Various Artists

I found the best way to sip down on the teas that I have been avoiding for that reason or another – I take them to our cabin where my husband and I spend most of the year’s weekends when the weather allows.

The weather KIND OF allowed us this weekend to venture staying for one night, so I grabbed a few tins of tea that needs finishing off badly.

I managed to finish Della Terra’s Christmas Tradition ;) I am close to downing Adagio’s Chorange Pu Erh and Earl Grey Lavender. I also made a little dent in Yunomi’s Sencha of the Summer Sun and Della Terra’s Cinnamon Bun.

So, yeah, that’s how sipping down gets done – by giving myself very limited choices ;D

I met up with a friend at Steeps yesterday, asked her which tea she likes, and mentioned Sweet Touch, a rooibos with caramel and other stuff I didn’t catch, so I went with it. Since they’ve switched ownership, they took their site down so unfortunately, it’s difficult to enter it into the system.

The good news is I did get pops of caramel here and there throughout my cup. The bad news is the rooibos blend is a little on the strong side, plus it’s rather expensive even just ordering a plain tea there. It was nearly $5. You choose your own teacup and saucer to use and they bring out our tea in a small french press. She also offered to refill it with hot water so at least I got four smaller cups worth of tea. Can’t say much more about the tea itself since I was too distracted by catching up with my friend. She is a former colleague from grad school now working on another Master’s, and has planted this seed in my brain about applying to the university here, trying to transfer credit, and finish what I started in Victoria since I finished all of my coursework and my rough draft of the thesis. I mean, I was so close! Then I could get a MSc out of it, at least. Going back and forth on it. I’m just worried they wouldn’t transfer any credit because institutions can be dicks like that and I’d have to start over, and I shouldn’t have to, quite frankly.

I bought a hot beverage from a cafe for the first time in months, it seems. What did I get? A Pumpkin Pie chai latte from Serious Coffee, a local chain. Quite sweet, but that is to be expected. I pick up on cinnamon and nutmeg more than anything else. At least it has more depth than many of the other chai lattes you can find at cafes.

Time for the side-by-side comparison of the vanilla black teas I currently have in my possession.

Up for the challenge are Bayswater Vanilla Cream, Nina’s Paris Je t’aime, and Tea Desire Velvety Vanilla.

I thought the first two would be the most similar, but smelling the dry leaf back-to-back, I’ve discovered that Bayswater’s has a smoky undertone that I never noticed before. Must be the base. But both have a vanilla caramel vibe. Je t’aime is heavier on the caramel. Velvety Vanilla, on the other hand, is like a watered down vanilla.

Of the three, Je t’aime is the smoothest. I can even detect fruity undertones whereas the other two have none of that whatsoever. Je t’aime’s base is the smoothest. Velvety Vanilla is astringent, to be expected from the Ceylon and Darjeeling, and Vanilla Cream is heavier, smokier, and thicker.

It’s amazing how you view teas in a different light when you compare them to others. Now that I’ve compared them side-by-side, I can definitely see that Nina’s reigns supreme. It’s softer, like a caramel cloud, and the base doesn’t wreak havoc on the whole flavour profile. I’m not even sure which one would get the silver medal. From memory, Vanilla Cream takes cream better, probably due to its heavier base.

So, now that I’ve cleared up that, in my opinion, Je t’aime gets the gold medal here, I guess in this case, the price really does reflect quality. But of course, remember, that isn’t always the case due to premium pricing/price-quality signaling! Still not sure I’d repurchase any of the three, as I’m still looking for a vanilla tea that is heavier on the vanilla, and closer to vanilla bean.

And as a side note, thanks again to VariaTEA for the sample of Je t’aime! It was sipped down during this experiment, and I’m so happy I was able to try it.

1 tsp Lapsang Souchong (Silk Road)
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
hearty splash of homemade strawberry syrup

I’m not sure what to think of this. It’s not horrible, but it’s not exactly tasty either? The spice of the pepper flakes goes great with the smoky lapsang, and the strawberry both heightens the fire and dulls the burn (how is that even possible?!), but strawberry with smoke? It’s like bacon dipped in strawberry jam at breakfast, only not, because bacon dipped in jam is amazeballs, but lapsang with strawberry? not so much. The strawberry’s sweetness makes the smoke stick too much, which is weird because I mix lapsang and maple syrup allll the time and it doesn’t do that? Hmm.

