Tealux

Jan 25th: You know those teas you buy because the tasting notes sounded good online. This is one of those teas. I think I’ve found out that I don’t care for chai all that much. And caramel doesn’t belong in tea. Dry leaf smells: carmely, sugary, chai. This tea is okay when hot though the flavors don’t come through well. However, once the tea cools, the chai part is fine. It’s the caramel artificial flavoring that is not good. It pretty much ruins the tea for me. I might try it with sugar to see if it can fix the fake flavor.

This is the first disappointing thing I’ve bought from Tealyra. To be fair, the website does say it’s a milder tasting tea, but I found it to be just too bland. Also, I underestimated the sweetness of the honeybush in this… I definitely recommend adding less sugar than usual, as this tea is naturally sweet.

I freaking love this tea. The coconut isn’t overpowering and it works great with the taste of vanilla. This is my new favorite flavored chai!

Such a delicious chai! It’s pretty heavy on the spice, which I love. Other chais taste bland in comparison to this!

This is a really tasty dessert tea. I don’t know if it tastes like tiramisu per say, but I get a nice blend of chocolate and almonds that I enjoy.

I love this tea! It’s a nice way to enjoy the pumpkin spice taste without the caffeine that a latte has. It’s kind of naturally sweet so I’d be careful when adding sugar.

Well after waiting for an eternity last night, my new game finally finished installing and I got to play with dinosaurs in ARK: Survival Evolved. Really though a lot of the game involved me dying in various embarrassing ways, since this game is hard survival and has a bit of a learning curve. Also there are dinosaurs, some of them are real jerks…especial packs of Compys and Dilophosaurus, and the occasional jerk Utahraptor that ‘clever girl’ed me. I am pleased that I managed to never starve to death or die from falling, though as in life my sense of direction is abysmal and I do get lost a lot. One time I got so lost trying to find my way back to my little base camp that I just gave up and wandered to a Spinosaurus to be eaten and re-spawned. Fun times!

Time once again to delve into my never ending backlog of tea notes with Tealyra’s Feng Shui Wellness, an herbal blend of Apple Pieces, Goji Berries, Dragonfruit, Nettle Leaves, Blackberry Leaves, Lemongrass, Orange Peel, Eucalyptus Leaves, Carrot Flakes, Natural Flavoring, Cornflower, and Marigold Flowers. Of all the various blends on Tealyra, I picked this one out because it had eucalyptus, I was having lung problems at the time and that stuff works wonders for me, but I wanted something sweet too, so this looked promising. The aroma of the unsteeped blend mixes cooling and sharp notes of eucalyptus with lemon, pepper, sweet apple, tropical dragonfruit, and the oh so wonderfully honey sweet note of goji berries. It is really quite sweet smelling while also being refreshing.

Giving this tea a steeping, the aroma is now very strong in the eucalyptus and lemon, along with strong herbaceous notes from the nettle, it smells green and fresh. Underneath the herbaceous notes are sweet tropical fruit and honey. The liquid smells a bit tart, it smells like there is hibiscus in here, but there was none in the ingredients…bit they also did not list the red peppercorn so I dunno. The pink coloring and tart notes make me raise an eyebrow, but there is also a good amount of tropical fruit and cooling eucalyptus with a strong citrus note.

The first thing I notice is the mild cooling effect from the eucalyptus, talk about a breath of fresh air, literally, it really does make my lungs happy. This tea is actually really tasty, strong notes of citrus and herbaceous green notes dance with goji berries and sweet yet tart dragon fruit and apple. There is definitely hibiscus in this blend, I taste it with its tart metallic tone, but it is mild so I don’t mind too much. I found this tea was also pretty good cold steeped, and is just best when it is slightly cool rather than hot.

For blog and photos: http://ramblingbutterflythoughts.blogspot.com/2016/01/tealyra-feng-shui-wellness-tbt-tea.html

Mmm, I forgot how much I loved this one. Almost a sip down for me, I have just enough left for a bowl brew. I’ll have to add this to my re-purchase list though. This is one of my favorite Jin Xuans. Not the creamy floral type ( à la Green Terrace) I love so much, but the delicious fruity style. Lots of tropical fruit notes swimming in a custard. So so good. Not my everyday preference but I certainly like it enough to keep on hand for times I crave this style.

Dry leaf aroma: Malty sweet with a hint of pipe tobacco.
Dry leaf appearance: https://www.instagram.com/p/_Jx6hglcJs/

Wet leaf aroma: Alfalfa.
Wet leaf appearance: https://www.instagram.com/p/_JyrcDFcLL/

Preparation: Brewed western style in a ceramic infuser mug.

First/only steeping: 3 minutes at 200 degrees.
Pleasant malty molasses aroma with a beautiful sable liquor. While hot, the undertones are pure malt and molasses. This Assam definitely stays true to its bouquet! As the cup cools, a sugary astringent aftertaste develops.

