THE O DOR

My sister made me tea while I showered. She overleafed this and whatever else she did, she did right because I am getting a lot more apple this time than I did previously. Plus, there is a nice dose of toffee to sweeten everything up. There is also base peaking through but not in an offensive way but rather it is adding a different layer to this, albeit one that isn’t entirely cohesive with everything else. It is a nice way to end the night but I think that even though I enjoyed this sample, generously given to me by Sil, I am okay saying goodbye. Its pleasant enough but nothing I need in my life, especially since toffee/ caramel apple teas are everywhere.

Having this as a hot latte (well, warm I guess since it cooled a lot) and though the rooibos is present, when I paid attention to the sip, I realized it was like 65% caramel and 35% base. Apple pops up now and then but isn’t as prominent as you would expect from an APPLE caramel tea. I don’t know if I am bothered by that though as this is still quite nice. Thank you Sil for sharing :)

Sipdown (202)

So Sil reminded me of this tea (thank you for both the tea and the reminder :P) and I figured it was an easy sipdown to get to 200. Then I realized I bought DAVIDs Halloween teas and that pushed me back over. Oops.

Nonetheless, this is a nice bedtime tea. I am still not needing to keep this stocked but it is definitely one of the more tolerable herbally herbals I have tried. The orange adds sweetness, while the peppermint is fresh, and the lemongrass is bright. The flavors combine quite well and make for a pretty subtle tea. It’s not bad, just not what I tend to drink.

Though I don’t see this becoming a cupboard staple anytime soon, I am definitely enjoying the hot cup more than I enjoyed the cold brew. Hot is the way to go with this tea! It’s definitely a herb tea, which is not what I reach for, yet the orange blossom and lemongrass keep it smooth. The mint adds a refreshing quality to the mix while remaining timid within the cup. As far as herby herbals go, this isn’t a bad cuppa (autocorrect tried changing that to a bad cup Parmesan), but this isn’t a flavor profile I crave ever. I don’t want to rate it because to me it would be about a 62 but I think it would deserve much higher as I could see it being quite enjoyable for people who like this sort of tea.

Cold brewed this but I just don’t think it is for me. I will have to see how the hot cup tastes. Still thank you Sil for sharing and giving me a chance to try this out.

From OMGsrsly, who received some from Sil :D

Sometimes I think tea gets passed along across the world just to die in my cupboard. Hopefully I’ll be able to reciprocate by New Years.

This is a good example of an well-flavored oolong, and is what I wish David’s Long Life Oolong was like- fruity, nutty, and vibrantly juicy. The nuttiness may be my imagination, which is where I thank my imagination because it’s a lovely note. It’s also delicious cooled or chilled.

This is a favorite of mine. It embraces all the best characteristics of a pistachio macaron – without tasting artificial or overdone (as is the case for many other teas that seek to capture the flavor a of a specific dessert item). The black tea is subtle and doesn’t overpower the strong notes of almond, pistachio, vanilla, chocolate, and merengue. I often serve this to guests and so far it has received universal approval. Really a great desert-flavored tea.

When I smelled this tea, I thought it would be the best tea I ever tasted. Smelled exactly like a slice of lemon merengue cake. Unfortunately, the scent did not transfer through to the flavor of the tea when brewed. I tried several different temperatures and quantities when brewing a cup and nothing seemed to help bring out that lost lemon merengue flavor. It tastes like an astringent black tea with moderate lemon flavor – or perhaps more appropriately, a candied lemon peel flavor, as another reviewer noted., combined with subtle notes of vanilla and caramel. The tea does get bitter very quickly, even when brewed at the recommended temp or below the recommended temp (I tried 175 F as well). Really, I think the astringency of the black tea overpowers the intended flavor profile of the tea. Definitely a disappointment for me. I definitely expect more from a company like THE O DOR which is capable of producing some very nice flavored black teas. I will probably use the rest of this tea for making sweetened ice tea since I don’t see myself wanting to drink it otherwise.

Sipdown (132)

I used the last of this in my smoothie. I was going to add peanut butter but decided not to as I worried it would be too strong a flavor and having this now I am glad I didn’t because it gave the hazelnut of this tea a chance to really shine. It’s like a nutella smoothie which is obviously super delicious. Thank you again Sil for sharing this with me :)

Hello Hazelnut! Welcome to the study party :) Thank you Sil!

ETA: Chocolate showed up too. Better late than never :)

Oh The O Dor, I’ve missed you since the Urban Tea Merchant in Vancouver stopped carrying your brand. So when I saw one in the GCTTB I pounced on it (don’t worry, there’s plenty left for the rest of you guys down the line). This a pleasantly soothing herbal blend, the lime blossom and lemon verbena are both mild tranquilizers so it’s a great tea to be drinking when you want to relax. The flavour is mostly lemon verbena, a sweet, herbal sort of lemon flavour without the sour acidic tang.

Lovely cantaloupe and melon cream indulgence. Smooth, smooth. The green tea base is barely barely there. Just a lovely tea.

Thank you, Sil. I am really enjoying this one.

