Art of Tea

Ah, more goodies from my big sis.

If a good tea is a marriage of fine ingredients, rooibos is like a favorite bachelor friend. I hope he finds a worthy mate someday, but regardless of who he hooks up with, no matter how good an idea it seems, it’s never quite a match. This one looked promising, though. I like apricots, I like rooibos, and it sounds like a good idea to put them together. How nice too, that somebody came up with a blend with something other than vanilla. Don’t get me wrong, I like that combo in moderation, but have been steadily collecting vanilla-rooibos blends and getting a little frustrated with their similarities. It was nice to encounter something different for a change.
Following my sisters advice, I used a whole tablespoon of tea in my strainer, added hot water and set the timer for a full five minutes. Then I got busy with the housework and forgot completely for another 5 minutes or so. Rooibos is generally pretty forgiving of long steeps, so no big deal, and I figured it would give the flavors a chance to develop.

It was … ok. I wanted to like it. I even added a little sweetener to “bring out” the apricot flavor. Sadly, it just didn’t float my boat. I could taste the apricot and the rooibos, but they were just not getting on. It wasn’t BAD, but there was no chemistry, no spark. I was very disappointed.

“It’s better iced,” said my big sis. I resolved to try again, but wasn’t expecting much the second time around. Fortunately, a day came in which I looked at the snow falling outside and out of pure contrariness decided to make some into iced tea. Surprise, Surprise! Cold brewed, the apricot was refreshing in more than one sense and managed to harmonize with and not be overpowered by the rooibos. I didn’t need to add anything this time. Good stuff.

In conclusion, Apricot Escape is aptly named. It certainly is an escape from my other rooibos combos, which were all starting to taste the same to me. And it’s really good cold. Just not hot. I think I’ll label the rest of this sample “Iced only.”

Yum. I think I went a little light with the leaf, so I will try again and do a full review that time. Very good though, I really love white tea.

I got a sampler of this from Art of Tea – comes in a cute little tin which I love.
The tea is alright.
Between this and the one other I bought they both have a very similar flavor element to them that I am not quite fond of. It could be their black tea base or could be the base flavor of the flavorings they use but its just MEH to me.
Not bad, but kind of not making me want to finish the cup either.
Better things to move along to.
Sorry Art of Tea, maybe one day I will try some of your other teas that are not in a black tea base.
Passing this one on to my sororitea sister TeaEqualsBliss.

This one is nagging me! It tastes like something VERY familiar yet I can’t place it and no its not butterscotch candies lol – its something else.
Aruggggg I will figure it out and update.
Well if you read the notes below the post I think I figured it out.
Regardless this one gets passed on to my sororitea sister LiberTEAS

Thanks, Will Work For Tea!

I need one last tea before bed, I should probably get up and study a bit more early but there’s also the train. Apparently I should just be late to class all the time because the train after the one I usually take was dead on Thursday when I was on the way to the airport and on the one I always take, I have to stand. Rude.

I think I am starting to have a fall out with a lot of rooibos blends. It was the first kind of tea I really liked so that makes me sad. I’m just starting to not be a fan of the woodsy-sweet flavor of it, which is causing it to be the primary taste I get a lot of times.

I can finally taste blueberry now that I’ve let it cool way down, but meh. Rooibos, I have so many of you and now you’re blah to me :(

Like most this one leaves me wanting more PEACH!
And for that matter more oolong would be nice too.
Its just too delicate of a tea for me but its not bad – just delicate – I am sure for some this is blissful perfection – but I want something a bit more edgy.

So today I had a very special tea date with my friend and former co-worker Michelle. We went to a Bavarian Tea Studio! Sanctuary on Green: http://sanctuaryongreen.com/home is located on the east side of Cleveland (I live on the the west) and is studio, gift shop and cafe in a grand old house. They have two sittings Wed-Sat, reservations are required (last Friday I called in the morning and they were booked) and the tea portion is only open half the year (ending next week!) For such limited time open they sure do have a large selection of tea. I pursued the menu before hand and cross reference on Steepster and found many were form Art of Tea and TeaGschwender.

