865 Tasting Notes
Since this is decaf I decided to make myself another 16oz cuppa, this time steeping it the normal 5min I do for blacks. A bit darker lquor, brown w/ orange notes. The 1st steeping was so flavorful I was a bit concerned what would happen if the fruity notes became stronger, but I was pleasantly surprised to discover that the base really develops in ths infusion. A tea that is great when prepared 2 different ways scores extra points with me.
Preparation
Sample 1/7
My 1st Praise Tea! The Praise Tea people were kind enough to send me 7 very generously sized sample. Not gonna get into the whole religion thing, but suffice it to say the name of the company has my heart. But… will the teas? I saw this one review a while ago and was instantly interested. I love peaches and have never had an orchid flavored tea. The fact that it was a decaf also interested me since they can be hit and miss. The only thing that concerned me was the base as I’m not normally a fruity black person er… a person that likes fruity black teas… but even I’m becoming surprised w/ them.
They suggest 1tsp/6oz water so I made a 16oz cuppa w/ 1TB of leaf. Steeped for 3 min.
Wow! The raw leaf smells amazing. A bit peach jello-ish w/ floral notes.
The liquor isn’t dark, but not lighter by any means than some other blacks I’ve made. The aroma is pretty much identical to the raw leaf. This is promising! Whoa. Yes! Score one for Praise Tea! Peachy w/ hints of floral w/o tasting like perfume and a smooth, slight crisp base. Definitely gonna purchase this in the summer when I make iced tea a gallon at a time (this doesn’t need sweetener). I’m normally not affected by caffeine, but when I was chugging 8 cups of 1st infusion black tea for days on end I felt pretty crappy after a few days. This tea is definitely an answered to a prayer.
Preparation
Decided to have this… GASP!… sweetened today (1 packet stevia per 16oz serving, 2tsp chai, 1 cup each milk and water). Hmmm… it is not sickeningly sweet like concentrates as I feared it would be. There’s no real flavor change, but the spices are dumbed down considerably… too much in my opinon. But then again I like my chai so strong that you’d get a wake up call from the spices alone. If you like your spices more muted, sweeten it. As for me I think I’ll leave the sweetener to chai mixes containing powdered/milk dairy (which I absolutely love… yes, I know my taste buds are a bit skitzo).
Marshmellow turtle latTEA!
1TB leaf
1 cup water
1 cup smart balance milk
2TB marshmellow mocha creamer
Yummm! Smooth, very sweet, and creamy. Not enough chocolate though- I’d make this w/ chocolate milk:) Definitely helps keep me warm even though the winds have kinda died down. Gusts are only 35mph instead of 60 lol.
Preparation
Does the Marshmallow Mocha Cream have marshmallows or gelatin or anything funky in it!? Is it vegetarian, I guess is my question (since marshmallows aren’t vegetarian!?)
Um. I don’t know for sure and I don’t have time to check right now. I know it’s International Delight brand.
…but I do know that most gelatin vegetarian now.
while much gelatin is kosher it is usually not vegitarian.
Gelatin is most definitely not vegetarian. If it is something vegetarian, it will say what it is (carrageenan, agar, pectin) rather than saying gelatin. At least in the US. That said, a lot of marshmallow flavored things are vegetarian. Marshmellow creme even is (at least all the brands I’ve seen – always check the label). :)
Hm VegTea, I definitely remember seeing the term “vegetarian gelatin” in ingredient lists before- and yes, I’m in the US.
My last bag. They say chili is a pain killer so I thought I’d try this to get rid of “the bends” that I’m feeling. It also clears out the sinuses and since the pressure is all in my head now, I need it.
1 bag, 8oz water, 16 min.
Wow. I’m really surprised, and disappointed, at how not strong this is. There’s really no difference between it being steeped 5, 8, 10, or 16 min… Sad. Still a very good tea though.
HOLY FREAKIN WIND BATMAN! This is the 2nd day in a row gusts will get up to 60mph- there was even a tornado touch down 45 min south of us. The pressure is so bad I feel like I have the bends. I feel like someone has piled cement bricks on top of my entire body and even crammed some inside of me. I’m not sure if caffeine is good or bad for this feeling, but we’ll see.
I added a bag of their apple chai to this in hopes to get rid of the artificiality of the french vanilla. 2 bags total, 16oz water, steeped for 8 min.
Unfortunately the artificiality is the 1st thing I taste when I take a sip, but it isn’t nearly as strong as when I have this plain. The apple is not strong either, but gives it a light sweetness w/o adding more artificiality. A strong, but yet smooth and comforting, cuppa.
Preparation
Seriously debated picking this up last night. And while I think I might be glad I didn’t, I kinda can’t help but wonder exactly how bad the artifial taset is.
Well considering only half of my cup was french vanilla and it was still something I noticed immediately w/ the 1st sip- it’s bad. Stick w/ the apple and pumpkin.:)
I understand the wind..here too it is nuts
Mom bought Cafe Latte creamer (Coffee Mate brand) and I don’t like it in my coffee cuz it’s too plain for me (I prefer flavored creamers… this is even more bland than vanilla) so I decided to try it in my chai which I use regular milk for. Blech. Still flat. And the texture is that of REALLY watery milk. Do yourself a favor and use milk for the health benefits, mouth feel, and flavor.
Whoa… ok, can I give this a 200? Against my prior experience, I decided to have this cold (16oz, 2 bags) so I could swallow a couple of my pills. And I was REALLY surprised. This is the very 1st chai I have ever liked neat, cold. And it’s a bagged tea I steeped for 8 min. WOW! This would be an absolutely perfect tea for those who live in climates where they are able to enjoy iced tea in the fall w/o fear of passing out.
Preparation
Wanted a little some thing special last night watching Extreme Makeover Home Edition since it was filmed 15 min from my house.
2oz cold brewed coffee
6oz water
1tsp rum extract (I’ve gotta find rum flavored syrup…)
1 TB pumpkin flavored ice cream (I used some of a pumpkin pie blizzard I had left over in the freezer)
1TB Marshmellow Mocha creamer
1tsp instant chai
Really freakin good.
We haven’t tried steeping this one for 5 minutes. Umm, not what they office will be doing this week.
It’s definitely different, but equally as good… which is good for you cuz it means it can appeal to more people:)