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Another fun tea! This one comes to me courtesy of Jenn.

Steeped according to my usual parameters and lightly sweetened. The tea base is good, I do get the butter pecan flavor. It is close to maple and cream, but really still tastes like butter pecan. Yum!

Thank you, Jenn!

Today was quite the adventurous tea day. Four new teas to sample (counting my early morning tea). This one is courtesy of QuiltGuppy! Thank you!

This was my late morning tea. I prepped this in a cup with my new bamboo strainer. 1 1/2 tsp tea, 6 oz cup, freshly boiled water, 4 minutes. Lightly sweetened.

This one has a rich chocolate taste. I could definitely get used to it. It is probably one of the best chocolate teas I have had to date. It is hard to compete with my favorite, though, on cost. If at some time I am planning an order from Joy’sTeaspoon, this will be on my order.

The last of my teas for tasting from my trip through Millerton and tea of the morning.

As far as the lychee teas I have had in my day, this one is the best. It is the perfect balance of flavor, scent, and the tea base. It is very similar to rose tea, but has more of a citrusy floral note than just a floral one. Very pleasant, and I know I will be ordering more at some point, but right now my Harney’s wishlist is kind of long….

I have had one that was lighter scented and perfect for iced (from Upton..iced teas for me are usually pretty basic) and one that was overly scented, even too much for iced tea (this one was from The Tea Table and the sample which I liked did not match up with the tea I ordered).

Steeped by the usual parameters.

Tea of the afternoon. I fixed this one according to the package directions. (2 cups water and 1 heaping tsp, simmer for 3 minutes. Add 2/3 cup milk, simmer for 3 minutes, strain.) Sweeten to taste.

This is a spicey one, but it is good. I can taste the cloves and maybe even pepper. I do find this one a little messy to strain, too. The mix itself comes in a ground up state and makes me miss the ease of straining full leaf chai. Not likely a good one for me, though, once this package is gone.

Tea of the afternoon…

I need a serious pick me up and this is it! The last time I had Brigitte, it was very strong. This time I added a small amount of milk….just enough to turn the color caramel and the tea slightly murkey (how do you describe the clarity loss by the addition of milk?…pull in the token gross lake water example…good!)

This is so much better than last time. It is rich, maltey, and strong. I don’t have many teas in my cupboard that stand up to milk this well. I also think I have been adding too much milk when I have added it in the past. A small amount does the trick. This tea is moving from the chopping block back to the general population.

Steeped by my usual parameters. Plus milk!

I also have a new kettle. After the fiasco that ended with two non-functioning VarieTEA kettles (Adagio’s customer service is stellar, BTW. They must be ripping their hair out.) I bought the UtiliTEA after returning the duds (The VarieTEA was a really nice kettle when it was working! It just seems they have a few kinks to work out.) Love the little kettle. I just wish its functioning consistency was paired with the bigger volume and sleekness of the other.

Tea of the morning…..

Yayyyy! I got my first David’s order yesterday. I was amazed at how fast it actually got here. And those of you in the US who have ordered, do you always have to sign with the courrier? I was surprised, but luckily home. It only took a few days to get from Montreal to NE Ohio.

Mmmmmm. Chocolate Rocket is very good. Chocolate and the end note of raspberry all wrapped up in a bundle of energy package. Thank you to DaisyChubb for sending me the sample that pushed me to order! I think I am hooked and welcome David’s into the top places I love to order.

Usual steeping paramters, except for the time of 5 minutes.

Tea of the afternoon…..

I did steep this in the more traditional method….1 cup water, 1 cup skim milk, 4 tsp chai. Simmer for about 5 minutes stirring and being careful not to let it boil over. I added a little brown sugar afterward this time, but I am thinking Splenda will be fine for next time, as well as a little less milk…maybe 3/4 cup milk and 1 1/4 cup water. I am trying to maximize the taste while keeping the calories low.

Anyway, what resulted was a rich and spicy chai with an apple flair. I really think this works for me. I have a few other versions of chai to try in the next week or so. I am not rating, because I do think this prep method makes just about any chai taste pretty good. And this is an inexpensive chai. I know I should probably mix up my own, but the price of the cardamom pods kind of threw me…plus, I kind of like it ready to go if I am going to prep it in this way.

This is for a cold brew…..

I used about 10 tsp in a 60 oz pitcher. Brewed for about 16 hours. Very good.

I do prefer this one cold brewed, and with the bargain basement price, it is a great option. The rose comes out slightly, and I did decide to lightly sweeten this, even though I rarely do with iced. It brought the rose out a little. I will consider buying this once my stores of other teas to cold brew is a bit more depleted.

Hmm. This one is puzzling. I am on my second pot of this, and I really don’t know what to think of it. When I think of figs, I think of something sweet like raisins. Brown sugar, well, I think it should be light in a mapley-type flavor but not quite there. The tea itself smells pretty good, and I do imagine there is some difference between this and the tea base on its own, but I really am not getting much in the way of flavor. Maybe I am just looking for the wrong flavors? I think the other problem is that the way the flavors play with the tea base reminds me of the Metro tea base I don’t like. It is smooth with no bitterness, and really might appeal to someone else. All of this is just my personal take on the tea, but I know I will not be reordering or remaking this one.

Now that I made it sound so good, does anyone want a sample? ;)

I added just a bit more tea this time and it was better. Still light on the chocolate and pecan with the caramel taking the spotlight. Enjoyable enough, but I will probably not repurchase when this pouch is gone. I will want to try something else. I think chocolate flavoring is better left to black tea or roasted yerba mate.

24 oz teapot, 6 actual tsp tea, freshly boiled water, 7 minutes. Lightly sweetened.

As for the company overall: My experience with this company has been good. However, I do think trying a tea at the $6 mark is kind of over the top. In my opinion, it keeps me from trying more. The blend your own flavor is fun, but I wonder if she would consider offering different pricing for a reblend of your mix in larger amounts. I will probably never order without some kind of discount or free shipping perk.