1118 Tasting Notes
Rooibos is very hit or miss with me, and this is, unfortunately, a miss. It was too astringent, and while the ginger made an appearance it was overshadowed by the rooibos. I caught hints of sweetness that could be the fruit, but it was only hints. Overall it was just meh.
My daughter chose our tea this morning. After digging through my stash she decided on this one, but she looked worried that there was so little left. I had to pinky swear that I would buy more before we could sit down and enjoy our tea. I think I may have her hooked. Or rather this tea has her hooked. The strawberry is spot on, and while this definitely taste like a treat it’s not overly sweet or heavy. It’s just good – really, really good.
Well, 2013 has been kicking my butt so far. I was down with the flu for most of last week, but I think I can safely say I’m on the mend. My celebratory cup of tea had to be this Earl Grey. I know I’ve raved about this before, but Zen Tea has done an amazing job of choosing a high quality vanilla and mixing it with the bergamot. Love it.
Merry Christmas, Steepsters!
I’ve been enjoying this tea for much of the day. I’m glad I held off on rating it because this is so much better than the sample I had tried a few weeks ago. The mix of fruit and caramel is delicious. It has a smoothness that took me by surprise (I’m not sure why, but it did.), and had me sipping cup after cup until I realized I’d had far too much caffeine. No matter… it’s the holidays, so I can sleep in late and spend tomorrow trying a new tea… or two… or three….
This is my last sample from Angel at Teavivre, and it is a good one!
The dry leaves are beautiful. Long and slender with lots of warm yellows mixed in among the black. As soon as the tea started stepping I knew there would be no need for sugar. The honey fragrance is strong. Not overwhelming, but very easy to pick up. And the taste… yum. It’s malty, sweet, and velvety. This is good. I mean really, really good. I don’t usually stick with one tea all day, but I can easily see myself steadily sipping on this while I get an order finished and in the mail today.
While there is caramel in this tea, and while it does have a creamy flavor, the star of this tea is the tea itself. It’s toasty and has a subtle kick to it. The caramel adds sweetness – sort of a dark molasses flavor, but then the cream flavor keeps everything from being too dark. It’s a great dessert tea, or in my case, rainy day tea.
So much to do today. I’ve been playing nursemaid or been sick myself for well over a week. Now that everyone has recovered (fingers crossed) I have a to-do list a mile long to knock out. Thankfully I still have a bit of this in my pantry. Simple, rich, smooth, and strong enough to kick me into gear.
My thanks to the Irish for knowing how to make an excellent cup of tea. ;-)
Backlogging.
There are holiday teas that hit you in the face with flavor. Kinda like opening a door and having a room full of people shout Merry Christmas at you. It’ll get your blood pumping, but there’s only so many times you want that to happen during one holiday season. This is not that tea.
This tea is more like walking in the door to your favorite relative’s house, having him/her give you a hug, and say – not shout – Merry Christmas. You still feel all happy and festive inside without also feeling overwhelmed. I guess what I’m saying is that sometimes less is more, and in this instance Della Terra did less the right way.
The tea – The dry tea is adorable with the little candy canes poking out here and there. So cute! Once brewed the liquid is lighter than I expected given the three minute steep, but it smells great. All mint and vanilla, but it’s light… soft. I like it. The mint is there, but not in your face. The vanilla gives the cup a creamy dreamy taste. And the base tea is really good. I love being able to taste the tea itself! It’s smooth and lends itself well to the vanilla flavor. Lovely.
This just might be my choice for a Christmas morning cup of tea.
