150 Tasting Notes

9

Okay, so I made a glass of this tea iced. It’s not for me. I’m higly smell affected and this tea’s smells very odd to me, but I was prepared to get past the smell if the taste was tolerable. The package describes the taste of this tea as very similar to a green tea, but I don’t get a green tea flavor from it. In my opinion, this tea tastes like a mixture of tree bark and soil. I even added some fresh lemon juice and raw sugar but nothing I added made this tea drinkable. To be fair, this tea is more a health oriented than an enjoyment oriented tea. There’s just nothing that alis me enough to force this tea down.

Jenn

I know! My guess is that they know the tea tastes bad, but they’re counting on people to get past that for the health benefits. I have a huge box of other products to try… oh goodness…

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9

I was sent a package of Sun Chlorella products by the company to review on my website. In this package was a generous supply of wild sun eleuthero tea. I have not tried the tea yet because the smell is a bit unappealing. Now to be fair, the smell of my B vitamins is very unappealing but I take them anyway because I need them and they give me energy. So that being said, I’m going to brew a pot of this tea iced because it’s way too hot for anything else today and I’ll add my tasting notes later.

There is one other tea on Steepster that lists sun eleuthero as an ingredient, but that tea also lists other herbs and such that I suspect help the flavor of the tea. This tea is straight sun eleuthero leaves. Yish…

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94
drank Queen Catherine by Harney & Sons
150 tasting notes

Okay, now I’m really getting concerned. I had to take allergy meds last night so I’m really dragging about right now. I decided that a strong black tea was my best option for a pick-me-up, and I’ve been looking forward to trying my sample of Queen Catherine given to me by the ever generous and beautiful QuiltGuppy.

All I taste is black tea and roses. This makes postivly no sense because all of the reviews I’ve read say that it has a chocolately almost coffee like flavor. AM I HAVING A STROKE? Wait… I’d smell burnt toast and taste bitter almonds if that were the case, right? Is it possible that Harney & Sons mispackaged my sample? Perhaps I actually have a sample of Rose Scented and not Queen Catherine. I don’t know what’s going on, but I’m not going to rate this tea because I may be having a psycotic episode and that wouldn’t be fair to Queen Catherine.

JacquelineM

I can assure you the the Queen is not the least bit rosy. I wonder what happened!?

QuiltGuppy

Hm… I haven’t tried my sample yet. I’ll taste it tomorrow. Angrboda reviewed this one, too, but I don’t recall if she mentioned roses. I’ll have to check and see. Maybe they mispackaged them.

SimplyJenW

I noticed you tasted roses in Midsummer’s Peach, too. Could allergies and drainage be affecting your taste? I know it does mine at times…..

Jenn

SimplyJenW, allergies can do weird things to your sense of taste which I would totally agree was happening if i could taste any other flavor element in Queen Cat. I swear my sample was all rose and black tea. Thankfully, I’m drinking a protein smoothie right now that’s all fruit and NO ROSES :) I’ll give the Queen another try in a few days.

Jenn

QuiltGuppy, I’m super grateful for any sample :) BUT I would be interested to hear if your sample of Queen Cat is rosey too.

Jenn

JacquelineM, I was using your review to measure just how not rosey the Queen should taste. I’ll give it another try later.

JacquelineM

I know when I’m sick, tea tastes like cereal!!!

QuiltGuppy

It’s a tea mystery! :)

Jenn

JacquelineM, I just laughed like a crazy person at your tea tasting like cereal comment.

ashmanra

Oh dear! That doesn’t sound like the Queen at all! Feel better soon!

Indigobloom

everything tastes like sugar was added when I’m about to get sick!
get well soon!!

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91

A big thank you to the undeniably awesome QuiltGuppy for sending me a sample of this lovely tea.

I opened my sample package and the wonderful sunrippened summer peach aroma made my mouth water immediately! I think that JacqulineM put it best with her description “…juice dripping down your arm peach flavor.” My first sip tasted exactly like that! So peachy sweet and wonderful. The black tea is high quality and very smooth. My only reservation with this tea is the finish. I taste a strong rose flavor at the very end. I haven’t read this in any other review, so maybe this phantom rose flavor is specific to me. I just wish this tea were peachy from start to finish because I really don’t care for rose in my tea. I have one more sachet and I’ll give it another go later.

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93
drank Dewy Cherry by Adagio Teas
150 tasting notes

I tried this herbal for the first time last night. It was a little too late to drink anything with caffeine, and I was struggling with a sweet craving. Dewy Cherry was the perfect choice!

The aroma of this herbal tea dry is mouthwatering! Once steeped, the aroma is a little less strong but still lovely. From first to last sip this herbal is all cherry all the time. It’s sweet without being sugary and it has just the right amount of tang. Remember Luden’s cough drops? Just like that in the best possible way!

MaddHatter

oooh Yumm!!!

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90
drank Royal Wedding by Harney & Sons
150 tasting notes

I have the ever lovely and generous to a fault QuiltGuppy to thank for sending me a sample of this beautiful tea. I’ve always had a soft place in my heart for Harney & Sons. My mother always had a tin or two in the house, and I don’t remember drinking the tea so much as using the empty tins to store my treasures.

This tea comes in a lovely sachet and really doesn’t have much of a fragrance dry. After steeping, it has a wonderful vanilla and but slightly floral aroma. A first sip I definaly taste the white tea, and then the flavor moves to a creamy coconut and vanilla flavor. I don’t really detect a floral tone at all, and I get almost a smooth black tea finish. Which is strange but very pleasing to me. I used a bit of raw sugar and coconut cream in mine and it made for a wonderful morning cuppa.

