TeaGschwendner

love this tea. Bright, light green elegance with a nice sweet taste.

Dry tea, curled like a brown-’n-gold bi lo chun and an aroma like baking cookies or hot creamed corn, made me hungry. Liquor also smells like sweet pastry, but flavor is more earthy, mushroomy, with a little tobacco bite on the tongue, slight astringency. Next time I might try using less tea or making the first steep shorter — 1:30 might be just fine.

Yipes! Second steep just as strong. I should weigh the tea next time. Since it is curled up, it’s easy to use too much. Fragrance of 2nd brew is nice brown sugar and the liquor taste has less pungency than the first round. AND a passable 3rd steep — this is some powerful tea!

I tried this for the first time a few days ago and if I had rated it then, it would be close to the very bottom. After reading up on gyokuros, I realized that my water temp was probably too high which resulted in a nasty cup of stewed grass clippings. I watched my kettle today and pulled the water off the heat when it first started to steam, before it started to slightly bubble. I let the tea have a short steep and TAH DAH!! Success. This tea says it has notes of seaweed and honeydew melon, which I totally get but luckily my cup is on the honeydew melon side of things. It is a very light, but full-bodied tea that is truly interesting. I rather like this and plan to see how many infusions this will allow – as long as I don’t mess up the water temp again.

Absolutely wonderful keemun! Smooth, sweet, mildly floral, with the cocoa and wet earth notes in the vendor’s description. Both the first and second infusions were flavorful, and quite sweet enough on their own. A lovely cup of tea.

Not what I expected. The floral aspect of this tea tasted artificial to me. I was looking forward to the rose and I really didn’t even taste it. It was slightly syrupy as well. I may look into brewing this differently and see if I can get to taste better.

Sophisticated and sensual flavor.

Well I’m normally not much for flavored black teas, particularly those with caffeine in them (which I try to avoid), but this smelled so good in the sample K sent that I just had to make it this morning, when the weather is making me groggier than usual. It’s absolutely delicious in the bag- not the usual rank artificial amaretto. Brewed, this actually makes a really satisfying cup of tea without the bitterness that black tea can impart. It’s important not to oversteep it, but correctly brewed it has a soothing mildness and nutty sweetness that I really like. It’s great with a little milk- unsweetened vanilla almond milk in my case. I dig this one- for a black tea ;) Nice and relaxing, despite the caffeine.

I don’t think I’ve ever had rhubarb so I can’t really tell you if this tastes like rhubarb. But, if you gave me this tea without telling me what it was and asked me to name it, I’d name it “Peaches and Cream”… maybe I’d even go as far as to name it “Peach Cobbler”. Yep, that’s what I getting out of it. Peaches. It’s good though. It has a nice flavor and the rooibos flavor doesn’t take over.

Update – I forgot to mention that this was a sample sent to me by my friend Lisbet! Thanks Liz!

This lost a few points. It tastes different today. The amaretto is too strong and lingers on the tongue uncomfortably long. I wonder what happened. Maybe I used too much tea or hit a very concentrated flavor spot. Whatever, it is it was way to overwhelming.

A delicious tea, sweet and smooth. Great for an after dinner tea or right before bed. The almond isn’t overwhelming but it definitely is there. I drank this blank and it tasted great. However, I feel like I need to try it with a little sweetener. I have this feeling it will be out of this world. Can’t wait until tomorrow to find out.

Smokey…Smokey…SMOKEY!!! This tea delivers just what it says. Like a campfire but better and safer to drink. A very rich flavor. What scares me most is my 3 yr old daughter tried it thinking she wouldn’t like it and would stop asking me for it she in turned decided she did like. My plan back fired but still simply amazing.

Drinking this as an iced tea today. It is such a smooth and flavorful, but not overpowering, tea that it’s great alone or blended with herbal teas when I want a summertime vibe. Everyone should pick this one up.

Feeling the need for something a little stronger this morning, so the Yen Bai is it :) It feels like a treat to drink this tea.

