American Tea Room

I wish I had read the Steepster reviews before buying this. The reviewers mention the sugar syrup or sugar whatever added to the tea. This isn’t mentioned on the website description at all. It just says sencha plus cherry blossoms and petals. What the tea really has is cherry marshmallows, like the kind of dried marshmallows in cereal like Lucky Charms. They dissolve completely in the brew. The website should have mentioned added sugar, instead it gives the impression of an herbal sencha blend, which this is NOT.

Leave it to my idiocy for not checking what my fellow Steepster people wrote. Actually it didn’t occur to me, I thought this was a new tea and wouldn’t be reviewed yet.

The tea smells like the cherry marshmallows but the cup fortunately doesn’t really translate the sickly sweet smell. The dry tea smells like a ton of flavoring and sweetener was added but maybe it comes down to controlling how many of the marshmallows you put in the pot, because the actual sencha appears to be just pure leaf.

I’ve had American Tea Room’s Sencha Ashikubo before, and for the price it is not too bad. This one tastes more vegetal in the cup than cherry or sweet. The sweetness might help with bitterness if oversteeped, but again it might change depending upon how many marshmallows you have in your brew. I could taste the spinach-y sencha and if I hadn’t smelled the bag or seen the marshmallows I wouldn’t have known from the taste that anything else was added. So that means I can stand to drink it and will likely finish the bag. I won’t buy it again, but I can at least recommend it as a pretty spring sencha that is mild and pleasant with no overpowering notes.

I’ve been wanting to try this one for ages and I’m so glad I was finally able to get my hands on it. This may be my new favorite dessert tea! The black base is smooth and blends perfectly with the warm flavor of a sweet, nutty pastry. I love it plain but it also makes an AMAZING tea latte!

’Here’s Hoping’ Teabox Round #4 – Tea #28

Actual big vanilla pieces in this rooibos. The flavor is very sweet… definitely vanilla. Sadly the rooibos is on the smaller side, so it does seem to affect my throat even in a teabag. It’s a good thing the vanilla is so icecreamy tasty!
Steep #1 // just boiled // few minute steep
Steep #2 // just boiled // few min steep

’Here’s Hoping’ Teabox Round #4 – Tea #24

Many big pieces in this blend, including giant pieces of cinnamon and star anise. After seeing the blend it looks a lot like Fusion’s Winter Solstice. The flavor is fine, surprisingly light (no cinnamon!)… seems like a creamsicle more than anything. There is a tanginess that I don’t love, but somehow it isn’t hibiscus tangy. I think the color of the cup is as close to “pink” as it can be. I thought I liked this one better before… I’ve possibly had too many awesome herbals since then.
Steep #1 // just boiled // few minute steep

I think this came to me in a travelling Teabox – but I can’t recall which one. The tea appears to be mostly rose petals but I can spot some white tea leaves and lavender flowers in the mix too. Individually I love the scents of all the ingredients involved – but blended together the end result is rather odd and somehow reminds me a bit of dill pickles. Thankfully it doesn’t also taste like dill pickles so we’re all good. ;) The white tea get s a bit lost in the middle of the other ingredients – sweet rose, soothing lavender and cool mint, but the ingredients combine surprisingly well together.

Sip down! This was delicious but not worth the price tag, especially since the first steep was my favourite anyway. Zen Tea’s is very similar and by far cheaper. I still need to try Golden Moon’s, come to think of it.

Over the past few days, I’ve been taking Yin Qiao on and off because I feel like I may be coming down with something. The symptoms especially hit me a couple hours ago: fatigue, mildly sore throat and fever, funny hollow-like feeling in my stomach, etc. Whenever I feel like this, I want either oolong or green tea, so I reached for this. I’ve been hoarding it because of the high cost but screw it, enjoy it.

My mom also asked for a cup, and she was pleasantly satisfied with the aroma of the steeped tea. She says that it reminds her of Hawaii, and picked up on the floral notes above anything else, commenting that it makes her think of gardenia more than anything else. Pretty good nose considering she wanted it to be a surprise and didn’t want me to disclose the type of tea I put in front of her!

She tasted the coconut right away, and so do I. It’s so tropical and well-rounded. The floral notes aren’t sharp or overwhelming. I’m on the second steep now, and unfortunately, it’s not as coconutty as the first steep. The first couple sips were even a little on the savoury side, like watered down soup broth. It was rather strange. But as this cup cooled, it’s floral again. It’s truly a tasty tea but I just don’t think it is worth the price. Maybe if/when I get a high-paying job!