Notes:
This was a delightful Assam to start my day and I hope to be able to keep this one in stock, which is saying something for someone who has so much tea!

You may also read this review and see images on my blog, My Tea Life, at:
http://mytea.life/assam-golden-lion-assam-1st-flush-by-tealyra-review/

“Gui Hua” is the enchanting aromatic tree that blooms multiple times in China, lovely apricot-peach floral fragrance from the tiny yellow flower is what is blended with this high quality oolong tea. Prepared in the traditional method of scenting tea, the Osmanthus (“Gui Hua” in Chinese) flowers are layered between fresh Camelia Sinensis leaves to absorb the complementary flavor. Sweet, “green”, and peachy, our Gui Hua Osmanthus Oolong is a traditional tea treat you won’t soon forget.

I love Tealyra’s (used to be Tealux) Gui Hua, it is pure, floral and sweet.

I don’t think I’ve ever had a bad Tai Ping Hou Kui but does this tea live up to the Supreme added onto the name? I think not but still a good brew.

First I have to critique Tealyra’s instructions. Use 1 tsp of tea. Really???!! Like how do I get those massive straight leaves in a spoon? They need to revise this and change to weight measurement. Then to steep 2 – 3 min. I think that’s far to long for this tea. I brewed 1 min and even at that time some faint bitterness comes through.

I brewed this in my test tube gaiwan (Love that gaiwan!). 1 min and just eyeballed the amount. It’s fruity- something I always love about this type of tea. A bit vegetal, light sweetness, and a bit of bitterness creeping through. Unless, I need to revise my steeping method, I would say this is not a tea that is “Supreme”. It’s still a nice cup though.

I just read a post in the disscusions that Tealux had changed their name to Tealyra. This package is labeled Tealyra, so I’m guessing this is the right tea to review this under, but I’m not 100%.
This is super bright green in the bag and turns into a really deep green color when mixed in water. There is a little bit of a bitter tang at the start of the sip, but it gets less as I continue to sip. It is really smooth, but doesn’t seem to have much of the matcha taste. It is a little grassy, a little floral, but just by a hint. This isn’t really doing it for me. There isn’t enough flavor happening for m taste.

I had this gong-fu to help me wind down for the night. I ended up spilling the first gaiwan contents (and hot water) in my lap, so I had to remeasure out some more. This is a very neutral Shou. The brew isn’t anything to brag about, but it isn’t a poor quality brew either. The flavor is slightly musty with some decayed sour wood. The aroma is almost like cinnamon. This brew does lack a lot of flavor. The liquor is a deep thick crimson soup, but it tastes rather diminished. This helped wind me down (on the second attempt), and it gave me energy to search for another brew. I’m glad I got to try; because, I can now check another pu-erh off my list.

Sipdown! Although I probably shouldn’t count it as I picked up more… a lot more in Tealux/Tealyra’s Halloween sale. But It’s not here yet so I’m marking it down.

This tea is honestly so damn good. Brown sugary sweet with notes of sweet potato, strawberry, apricot and malt. It really shines gongfu, but western brewed it does just fine too. If you haven’t tried this one yet, I definitely recommend picking up a bit to try. It’s one of the best teas I’ve had.

Not My Cup O’ Tea TTB

Something about this tea just wasn’t right. I don’t know if, to me, the lemongrass just felt out of place or what. I only had one steep and threw the leaves away. It was an odd chai.

Once in awhile you buy a tea that tastes so bad you simply have to throw it out. That’s what happened to this one. Yes, it helped me breathe better but it just tasted too bad.

White Comparison 8/17/15 Tea #3
https://instagram.com/p/6gCir2RYB6/

Time to be honest: The first time I purchased yellow tea was 100% because it is not common.

This tea has an aroma that fills up the air and it’s kind of that funky ‘left around in the house wet green tea’ smell. The best part of this tea is that mouth feel that lingers for about 7-8 seconds and then fades after the last sip taken. Teas that give me a feeling, whether it be mental or physical, always makes me happy. The taste is like 25% dragonwell, 40% unique, 15% wild earth, and 20% random perception.; if that makes sense…

I’ve had two yellow teas of the same shape/color and they tasted like green tea left in a sock of mine from 1999 only to be brought out and steeped. This tea is not like that which brings me a lot of relief.

