Teapigs

Bleurgh. I have a stinking cold just as I’m spending the weekend at a friend’s hen party- typical! This is just what I needed to perk me up before I venture out. Not too much ginger & a good citrusy kick to drag me into the land of the living!

Sipdown! (211) I brought home a few of my teabags from work since i hadn’t been drinking them. This was one of the teas. Now that i’ve had a vast number of other teas, this one doesn’t taste nearly as good as it did previously. Ah well…the search continues for my chocolate tea once my MF tea is gone.

i received this tea in my swap with Scheherazade and busted it out at work today since i had not a whole lot of time for anything! To be fair i did end up steeping this for like 10+ minutes by accident but i don’t think it suffered for it. This is a pretty sweet tea. I didn’t get a chance to try it with milk, but it’s like eating a piece of chocolate cake. It’s not going to be my favourite tea but it’s pretty decent if you’re looking for that absolutely chocolatey sweet tea!

SIPDOWN!

Gotta keep on keepin’ on. Della order arrived, but may not get put into my cupboard if only because it’s a shared order so I may hold off on opening them up so they stay fresher longer until we are able to make plans to get together.

I am really liking this tea as a tasty alternative to loose leaf at work.

mmmmm thank you Scheherazade for this one! It was a bit overpowering in terms of smell when i opened up the swap, but luckily it didn’t manage to contaminate the other samples that were along for the ride. :)

I tried this one tonight and overall it’s a very pleasant chai. I’m not getting overly spicey from it, but it’s different enough from the other chai’s that i like to possibly warrant having more of this around in future. I also have another bag that i can try later this week to see how it goes if i let it steep for even longer. :)

Thank you KittyLovesTea for this!

Dry, the leaves have an appealing roasty, chocolaty aroma. Steeping, it smells almost as if there’s a cake in the oven!

I tasted it at 3 minutes and there was a definite cacao flavor with a sweet aftertaste, but I left it in for another 2 minutes to see if it would enhance it at all. It seems only the black tea flavors were strengthened, and now unfortunately the chocolate is a bit lost. 3 minutes seems to be the sweet spot for this one.

Added 1/2 teaspoon sugar: astringency is toned down, but the chocolate isn’t much more prominent.

Added soymilk: even less astringency, but chocolate flavor is still quite subtle.

Overall, I think it has promise – it’s like a deluxe version of the black breakfast teas I have every morning. I’m a big fan of roasty/baked flavors, which this tea has in spades. Luckily for me I have several more servings of this to play around with :)

Sipdown! Drank the last four of these as lattes this weekend, and was reminded how much I love it brewed this way. It’ll definitely be making a reappearance in my cupboard come winter!

I wasn’t feeling great last night, so I went for my ultimate comfort tea for a pre-bedtime drink. I’ve just recovered from a cold, but I think it might be coming back again, somehow. Anyway, I always find this tea warming and reassuring. I was too tired to make a latte, so I just brewed this as I normally would a black tea with a hefty dose of milk added. The slight heat from the chili helped to soothe my throat, and the combination of the spices and warm milk helped me to feel all warm and cosy again. For me, this really is comfort in a cup.

Had another of these today, as a sort of joyous farewell to winter. Just straight, with a little bit of milk. The chilli and clove come out most prominently when it’s brewed this way, I think. I’m not a huge fan of clove, so I generally prefer this as a latte, but it’s good all the same. Nice, warming hit of chilli. Good stuff.

This was actually my first tea of the day this morning. I woke up with a bit of a sore throat, and a craving for Chilli Chai. The warmth was wonderfully soothing. Great stuff. Now all I wish is that it would stop being so cold and/or snowing. It’s supposed to be spring, yo!

Okay, so I thought I was going to try another Yumchaa this morning, but as I was picking through my stash, my gaze fell on this, and I knew that my plans had changed. It might be March, but it’s still snowing here, so while I’d like to be thinking about nice teas for spring and summer, I’m still well into my chai lattes.

I like an adventurous chai, and this is one of my favourites. Assam base, cardamom pods, ginger, cinnamon, vanilla, and flakes of chilli. They’re all in evidence in each bag. The cardamom pods are particularly huge, and I can definetly pick out the red chilli flakes and some seeds. If something is going to be spicy, I don’t want it to be spicy by halves, so this pleases me immensely.

The scent of chai is one of the things I love most about it, and this one is no exception. The ginger is immediately obvious, as is the creamy sweetness of the vanilla, and the more dessert-like spiciness of the cinnamon. There’s also something very slightly floral about it, and something that’s reminding me a little of curry. Certainly intriguing.

I’m drinking this as a latte this time, so I’ve added a lot of warmed, frothy milk after brewing for about 7 minutes. Notwithstanding, the flavours come out beautifully. I find the vanilla most obvious in the initial sip, I think because the milk highlights the sweet creaminess of it and brings it to the forefront. Next come the cinnamon, ginger and cardamom, and the finally the tounge-tingling chilli in the aftertaste. I like how changeable this tea can be. I know, for example, that this flavour-profile is unique to its creation as a latte. If I were drinking it black, or just as tea with milk, different ingredients would dominate and the whole taste experience would be completely different.

