Tea Sparrow

Cold Brew!

This one was really good! I thought it had a clear, well defined blueberry flavour overall with maybe hints of apple or other berry undertones. It was sweet, and a little tangy but not tart or overly strong hibiscus-wise. And, that last part was surprising because the steeped colour is really hibby-like in nature. You’d expect this one to be gross, but it was just nice.

Juice like.

Thanks VariaTEA!

Admittedly I do not usually like most strong black teas. Admitting that straight out. I got this as a sample with my Tea Sparrow order. For a black tea with ginger I just didn’t like it. The black base was so strong for me. I gave it to a coworker who does like black tea and she loved the sample. So if you like straight black tea I bet you will like it. I do like some black teas but they are usually blended or flavored.

It was ok, not great for me. Had a very strong floral fruity smell. Really smelled like candy and sweet. It tastes much different then it smells though. Those elements are still there but very minor compared to the grassy flavor of the various green teas in it. I tried this on two different occasions and both times thought it was fine but not a winner for me. I used up my sample from TeaSparrow but I don’t think I’ll buy more it.

Sipdown (412)!

Well, I think I’ve got my Black Friday/Cyber Monday ordering done! I actually started it a few days ago, and I’ve just been slowly checking things off the list since. There’s only two more companies I’m looking at, but it looks like neither are likely doing stuff this year. In total I ended up ordering from:

- Teavivre
- Healthy Leaf
- A Quarter To Tea
- Sloane Tea
- White2Tea
- Wize Monkey
- Crimson Lotus Tea
- Mandala Tea

This was deliciously sipped down while plotting some of those orders. I really love the juicy floral lychee flavours and I’m actually pleasantly surprised how consistent they were with every single cup I had of this – even this last one, which was largely broken up tea leaf! I honestly would not have expected to enjoy this so much when I received it but it’s been a real favourite of mine this year.

I mean, I certainly am not going to do it now that I’ve just ordered a ton of stuff and my cupboard is 400+ teas, BUT I’d definitely be REALLY open to trying other Octet blends in the future!

I’m getting a cold, so I’ve been drinking a lot of tea with honey.

It’s not a full blown cold yet though so I haven’t switched to pure mint/Cold 911 mode yet though. So, I’m drinking teas that I enjoy but that I wouldn’t be heartbroken about if they tasted a little off or were spoiled a bit by a messed up palate.

This didn’t taste bad though! Just very light and sweet, with smooth floral notes of rose and jasmine and a brighter, juicy mid note of lychee. All accompanied by the flavour of honey, of course. Very peaceful/relaxing and not even remotely off. Maybe I’ll luck out and this is the worst this cold will get…

Cold Brew!

Not bad as a cold brew, honestly. It tastes A LOT like the hot cup does, which is to say that it’s very fresh and natural with sweet notes of balanced mango and lychee with strong floral undertones; both from the lychee which is floral in and of itself and from the rose. It’s a little grassy and has a bit of a biting finish but very enjoyable on the whole.

It tastes like Spring!

Thank you VariaTEA for the tea!

This is another one from March’s ‘Honey’ themed Tea Sparrow box so I brewed this one up how with some added honey since I’m drinking all these teas with honey for the first tasting. Here are the notes from the tasting:

- I’ve had “Eight Treasures” styled teas before, but it’s been a LONG time
- Can’t remember if I liked ’em overall
- Dry leaf smelled a little like sun tan lotion
- But this was very smooth and fruity, and pleasantly sweet
- Strong dual notes of mango and lychee
- Obviously floral, both from the lychee, rose and base tea(s)
- Had some peachy undertones from the green tea too
- And fairly grassy

I was pretty surprised overall how much I enjoyed this, and I have to wonder just how much of that was due to the honey. It’ll definitely be interesting to try it again without to compare!

Sipdown (246)!

Honestly? I’m kind of surprised just how many cups I managed to stretch this tea out into…

Plus, it actually grew on me A LOT since having it in my stash. I’m not a ginger tea person, but this one was actually really smooth with light, almost honeyed/candied ginger notes and both malt and cocoa from the black base. It worked well for me! I mean, I wouldn’t want to order any/stock up on it or anything but it wasn’t bad at all.

Apparently I was in a bit of a spice mood yesterday because this is the tea I chose to follow up my cup of Chai Apricot with. I did add some milk though, for some extra creaminess that I thought would compliment the honeyed ginger/warming quality the tea already possesses. It resulted in a cup that tasted a bit bland/watered down though, despite a thicker and richer mouthfeel. I think that the addition of milk could have worked; but to prevent that flavour loss I think I’d have needed to compensate with either more tea leaf or a longer infusion.

Song Pairing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a7fzkqLozwA&list=LL1M1wDjmJD4SJr_CwzXAGuQ&index=3

You know how I know I’m having an off day/night?