I can easily finish this cup, but I’m not sure I’d do the combo again. red pepper + lapsang + maple? totally! strawberry’s just….odd..

Random slightly-over-steeped assam
Splash each of homemade hazelnut syrup, homemade english toffee syrup, and pure maple syrup
Hot goat’s milk
Hot goat’s milk foam

This is apparently what came out of a “What tea should I make right now?” game on Facebook. OMGsrsly suggested toffee/caramel and maple black/pu’erh. She decided to make herself a hazelnut/toffee/maple mix, and it sounded freaking amazing, so I decided to do the same in latte form! I’m on a bit of a goat’s milk kick right now because a friend has a goat who’s producing way too much milk to feed both her baby and my friend’s family, so she’s been giving me a bunch and OMG YUM!

Pretty darn tasty latte, made the assam strong enough that it wouldn’t be overpowered by the syrups and sweet-and-tangy goat’s milk, and it turned out perfect! Might need another one momentarily, or I might mess around with a different combo.

suggestions?

I have a tin that holds various amounts of various Earl Greys. It’s currently the only EG in my cupboard, so I’m finally drinking it. It’s actually nicer than I thought it would be. I was thinking it would have too much bergamot, but at least this cup is decently balanced between the base tea and citrus flavors.

I have a few reviews I’ve been trying to write, but Steepster isn’t cooperating. I’m writing them here just to get them out of my brain.

Tea #1
Queen Catherine from Harney and Sons

I’ve loved this tea for years, and I continue to love this tea. It’s robust and rich, perfect for a morning cup. The flavor is bittersweet chocolate and raisins with a good bit of malt. Sometimes I think I taste a bit of berry, especially as the tea cools. On the day I drank this I had an entire pot, and I regret nothing. 10/10 will drink again.

Tea #2
Mist Valley Estate Second Flush (TM98S) by Upton Tea Imports

I only bought a sample of this, and I’m thinking that’s a good thing. The dry leaf is beautiful with its silver tipped leaves. Once the water hits the leaves (212 degrees for 2- 3 minutes per package directions) there is an immediate sour note that is unpleasant. It reminds me of wet, rotten wood. There is a fruity sweet smell right at the end that gave me some hope that all was not lost. Unfortunately, the sip followed the smell as there was a sour, borderline rancid, note at the beginning with a bit of sweetness and generic fruity finish.

I’m going to play with the water temperature on this one to see if I can get a better result. Perhaps a lower temp and short steep will keep the rot away. Here’s hoping.

Tea #3
Cold brew – Random Steeping

I had four random green tea bags floating around in my stash, so I gathered them all together and cold brewed them. The result wasn’t mind blowing, but it was perfectly pleasant and perfect for these stupidly hot days. But more importantly, for two whole days I WAS COMPLETELY OUT OF GREEN TEA. Be excited for me y’all because, let me tell you, that was quite a feat! Since then I’ve had an order arrive from Samovar as well as one from Upton, but both were small, planned purchases (win!).

Ok, that’s all. Hopefully Steepster gets fixed. If I facepalm anymore I’m going to have a permanent headache.

A friend gave me some peach ginger iced tea bags as I was leaving her house the other day. I decided to brew them up this morning, and now I’m sitting here with a really nice glass of iced tea. I wish I knew the name of the tea company, but she just left for a two week vacation in Hawaii, so I doubt I find out the name any time soon. :)

The tea has a strong peach/ginger flavor, but the base tea is also really good. There is a woody note and also a bit of grain. Both flavors work well with the fruit and spice. The tea is fairly robust. I think it would be excellent at a barbecue where lots of foods with strong flavors were being served. This is an iced tea that could hold its own against anything that might come off the grill.

From the Here’s Hoping Traveling Tea Box #2

I’m guessing this is from Kimlovestea. If I’m wrong let me know!

One of the bags in the tea box is labeled Kim’s Homemade Chai. I immediately put it in the pile of teas I wanted to try because I love the idea of homemade chai. Adding all the spices you love, using a heavy hand with some and a light touch with other… just the thought of it makes me smile. I have promised myself that we if ever finish our kitchen renovation (ugh.) that I will spend some time in my kitchen perfecting my own homemade chai. Until then I’m happy to sample lots of different chais including Kim’s.