I find this a versatile, adaptable, exciting tea which can ebe brewed to match many (or any!) of my moods. The first time I tried it was with trepidation, but we’ve become firm friends in the intervening years. Chilli Chai, I love you!

Sipdown! Finished this off today. Good, strong, everyday black (as ever), see previous notes for more detail. This’ll be taking a break from my cupboard now while I work on some of my other straight blacks. It’ll be back, though. No doubt about that!

I have terrible backache today, so I’m mostly drinking this. It’s just one of those teas I find comforting when I feel off colour. I’m actually getting close to a sipdown on this, with only a few more day’s worth to go. Probably because I’ve been digging into it so heavily today. Still, tea is for enjoying, and this is just the thing at the moment.

First tea of the day today. I do honestly think Teapigs have changed some of their teas a bit since I last tried them. This one has smaller leaves than I remember, not like bagged supermarket tea, but not entirely whole leaf either. That’s fine with me, as I like the strength that chopped leaves can help to contribute on a morning, and I used to find this one a little on the thin side. In any case, though, I’m not sure all of their changes are for the better.

Still, on to the tasting. This is a breakfast blend, composed of ceylon, assam, and a rwandan. It smells more or less like any plain black tea, but with maltiness and a slightly citrussy note that actually complement each other pretty well. I brewed this for four minutes, and easily got the strength I was looking for, which pleased me more than it should have, probably.

I found this unexpectedly light to taste, given that there is assam in the base. The dominant tea, I felt, was the ceylon. There’s a definite zestiness about this, almost like orange or grapefruit peel. Second among the flavours are the assam and rwandan, which I do think help to give this blend some depth and sweetness. There’s a definite malty, almost molasses-like undertone, which develops into an almost chocolate-like intensity in the aftertaste. The first time I tried this tea, I wasn’t all that impressed, but this definetly has a lot more complexity than I remember it having. Perhaps my tastes have changed a little, but I think this is definetly one of those teapigs teas which were altered for the better.

I could happily drink this as my staple breakfast blend for a good long time. As it stands, I have enough for about two weeks. It’s everything I want on a morning, and then some. Really good stuff.

Like Yumchaa’s Caramel Sweetheart, this one definetly benefits from a good stir. That I have discovered. I have, somewhat distrubingly, started using two bags of this in a big cup. Possibly I should eat some real chocolate, rather than trying to recreate it in a drink. At least it’s Easter Sunday…there’s a chocolate rabbit with my name on it that I think would go rather well with another cup of this :)

Felt a bit under the weather last night, so I went all out with this one. Large cup, two bags of chocolate flake tea, and a decent chunk of crystal sugar. Add a book and a packet of chocolate digestives, and you can’t get better than this. Heaven!

Chocolate Flake. I’ve had this a number of times previously, but have somehow always managed to avoid logging it. Anyway, it’s an assam base, with cocoa beans and chocolate pieces. It smells deeply, darkly chocolatey, with an equally deep background of strong, malty tea. Assam has always been one of my favourite black tea varieties, so I generally always enjoy this one. I’ve found the key to developing the chocolate flavour (and avoiding the watery hot chocolate taste) is to use a smaller cup than usual, so that’s what I’m going to do.

Anyway, enough of my ramblings. I find this a pretty subtle tea, certainly not as chocolatey as 52Teas Double Chocolate Decadence, for example. I don’t mind that, though, as it’s quite versatile in return. It smells and tastes very chocolatey black, but mellows with milk into a flavour more reminiscent of chocolate digestives. The assam is a pretty dominant flavour, too — it’s certainly not beaten down by the chocolate. Instead, I can initially taste the strong, malty base, and then the dry, almost powdery cocoa flavour.

This is definetly a pleasant tea. Perfect for times when I want something more indulgent than a plain black, but not too rich, overly flavoured, or fussy. As much as I enjoy this, it’s been a staple in my cupboard for a while now, so it’s probably time I took a little break from it so that I can come back refreshed. I can’t see it being a long break, though. It’s too easy to drink for that!

Oversteeped this the first time around today so tried again. Because it’s whole leaf in these bags, I’m more inclined to steep 2 or 3 times, which I wouldn’t tend to do with teabags (not just yet). I preferred the second steep if I’m honest, delicate flavours which seem to come through more then. Tried it on a first steep yesterday with some milk but the second steep is better. This feels like Darjeeling with Earl Grey rather than the other way around. Couple of dashes of Splenda added to this. Keen on trying it with a slide of lemon. It won’t replace my Earl Grey but it’s a nice change.

My dad loves this tea, so there’s been a box in the house almost constantly for a good few years now. Surprisingly, I have never tried one, or never that I recall. High time to put that right.

The dry leaves smell predominantly of root ginger, with the soft, hay-like sweetness of the lemongrass emerging in the background. There’s quite a kick of ginger — the kind that tickles your nose if you inhale too deeply. The lemongrass pieces look to be chopped — they’re a lot shorter than the leaves in Teapigs’ Pure Lemongrass — but they’re by no means dust. The ginger pieces are also indetifiable, with the overall proportion looking to be about 50:50. Probably just right, then!

