Short Sorceress select Send Message

I’ve had a pretty good run with the Della Terra teas that I ordered several weeks ago so I was really excited to finally get around to this one. I love peach and rose so I was a little surprised when my first cup of this left me feeling kind of meh. It smelled great in the package and while steeping, but the peach didn’t really shine as much as it should and it had a rather odd flavor to it I just can’t place.

I thought I would try it again with a few changes and ended up falling asleep while my tea was still steeping. I was worried this morning that I’d have a foul tasting mess on my hands (and I would have with many of the other teas I own), but actually it was quite the opposite. What I had was amazing and possibly my new favorite peach tea. It’s also good to know that this tea is pretty much impossible to over steep.

So on to a third try, I did a cold steep of this for most of the day and I think this is where the tea truly shines. It has a sweetness on its own that is just amazing. Even though I’ve told myself I’m not buying any more tea this month if Della Terra has another good sale I’ll have to pick a bunch of this up, I know that I’ll be drinking this cold all summer long.

I’ve always found this tea to be rather bland and boring. I’m not really a fan of Bigelow teas in general, I find most of them to be on the weak side. It will do in a pinch when I’m traveling, I find it at most of the hotels I stay at, but I generally double up on the bags to get enough flavor for it to be drinkable.

I’ve been curious about this tea for a while now for a number of reasons. The ratings are so high and I really wondered if it was as good as everyone said. The combination just seemed like it wouldn’t work, and the pearl pieces seemed odd, but sometimes things just all come together and are amazing. This is one of those times.

This is my first Pu-erh and I almost put off trying it because it is a blend and I wanted to taste Pu-erh in its natural state first. I’m glad I didn’t wait, this was really good. In fact, I think that if I had just started out with a plain Pu-erh I wouldn’t have liked it and may even have given up on it. The Strawberry and Mango really add a wonderful flavor to this and help with the wet moss smell. I really don’t like the way this tea smells at all, but after a few cups it’s growing on me. I also find that I enjoy the second steep more than the first because it mellows out a bit. I like that the pearls are for more than just show, they add a subtle sweetness that brings out the fruit flavors.

I don’t think this is a tea I could enjoy drinking every day, I think it will become another fall tea for me like Lapsang Souchong. Something about the smokey, earthy flavor just screams fall to me.

Just a warning this tea is dangerous, especially if you like to bake it makes you crave things you probably don’t need to eat. I could tell what a treat this would be when I opened up the package, the smell was just yum. It immediately reminded me of blueberry crumb cake once I started drinking it and now I’ve got a terrible craving to make one. It doesn’t have an overwhelming blueberry taste, I think the cake aspect stands out the most, with a hint of maple. It is slightly sweetened and you can see the sugar crystals in the package. The cinnamon doesn’t stand out, it’s more of a background note, which I really like. I don’t think this would have tasted nearly as good if it were spicy.

I wish I would have started my day off with this, it would have been perfect with the pancakes I made for breakfast. It didn’t go as well with the blueberry chicken salad I made for lunch.

Even though I’m not a huge fan of dessert teas I could see this becoming a Saturday morning staple when I make pancakes for the family.

This was a Christmas gift from my neighbor this year and I was impressed that she remembered that I love floral teas. I hadn’t heard of Teavana before, but then again, I generally avoid the mall like the plague.

I really wanted to like this, in theory I should have loved it, it’s a floral white tea which is my favorite. I’m really glad I didn’t open this immediately to smell it, because my husband says the look on my face was priceless. This smells like potpourri and you completely lose the taste of anything but the orchid.

I really tried with this one. I played with temperature, time, and sweeteners, but I just couldn’t make this one work for me. My next step is blending it with something else, so if any one has any suggestions I’d love to hear them. Otherwise, I have a feeling that I’ll be making sachets filled with this to put in my hope chest, at least it will make the blankets smell good.