The first thing I like about this tea is that the base tea is strong and really tasty. It has a kick, and I’m glad I chose this for my morning tea. It’s not a cinnamon heavy chai. I do get some heat at the back of my throat making me think there is ginger in the mix. Nice. I added some honey and milk to my cup, and now I’m just enjoying. It’s a robust, sweet, spicy chai that is hitting all the right notes this morning.

Well done Kim!!!

A friend gave me a chai to sample, but I have no idea what company it’s from. It is really sweet with a lot of cinnamon and anise. This normally isn’t my thing, but in this chai it works. With the additional spices and a nice Assam base it is a nice wintery tea. Not something I’d buy for myself, but I’ve enjoyed trying this one.

Part 3

For this trial, I used the following parameters:
5Grams of tea + 8oz of water X 1min/2min/5min

Teavana: This one started out as light cocoa water, building with each steep & by the 3 steep had a nice sweet flavor with a slightly thick mouth.

Teavivre: Mildly malty, sweet, & smooth, but kind of plain.

Mandala: A more masculine cup, bolder, but with a somewhat bitter edge. Definitely the maltiest, but there is a wierd taste that I can’t describe to this tea, which I don’t always care for.

Part 2

I ran the 1 Pearl in the Jello Shot glasses test again, this time giving them each 4 minutes. Without a doubt, the 4 minute steeps were even nicer, on all counts.

Then I moved on to the 4 Pearl test, using 8oz of water & a 4 minute steep with each on.
I didn’t include the Red Dragon Pearl in this test. I only have enough of that for 1 decent cup, so I’ll save it for now. All in all, the results of the 4 pearl test was that Teavana’s pearls gave the sweetest yield, & Mandala’s were the boldest.

BTW, I didn’t steep & drink them all at the same time for this round, but rather, I had a cup of one, then another, then the final one.

And onward through the fog… :)

Welcome to Part 1 of the Black Pearl Sipoff! I’ve been planning to do this for awhile, so today is the day. I made a special page for it, because I’ve already reviewed each of these teas on their own plenty of times, & because I wanted to be able to post my results on them together, and so that anyone who wants to join the fun can post their results here too, whether the teas are black pearls, green pearls, or whatever. So have fun!

So, for today’s edition, I’m using 4 teas:
- Black Dragon Pearl – Teavana
- Fenqing Dragon Pearl Black – Teavivre
- Red Dragon Pearl – thepuritea (no longer available)
- Black Pearl – Mandala (not currently available)
I was also gonna include mandala’s flowering black tea cones, just for fun, but I forgot & mailed the last of them off to Sil.

Appearance: Although they all looked basically the same, there were a few minor differences in size. It took roughly 5 pearls of each type to equal 5 Grams, with the exception of Teavana’s, which took 7 pearls. The are all black/charcoal gray, with some gold tips, with Mandala’s being the shiniest & most golden, & Teavivre’s having the most ‘matte’ finish.
Dry Aroma:
Teavana – hints of chocolate.
Teavivre – gently malty
I think thepuritea’s also had a chocolate & fruit aroma when I first bought it, but to be fair, there are only a few pearls left in the package, so I didn’t really smell much.
Mandala – Spicy is the only word I can think of

The Bloom test – The photo I used for this page is from the bloom test. I lined up 4 small glass cups, which I like to call ‘jello shot cups’, put one pearl in each cup, & added 1.5oz of hot water. The teas are, from bottom to top: Teavana, Teavivre, the puritea, & Mandala.

Each tea was steeped for 3 minutes, & they all created a dark amber brew, except Teavivre’s is slightly darker, & Mandala’s is more red & the darkest. You might also notice from the pic (which I also posted on my facebook page, if you want to see a bigger version of it, along with a few other pics) that all of the leaves had a darker color, except Mandala’s, which opened bigger on the first steep than the others, & had a lighter brown color.
Flavorwise:
Teavana – chocolate & malt
Teavivre – Malt & something deeper
thepuritea – malty, & a nutty buttery quality & fruit.
Mandala – Malty & bolder, with a more masculine quality, & a slightly bitter edge.
I gave them a 2nd steeping at 5 minutes.
Teavana had the lightest color, then thepuritea, then teavivre, then mandala.
Thepuritea had the richest taste, mandala the boldest.