Michelle chose this one though it was actually on my shopping list and we shared a pot. It does have a honeysuckle like sweetness but also nice savory, herbaceous and woodsy qualities. It felt very cleansing and was a good pre-meal tea. For lunch I ordered the Seascape, three preparations of heron: in dill, dill cream sauce and mustard sauce. Oh my goodness, I’ve never had herring before but it’s true what they say, it’s like Scandanavian sushi (by which I actually mean sashimi cos no rice). The sauces were terrific, yum!

We chose a Plum Oolong for dessert and split a rum raisin poppyseed cake, great pairing! I should probably do a separate review on that and a review of the place, but I am tired. Up earlier than normal to shower before fencers came over (by which I mean fence builders not people that fence, of which my brother-in-law is the latter). Also I drive a Prius now, Prii are cool. 200th tasting note, whoo!

I used to be in love with this tea, back when I first bought it. Admittedly, I’ve had it for awhile, & so today I am counting it as a sipdown. Farewell, old friend.

Drank some of this last night. It used to be a favorite.
It’s a beautiful looking tea, made from the more roasty oolong that I tend to prefer, but it’s not as peachy or wonderful as I remember it being. Probably cuz it’s been in my cabinet for…awhile…

I wanted something soothing this morning, so I’m sitting in the sun, in my sun-room, enjoying a cup of Peach Oolong. It’s a beautiful fall tea, a darker Oolong that the one I drank yesterday, very smooth, a little earthy, with a mildly sweet peach backdrop. Although I’m drinking it plain, I know that a small pinch of stevia will bring the Peach taste forward. If it were cold outside, I’d add that pinch.

According to the National Weather service iPhone app, it’s suppose to be raining right now. My allergies are still bad, more crazy dreams & restlessness last night, but the sunshine feels awesome. Outside its 79 degrees, & although I’m not excited about braving the pollen count, I have places to go, people to see, things to do. I discovered a teashop in St. Louis that I am hoping to check out (and he sells Gaiwans!).

Thank you, Will Work For Tea!

I took pictures of some teas that had no pictures on here because why not? Nothing else to do right now. Maybe make a decision about what I am doing this weekend but I just don’t want to drive, and the only other way to go to NC is to leave in about 12 hours and I’m not ready to do that. Meh.

I’d miss my tea way too much because I don’t have a good way to make it if I go…that tea shaker, I bought it, but it has yet to arrive. Though the best bet is probably cold brewing with bottled water, ugh the water.

So anyway that’s just been taking up my time for the past week practically and it’s annoying. So more tea it is.

I probably should have steeped this a bit longer, but it’s so good nonetheless. The tea is true to its name. It is incredibly creamy and coconutty. It tastes so much like coconut, it feels like coconut flakes in your mouth. Now that makes for a bizarre feeling.

This stuff is definitely going on my shopping list. Wow. And as an added bonus, it’s beautiful!

Well sorry its just not for me – its not bad – its just not striking me the way it has others and with that said it needs to find a good home where it will be loved. I am sending this one to Kittenna maybe she will love it and care for it. :)

WOW! Just WOW!

I think this is an amazing tea! First off, the dry leaf is so pretty – white tea leaves blended with blue cornflowers, dried shredded coconut and sprinkled with safflowers. The smell of cream and coconut fill the nose. Ooooooo!

The taste matches the strength of the smell – creamy, creamy coconut. The smell and taste are quite strong, but I’m not complaining. I really like strong teas in general.

Currently I’m enjoying this iced, but it’s also good hot – which is a reason why I’ll probably keep it stocked in my cupboard. It’s also good without sweetener, but I find that adding a little takes it over the top! :)

This is the second white tea I’ve tried recently and am finding that I’m liking them more than I thought I would. (I’m more partial to flavored blacks.) Who knows, maybe I’ve been lucky with my choices. Whatever it is, I’m looking forward to finding more delicious offerings of white tea!

I’m not rating this, because I have mixed feelings about chamomile. With that said, this is one of the best teas I’ve ever had with chamomile. It is very yummy and banana-y.

Maybe the tea settled into different component layers… my first cup wasn’t good.

Yummy! I’ve had this once with a little milk and sugar, and once mixed with Teavana’s Honeybush Vanilla (and milk and sugar) for an evening dessert tisane recently. Both were extremely yummy, but I like the Art of Tea blend untouched the best. They know their stuff and I should not mess with perfection. :) Nice berry flavor with a bit of creamy cheesecake on the end of the sip. Perfectly satisfying when craving something warm and sweet after dinner.