GCTTB 5 Box 2

This is a very delicious, smooth green tea. It definitely has notes of cantaloupe, melon and peach. It is super creamy. Very much reminds me of ice cream. There is a slight metallic tinge with a bit of astringency at the end of the sip.

The flavours of this tea definitely are very strong and linger. I agree with some of the previous reviews that this is one of the fruitiest green blends I have ever tasted.

GCTTB5 box#2

This was a lovely green tea, the base was fairly mellow which I enjoy. It was fruity with peach and cantaloupe being in the forefront. Now that I read the description, I guess I got some passion fruit but no strawberry. This was one delicious cuppa and I imagine it would be great cold brewed as well. I would be scared that the base would be more pronounced in a cold brew though.

So there I was poking around looking for samples that Dexter recently was kind enough to surprise me with and voila, I came across a batch from Sil that I had neglected. Such deliciousness! Steeped at lower temperature. All the lovelies here.

Thank you, Sil.

I love this.

If this indeed is the right tea that I am reviewing…

What an interesting tea! I steeped it briefly at boiling and am drinking it straight up unsweetened. When it was hottest, my first few sips were vanilla custard. Enchanting. And then, as it cooled, it got all malty frisky. And then, a few astringent notes started rising up. As I continue to warm my cup by topping up from my travel mug, the buttery notes resurface. Yummy and very much enjoyable, but a tad finicky.

Thank you, Sil, for sending me this one to try.
I am very much behind on trying samples and tea swaps in general: ok, ok, behind with the whole tea world really, but making slow gentle progress nevertheless. Aaargh.

I had a small sample of this from the lovely Marzipan. I found the fruity black to be quite satisfying and I would jump at the chance to have more if the opportunity ever arose. Unfortunately, I had this juicy tea a while back and have forgotten much of it’s finer details. Thus I am leaving off a rating at this time. I do remember enjoying it though. :)

I’ve been lucky this week to be able to enjoy several awesome chocolate teas.
This one says chocolate hazelnut – but I’m getting mostly chocolate not much nut.
Totally different than the other two I tried – it’s interesting how each company does chocolate differently.
This is a great tea – wish it had more hazelnut.

That’s so much Sil for providing this opportunity. :))

Another tea swap rescue from the back of the cupboard. I looked this up online to see what type of flavor I should expect and was very excited when I discovered this tea has been blended to invoke a lemon Meringue pie… Only like my favorite desert ever (well, after chocolate turtle cheesecake). I couldn’t boil the kettle quick enough!

Unfortunately I think this tea might be a little old, it’s still pretty darn delicious, but I’m getting more malt and chocolate flavors than I am tangy citrus or creamy meringue… No, wait, as it cools there is a definite tart but sweet lemon flavor starting to punch through… It’s soft, but it’s there.

I would LOVE to purchase more of this so I can experience it in all its glory and I almost pulled the trigger on an order despite being on a buying hiatus until I got to the shipping costs… Woah! €63.60 in shipping for 11 oz of tea?? Holy cow!! I’d be paying $258 for the order… That’s almost $24 an ounce… Ok, back away from the computer, stop hyperventilating and delete that shopping cart immediately… wow, just wow… Sorry tea, I really like you, but not that much!

Amazing, beutiful and tasty. So diffrent than standard teas. Loved it from first drink :) when I worked in teashop.

I got a lot of peach, a fair amount of pear and a ton of floral – lotus flowers I guess? Reminds me of a more mellow lavender. I really, really like this tea. It’s light and deliciously sweet and would be a fantastic afternoon tea offering with lemon cookies or almond cookies. On to the wishlist this one goes – and not just for a cool test tube (though I am seriously weak when it comes to resisting good marketing). Thanks, Sil!

This is very smooth for a green tea. The peach is definitely present along with other fruity notes that I would not be able to identify on my own, but with the power of suggestion after reading the description I could see a melon flavor. I also get a nice buttery feel from the initial sips that I would normally associate with an unroasted oolong. This is really very nice. Thanks again, SIl! You’ve managed to send along some teas that I would not normally have ever wanted to try and they’ve all been enjoyable. :)

This is why you have to try everything. This is why I’m always excited to see things in a swap/care package that I would never choose for myself.
This is totally different from the other Assam I was drinking earlier. This is a beautiful tea – not at all what I would expect from an Assam. Still not in my preferred flavor profile for black but really interesting.
It’s a little fruity and and light. Some wine/grape notes while it’s really hot. As it cools those notes deepen and it becomes a little bitter – but in a good way – almost sweet bitter chocolate. Very interesting.
Thanks so much Sil for sending this my way.

Hope this is the right spot for this tea. This is a pretty nommy Assam blend. Steeped at just below boiling for 2 minutes. Tasted hot and it was drinkable but nothing stand out. Let cool for about 5 minutes, then that sweet spot hit for Assams and me. Malt notes become more present, liquor becomes sweeter. Nothing I need to pick up over other Assams in my cupboard that are more accessible to me, but super happy to have tried this. Thanks, SIl!

Oh, and Assams pair nicely with fruity candy, just in case you were looking for a food pairing. Starburst and Skittles and Assams. A good breakfast.