LENA Send Message

Well, this is one of the best bagged chais that I’ve tried. Not very complex, but warm and inviting on a cold morning. I taste mostly clove, cinnamon and the black tea base. When I first looked at the bag I thought they went a little skimpy on the spices and black tea. After steeping, I was pretty happy to see that the black tea Chai Baby used was of fairly decent quality. The tea leaves fully expanded in the sachet and took up most of the space. I still prefer to make chai traditionally, but this one will work in a pinch. Taken with milk and sugar…I still think it was a little on the weak side. But then again, I like my chais very strong.

MY 100th TASTING NOTE! Cue the balloons and confetti.

For my 100th post, I chose a tea that I have never had before. I’ve kind of been avoiding Lapsang Souchong teas due to their smell. Not that the smell is offensive, I’ve just never been in the mood to drink them. The tea’s liquor is much lighter than I expected (even lighter than most black teas). I think I was expecting a tarry, murky, dark color to match the smell. Surprise #1. The tea smells like a campfire. Well, maybe not like a campfire per se…but it smells like your clothes after you have been close to a campfire. The 1st taste (the second it touches your tongue) is that of a smooth black tea. Then an overwhelming flavor of smoke and ash (and I mean that in the best of ways) takes over. The after taste is that of residual smoke and a very light sweetness. Odd and interesting. Surprise #2.

I didn’t hate it but I didn’t love it either. I’ll be open to try other LS in the future now that I’ve gotten the initial experience out of the way. I really do like the lingering taste. It’s not like cigar smoke that can hang on for a day or two. It’s like the aftertaste of a nice meal that involved eating smoked ham or something similar.

Now that the world of LS has been opened, it might be time to delve into pu-erh…maybe. Slowly.

Here’s to experiencing 100 more teas.

The perky pyramid is back…and this time it has yielded much better results. It’s not too shabby for an herbal tea. One look at the ingredients and you will know what this tastes like. Yes, hibiscus is the 1st on the list. It’s really not too bad. The raspberry is present but in general this tastes very sour and very berry.
The color is outstanding. It’s kind of a cranberry, blood red. I love it. I steeped this in my clear glass cup and it was so cool to watch. Well, cool in a crime scene kind of way. A drizzle of red slowly seeped out of the mesh bag. It floated around and then fell to the bottom like a drop of blood. Slowly, the water turned light pink, then a tinge darker…then bloody.
Mmm, Mmm good.

A nice Darjeeling base with just a touch of vanilla. The tea in the sachet expanded quite a bit, unlike several others. Slightly floral and very mild in astringency. The vanilla is soft and sweet. A yummy cup on a freezing morning. My hands are too cold to type more. My office needs to throw another lump of coal on the fire. Damn, it’s like A Christmas Carol in here!

Let me just start out by saying how refreshing it is to try an “apple” flavored tea WITHOUT cinnamon as an additive. Thank you! It’s nice! Spread the word to other tea companies.

This tea is a very mellow and smooth black tea with just a smidge of apple behind it. Apple is not the main focus, but it is harmoniously playing in the background. It’s there when you want it to be there. I’m also getting that bake-y taste.

The sample I received in my teaswap was in bagged form. For my 1st cup, I removed the bag after about 5 minutes. I tried to resteep, but ended up with faintly apple-flavored hot water. For my 3rd cup, I used another teabag and left it in until I finished my cup. No bitterness…just a little more apple…or bakeapple. YUM! I added just a faint sprinkling of Splenda and it was wonderful. I bet it would be lovely iced. It’s light and thirst-quenching.

Daaaaark Tickle! shivers

Edit: OK, so there’s no actual apple in this. WTF am I tasting?…the word apple? LOL! I’ll stand by it though. I tasted a dry/tart (Granny Smith apple) kind of taste.

Now these are some cute teabags! That little leaf at the end of the string? Too cute for words! And the mesh that the teabag is made of stays perky even after steeping. I’m not sure why that is important, but it made me smile.

The tea wasn’t that great, unfortunately. Uber-cinnamon-y and that’s about it. I never tasted the “Sweet Orange” or any of the spices. Just cinnamon. Red Hots or Fireball candy type of cinnamon. Too strong and on the verge of spicy.

But man, those teabags are cute.

I expected more. I’m mostly tasting the Rooibos with a little aftertaste of orange and cranberry. All of the other flavors take a backseat to the Rooibos. I’m a little let down. I drank half of my cup piping hot and the other half cold, due to my lack of interest. The hotter the tea, the more I tasted pure Rooibos. I got a lot of the sour wood taste and smell. When the cup had completely cooled, I began to taste the orange and cranberry a smidge more.
It’s an ok tea. It’s “Ehh”…with a little head nod to the side.

Auggy, I finally get it. BAKE-Y!

Let there be light!!!

This is the 1st tea that has actually screamed bake-y to me. Some have likened it to plain biscotti or perhaps an unsweetened baked good. I have to agree. Tannic and bready…but kind of crumbly bake-y like biscotti or shortbread would be. I like it. I’ve had several cups straight and a few with milk and sugar…both very good. Thomas Sampson makes a good breakfast cup in my opinion. The tea is hearty and seems to carry a decent caffeine buzz. I’m relatively unfazed by caffeine, so this means something. :)

I tend to drink black teas, such as this, in the AM and then move on down the milder chain throughout the afternoon and after I get home from work. Just as I was beginning to get a little sad about finishing off the last of my sample, I noticed something.

40 NEW SETS OF SERIES 2 HAVE BEEN ADDED TO THE SITE!
AND……
SERIES 4 IS UP AND RUNNING.

Word.

A quick, on the go cup. Ick! This tea gets bitter very easily and lacks…taste. It might be salvageable with milk and sugar. Maybe.