Teaopia

Going backwards here… this was my morning tea. errr, kindof.
It landed somewhere between tea and coffee and not in a good way. The brew was particularly bitter, so I added a whack of honey (they were out of agave) and milk. Even still, it tasted like old coffee mixed with a plain black tea. The maltiness struggled to peek out but was overridden by the coffee beans.
I won’t be getting this one again, unless someone points out a way to improve it significantly.

Thanks to Indigobloom for sending me this! I needed a black tea this morning to wake me up, and decided on this one. I have found ceylon teas to have a pretty sharp citrus taste that can go astringent really quickly. This tea was very identifiable to be of a ceylon black but the strawberry complimented it quite nicely. The super fruity Earl’s Garden from David’s was one tea that did not do it well, and the result ended up pretty bad. Strawberry flavour was not overpowering, which was great, and a hint of cream followed. I felt this one did not need any sugar or anything, and should work pretty well with milk.

This tea has now been left at work! it is just too easy to over steep, and too easily scortched when adding water and the horrible orange rind taste of this tea just just vomit inducing! I feel awful since it is a delightful smelling tea.

Since I need to get to the bottom of this tin, to justify trying a new Teaopia tea I will give this another shot, maybe even take it to work today and let the Out of School Care kids have a taste of it – This will be a nice treat compared to the bagged teas they have been having all year, and it will add to movie day, I hope!

This post will be adjusted after I have had my third tasting of this not so great tea.

…..
I think I have figured this out…
When making this tea iced do not follow the principle of doubling the teaspoons (because you are pouring it over ice): That’s bad.

I rounded up, instead of 1.5 tsps I did 2 tsps and I did strictly follow the steeping time today, 6-8 minutes, I aimed for 6. I could certianly detect a hint of strawberry (‘though I don’t remember if there are any in this mix) and there was no over powering scent of orange or rind. First sip, after pouring this over ice was refreshing, no horrible rind taste, no bitter tea taste.

I am still not impressed with how much work this took to figure out, when I walk into other tea places and ask them for directions if I should want to make an iced tea, the staff are helpful, Teaopia was NOT. I got a comment of: “Oh you know, the usual way you would prep iced tea” – clearly after all this I do not know, as I have wasted an entire 50gs trying to figure out how to make this “iced princess” which is clearly meant to be iced, iced.

GAH!

Nope, still not worth the effort…

I steeped this far less this time, and found that it was still bitter and there was a very distinct orange rind taste, not a light taste of zest but full on rind

The next and last time I try this one I will not double it when making iced tea I will stick with one scoop over ice and see if that will help this tea any.

Smells overly fruity but I am hoping to be pleasently surprised tonight when I make this bad girl up over ice for a bubble bath and a good trashy novel!

UGH! I over steeped this for sure! GROSS! It smells better than it truly is! But I bought 50g, so I had better make the best of it and try again later, I was hoping that because it was a fruit tea there would be no worry of over steeping…. …. aprarently not!

so apparently this was a 2nd grade tea, where teaopia normally sells 3rd or ungraded…
I could most definitely tell that it was higher quality, maybe even some tips in there. Overall, the tea was good, great even, but not what I wanted. That fresh, first flush aroma/flavour was popping out at me and I was hoping for more of a malty tea (as always). Also, there wasn’t much complexity here. I get the nutty part, but it simply wasn’t enough.
Oh well, this is the second last pure black tea of theirs I have to try! apparently the other one is a first flush so that should be interesting.
Oh and I added milk (I know, bad bad tea drinker I am!)

wow, peaches!!! the essence was quite strong here. More so than in yesterdays white tea, by volumes.
The oolong base was nice as well… I feel that this is a MUCH nicer base than they used in the plum tea. It’s more crisp and defined, and really allows the peach to dance around, making it a bit more complex. Oh and the cream part… I can find that to. Very nice! mild, hiding in the back, but perfect for the blend.
Now, despite all of this, I’ve decided that I am not a big fan of peach tea. I can see how someone might fall in love with it… it has all the qualities necessary for that! it’s just is not “the one” for me. Still, I’m thrilled to have tried it! and that I’m beginning to learn my tea tastes a bit better now.

I did not care for this at all. It smells really nice, but the flavour was not for me.

By far the best tea I’ve had to date. At home I brew it for a long time to get the best petrichor-esque smell and earthy taste I can. When I’m at a Teopia, I like to get my King of Pu-Erh on ice and enjoy the caffeine onslaught.

Ick. I think this one may have been brewed incorrectly. Perhaps to long. It was bitter!!
I haven’t had much luck with English Breakfast in general, but it never seems to be the fault of the leaf… but the circumstances. It must be a cursed tea.
Even when I added sugar, and agave, it was still not so tasty. More boring than anything else. Sure there was maltiness, but also a dusty part to it that muted everything and made me think of Twinnings EB.
Don’t let this rating throw you off though, there is a good chance that the guy serving me was distracted and missed the timer. It was quite busy in the shop this AM.

Ehhhhh, I can see why this tea is soon to be discontinued.
The rooibos was so strong in this that I could hardly taste anything else. I think she added too much. The chocolate was a background note, and I could smell, but not taste the citrus.
There was a point where I almost threw it out, but then it got a little better as the flavours mellowed some.
It might not be so bad with milk, but I doubt the chocolate or citrus would come through.
This wasn’t terrible, but not great either… oh and I’m being harsh on this cause my Kalahari does so much better. It still deserves a decent rating overall!