White Comparison 8/17/15 Tea #1
https://instagram.com/p/6gCir2RYB6/

Tealyra, Tealux, TEA WHA???
These two companies be confusing me like Teabox and Golden Tips

Anyways: Ladies and Gentlemen, here is a fabulous pai mu tan!!!
While the color looks distant of being fresh, I assure you that the flavor with this on is there.
Hold on, why is this fabulous though… make it short for us please as we just worked all day.
Simply put: This tea gives you the integrity of that white tea taste but also includes a sweet finish; this is something I have not come across in a pai mu before and makes me quite happy. A white tea with a sweet finish that doesn’t have jasmine? This is a winner :)

I think that I might like medium roast oolongs. This one reminded me a lot of the Rou Gui Oolong-the smell had the roasted nuts character with a weird floral, vegetal background. The same is said after my first 15 second rinse, or brew, about six ounces of water at 190. It was vegetal to me, but very nutty and has a buttery yet dry sweetness like toffee. Light but so flavorful and lingering.

Steep two after about 30, then upped 45 seconds wasn’t as sweet as the first one, but had the same vegetal nut type character to me. It was a little bit saltier, but still buttery.

Number three, after a minute and seven seconds, it’s primarily floral. Still has the roasted nut character, but fainter. Much fainter yet very pleasant.

Number four..trying to gage how long I should steep it. Maybe two minutes. Quick sip after a minute and a half, and a light floral sweetness. Another sip after two minutes, and it taste like a roasted Tie Guan Yin. At two minutes and a whopping thirty seconds, it taste like water that was soaked with coconut skin without the meat-the the hairy shavings of the shell itself.

So, it’s official. I like medium roasted oolongs. I still love green oolongs, it’s just that in terms of flavor, it’s a random gamble as to whether they will have the full profile or just taste like flower water. When they do have the full profile, they are my utmost favorite. But as for the medium roasts, the ones that I had, they always have something to offer in terms of taste.They are my preference now, equal to a good green Tie Guan Yin, my #1. Thank you Liquid Proust for aiding me on my journey. Oolongs are now the type that I drink the most and would drink the most. There are still a few greens and blacks that will never get old on me, but oolongs are now teas that I can drink almost anytime.

Back to the tea itself, this one is really what I needed this morning. Very warm, comforting, and smoothly energizing. I wonder what a Shui Xian taste like now…

Wow…this is by far one of my favorites that you’ve granted me, Liquid Proust. Rocks, leaves, cedar, and Fall are what I smell in the dry leaf. There was something familiar about this one, like one of the ones you made…I shall not tell.

It was consistent in the third steep at 50 seconds, but was closer to roasted nuts. I can see why people describe this tea as having a “cinnamon” note. It doesn’t really taste like cinnamon itself, but it has a weird, spicy metallic character that is very similar.

On the Tour of Oolongs, this is by far one of my favorites. I can now say that it’s an Oolong that I definitely prefer, especially compared to a Bai Hoa and the Li Shan’s I’ve had. I like the woodiness of the Wu Yi’s I’ve had, but the problem is, well, they taste like wood which is something I don’t always want to have. The Li Shan’s are usually hit or miss: they either have a sweet, almost fruity character and buttery mouth feel with some sort of floral aspect that I LOVE, or they taste like flavorless water with a salty or buttery texture.

This tea fits all of my preferences. It’s crisp and deceives me into thinking that it’s lighter, but it is more complex and sophisticated than presented. There’s full range of flavor and it is sweet enough to be perfect on its own. This tea could really be brewed Gongfu or Western, but I personally think that it is sweeter and more nuanced Gongfu while Western would be more robust and maybe earthier. Officially one of the best teas I’ve had because of its sophistication in the guise of nutty simplicity. I’m not sure who I’d recommend this to. I really think that this one would apply to a pretty broad audience.

What a gorgeous color! Couldn’t pass up trying this one. My mixer broke so I’m using my blender… Not quite the same. But I imagine the taste is pretty much the same. Very smooth with a bit of creaminess. A bit earthy at first but it finishes grassy.

I’ve always wanted to try a roasted Tie Guan Yin, and Liquid Proust, you made that possible!

Anyway, I experimented with this one to see if I could do it Gongfu. I did a ten second rinse of it first, and I tasted it to see if it would be strong enough for a session. Strangely enough, it had a taste that kind of reminded me of cocoa. I sipped it again just to see if it was just me wanting that flavor, but no, it was totally there. I drank that, then made another 45 second cup. Unfortunately, the cocoa disappeared, and there was more of a paint, woodsy, roasted character. The same went on for the other few steeps. I had high hopes, and those hopes were satisfied in rinse one, but then left wanting in the others.

This is much better than the stuff you’ll find in teabags but not quite as good as the chamomile I’ve had from Rishi and Arbor Teas. It just seems to be lacking a little something. Can’t quite put my finger on it, but its missing that sweet chamomile flavor and tastes a bit stale. Although it was cheap and is a very drinkable tea, I wish I hadn’t bought 100 g of it on Amazon.

Regardless, it is good on it’s own and mixed with other flavorings.