To be continued…

I’ve been MIA for a long time, and to be honest I don’t know whether that’s (quite) over. I’ve had a lot on in the last year, I guess. I’ve moved into my own flat (and I’m very much enjoying living with absolutely no-one, let me tell you), but getting to that point was a 9-month thriller with more ups and downs than the average rollercoaster. I came out of it feeling pretty rough. Then there’s my job, which I dislike intensely, but still haven’t managed to change. All that kind of took a backseat while I was moving, because I felt like I had enough on right at that moment. Maybe next year I’ll be able to focus on improving things there. Other, mostly random, shit has happened along the way. I’m not going to bore you with it.

What it all adds up to is that I haven’t even opened my tea cupboard since I took ownership of my flat back in…May? I put the tea in there, closed the door, and haven’t even looked at it again since. For a while, I didn’t even feel the loss. I’ve still been drinking tea, but mostly just bagged black (Twinings English Breakfast or Everyday) that I keep in a different cupboard (because it shouldn’t be in with the proper stuff, am I right?) I’ve also been drinking those few that I have left at work, although generally I’ve stuck to one until it’s gone (since the beginning of the year, I think I’ve only drank Pekoe Orange Blossom Oolong, Pekoe Japanese Cherry, Bluebird Rhubarb and Custard, and a few Teavivre samples?) It got to the point where I would actually feel anxious about finishing a tin or bag, because then I’d have to find something else to drink, and that’s a very, very odd thing to feel anxious about. Particularly when you love tea like I do. I think it’s somehow all tied up with how I feel about work, like maybe I’m projecting my anxiety about/dislike of my job, onto the tea. Don’t know. Don’t really want to know.

Today was one of those days, except that, for the first time in ages, it didn’t feel so bad. I picked out a tea with no great enthusiasm, but by the end of the cup I was feeling enthusiastic again. Maybe because I liked it when I didn’t expect to? But it’s not like that’s never happened before. Then I came back on here, and I read some of your notes, and in some ways it felt like emerging from a dense fog.

I think I’m almost back.

I think I might look in the tea cupboard this evening. I might even actually buy some tea this weekend.

This is fucking fantastic.

Unless it’s just an illusion. Then it’s not.

This random steeping is alternatively known as “Free Tea #3” from Liquid Proust. It’s a Japanese green from 2015, with added flavouring (described as oh so mild). The first thing that struck me about it is how finely ground it seems to be – almost like powder. I’ve only had one tea like this previously that I can recall. The recommendation was for 2 minutes at 170 degrees, so that’s what I went with. Dry, the leaf isn’t giving much away. It smells grassy, vegetal, with maybe a hint of “orange” fruitiness. Mango? I could be imagining that, though.

To taste, I’m getting a mildly vegetal green tea (a LOT milder than I expected), very smooth, with a pleasant grassy flavour. It’s very fresh and spring-like. In terms of flavour, I’m sticking with “orange” or “tropical” fruit. It’s not quite peppery enough for mango, I don’t think, but not sharp or citrussy enough to be orange. It could be peach, or apricot…along those lines, anyway.

Despite not knowing exactly what I’m drinking, I’m enjoying this one. It’d be perfect for warmer weather, but it’s certainly cheering me up on this cold December day.

Today’s matcha was a random Chinese (?) matcha sample from my swap with Roswell Strange. It came in a single-serving pink and green sachet. I prepared it my usual way – whisked into hot water as a shot. I wasn’t hugely keen – it’s quite bitter, yet very “thin” tasting, and it didn’t seem to want to combine very well despite extensive whisking. Possibly it would have been better as a latte, but it’s too late now!

At the moment I’m drinking a sample from my swap with Roswell Strange, which she described as a “mystery pu’erh”. It’s a tuo cha, with primarily green-black compressed leaves, and a couple of orangey patches that might be orange peel? I’m really not sure about that, though. It got a rinse in boiling water, and then an initial steep of one minute. There’s not much of a scent, other than a grassiness reminiscent of green tea, and the liquor remains fairly pale –a kind of golden-yellow. Intriguing.