GRANDIOSE 1000TH TASTING NOTE! RIGHT HERE. RIGHT NOW.

It’s been a busy past few days, and here I am sipping on the last ATR sample in my arsenal. I am sadly going to only enjoy one steep this first time because the leaves have already been dumped since we’ll be flying the coop to the other place soon. Collect garbage, clean now!

The dry leaf is dangerously creamy. Velvety coconut, which goes with the creamy coconut conditioner my curly hair just soaked up. Coconut heaven! I don’t see any coconut shreds in the mix, so perhaps it’s only infused with the flavour?

This first steep is an absolute dream. Very heavy on the creaminess and the room is saturated in its lovely coconut aroma. The coconut doesn’t taste rancid or off at all. Lightly toasty but not too much. My mom, who is also enjoying a cup, comments that she especially picks up on the floral notes. Orchid-like more than anything else. It’s just so damn rich in flavour. I’ll have to see what the second steep will be like next time.

As lovely as it is, I’m not sure if I could justify the price. At one steep, these two cups we are both drinking cost $2 per cup. :/ I’d have to resteep the pants off of it in order to justify it, and I’ll admit that I rarely steep oolongs more than twice, even. Let’s not even talk about using this for cold brews. Maybe I’d consider getting more if/when our dollar reaches parity with USD again, because even the 20% off sales barely cover that difference/makes it worthwhile.

Well, I feel like I’ve tried quite a few maple-flavored teas over the past few months and have found that they all differ quite a bit from one another. This one followed suit in that it was a surprisingly mellow maple flavor that didn’t taste sweet but did definitely taste like maple. The tea itself was smooth. While this can’t compare to Butiki’s Maple Pecan Oolong, this is probably the maple tea I’ll want to buy once I’ve run out of Butiki’s.

Thanks for giving me a chance to try it, Ost!

Another sipdown! I enjoyed the last cup with light cream. I am going back and forth on whether or not I’d want to get more. It smells desserty but those notes don’t translate as strongly in the flavour. I’d rather have a cup of Brioche. Hmm. Maybe I’ll grab more, maybe I won’t. We’ll see!

I was so close to making another order with ATR yesterday to take advantage of their sale, but decided to postpone it until next time so I can catch up with these other samples, plus I’ve been moving around a lot and not even sure where I should send it. And who knows, maybe our Canadian dollar will strengthen a little bit by then. Fingers crossed, eh?

Intentionally saving this as one of the last ones, it smells very desserty, like Brioche-level desserty, but despite having figs and sesame, I actually get cherry almond out of this more than anything else, perhaps due to the slivered almonds in the dry leaf. It’s toasty and sweet at the same time, but not an artificial or overwhelming sweet.

It definitely delivers in the flavour. I get cherry almond notes but not figs nor sesame. I’ll shake the packet next time I have a cup to see if it’ll help. But the base is smooth and the flavour profile goes well with light cream. This tea kind of reminds me of Rainbow rooibos, but in a way, this is even better since I’m personally a fan of black teas more so than rooibos. That said, I can see myself getting more of this. Well done, ATR!

Sipdown, but it was my mom’s doing. She smelled my cup yesterday and asked if she could have some the next day, so I gladly let her have the last cup. She absolutely loves it! I still prefer Zen’s but I guess I would settle for this.

Since I’ve been running out of tea here, I’ve been trying to stretch out what I have left, so I finally get to treat myself again. Simply put, this blend is a very true EG with very palpable lavender notes. However, it’s not my favourite lavender EG. That award goes to Zen Tea, at least the one they used to carry.

Smooth base with light bergamot nuances. I wouldn’t buy more but it’s pleasant.

Cold brew sip down! I really liked this in the beginning but not sure if I would get more since the 50g/2 oz. pouch didn’t have nearly as much dried fruit as the sample I originally got, so as a result, this batch was never really as flavourful regardless of the preparation method.

I’m ever so impatiently waiting on my ATR order to come in the mail. According to the tracking code, it left Vancouver six days ago and it’s yet to arrive even though I’m only one province over. What gives?

Had a cup with my mom earlier today. Most of the dried fruit is gone as my 2 oz. pouch didn’t come with much in comparison to the ratio that was in my original sample. Still quite berry-isa in flavour with some surprising creaminess in the background. My mom thinks this tastes like a Campino candy today, and I see where she’s coming from. Sadly no kiwi like in the past.

