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May 2022

Trying to use up random teabags and made this hot and then made a second cup iced with lemon and sugar. The hot cup was generic, bitter, vegetal notes of corn husk and matcha powder. I dislike the bitterness in this green tea, which is why I avoid bagged greens whenever possible.

The iced cup was better, but not very flavourful or memorable. If anything, it was mostly lemonade with a touch of green tea. The sugar takes care of the bitterness but it’s just so bland. :( The second cup was too weak to really make out any motes.

I bought this on a whim last November for my stocking and kinda wished I had bought a second box. This has an excellent dessert flavour reminiscent of cream and digestive biscuits. It really says “cream” to me more than just being creamy or milky. It has a natural sweetness as well (but no stevia! hell yeah!). The biggest downside is that it is caffeinated. However, this does mean that the black tea base isn’t hidden or washed out like decafs can be. You get a lot of malty, strong black tea flavour. It’s got a very English tea with digestives thing going, which I love. I love digestive cookies (especially with tea)

The only way to drink this is with vanilla soy milk/milk of choice. You could also add sweetener if you wished but I don’t think it needs it.

I’ve missed you all dearly. I have a bunch of reviews saved that I want to post, so please excuse the spam.

I got this as a sampler from Well.ca and was delighted that they had a free sample I actually cared about. This is a wonderful peppermint. My teabag was called “Minty fresh” but it seems to only contain peppermint.

This is a fresh and strong peppermint with a lot of menthol. I brewed this sachet (single serve mesh sachet – but both the sachet and the wrapper are compostable/recyclable) in hot water (~90 C) for 5 minutes. I could smell the mint right away. Even as a dry leaf it smelled very potent. I’m impressed! It wouldn’t be my go-to just for cost reasons but this is one of the best straight peppermints I’ve had.

New Years Resolution – January 1st: Drink An Comfort Tea

An old favourite that I always keep in stock. It is so warm and comforting. I really like wintergreen and spearmint so this blend is 10/10 for me. Nothing more to really say since I’ve written detailed reviews several times.

This tea company is now called Flora Health.

This blend is surprisingly lovely. I normally don’t love licorice root in teas but I think this blend is well balanced. It doesn’t have a bad medicinal flavour or that metallic fake sweetness that some licorice has, although it is herbish and a bit woody. The lemongrass and peppermint are a nice base for this evening tisane. It is fruity but not bitter or acrid like cranberries can be. The elderberry leaves a nice after taste that I enjoyed.

I drank this at a friend’s house at a holiday get-together and they used boiling water and an insulated mug. It took more than 30 minutes to be cool enough to drink. I took the teabag out around the 6 minute mark when it smelled fruity but I don’t know for sure what the best steeping time is. When tea is that hot you can’t taste very much.

2022 Advent Calender Tea (I’ve forgotten which day is which now)

I had this iced as a long brew with a pinch of brown sugar and in a fancy glass. I miss summer. One teabag (sachet/mesh) and 600 mL cold water.

Delightfully fruity with strong peach and chamomile notes. A bit of general stone fruit
and then something else but I’m not sure what it is (apricot or kumquat, maybe I’m picking up citrus?) It tastes summery and refreshing without being overly acidic and hibiscusy. The sweetness and the acidity are well balanced but the extra touch of sweetness really makes this perfect.

This sample is quite old so it might be that the flavour has changed as it got older. Label says it is 2019 harvest.

Slightly bitter and not as thick as I remember. No creaminess but there is some lightly fruity notes like green melon (honey dew without the sweetness) and some floral notes as well. Not rose-type floral, maybe more like nasturtium or geranium. Overall nothing spectacular. I think if I had done a second steep it would have been better because I noticed the bottom half of the cup was better due to the little dusty bits giving it more flavour.

Homemade advent calender day #4

I think this tea is quite solid. I steeped just under 1 minute and then added some soy milk. If you steep longer it gets acidic. The first cup was quite tasty – fruity, sweet cinnamon, and it tastes like the holidays. The fruit isn’t exactly plum but more hibiscus combined with dried figs and berries. The chicory base is nice and tasty which actually goes well with the cinnamon and holiday spice theme. If you do very short steeps, you will have a much better time curbing the hibiscus sour.

Second cup was a long steep in cold water. I got much less acidity than the first short steep. Less distinctly cinnamon notes and more generic spices/blended spices. The roasted chicory comes through as well but is more present because the other flavours are subdued. One thing I enjoy about roasted chicory is its similarity to roasted nuts or toasted grains.

Homemade advent Day #3

This actually tastes a lot like the “Love You” tea from yesterday but with a more distinctly spearmint base. The lavender is subtle and the rose is very nice. It gives a more nuanced floral undertone than either one by itself. The spearmint is a bit sweet and is aromatic (very fresh). It almost has a sweet dried grass bit of sweetness at the end of the sip as an aftertaste (along with the floral and spearmint that lingers). I love this blend.