To taste, this one is a little dank, and just a touch vegetal. It honestly tastes just like a green tea to me – I’d not have identified it as a pu’erh if it hadn’t been presented to me as such (and if it wasn’t a tuo cha). It’s smooth for the most part, although there’s the tiniest bite of astringency right at the end of the sip. There’s also a slightly “dusty” flavour, and a touch of lingering dryness. I can’t say that I either love it or hate it – it’s just an in-between kind of tea to me. I’m probably going to resteep once or twice, and then call it a day.

Off topic, but I bought a Dolce Gusto machine yesterday, primarily for my parents who drink a lot of coffee. The machine they were using is just abysmal, it drips, it takes ages to warm up, it makes frankly crap coffee when it finally gets its ass in gear. We have a pod machine at work, and I’ve seen the standard of coffee that it produces, so I was pretty sure this was the right thing for them.

I think I was right, given that they spent most of this morning practically dancing around it. Decent coffee, at last! It was a real revelation, I think. I’ll never be a coffee person, and my parents will never be tea people. That’s just one of our differences. It makes me happy that I’ve made them happy, though. Now they can enjoy their coffee as much as I enjoy my tea, and that’s a great feeling. I’m being over sentimental, I know, but I had to share :)

So, that’s the last of my backlog caught up. I’ve had a really hard week at work, with our teamleader signed off with stress for the foreseeable future. There are no plans to replace her for the time being, meaning that all of the stuff that caused the problem in the first place now falls to me and two of my colleagues. Great.

On a different note, I’m thinking of participating in Camp NaNoWriMo next month. It might be a little crazy considering what’s happening at work at the moment, but it’s something I’ve fancied doing for a while now, and I think I should just get on and take the plunge. Otherwise I’ll procrastinate for ever, probably.

Anyway, I am here, even if my appearances are a bit sporadic, and I’m still drinking tea. Lots of it, as it happens, because it’s one of the few things keeping me sane at the moment.

Hopefully things will get back on a more even keel before too long.

Laoshan Black /Verdant & Herbal Infusions Orange Cream Lapacho

I heard LB was great wit HI’s Cacao but I was out so I thought I’d try lapacho. The TL:DR is that it SMELT amazing but tasted barky. I just don’t like lapacho I guess. If you did, you might like this mix?

So DAVIDsTEA just released a line up of tea infused mints for the summer;

Super Ginger
Just Peachy
Maracuja Mango
Peppermint Amour

At this point, I’ve tried all of them but the Super Ginger one and tbh I’m likely not going to try that one because I hate ginger so the idea of a mint using our most gingery tasting tea just doesn’t appeal to me. I wanted to write a blurb on the ones I HAVE tried though, except I don’t want to take the time to do it under each tea’s page with the link to the mints on the DT website and such like I normally do for the tea infused chocolate bars. That’s just time consuming, and I really don’t have much to say for each mint anyway, so I’m just gonna stick the reviews here.

Peppermint Amour
Undoubtedly the best of the three I did try. The flavour pairing is an obvious one; certainly nothing fun/creative – but it’s good. Essentially just a classic peppermint flavoured mint. Though, it is pretty strong!

Maracuja Mango
My second favourite; the mango is nice and I don’t find that this mint tastes too sweet or anything like that. I also like that you can kind of taste the “tea” part of this one. It’s the only one of the four that actually has real tea leaf in it as well, since the others are herbals/rooibos. If you like the taste of the tea itself, you’ll likely enjoy this one too.

Just Peachy
My least favourite. It’s not so much that I thought it tasted bad; the peach note was actually pretty nice. It’s just that despite being peachy I thought it tasted completely unlike the tea it’s actually based upon. Which was weird.

Also, the mints themselves are kind of nice; if you bite into them they do have a bit of a chalky mouthfeel but if you suck on them they dissolve smoothly and at a good pace without that chalkiness.

Friendly reminder that I do not numerically rate DAVIDsTEA blends as I’m currently employed there and it would be an obvious conflict of interest. Any blends you see with numerical ratings were rated prior to my employment there. These reviews are a reflection of my personal thoughts regarding the teas, and not the company’s.

Tasting Note for Tutti Frutti’s Lemonade Ice Tea Sorbet…

Interestingly, this flavour isn’t listed on Tutti Frutti’s website – but I definitely had it in stores a few weeks back for my sister’s birthday. Paired it with marachino cherries and kiwi boba. It was sweet and tart, and very refreshing. The flavour of the sorbet itself was on point, for sure. Would totally eat it again…