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I like chocolate………I like mint……..I like vanilla…..

Really, what is there not to like in this blend. Great for dessert! Nice and smooth, and all 3 flavours make an appearance.

mmmm…bedtime!

Thanks so much to Stacy for this lovely sample

These leaves are suprisingly really long and beautiful looking.

This black tea is great quality. Natural tasting black tea first with smooth notes of honey. In the aftertaste and at the end of the sip, I am picking up those lovely fruity peachy notes.

I am really enjoying this without any additions!

Thank you Stacy for this sample

Hmm, I have no idea what tamarind is. This tea was really good. I was eating some leftover cake with it, and the sweetness of the cake really made the flavour pop. It is nice and creamy, but I am really not sure how to describe it.

Good suggestion Alphakitty!

EDIT: Upon Stacy’s suggestion to add sugar, I added sugar to my resteep for 5 minutes. It turned out really good. Cuts the bitterness of the first steep without sugar. This does taste a little bit more familiar now, I have probably have had tamarind like Alphakitty suggested.

Summer is almost over :( I am almost done my tin of tropicalia and I wanted to compare it to 52teas Pina Colada Honeybush before I decide which one to stock up on. So here it goes:

Tropicalia
Colour: yellow
Smell: sweet, tropical
Price/50g: $6.75
Taste like a pina colada? Not really
Artifical flavour: Yes
Prominent flavour: Pineapple
Rating: 94

Pina Colada Honeybush
Colour: orange
Smell: pina colada
Price/50g: $8.99 +shipping
Taste like a pina colada? pretty close
Artifical flavour: Not that I know of
Prominent flavour: Coconut
Rating: 97

These teas are similar and I really like them both but I would have to say Pina Colada Honeybush wins. Even though it is a little more expensive, I like the sweetness that the honeybush brings out. It tastes more natural. And I like that it is more coconutty!

Has anyone else done a comparison on these 2 teas? What are your opinions?

I am using my new little gongfu pot and small glass cups for an extended gongfu tea experience.

2 rinses. Each steep was around 4 seconds but it probably ended up being longer than that because my little gongfu pot pours out quite slowly.
Mostly I am getting a woodsy citrus aroma from the dry and steeped leaf

Steepings 1-4: Woodsy, sweet buttery oolong with some citrus notes in the end of the sip and in the aftertaste

Steepings 5-7: Less buttery and citrus. Now, smooth and nutty qualities are coming through

Steepings 8-10: Fruity notes are starting to come out—citrus is still there, along with a little hint of berry (maybe the elderberry they mention on the website), and a hint of apple

11-14 Getting some muted buttery flavours, and some tanginess (where did that come from?)

15-18: I increased the steep time to 10seconds, now I am getting mellow peppery notes like the website mentioned

I preferred the first 9 steepings of this tea. However, as I mentioned before, my “4 second steepings” were maybe too long so perhaps I didn’t get as many steepings in as I should have.

This was a very interesting experience of brewing tea for me, this gongfu technique. I liked experiencing the tea in small quantities, tasting the subtle differences of a tea’s character as I went along.

Mmm this smells delicious.
Taste is slightly earthy from the mate. Chocolate-y but not fake or overly sweet.
The cinnamon gives in a nice smooth finish but adds a nice kick. There is maybe a tad bit too much cinnamon for my liking, but it is still really good.

I think my go-to chocolate mate is still Chocolate Rocket

My first Verdant order!!! So excited for this one!

I got a gong fu pot and small double walled tea cups today. So my first gong fu experience! The first 3 steeps at around 5 seconds each. Then 8, 10, and 15 seconds respectively.

My first notes are light sweet jasmine. The second steep is stonger in jasmine flavour. Later on, I am getting more of the citrus/woodsy, but none of the cinnamon notes that the website mentioned. The freshness of the silver needle also peeks out a little more.

Very good and an interesting tea. I like the different notes that the gong fu steeping brings out. I still want to steep it western style for interest sake.

I was in DAVIDsTEA today and bought myself the little gong fu teapot and some clear double walled tea cups for my birthday tomorrow. And the new mate teas.

I told the girl working that it was a birthday present for myself. I am not sure if she was just in a good mood or it was because I had spent so much already, but she gave me a free tea for my birthday tomorrow! What a great day! And the parking meter still had an hour on it so I didn’t have to pay for parking either.

So I decided to go with this as my free tea. I probably steeped it about 10 or 15 minutes, I wasn’t really watching. Sweet, coconutty, and caramel. Too bad this tea is so expensive. I have to increase the rating because it is sooo good!

EDIT: I also cold brewed some for today. It is awesome! Just as good cold as hot!

It’s my birthday tomorrow, but I am celebrating today on my day off instead! I am just going to go shopping and buy myself a bday present! haha. And enjoy tea!

I started out this morning with a pumpkin chai latte. Steamed milk and a little bit of brown sugar…..sigh….yummy. It is like fall in a cup. And it will be fall before I know it.

After a weekend of camping, eating junk food, and not drinking any good teas, I look forward to drinking good tea again! I thought mint would be a good choice to settle my junk food stomach.

This tea dry really reminds me of mouthwash. Steeped, it isn’t as much as toothpaste or mouthwash, but still a little bit. Otherwise, it is sweet, minty goodness. I really like mint as a flavour, so for me, this is a great bedtime tea.

Maybe try mixing with peppermint.