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After having just alright teas for a lot of the day, I decided I wanted to have something that I loved. This is something that I have loved since I first joined steepster and received my very first package from Dexter3657. The sample she sent me was gone in a day because it was so delectably sweet and the flavor was spot on carrot cake (WITH cream cheese icing!). I have thought about this tea since then and even referred to it as my FAVORITE tea (although that has changed) so of course I stocked up on BF. I bought 4 oz of this!

I was so excited to dive into the bag tonight. Alas, this cup is quite different from the tea I remembered :(. The sweetness is toned down and the cream cheese icing is no where to be found. This is more like a carrot muffin. Perhaps I hyped it up too much in my mind. Perhaps this is simply underleafed. Perhaps I did not steep it long enough. Perhaps my taste buds are just off today. Perhaps my tastes have just changed. I am not sure what went wrong but I am a little disappointed. At least I have 4 oz more to figure out what the issue is.

In order to choose a tea for the night, I decided it would be fun to shove my hand in my sample box and just pick one out. This is the outcome of that draw and I am actually really enjoying it. It actually tastes a lot like DAVIDs Red Velvet Cake (I wonder why?! :P) but this is caffeine-free.I actually have a lot of the DAVIDs blend but I think in the future I would actually prefer to stock up on this as I don’t have nearly as many caffeine free options as I have caffeinated choices. I mean if two teas taste the same, who needs both? And this I can drink all day, every day to my heart’s content.

Once I was having an American Tea Room tea, I decided to make myself a cup of the one tea from them everyone seems to love. I was so excited! Alas, once again it feel as though I am in the minority because I felt this tea was just alright. It probably isn’t something I would reach for all that often but it is a nice enough cup to have now and again.

Tastewise, I do have to give props to ATR because this is a very bready tea. The brioche flavor was definitely captured. However, I was expecting a bit more sweetness and was a little sad when I didn’t get it. That was actually my stupidity though because realistically a bread is not typically over the top sweet. Perhaps now that I am more aware of what to expect, I will enjoy the cup more next time? I figure I drank this hoping for something sweet and was sad when I didn’t get that so next time I can reach for this when I am more in the mood for a bready tea.

So I think I am definitely in the minority when it comes to my dislike for Herbal Infusions Cacao tea. The weird thing is, when I first tried that tea, even I loved it and then it went the way of Forever Nuts and for some reason even the smell is now off-putting. So I definitely was not excited when I opened this up to find what looked exactly like Cacao tea. Since I was packaging some up for Cavocorax anyways, I thought I might as well try it and if I didn’t like it, I would just send her the rest.

I brewed myself a cup and for me, this is worse than cacao tea because it has the smell and predominately the taste of cacao but then I am picking up rooibos in the background. I won’t rate this because honestly it’s my issue with the tea that caused me to dump the cup and not actually a reflection of the tea but this is also my first and last cup and the rest is off to Cavo where hopefully it will be enjoyed.

Every week, actually multiple times a week, my roommate goes to a Body Pump class. For those of you who don’t know what that is, it is an hour straight of weight lifting to music. It sounds simple enough but that shit is hard work. It is also a good workout so I try to go with her at least once a week and that once a week is Thursday nights. Unfortunately, there was no body pump during my long vacation and last week I was sick and did not think lifting a weight above my head multiple times was a good idea (despite my roommate trying to convince me exercise makes you feel better :P) so it has been about a month since I had a good workout. That meant today’s class was pure torture. Every muscle aches and walking is not a particularly easy feat right now. But I got through the class and so when I came home I felt pretty proud of myself. So when I went to make a cup of tea, I asked myself what would be fitting. And then I thought this tea because it is a “man tea” and weightlifting is pretty manly and it just seemed right (we will not question this logic).

So I made myself a cup. This is also the last of the bestseller sampler pack that I have to try so that meant another tiny accomplishment :). Anyways, tastewise I am getting a lot of the black tea base that is so unique and very prominent in all of Frank’s blends. It is a base that is smooth and yet also thick. Alas, it always seems to be the main flavor, covering up all the tasty treats I was promised. For instance, in this cup I taste the base and a maple sweetness but there is not a bacon smokiness or really much bacon flavor at all. I notice it slightly in the aftertaste as I detect a hint of salt. However, bacon is such a strong flavor in general (I mean seriously, you add bacon to anything and you get flavor town), I am really disappointed it is not more prominent. Don’t get me wrong, this isn’t a bad cup, but once again, as I have with many of Frank’s blacks, I am let down and find myself searching for the flavors.

