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I took a little sample from the TTB a while back for a day like today. I really enjoyed trying some new teas today.

A bit prone to bitterness but fairly flavourful and fruity. I didn’t find it sweet at all or particularly fruity, but the hints of white grape and apricot are faintly there.

Stupid Canada Post is still behind on deliveries and so I’m still waiting for my 12 days of tea to get here :‘( But I understand there have been a lot of unforeseen circumstances both before, and after, shipping and I’m being patient. I didn’t want to mention it because I know LiberTEAs has been ill and I don’t want her to feel bad, especially when Canada Post was not going to ship the package during November/early December anyway because of the strike.

In the mean time, I figured I’d try to get through a few seasonal teas from previous years. I just opened this pouch today (now than most of my chais are out of my cupboard and I feel there is room for one more open tea). I like the idea of pear and spices together as it reminds me of cinnamon stuffed apples and pears we used to cook over a campfire when I was a kid. Pears are also sweet/fruity but a bit milk, so the lighter base was a good choice.

Typical of my brewing habits, I let this steep in hottish (probably about 70-80 deg. C) water for about 10+ minutes because I forgot to time the steep. Then, I found it very bitter in the after taste so I added some vanilla soy milk. My ideal teas can withstand being left in the mug while I re-brew the leaves, and unfortunately this green is nowhere close to passing the test. Even with milk it is bitter and a touch astringent. I will be sure to go with a short brew time for my next cup, however I like my teas to not be super finicky because I can’t be bothered to measure the water temperature exactly or time steeps.

The spices are very nice in this chai blend. I tasted clove and ginger most heavily, but some cinnamon and allspice was there too. I’ve always found clove and allspice taste the same to me.

I got a little mini tin for Christmas from a friend and really wanted to try it.

This makes for a lovely latte. Malty, sweet, vanilla scented black tea with a nice thick mouthfeel. It is really good with milk because that brings out the sweetness and creaminess of the vanilla. I happen to have some vanilla soy milk in the fridge right now and have to recommend that combination.

A flavourful black tea with a brisk but smooth taste and wildberry (not so much distinctly strawberry) flavour. It makes for a great iced tea.

Thank you to Aprtea for this free sample

The dry leaf smells like a toasty yellow or green tea and all of the tiny leaves are intact and not broken at all. The leaves are quite small and only 1-2 cm long.

I think this is the first longjing I’ve had that isn’t fruity. This is more nutty and lightly vegetal (soy bean and chestnut) but very little sweetness. No bitter or sour notes. I would not say I tasted any of the toastiness I smelled in the dry leaf, however I think this tea is almost savoury in that it is not super sweet/stone fruit like many longjings. The chestnut flavour is characteristic of longjing, however, and from the look and taste of the leaves I can tell they are of high quality and have been handled delicately.