Zen Tea

Alright, cold brew, show me what you got. Ah, I see, Rockets are what you got. On the other side of the border, Rockets = Smarties, those powdery disks of candy.

This takes me back to when I was eleven, when my friend and I had a sleepover. He got this idea to crush up a bunch of Rockets and sprinkle it on top of our orange juice. It actually tasted pretty good! This is sort of similar, with the citrusy notes floating in the background, along with the the candy notes in the forefront.

I put a tbsp of this in my large libre tea glass. It has a rich, dark taste, just a little sweet. I think it would taste better with milk, in all honesty — it feels like it’s missing the creaminess.

It becomes a bit more approachable as it cools, but I do think that I’d prefer it doctored up nonetheless.

Well, we had some strawberries in the house, and I decided to make myself some cake to go with it, and thus I wanted a plainer tea to accompany, so as to add to the dessert. As it’s also nearly ten at night… I decided a plain rooibos would be perfect for this.

I will say that it’s filling its role well, but I think that’s just about all that I can say about it. It’s acting like black tea’s cousin — similar enough in base but with a different overall flavour. I can’t say that this is the best cuppa I could ever ask for, but it’s decent. Nothing really special to say about it. For some reason, I find I don’t like it quite as much as the bit I have from DAVIDsTEA, but it’s still not bad by any standard. It just… is.

Yay rooibos.

this is lovely. i’ve hardly had a moment to stop and i don’t imagine that will change much…. a light green nutty cup of ‘stop and take a breath’…. not a traditional green. definitely not a chinese green…. i taste marine air and have a sense of salt though not the taste. a savoury element, but when i try to pin it down it skitters away.

striking.

i foresee a long and happy friendship. =0)

Sipdown #2 for the day. I was browsing the herbals in Steepster’s “explore teas” function and found that half of the ones on the first few pages are “black-herbal blends,” “green-herbal blends,” “white-herbal blends,” or even “pu-erh-herbal blends”! Let me tell you something: if a black tea is blended with green tea it can still be called black tea (or green tea), but if an herbal mix is blended with black tea it can no longer be considered herbal. I made a cup of this in protest. My next tea search is probably going to be herbals, but that might wait for summer. Right now I’m happy with my oolongs and blacks.

Overleafed compared to what I’ve been doing, but apparently it’s closer to the suggested preparation. Oops! As a result this is stronger and even more delicious. When prepared like this the apple and ginger are stronger, whereas the last cup was mostly lemongrass. Sad to see this one go!

My cupboard is severely lacking in non-caffeinated teas. Or perhaps I should clarify that there are few decaf teas that I love. I just spent at least ten minutes puttering around the kitchen trying to find something I wanted to drink—I kept eying oolongs, because I seem to have a taste for them right now, but after a certain time of night even that seems like too much caffeine.

Finally I lighted on this one: thank you again to MissB for sending me a sample of this! It smells great as it brews, very fresh. Again I’m surprised by how gentle the ginger is!

This is slightly different than I remember, which probably means my tastebuds are still confused, but it’s still delicious and I’m glad I decided on a cup. I think the best way to describe this is clean: nothing takes over the cup, and it all blends into something refreshing and pleasant. If I focus I can definitely taste the lemongrass, ginger, and apple separately, but if I don’t focus it’s just nice and smooth. Will have to grab some of this whenever I do a Zen Tea order!

This sample comes to me from MissB! This is probably not something I would have chosen for myself, but the smell is lovely and the description is interesting.

The pieces of apple and ginger in this are enormous, so I actually had to rip them up by hand and shake the bag up before making a cup, ha! I think I got everything into the cup in the end. It smells very fresh as it brews, slightly citrusy and gingery but not overwhelming at all. There’s a gentle feeling to it that I wouldn’t think to associate with a ginger tea.

What a great herbal! It’s fresh more than anything. The ginger and fruit taste very clean and fresh, and it tastes…light green. Not like a green tea, but like the color. It manages to be smooth and spicy at once, and it reminds me of spring and summer. Delicious.

This one is a sad sipdown. I’ve had two steeps’ worth in one sitting now because it’s just so delicious, and I’ve decided the second steep is my favorite. On the first steep most of the heavy flavors (malt, tobacco, cocoa, etc.) take over, but on the second steep there’s some woodiness, honey, flowers… It’s wonderful. Once I get my tea count down to a manageable number I’ll definitely be getting more.

First steep of the day! I think I’ll keep this one going all day because I love it. With this first steep I’m amazed by how many dark, rich flavors are present without the tea turning bitter. There’s a dark chocolate note, coffee, some florals, and some maltiness. Usually most of those things should translate to bitter, but none of them get there. A delicious cup as always.

Another resteep! It’s still going strong after three, which I appreciate. This time around it smells bready. Still like dark bread, but definitely the good, fresh-baked stuff. It seems to get more savory each time I steep it, but that isn’t a bad thing. It’s also brighter this time with some almost-citrus flavors.

ETA: This steep has a sweet, sweet aftertaste like chocolate-dipped flowers. Yum!

Resteep. This one did much better. There’s a grainy note to this under the chocolate, almost like dark rye bread. It’s not quite malty but it’s in that area. I’ll definitely be steeping this a few more times to see what I get out of it.

When I saw that QueenOfTarts was selling this, I had to grab it. It’s one of my favorite straight blacks, holds up well to resteeps, and is still forgiving when I grossly mistreat it like when I first tried it.

This morning I need something like that. It’s cold, there’s at least 8 inches of snow on the ground, and five minutes after I woke up my mother informed me someone is coming to work on the heating.

