Culinary Teas
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This is truly incredible! :)
If you are looking for a pear flavored tea – this is IT!!!!
This is highly scented and highly flavored! I don’t think it would get any more PEAR than this!
LOVING this!!!!
Hi there TeaEqualBliss! Long time no see!!! I see we tasted the same tea – and had quite the opposite opinions. That’s Ok… I saw somewhere else that someone hated one of my favorite Ceylon teas :-) Nice to see you!
Hiya! I totally see what you mean about the Jolly Rancher. At the time of logging this I was looking for a HIGHLY flavored pear so I was jazzed! LOL
Had two infusions/cups today to start my day…
http://sororiteasisters.com/2010/12/22/assam-borengajuli-fbop-from-culinary-teas/
FULL REVIEW!
When I first smelled the dry leaves I was thinking it smelled like those Raisins in the lil red boxes…just a tad tho.
Post infusion it smells like bakey black tea.
The taste is a BOLD black tea taste a little sweet at first but then turns a bit jammy. This is a good strong tea, indeed! I like it!
Wow! Thanks to TEAEQUALSBLISS for this generous sample! I had tried two darjeelings in the past and didn’t care for them much, but I didn’t know I was supposed to cut the steeping time for darjeelings. We often do side-by-side teas in the afternoon when we have new kinds to try, just for the fun of comparing all the aspects of the teas. Our choices today were this one and Supreme Breakfast by Harney and Sons. My first impression was…holy cow! This smells VEGETAL! It reminded me of my beloved Ruby #18, also known as Sun Moon Lake. The taste….quite good. Less astringent than my early attempts at darjeeling when I oversteeped. Also, it is very light, but not without flavor like a decaffeinated tea, just light and refreshing. I hadn’t read the description yet, but I served Raspberry Pim’s with this tea and they went together well. So they were right on with their serving suggestion! :) The astringency always kept me from making it through a whole cup of darjeeling before, but I had two cups of this one, even though I knew we had another pot of tea to try.
Preparation
This is a good strong Breakfast tea. It’s not superb but I liked it well enough. As Randy Jackson might say, “It was just a’ight”. I like this type of tea in general, but nothing here “popped” specially for me and nothing said “You must buy me again.”
On the other hand, I would be perfectly proud to serve this to anyone at all. I just would not be likely to think of it instantly if asked to select my favorite English Breakfast brew. But I cannot think of any other I would name first. I guess I have not found my English Breakfast to die for; my English Breakfast that I would be devastated if it were not at my finger-tips; the English Breakfast I would call a romantic fervor.
Preparation
Doulton’s Shakespeare: A Tasting Note in 5 Acts
Act III scene 7
Four days will quickly steep themselves in nights;
Four nights will quickly dream away the time;
And then the moon, like to a silver bow
New bent in heaven, shall behold the night
Of our solemnities.
A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Act I scene 1
My only experience with mulberries is with the nursery rhyme which as I prepped this tea I kept singing to myself: “Here we go ’round the mulberry bush, the mulberry bush, the mulberry bush. Here we go ’round the mulberry bush…mumble, mumble, er…mumble.” Yeah, I couldn’t recall the last part of the song. Internet to the rescue! Unfortunately the first one I pulled up had the more original “on a cold and frosty morning” and I became confused and questioned my entire childhood until I found the rhyme I’d been taught. I grew up with the “on such an early morning.” So yeah, I spent a long amount of time youtubing the rhyme and just checking out info on mulberries (wait, they’re not bushes — they’re trees? Childhood called into question all over again). All this is to say that I haven’t the foggiest clue as to what a mulberry tastes like.
Both the dry leaves and steeped tea have a fruity smell that sort of overpowers the tea. I’m guessing Ceylon. The taste reminds me of a “Xtreme Berry”-type gum made by Extra that I had tried years ago and hadn’t particularly cared for. It’s a pleasant tea, but nothing that I ever plan on purchasing. Sorry that I can’t really describe it more, but it’s just a fruity tea that leans a little toward the sweet side vs. the tart side of things.
All that said, I’m going to call this tea my Hippolyta from A Midsummer Night’s Dream. A character that says some nice things in the first act and then disappears for the most part until Act 5. Then she disagrees with her husband and sets him straight (which is a more agressive act than this tea would be capable of). A pretty much unremarkable part for an unremarkable tea. NE
Preparation
Doulton’s Shakespeare: A Tasting Note in 5 Acts
Act III scene 6
All the world’s a stage,
And all the men and women merely players:
They have their exits and their entrances;
And one man in his time plays many parts,
His acts being seven ages.
As You Like It, Act II scene 7
Smelling the dried leaves I really thought that this was going to be a negative note. It smelled smokey, but in that tar-like way. Nose wrinklege occurred. After it steeped it lost a lot of the smoke smell and smelled more like an Assam with wisps of smoke. Yowsa — first sip is all Assamalamadingdong! The whole first cup is an Assamarama.
Oh, then the second steep magic! The Assam starts its morph into sweet berryness and the lapsang joins it in a bold sweet cup. Oh, it’s yummy. I did a third steep — it was weakening, but I did need a cup for my commute. So the fourth steep I added a pinch of fresh leaves. Oh yes — yummy.