I’ve been missing out. Brewed, the lemongrass comes through a lot more in the scent. To taste, it’s a lot sweeter than I was expecting, and quite complex. The lemongrass is the first thing I can detectl sweet, slightly citrusy. Then comes the tingling spiciness of the ginger, which develops into a lingering warmth in the the aftertaste.

This tea claims to be the perfect British summer drink. From what I’ve tasted, I guess it probably could be. It reminds me of lemonade and ginger beer, things I associate with summer, and that are also making me desperate to try this iced. It’s nice hot, but I can just imagine it working even better cold. Definetly one to revisit!

Drank my two teabags of this at work today. It’s been a busy and fustrating day pretty much in equal measure, so I didn’t get chance to drink a lot. I’m trying to change that — I don’t do myself any favours by becoming dehydrated and headachey — but it all went out of the window with my plans today. Still, I managed two cups of this, so things could be worse. It’s a fairly pleasant green, smooth and very grassy. It’s not the tea I remember from the first time I tried it, but it’s pretty good all the same. Easy to drink, refreshing, and fuss-free because it’s bagged. Just the thing today.

Sipdown!

Finished off my packet of these at work today. I enjoyed them enough, given that they’re green tea and not as I remember, but I probably won’t be purchasing again. I’ve actually ordered some Mao Feng from Tea Palace, just to try another variety and to see if my recollection of this tea is at all correct.

At one point during the afternoon, I managed to brew a cup that had a really nice nutty flavour. It’s not something I’ve ever noticed in this tea before, and it was actually really pleasant. Maybe I’m just hopeless at brewing consistently, but it was a nice note to end the packet on.

I’ve been drinking this tea at work pretty steadily, but I brought one home so I could give it enough consideration to write a tasting note. I first tried this tea back in 2009, and I think something about it has definetly changed since then. The tea I remember was very vegetal in smell, and produced a pale, distinctly green liquor. It tasted sweet, and very much like fresh cut grass. It was love at first sip, and I’ve judged every green tea against that one since then. It’s been a while, though, since I last tried it, so I was excited to open a fresh 2013 purchased packet. Unfortunately, this isn’t the tea I remember any more.

Although the packet still makes the claim that the liquor will be green, it isn’t. It’s yellow. Definetly. If you over-brew it even slightly, it turns brown. The dry leaves still smell like I remember — very sweet and almost hay-like, but this doesn’t carry through as well to the brewed tea as I feel it used to. The taste is light and vegetal, but it’s not the summer-grass taste I remember so well. It seems to have lost some of its character. It’s still a very fresh, delicate green tea, though, and one I can enjoy drinking almost any time of the day. I’m just disappointed that it’s not as amazing as I remember it used to be. There’s no bitterness or astringency if you’re careful how you brew it, but one false move and it develops a very dry mouthfeel and aftertaste.

It’s palatable, but no longer fabulous. I guess I’ll have to look elsewhere for the Mao Feng of my memory.

This is one of my favourite chamomile teas, and, also, a SIPDOWN! The first thing I notice about it on opening the packet is the strong honeyed scent. It’s almost like opening a jar of fresh honey. Sweet, slightly floral. The chamomile is whole flower, another of my favourite qualities in a chamomile tea. They rehydrate when wet, fill the bag like little golden-yellow beads, and turn the water a bright, sunny yellow.

It may be nice to smell and pretty to look at, but it’s also equally pleasing to taste. Naturally sweet, slightly floral, with an overriding hat-like flavour and a slight green-apple like sharpness to the aftertaste. I tend to leave the bag in all the while I’m drinking this tea, which is maybe slightly heretical, but I find that as it steeps the apple note becomes more predominant and defined, and this is something I can appreciate in such a naturally sweet tea. It adds a pleasing edge, and is a perfect counterpoint, to the otherwise strongly honey-like flavour.

This is a tea I always find genuinely soothing. It’s my post-interview drink of choice, which is why this post is also a sipdown. I’ve had six interviews in the last four weeks, and I’ve been drinking this almost compulsively both before and afterwards. I finally got offered a job on Thursday, so I can leave off this particular tea for a while, but it certainly helped to calm my interview fear which always seems to strike particularly badly.

Calming, uplifting, sunny. Perfect!

I received this bag as a sample with my recent Teapigs order. It’s been a long time since I tried these – apparently my last order with them before this one was in 2012! How time flies. I’m not the greatest fan of jasmine tea, which is why I don’t really bother with it these days. It’s always good to challenge preconceptions, though, so I’m giving this another go anyway.

I actually don’t mind this one as much as I used to. It’s not too strong or too heavily floral, and there’s a pleasant sweetness from the green tea base. It’s perfumey, and it’s unmistakably jasmine, but it’s not horrible. I can drink it, even though it still wouldn’t be my first choice. This one wouldn’t be a re-purchase for me, but the occasional cup is fine.