I fear I may be chastised for saying this, but something in this tea’s profile reminds me of Tetley tea… in a good way. I’m in no way comparing this gourmet tea to common market tea, but there’s something there. I grew up on Tetley and it has a good nostalgic connection for me. Back when having tea meant at least two biscuits, and more sugar and milk than actual tea.

teawing

Don’t give your Tetley comment a second thought. I have a Twinings and Bigalow reference for my tea tastes. Constant Comment and Prince of Wales will always have a special place in my heart. They opened my doors to the possibilities of gourmet tea.

Jenn

Thank you :) I think that you make an excellent point! Our love of tea started somewhere, and there’s no sense in denying our roots.

ashmanra

My hubby’s all time favorite tea is Tetley British Blend, and we received our first box of it from a British doctor’s wife who told us that it was the closest thing she had found in the US to the tea she was sued to drinking in England. So if a Brit approved, it must be pretty good!

Jenn

Ashmanra, it’s funny you should say that! I went to school in England for about 10 years and tea was served at 4:00 p.m. everyday. I was a child so I didn’t really pay attention to what we were being given, but as an adult a British friend of mine here in the states gave me a box of Tetley British Blend and it tasted exactly like what I drank growing up. So, I just decided that Tetley must have been what I grew up on. It’s my best guess :)

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81
drank Caramel by Adagio Teas
150 tasting notes

It’s very gloomy outside this morning and I’m having trouble getting motivated to make the most of my day. I have so many new teas to try, but I decided that an oldie but goodie may be my best bet to turn this drag of a morning around.

Adagio’s Caramel black tea delivers a delicious, creamy, true caramel flavor. The black tea is strong but not over powering. Caramels are my favorite sweets, and I get so disappointed when caramel teas smell amazing but then they don’t deliver in the taste department. This tea defiantly delivers. Is it as beloved to me as David’s Buttered Rum? Nope, but I still have room in my heart and tea cupboard for it.

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74
drank Osmanthus Oolong by Goldfish Tea
150 tasting notes

I like this tea! It’s a mistake to let previous bad experiences with a tea type damper you sense of tea tasting adventure, but oolongs have been hit or miss for me so I wasn’t expecting much from this one. Sometimes, I love being wrong.

This oolong has a very delicate floral scent like jasmine on a summer breeze, and that same delicate floral essence comes through perfectly in the brew. At fist sip a get a slightly nutty taste that moves into a nice creamy flavor. And then the beautifully delicate floral flavor comes flowing through for a truly lovely finish.

I have the kind and generous QuiltGuppy to thank for sending me this sample that has effectively turned my troubled relationships with oolongs around. Yay!

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77

My name is Jennifer, and I’m a tea miser. I’m naturally a pretty generous person but I do have my standards. If you’re a tea enthusiast, I’ll share my last tsp. of my most beloved tea with you. But if you really don’t get excited about tea, you’re not getting any of my top shelf brew. Have you ever offered someone a cup of your precious tea only to see then leave half a cup? It’s horrifying! So, when I brew a big pitcher of iced tea that just anyone may be offered, I refuse to use my most coveted teas. Vanilla Apple Hibiscus tea from The Republic of Tea is a delicious tea that I am willing to share.

I’ve had this Vanila Apple Hibiscus tea for just over a year now. It’s a good iced tea. There’s a distinct apple flavor at first sip. The hibiscus gives the brew a vaguely sweet and very pleasant background. The smooth vanilla finish is a lovely surprise. It’s a very refreshing summertime tea that I won’t find myself angry at unsuspecting guests for not finishing :)

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84

I’m so excited about all of the new teas I have to taste and rate! The every lovely QuiltGuppy was kind enough to send me a cash of super exciting teas to sample. All I sent her was a scoby to get her started brewing kombucha, so I think it’s clear who’s the big winner here. I’m the big winner!!!!

Is it any surprise that the first tea I decide to try is a fruity black? Nope. I’m nothing if not predictable. Passion Fruit Black Tea from thepuriTea is just lovely! It has a vivid passion fruit flavor without having a perfume taste that can sometimes accompany lesser quality tropical fruit teas. The black tea is strong but very smooth. I’m drinking it hot with my breakfast, but I suspect that it will taste even better iced. Thank you QuiltGuppy :)

QuiltGuppy

It’s sooo good iced. One of my favorites. :D

Jenn

And yet you still shared it with me :) I can’t thank you enough.

QuiltGuppy

I can’t wait to try the kombucha. Okay, well, actually I’m a bit afraid that I’ve managed to cultivate some fatal bacteria that has taken hold of the scoby and will land my face on the home page of the CDC. Just a few more days now…

Jenn

Hahahaha! Maybe pot somehow works as an inoculation for rare strains of deadly kombucha bacteria. The hippies are playing it safe!!!!

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Bio

I’m an animal loving vegan foodie, and a card carrying tea fanatic! Didn’t you get your card?

I typically drink my black tea with a splash of almond or coconut cream and a dash of turbinado sugar or stevia. My green teas I typically drink straight, and the same goes for most of my other teas with an occasional exception. I live on the edge!

Please check out my website Cookin’ Vegan at www.cookinvegan.com if you’re hungry.

I’m also a bit of a knitwit. I have an Etsy shop where I sell pretty little knitted and knitting accessories called Baubles 4 Knitwits at www.Baubles4Knitwits.etsy.com.

Find me on the Twitter @cookinvegan http://twitter.com/#!/cookinvegan

But enough about me…

Location

Los Angeles Area

Website

http://www.cookinvegan.com

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