From the smell of the dry leaves and through the first cup I thought that this would be my King Lear. But the following steeps were so very sweet that I couldn’t go the tragic route without pushing it. Therefore, this tea became my As You Like It. A somewhat serious premise handled with brilliant wit and humor. And crossdressing. These are both a great tea and play. Just be sure you’re ready for the uber-oomph of the Assam. I know that this tea is at least an 85, but the rating most likely will go up after I’ve had it a few more times. TG
Preparation
Doulton’s Shakespeare: A Tasting Note in 5 Acts
Act II scene 7
If music be the food of love, play on,
Give me excess of it; that surfeiting,
The appetite may sicken, and so die.
Twelfth Night, Act I scene 1
Last night I was going through my Shakespeare box trying to decide what I’d have this morning. I settled on the Vinegar Black and then I had my choice narrowed down to two Culinary Teas. As I looked back and forth between the two a realization dawned on me: I had been seeing the name of this tea as “Grand Mariner” which I felt fit into the British theme of this box quite well. Oh. It’s actually “Grand Marnier” like the liqueur. ::facepalm:: I laughed and decided that this would follow the Vinegar — sort of a sweet and sour experience.
I have never had Grand Marnier on its own, and as far as I know I haven’t had it as part of a meal or mixed drink. So I am unable to judge whether or not this lives up to its namesake. When I opened the packet it was like an orange creamsicle. Yum. The cup maintains that orange creamsicle smell but gains the fragrance of Ceylon. The taste is more Ceylon, but the aroma is all about the creamsicle. I’d imagine that this would be crazy-good with cream or sugar. This also would be perfect with the right sort of dessert. I may have to try this iced. If this is great iced, then this may be added to the reorder list from Culinary Teas.
I dub this tea the play Twelfth Night. Partially since it kicks off with a shipwreck (a tip of the hat to my misreading of the tea’s name), and also because Twelfth Night (The Feast of Epiphany) kicks off the New Orleans’ Mardi Gras season and this tea would fit right into all the revelry — from the parties on Bourbon to the elaborate balls. This tea is a light fun sort of dessert tea and I’m having a good time with it. NE
Preparation
He hee – that reminds me of when we rented the Hitchcock film Marnie, and I misread the title as Marine. I was looking for themes of underwater, fish, boats – nada – Finally I said to my husband when it was done, “But why was the title Marine?” and of course he burst out laughing and I’ve never lived it down ;)
LOL! Thanks for sharing — I shall think of both of our stories every time that I make this tea and I’ll smile. :D
This smelled so strong in the pouch, I was afraid I was going to have to push the slider clear down to Mr. Yuk. Don’t have to go that far, but I’m not gettin’ much o’nothin’ … Maybe a little piney or cedary hint in the background, which would be more appropriate if I were in the porch swing of an Ozarks cabin on this soggy day, instead of stuck at a desk. Bottom line—diluted Mr. Clean.
Preparation
Doulton’s Shakespeare: A Tasting Note in 5 Acts
Act II scene 2
O, no! the apprehension of the good
Gives but the greater feeling to the worse:
Fell sorrow’s tooth doth never rankle more,
Than when it bites, but lanceth not the sore.
Richard II, Act I scene 3
Aha! Finally, a tea from the Shakespeare box that’s got me a bit rankled. There’s no information about the tea itself on he packet (which the Culinary Teas website more than makes up for), so it’s a mystery tea. I opened it and looked inside. Ah crap: chamomile. Does this mean that it’s a decaf? There’s a ton of smaller dark leaves and some chamomile sprinkled throughout. I sniffed and couldn’t tell what black tea(s) were in it beyond Assam. I followed the packet’s preparation instructions.
The steeped tea confused me as well. I could definitely taste the chamomile and Assam, but there’s a whole lotta other tea goin’ on as well as quite an astringent bite. Three sips in and I had to find out what comprised this tea. No wonder I was confused: Ceylon, Assam, Darjeeling, Tinderet (which is new to me), and then chamomile. I kept sipping and thinking that I disliked this tea, but then I kept getting little hints of sweet that got me to go “um”: a thoughtful and unsure “yum”. I did the second steep the exact same way as the first and this time around the Ceylon reached through with its sweetness. I wished that the first steep had been a bit more like the second. I’m rather enjoying the second steep except for the dryness that’s happening at the back of my throat. It’s quite noticable. Okay, the back of my throat hates this tea.
Therefore, I dub this tea Richard II. Not one of Shakespeare’s greatest, but not one of his worst. It’s a very “talky” play, so you get some great speeches but the action is lacking. This tea has got a lot to say and sometimes it succeeds in being eloquent. Unfortunately it also sometimes tastes like an argument. M
ETA: Third steep is water with a hint of tea.
Preparation
It’s weird…I keep coming across more and more of this…just when I think I have a SIPDOWN or swapped the rest I find more! LOL
This is a goody – a little bit on the lighter side than my first few cups of the day but yummy regardless.
Using this as more swap ammo :)
I received a pouch of this from LiberTEAs today and jumped right in even tho I did have a little bit about a year ago but now I can add this back to my stash! I will say that I enjoyed this cuppa! This is a very good Margaret’s Hope and a fine Darjeeling! See previous notes…