Busting out the ole Guitar Hero/Rock Band equipment means that I’ve been banging away at the drums for hours at a time, trying to beat, or even come close, to my guitar records on expert mode. This further means that I haven’t been drinking as much tea. It gets in the way of battling with Tom Morello, yo!

My mom and I both love this tea. The dry leaf is packed with beautiful flower petals and plump berries. There is supposed to be kiwi and fig in this, which were absent, but perhaps that has to do with the smaller quantity I got. Maybe you’re bound to find them in a 2+ oz. pouch.

It’s nice and refreshing. Lots of berry nuances, tart but not too sour, and the base behaves itself. This would make an excellent cold brew. My mom exclaimed that she likes this one even more than Tangier. And then asked in the cutest tone, “Umm, can we get more of this?”

Yes, yes we can. But I’ll wait until a 20% sale and/or when our Canadian dollar is a little stronger.

This makes a reasonable replacement for Butiki’s With Open Eyes, except there is no ginger. I can see throwing some candied ginger into this creating a damn good replacement.

So wonderful, this tea! Dry leaf aroma: pleasantly fruity, something akin to passionfruit, plus yummy creaminess. Wet leaf aroma was similar. The brew was fairly light, leaves unfurling very quickly, and tasted very close to the scent of the leaves. Love the creamy flavor, and slight fruitiness that does not overpower at all, adding to the sweetness of the tea. So delicious I’m tempted to try brewing just a touch longer next time, to see if I can increase the flavors slightly without overbrewing.

Sipdown! I would get this one again in the future but maybe not for a while. Realistic apricot flavour here.

Mmm, afternoon cup packed full of apricot. My only complaint about this tea is the saffron, as it doesn’t really serve much of a purpose other than driving up the cost of this. With the horrid dollar exchange, it’s really difficult justifying reordering this once it’s gone.

Morgana was raving about their Apricot black the other month. It’s a shame they discontinued that because all I want is a full-on apricot explosion in a cup. Fancy saffron isn’t necessary for that.

Sipdown! The last cup was so apricotty, probably because I let the water cool a little more before steeping. Definite repurchase, and I’m looking forward to trying it cold brewed some glorious day.

Mmm, apricot. Real apricot. Apricot compote. The scent and flavour of the tea reminds me of baby food, oddly enough. Apparently pureed apricots and strawberries were my favourite desserts when I was a baby, and admittedly, when I got food poisoning a few years ago and stuck to soft foods for a couple weeks, I bought some to try. It was very tasty, actually! This specific apricot flavour here reminds me of that more than anything else.

The base is smooth, and as the tea cools, the apricot comes out even more. My mom absolutely loves this, being a huge fan of apricot and all. She commented that it is an undeniable apricot and nothing at all like peach, which sometimes apricot or mango tea can end up tasting like.

What, first tasting note? But, but, it’s lychee and rose. Who wouldn’t want to try that? This sample didn’t last long once I opened it, especially since my mom wanted to try it too. The dry leaf is very fragrant, with an equal balance of fresh lychee and rose.

I only tried it hot but I thoroughly enjoyed it, particularly once it cooled down a bit. Just like in the scent, the flavours of the rose and lychee were well-balanced. I’m sure I would have been able to easily identify both notes if I didn’t know what was in here. It reminds me of a bubble tea (without milk) that I recently experienced: rose black tea with lychee jelly and boba. It was pretty awesome, except they put too much sugar in it. I’m sure this would taste similar if I were to ice it and add sugar.

Would I repurchase? I’m probably thinking so. I’m also curious about their straight up lychee blend now, and will have to pick that up next time I order, which will most likely be when our Canadian dollar makes a recovery.

Thank you Ost for this sample. This tea is strong and malty. It is fairly tasty but not spectacular. I am glad to have tried it but don’t think I would buy it. It does have a nice kick for the morning. I let it get somewhat cold as I was busy doing other things instead of drinking it. It might have been better had it not gotten colder.

I brewed this once with approx 3 tsp leaf iin an 18oz teapot with 200 degree water for 3 min.

Sipdown. I wouldn’t buy more but I actually quite enjoyed my last cup. I made a larger amount in a Nordic mug and let the water cool quite a bit before steeping. Then after steeping it, it sat for quite a while whilst I prepared supper. By the time I got to it, it was a little warmer than lukewarm and it ended up having a much better balance. More orange which blended very well with the slightly smoky base.