I found myself deeply craving a mug of this tea tonight; a plain ginger tea. I didn’t even add any honey this time around drinking it, and I’m still really liking it. It’s smooth, and has a bit of natural sweetness. The black base is also just very nice: malt, graham, a bit of a bread-like quality?

I’m probably getting sick – that seems like the only logical conclusion to explain why my body is telling me to drink ginger tea. I don’t know, though.

Song Pairing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fVUD2pvytQ4&index=1&list=WL

Many thanks to the best tea twin in the world, VariaTEA for so thoughtfully sending a birthday package my way! The March Box from Tea Sparrow showed up this afternoon, and I’m very excited to dig into it since this is a company that is new to me!

I don’t know if it’s fortunate or unfortunate timing – but currently I’m sick so I waiting to try all of these new teas until my palate is in tip top shape. The exception to that is this tea which I decided was worth trying now for a few reasons. The main one is that I don’t like ginger a whole lot, so it sort of feels best to drink it while I’m sick and can’t taste all that well. However, ginger tea is also just a good sick tea in general so I thought maybe it’d actually end up helping in the long run, and that would be a bonus. Finally, this whole box is “honey” themed it’s recommended you try the teas with honey, and honey is definitely good for a sore throat so that just further strengthened my resolve to drink this one now.

I have to say, I was REALLY surprised how much I liked this. Now, maybe that IS because I’m sick and my palate is a bit wonky – but maybe not. I’ll have to revisit when I feel better just to see. This was just so sweet and smooth though with not only really nice honey and ginger notes but almost a molasses like quality and graham and malt undertones from the black tea base. It came together in a way that really had me thinking of gingerbread or ginger snaps. It was surprisingly strong, given my muted sense of taste, and really enjoyable.

Edit: does anyone know why my dashboard notices might have stopped functioning? The last one I received was over a month ago, and I haven’t received any for my recent post likes or comments.

Third of my four Februay teas. This one seems to be an in house blend directly from Tea Sparrow, which intrigued me. Unfortunately the concept is simple and unoriginal. This is a basic fruit blend: too tart without additional sweetener featuring the usual flavours of mixed berries. Rather unimpressive, and the tea is so heavy that the package only has enough for two cups. Pretty disappointing, but considering the type of tea: unsurprising.

I couldn’t find a separate listing for this tea or any others from this company so thought I’d throw my thoughts here.

This tea is delicious! I prefer drinking earl grey mixes with an element of sweetness or cream because it balances out the astringency of the bergamot. The best way I can describe the taste is clean but creamy. Smells and tastes super fresh. Didn’t have to use a ton of leaf to get a really nice flavor from it. Wonderful with some milk added. I’ll be sad when this pouch is done.

This is the first of many teas I’m rating that I brought back from the Tea Festival in Vancouver last weekend.

Slight tangent here from the tea review to say the festival was awesome! I went to a couple of tea workshops (Tea 101 and Tea for Health) which were quite interesting and sampled lots and lots of tea. I also managed to buy a lot of tea despite walking in the doors not really needing any. No regrets though! It was nice to see new vendors (new to me anyways) and fall in love with new teas. Speaking of which …

This tea was the very first I sampled when I walked into the hall. I tried several other Earl Grey Creams but this one was by far my favourite. After buying one packet of it, I came back later that afternoon to sample it a second time and purchase another packet. Michael at Tea Sparrow was so kind to give me an additional pack for free too when I mentioned how much I liked it and he shared how much the tea resonated for him too.

There’s a really nice purity of flavour that comes out in this tea. The bergamot and vanilla cream have a perfect synthesis. The flavour and aromas are exactly what I’d like an Earl Grey Cream tea to be. Perfectly satisfying without any need to add further cream or sugar. I love the description of it too: “Buttery cream & bourbon vanilla float under a satin sheet of citrus bergamot, while the rich estate black tea covers all like a fleece blanket.” It’s bang on too. There’s a cozy feeling that comes from just the right balancing of the flavours.

I should mention that the Tea Sparrow packaging directs you to order more from The Teaguy website which suggests this is the same tea packaged as Cream Earl Grey from The Teaguy. I’ll verify this when I run out and need to order more.

The orange and the apple really shine through, with a hint of the pumpkin. Very nice fruity tea with a lovely aroma. We drank it hot, but I see how it could be very good on ice. A very nice change. I may buy more of this.

I’m always a bit concerned when a tea says one tablespoon per 8 0z since that rarely seems to be the case,. In a compromise I put in 1.5 tsp for 8 oz.

The dry leaf has an almost orange scent but I don’t really taste it when brewed.

The chai element is a bit weak so maybe it should have been a whole tablespoon. It is good and I will gladly drink it. It makes a nice evening drink with it being a rooibos. The spices make it an interesting drink.