One of the last black teas I have yet to try at this shop… except the ginger one, no no I won’t go there, unless I am down with sniffles!
Anyhow, this was nice. The caramel was very subtle, but firmly present. It reminded me of teas that have caramel notes to them, only more pronounced and it was more natural than the other caramel teas I’ve tried.
In astringency and boldness it was rather light. I wish the boldness of the tea had been stronger, but that is just my preference.
Overall, I quite liked it! but it wasn’t far off from my Creme Brulee and that is a rooibos. The caffeine punch was certainly missing from this black tea!! Oh well, it is what it is.

This tea smells great, very fruity and sweet, and because I read so many wonderful things about goji berries I decided to try it. The fruit flavour is not overpowering and the initial flavour is actually quite nice in my opinion. However, this tea seems to have a very long and bitter aftertaste that makes my mouth feel dry and unpleasant, much like most bagged tea tastes to me now. Maybe the batch of this tea I got was just not of the greatest quality, but I never really managed to brew a great cup of this tea and since I’m on my last teaspoon of it I probably never will.

I tried giving this another shot today. It’s been over a year since I had a cuppa, and this was a free sample so why not!
Overall, I must say it was much better than the in-store cup I had. Must have been a bad batch.
This one was nice and rounded. A little to sharp for my tastes but still tasty. Must have been cloves and cinnamon that made it so potent. Well, I also brewed it up quite strong, which is just how I like my chais. Bitter almost, so that the milk can swoop right in and save the day! ha.
Raising the rating a bit here. Not my fave blend but I’d take it if someone offered me a cup!! :)

I tried this in the store this morning… and while I’m glad to have tried it, I wish I had ordered something else.
See, Chai is a tricky tea for me. I will love it or hate it, and this one definitely landed in the dislike category. It was still drinkable, but certainly not something I would ever choose for myself again.
The spices were ok, I could definitely taste the cinnamon but the cardamom and cloves were bullies and took over, which left me with an odd, minty aftertaste. I don’t see anything mint-like in the description, but I think that’s a product of the tea base and cardamom teaming up on my taste buds. It makes me wonder if they used an asian base, as there was also something oddly watery about it.
Also, I couldn’t really taste much of the tea part, unless I am right and they did use a Chinese black. My favourite chais have at the very least, a moment of “ahh there’s the tea!” and this one missed that mark.
Ah well! It smells great… and it was naturally sweet so points are given for that.
I just bought a first flush darjeeling from DT’s… so breakfast will be extra special tomorrow :)

I bought this tea mainly because the smell of it was very familiar. Later I realized that the smell reminded me of a type of cookie I used to eat in Holland, a “bitterkoekje” to be precise, much like the Italian amaretto cookie, but better. Now, every time I have a cup of this tea, or simply get a whiff of it, I crave these cookies.

The smell is a very good indication of the flavour, meaning you can really taste the almond-ness of it. There’s also a hint of cherry, which is a nice touch I find. Maybe it’s because this tea bring back fond memories of my childhood, but I really enjoy drinking it and as of now have only about one teaspoon remaining.

This is the only honeybush tea I’ve ever had, but if it is any indication of what this type of tea is typically like I should really try some more.

This tea, to me, has a very well balanced flavour. It’s more sweet than most of my other teas and very fruity with a lot of subtle flavours. You can really taste the orange peel. If I had to throw some words at it I’d pick things such as “round”, “smooth” and “mellow”. It’s just a great relaxing tea and, since it has no caffeine, I like to drink it before I go to sleep (like tonight).

Further, it’s got a very pleasant aroma, and if I were to rate it based on smell alone it would rank highly amongst my other teas. I also think this would be great iced and will likely try it as such sometime this summer.

almost sipdown!!! I have only a tiny bit left. Which was unexpected because I am at a friend’s house where I was just gifted a teapot and infuser… I HAVE A NEW TEAPOT :D
Anyhow, this is the one I chose to christen the pot with. And oh man is it ever tasty. Too bad I haven’t got enough for another pot after this!

So much love for my good friends J and T xxo

Oh wow, it has been a LONG time since I had a cuppa this. For some reason it just stopped appealing to me and then I was hesitant to try again since it was likely old or stale. But… the tin seems to have done a great job keeping things fresh!
I taste the bakey toast I once got way back when, though it is a little more astringent than I remember.
No matter, I am happy with this. Wishing I made an extra big mug now!

xxx HAPPY HAPPY HAPPY DANCE xxx HAPPY HAPPY HAPPY DANCE XXX HAPPY HAPPY HAPPY DANCE…
Well, it’s not hard to guess what’s got my happy meter up… I can taste tea again!!! now, it doesn’t taste anything like it once did, so I’m sure my buds have a ways to go but I’ll take what I can get! :)
I’ve only had one cup so far. I think I’ll take it easy on the tea for awhile, as much as it pains me- I’d rather take a short break than live with this tasteless state for a lifetime!
Anyhow, I have confidence that I’ll be back here soon! I miss this place and all my tea friends sighs
btw, I’m still happy dancing!

So my kettle at the other office is STILL not up to snuff, and this is what I’ve been drinking out of it despite that. I’m gonna start having bad associations with that tea, eeek, can’t let that happen!! Oh well, the kettle got a bit better after I boiled some vinegar in it. Time will work it’s magic, I hope! :)
Anyhow, my ’net at home is still down. I miss this place!!!

So I really needed a tin, something we were doing at work, a silly project- don’t ask… and I figured, well I may as well fill it with something, it will cost less that way!
So I bought some of this. I needed a non-chocolatey tea. Only now, I am almost regretting it. Assam banaspaty is good to… maybe I need them both *sighs
Or I could just start using up the stuff I have at home. Big trouble that would be, to bring it into the office! ha.
Anyhow, on to the tea. It was just ok this AM. I’m not sure what the difference was… but the toastiness was just not there. Oh well… it got me through the morning!