Sadly I messed up the steep on this again. I guess I got overenthusiastic and thought the kettle was hotter than it was. Luckily the tea doesn’t suffer for it! I’m getting chocolate and caramel notes with a light floral aftertaste. Delicious!

This seems to have resteeped decently, hooray! The smell is more gentle this time around, floral and woody and a little chocolatey. I haven’t noticed much chocolate in the other Yunnans I’ve tried but this one seems to have lots of it.

The taste! Sweet, floral and chocolatey. It’s like someone took lilac flowers and dipped them in dark chocolate. I think most of the smoky notes escaped with my oversteep the first time around, leaving a truly amazing sweet tea. I may be getting this one when I have the chance.

T&C Box 18/18

Well darn, I oversteeped this. I got distracted and it got too dark. This claims to resteep, though, so I’ll keep the leaves and try again. If it doesn’t resteep well I may sneak another teaspoon out before I send the box off to Kat_Maria, there was plenty in the bag.

Even oversteeped this is good. I think I love Yunnan teas after this teabox! It’s a little bitter but there are intense chocolate notes mixing in with the woody, smoky flavor I’m starting to love. The fact that I’m giving this the highest rating possible despite my own errors says it all, I think.

T&C Box 12/18

So I went back to check because I suspected as much: this is my first earl grey in a week and a half. A year ago it was all I would touch! There have been so many other good teas in the meantime that I barely noticed.

This definitely smells creamy both dry and brewed. It’s one of the better tasting EGs I’ve had; the cream taste is there, but it doesn’t overpower the EG base and make it taste like something else entirely like some others do. It’s slightly sweet and very nice as a morning cup! I may have to grab some of this one too.

Thank you TeaFairy for this lovely tea surprise!

Oh how I delight in my tea friends!

TeaFairy sent me a Holiday gift with little notes and fabric flowers attached to brighten my day. What care in packaging! I feel special indeed.

In my delight…I took this tea especially to share with Eric at the tea house, wondering if he had seen any like it before.

He commented, “Why did they leave the oolong on the stem? Usually they pay someone to take it off.”

Ah, I thought…the oolong comes this way and when curled up is removed? So why did they leave it on the stem?

None of us could come up with a ‘tea’ logical answer for ‘why’ but agreed that the stems with the oolong tea did look rather stunning in the gaiwan (which was interesting).

As much as tea is TASTE, it is also EXPERIENCE. Taste, aroma, and visual input…contribute to one’s appreciation of tea.

I expected the taste to be stronger and earthier with the stems attached, but the tea was light and delicate. Gentle with a hint of floral and no bitter aftertaste.

The mouthfeel is light and thin. Cooling changes little in the thickness of this tea.

I’m reminded of sweet water with cuttings floating on top in early Spring. The edge of a field with low hanging trees and mountain water. New bulbs flowering nearby and scenting the air.

Thank you TeaFairy for such a lovely gift!

Yay! Another sample. I think this one is from Veronica, but I might be wrong. (ACK!) I need to be better at labelling my samples and swaps when they come in.

I added a little honey to this because my throat is still sore. Ugh. And I have a horribly long day at work as well. I worked late yesterday, then slept in by accident and rolled out of bed and have been working at home drinking tea and eating breakfast. I have to head in soon, though. I’d rather go grocery shopping and set up some stuff in the crock pot and do the paperwork from home…

This Earl Grey Cream is actually pretty good! Normally I’d add loads of milk and honey to an EG, but with this no sugar thing, I’m appreciating the flavours of the teas more. With just a tiny bit of honey, this is moderately bergamot-y and fairly creamy. Not as creamy as cream, but I can tell it’s there.

I don’t know that I’d stock it, as I prefer Paris for an alternate EG, but this is nice.

Go to tea lately. If you have never tried this one and you like EG’s you should really try it:)

This has stood the test of time. I am setting this one up to 100. No matter the day, no matter the mood this tea is always wonderful. Smooth, citrusy, slightly sweet. Perfection in a cup.

I haven’t had a cup of this in a very loooong time. I finished up my work bag this morning and will have to dig into my tin at home. I had been thinking about the comforting citrus of earl grey all weekend and brewed this up first thing this morning. I think this tea will forever be a favorite. It has never disappointed and it seems to be the perfect mix of “cream” and bergamont.

I got this from QueenOfTarts Tea Stash Sale. Thank you!

I have to keep thanking CelebriTEA for re-introducing me to Early Grey! I had been avoiding this type of tea altogether due to one bad cup. I drank this all afternoon. The bergamot in this is a bit stronger than the David’s Earl Grey Cream, and the cream seems to be hiding in the background a bit more. I should be getting some more David’s EGC in the mail in a few days and it will be interesting to compare side by side. This small amount from QueenOfTarts is not going to last very long!

I received this as a sample in the order I did just before the new year.

New tea! Sadly, I have NO IDEA what is in it. Looks like cloves, pepper, orange peel, cinnamon, ginger or licorice, maybe cacao nibs? IDK. I’ll try it anyways. Just to see.

There was 1 tbsp in the packet, which is about perfect for a 16 oz mug.

Dry I definitely smelled the chocolate. As it steeped, it smelled spicy. Drinking it with some homemade coconut creamer, it’s actually really tasty. Although… I’m uncertain as to the presence of licorice root. And there could probably be more chocolate.

I’d definitely pick up a sample pack in the future (pending ingredient knowledge) to play with a bit more. Maybe steeping it in almond milk would be good.