Leah Naomi select Send Message

I had eggnog for the first time this year. This was pretty good, very reminiscent of what I had. Mine I think had more of a cinnamon taste, and adding a dash of milk made the cinnamon in this disappear. I was hoping for something a bit stronger in eggnog flavor, less black tea taste.

This tastes like spring. Flowers and fruit. You’d never know it was supposed to snow tomorrow afternoon. I am a fan, though I can tell it doesn’t take well to oversteeping or overleafing, it gets a bit bitter. For now, I will think of it and not about the fact that it is 23 degrees outside and real winter is here and there are small amounts of snow predicted 3 times in the 10 day forecast. Snow season is here, and I have very mixed feelings about that.

This was pretty tasty – it was very apple-y, as I hoped and expected. I can’t say I’ve had enough brandy to taste it in a strong sense, but it did have what felt like a boozy must that was just a hint. I’d say it was more like apple brandy light on the brandy, but tasty nonetheless.

I am glad this ended up being pretty tasty – reviews suggested that it was assam and darjeeling melded. Which is funny, given how much I am drinking both and how I am finding they are often not for me, at least not without milk. I brewed this short and cool to make sure it didn’t get bitter and that worked well. Still not my favorite, but a pleasant cup.

This was pretty good – a very mild earl grey. I prepared it with almond milk, as I still found the bergamot to be too soapy to drink plain, but felt like the darjeeling base for earl grey isn’t the best.

This was very earthy, almost like hay, and had some fruity tones to it. It was just the tiniest bit astringent, but not to the point where I didn’t enjoy drinking what I had of it. Darjeelings for the most part just seem to not be for me. Like many of them, don’t love them.

This is my favorite white chai. It is naturally pretty sweet, and definitely spicy. I can definitely taste the fruity flavor too. This was actually the first loose leaf tea I ever purchased, along with the youthberry one which I ended up not liking much. It is one of a few Teavana teas I love, and will continue to repurchase. When it is on sale, of course.

This was good – it was creamy and sweet, and the next two steeps got more floral. I brewed this western style as I reorganized the tea cabinet. It was perfect for the last day of 2014. It wasn’t overly buttery, which I like.

It was a hell of a year. Frankly, few good memories were made this year. But hopefully that means there is nowhere to go but up. Good or bad, I will be moving in July or August, who knows where, so that will be an adventure at least. One great thing has been Steepster. In a few more days, I will have my one year anniversary here. This site has really revolutionized tea for me. I was into it before, but very limited in my knowledge and exposure to types of tea, and companies. I also have loved having a way to keep track of the things I’ve loved most so I know what to purchase more of.

This is lovely – I’ve been drinking so much darjeeling and assam from my Golden Tips subscription I’ve forgotten that other blacks exist. This is sweet and smooth and bready. As it cools down I get more of a chocolatey note. Still chocolate bread, and not strong enough to give me that “omg imposter chocolate” sense, but enough to be flavorful. I am so glad I got a sample of this on BF.

Plus, two steeps tastes great. I love when I have the option to resteep.

I purchased this as part of a box full of samples and such here on steepster within the year, though I do not remember when. I admit when I saw there were full on peppercorns in here I got nervous. I like spicy, but even I have my limits.

Luckily, it is actually super smooth. It offers a bit of a warmth and smokey flavor, which could also be from age. I’ve kept it in a cool, dark tin since receiving it but I really don’t know how it was stored previously. I don’t mind though, this is good.