Sipdown!! (213? I think)

So I have been on a bit of a genmaicha kick recently if you have not noticed from my constant talk about it (Sorry steepster for my obsessive blabbering :S). This is one of many and it came by way of a swap package from JennyFur. I recall having this once before and not being particularly impressed but I usually try to have at least two cups to ensure the first was not simply lacking due to human error.

Reading my tasting note on this one, I can’t help but feel my initial impressions were spot on. This tastes like a genmaicha, a decent one at that, but not much else. If you are going to advertise a flavor, I want to be able to taste it and I am getting none of that here. Though I still enjoy the cup for the tasty genmaicha that it is, I would not order this, especially when there are more easily accessible genmaichas around. All in all, this is good but nothing special. The last tsp of this is going out to Roswell Strange to see if she has better luck finding the cocoa. However, I am very happy I got to try this if for nothing else than my curiosity might have gotten the better of me and I may have purchased a 2oz package if it became available and then have been disappointed. So thank you JennyFur for the opportunity to try this without having to commit to such a large amount. That really is one of the many beautiful things about swaps!

Both OMGsrsly and Courtney sent me samples of this tea. As far as chai goes, it is not that bad. I don’t particularly taste the coconut but I think it appears in the cup by mellowing out the spices. However, more and more I realize I am not a huge chai fan so this blend is not particularly for me. Nonetheless, it is a nice cup of tea and it goes nicely with a splash of milk (as so many chais do). This particular cup came from my swap with OMGsrsly but thank you both for giving me a chance to try something new :)

I am not one for straight teas usually but Courtney was generous to send me some in a swap and so I decided to give it a try. Plus, sometimes I am surprised by how much I enjoy a straight black (I am looking at you Laoshan Black) and if anyone can make a tasty tea, it is Stacy.

Tbh, it is not something I would reach for often but this cup is pleasant enough. At first sip, it tasted almost generic to me but as I paid a bit more attention, I detected some nice chocolate notes and realized how smooth this is. When I let it sit on my tongue, there is a richness to it that is sweet and nice. It isn’t necessarily for me but I can appreciate this is a nice cup for those who are into straight blacks. For that reason, I am grateful to have tried it. It is always nice to switch it up sometimes and incorporate straights to monitor how my tastes have changed overtime. So thank you Courtney for surprising me with some of this tea!

ETA: Steepster is doing the thing where it decides to just not update my dashboard. Darn you steepster. Get it together!

This is a tea that I have sent to others but never actually tried myself. Mostly because I didn’t really want it in the first place but rather it was simply cheaper for me to order the Holiday box than the other three teas individually. This just came as a bonus (and I am not a huge fan of the chocolate orange combination at the best of times so I wasn’t that excited). Then when I tried and hated all the other teas in that order, I sort of pushed off drinking this one. However, I have had it for a couple months and figured I should try it sooner or later as it might surprise me.

Tbh, I was surprised because I actually liked it the best out of all the ones in the holiday box. And by that, I mean I might be able to finish the box but the rest is being sent away. That means I am either going to send it in the swap to Roswell Strange or add it to the swap I am planning with Cavocorax if either of you want it.

Tastewise, there is orange and there is chocolate but there is also a bit of dustiness that I am not enjoying, probably from the cocoa powder. It isn’t horrible really, it is just not for me. Being a Teavana tea and a flavor I am not really a huge fan of, it was doomed from the start.

ETA: As I continue to sip, I don’t really realize the dusty quality so that may have been a fluke. Instead I am getting strong orange at the start of my sip that slowly transitions to chocolate with a slight chili kick. Still not for me but not as bad as the initial sip. Now I am off to get dressed and go to the gym.

I have never been one for iced tea but then again until August I wasn’t really a fan of regular tea either. Now I have over 200 varieties and counting and really can’t get enough of the stuff. Joining steepster really helped broaden my tea horizons and I discovered cold brewing and realized just how easy it is. Thus I decided to give cold tea a second chance. I learned I enjoy that too (though not nearly as much as hot tea) and so I picked up a bunch of SBT.

I am not loving the name of this one (mostly because I don’t think I could honestly tell someone I was drinking a tea called Monkey Fart and not be at least a little embarrassed) but I am enjoying the taste. I coldbrewed this for about 15 hours and the result is definitely an interesting cup. The start of the sip is a smooth tasting black tea but as the sip ends, before you even realize, there is an explosion of banana flavor. The aftertaste is all banana and really quite good. So far I am very happy with SBT and can definitely see myself stocking up on these for the summer months. This one especially my brother would love as he is a big iced tea lover, a HUGE banana fan (like he will eat/drink ANYTHING banana), and I think the name Monkey Fart is just far more amusing to a guy. All in all, a nice, refreshing cup :)