Bought this on a recommendation from Wystone’s World Teas in Lakewood, CO. It is as good as they said, smooth in taste, rich in color. At first, it seemed to have a smokey scent, but really it’s just a rich smell. There is no skimping on flavor with this tea, and the color is almost as dark as coffee, but the tea is finely flavored, not bitter. Definitely worth the price!

I have had my share of amaretto sours during the holidays (a favorite of my grandmothers) or amaretto in coffee or just amaretto on the rocks. This tea does mimic the flavor of amaretto but with a pleasant lightness and not the heavy syrup flavor in the alcoholic liquer. This would make a nice light afternoon tea.

The tea is a sample courtesy of Doulton. So , alas, I better not get too attached as this blend is no longer listed on the TG website…

I tasted this one again last night. I brewed it almost double strength this time. It tasted like warm apple juice with a hint of almond. So sad. It is drinkable, so I will probably finish the bag but I definitely will not order it again.

I really really want to love this one. But so far it’s a little meh.

The smell of the bag is so nutty that I immediately put the kettle on when I smelled it.

Once brewed it tastes predominately of apple. The smell is nutty and slightly floral. The color is a beautiful pink from the beetroot.

It is a little weak. I used 2tsp to 11oz. Steeped 10 min. Will try again with more tea next time.

I got to try this tea courtesy of Erin (she rocks!). First off I’m having a stuffy nose this morning so I cannot tell much about the smell other than it probably smells sweet.

The taste I’m getting (like others have said) is not really banana in peel the fruit banana. What I am getting is Banana Nut Bread and that’s not a bad thing it’s actually quite nice. I like this tea the black tea base has a tad bit of astringency but hey I just recently finished a cup of Florence so whatdya expect.

If you think you might like Banana nut bread flavored black tea give this one a try sometime. Thanks Erin!

Yummmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm!
I am rather shocked at how much I like this…but I do
YAY!

First, I must say…this is my FIRST TeaGschwendner Tea and I am MORE THAN excited!!!! 2nd…special thanks to MandyB for sending this my way!

I cannot express how awesome this smells! If a smell could be iridescent this would be it! I could smell cranberries but then a little mango…oddly enough I was getting an overwhelming grapefruit type smell from across the room…not sure why because it’s cranberry and mango but I am NOT complaining in the slightest because this is one of the most awesome smelling green teas I have ever smelled! It doesn’t even lose that much of the smell once infused! Brilliant!

It’s light yellow/green in color and very nice to sip. It’s refreshing and juicy and thirst quenching and fun! The Cranberry and Mango couldn’t be dancing a more perfect dance with each other.

Honestly…by drinking this tea…it has made my day MUCH better!!!!

YAY!

Does anyone know how to break the seal on a 65 ounce jar of marinated artichoke hearts?

I’m going to have this tea this morning because I am groggy and shaded greens are always a nice kick in the teeth both taste wise and in terms of stimulants.

We may have a late night, so I’m getting a bit of caffeine before we head out.

I have a new teapot. If you find your way to my facebook, there’s a picture. We went to the Houston Japanese American Festival in Hermann Park where I met a well preserved octogenarian who makes pottery. Included in her collection of wares was a delightfully quaint half liter tea pot, glazed a white satin finish with a new leaf green wash. It has actual wabi sabi, as opposed to carefully calculated flaws you find in some mass produced work. The handle is high, and fully integrated. Most important of all, it has a wide, open top with a snug lid. No more rummaging about to fish wet tea leaves out of narrow pot tops. No more balancing plates on top of Pyrex™ measuring cups.

This green tea is perfect for today. I got to watch most of a matcha-do ceremony demonstration in the tea house in the Japanese garden in Hermann Park during the festival. It made me crave shaded green. The weather is off again on again sun and rain, but warm when the sun is out. The live oaks have put out all their new growth and are a shockingly bright shade of green, kind of like what’s in my cup. We had brunch in an absurdly upscale bistro garden where I ate some of the best poached eggs over spinach and potatoes I have ever had in my life.

We just wish the rain would blow over so we could go out and test drive Liz’s new bicycle.