deliciously sweet tea that really is quite divine but given that a couple of seconds make the difference between delightful and having to be thrown out I feel like it’s not worth the bother anymore.

That being said the addition of milk does seem to negate the over-bewing and create a nice milky desert tea. Given that I’m not a fan of milk in tea though it doesn’t really help me much.

This tea is divine and makes such a beautiful afternoon tea and is perfectly paired with gingerbread for a sugar and spice combination. To get the full taste of vanilla and caramel I recommend letting infuse only as long as it takes for the water to turn caramel that way you avoid any bitterness. Be careful on this front as it is quite easy for the bitterness of this tea to completely overpower the beautiful sweetness.

I have it without milk and it tastes quite light allowing for enjoyment of an accompanying afternoon treat.

The caffeine component seems quite strong and I wouldn’t recommend having this late at night or even after dinner if you’re affected by caffeine. Sometimes I pine for this heavenly brew that I forget and have it after dinner as a treat and then I have a lot of difficulty getting to sleep, in the afternoon though seems the perfect time.

On the T2 vanilla front I would say this is sweeter than Melbourne Breakfast and also sweeter than Toasty Nougat (the delightful fruit tissane that is a nice substitute for this after dinner time), but only when infused for a very short period of time to avoid any bitterness.

I tasted this in store and bought a big tin because I having tasted T2’s Turkish Apple and Strawberries & Cream in store and using the small orange boxes up almost instantly I thought best to buy big and enjoy and not have to go back for more – such a mistake. Loved it in store and absolutely cannot stand it at home – I made it as per the store’s directions which are usually spot on but it came out like thick citrus flavored syrup – I tried watering it down but even with a drop in the cup and covered in water and ice it still was completely overpowering and the tang rather than being refreshing is sickly sweet (and I have a sweet tooth!). I went back to the store and tried to see if I followed the directions wrong – I hadn’t but they suggested using less and infusing for a shorter period – unfortunately same result.

The other day I was in T2 and they had an ice tea of this mixed with Turkish Cherry to try which I did and it was more palatable. I think the cherry somehow balanced out the tartness as opposed to Turkish Apple which I tried with it and that seemed to highlight the ‘tang’ quality.

I would only recommend this to people who really, really, really love citrus flavours and want a tissane that is full flavoured and sweet on its own. I personally love orange and lemon in most things but find this tea is just too overpowering for me. I have tried it hot and again did not like it although it did seem less intense hot, iced seems to highlight the ‘tang’ of the tea. Would definitely recommend adding Turkish Cherry if you’re making this iced.

Looking for vanilla & caffeine but don’t want a sweet drink for breakfast, look no further, Melbourne Breakfast manages to smell and taste like vanilla without being overpowering or too sweet. It really is the perfect breakfast tea because you can have savoury (say Vegemite toast) or sweet (cranberry toast) or anything in between – eggs and bacon, cornflakes, everything goes with this tea. I find it’s best when left to infuse for about a minute. I don’t like anything added to it because as is makes for a satisfyingly decadent light drop.

I tried this after loving T2’s Crème Brulee – Melbourne Breakfast is far less sweet than this and therefore more suited to first thing in the morning, it’s also not as strong a black tea and is able to be infused for longer without turning bitter.

It really does feel like having a sip of Melbourne – it’s decadent, refined and perfect as is. (Perhaps I’m a little bias being from Melbourne :) ).

I finally opened my precious box of Milky Oolong purchased in Australia! It’s still as good as EVER. This time the tea even had an aroma resembling that of milk chocolate!! It’s just amazing. I am now officially a fan of milky oolong!

I am now in Melbourne! The first thing I did here was, of course, checking out the T2 shop nearby! I bought a box of Melbourne Breakfast and wanted to purchase a pack of Milky Oolong as well. I could not make up my mind because I was dying to try milk oolong but T2’s milky oolong is pretty expensive. In the end, I asked the cute guy at the counter if I could try the tea. I thought he would give me a small sample to taste right away but instead he gave me a generously-sized sample to take home! I was pleasantly surprised indeed!

Ok long story short… so how was my first encounter with milk oolong? I don’t know how much this tea tastes like the “typical” milk oolong, but anyway I enjoyed it. :) It’s amazing that a tea can be light yet milky at the same time! It’s not really very milky (the ignorant me was actually expecting a “cloudy” tea but it was nothing like that), yet the creaminess and softness unique to this tea was unmissable. I love the slightly sweet, milk-tea like aftertaste! The weather is crummy today but this tea has brightened the day :)

I think I am going to buy it this Sunday!

Strawberries and Cream is a sweet tasting fruit tissane. It tastes of strawberry (there really is no cream taste to it) and by itself is not overpowering or sickly sweet, instead it has a light almost refreshing taste. It is closer to a soda drink than a herbal tea as it has no lingering after taste.

It makes a desert in itself if had warm, but is really best enjoyed icey-cold – it is satisfying, healthy and deliciously refreshing. If making as an ice-tea you should leave to infuse for a minimum of 30 minutes preferably overnight in fridge. It is well complemented by T2 Turkish Apple (dissolve in boiling water) with strawberries and cream to infuse, this is a really lovely ice-tea.

Fine tuning the brew time. 3 mins was just a little too much, this one 2 mins 50 is delicious!

Now matter how I brew it, I find it to be too bitter for me. Of course, there are days when I crave such bitterness, but more often than not it is a disappointment. Furthermore, the strawberry addition, although fragrant, is negligible – another disappointment.

Now this is a T2 Tea I really like. Its nice to occasionally have a non-fruity flavoured sencha. The floral flavours are beautifully uplifting.

mmmmm

This is possibly the most tasteless tea ive ever tried. Ive tried brewing it for several different times and with different amounts of tea. I just cant get it to taste like anything but hot water. I like a subtle tea but this doesnt even reach subtle.

Similar to T2’s Turkish Apple, I found it to be rather sweet. Indeed, some would find it sickly so. Still, it is nice as an iced tea and helps to brighten up a gloomy day.