Art of Tea

I started taking this one with just a little honey, for a most fantastic hot pear/caramel/apple cider type evening treat. The honey brings out the caramel notes for me, and the pear is juicy and lovely. It was such a nice change of pace after having a rooibos chai almost every night since it got chilly!

Finished my mindblowingly delicious sample from Jaime last night. So, so good. Caramel, fruit. Rich, decadent! I love it, and plan to order some as soon as I finish the other Art of Tea samples Jaime sent (so I can order all the yummiest ones!!)!

Luscious! Completely fantastic rooibos dessert tisane! Caramel and fruitiness (pear, but faintly sweet fruity real pear) and the rooibos adding depth and holding everything together. I added a splash of milk and it was so dessert-y and everything I wanted in an after dinner tisane!!! So so good!!! My husband said “This one is great!” I said “This is one of the three rooibos tisanes Jamie sent! I think I like this one the best!” and he said “They were ALL good!” in the most serious voice ever. :) :) :) I think I simply must place an Art of Tea order (even though I need tea like I need a hole in the head) because finding after dinner tisanes we both love so much is pure gold – pure caramelized pear gold!!

Another delicious one from Jaime!!! Banana candy! I don’t get chocolate, but that’s just fine. I’m perfectly happy with banana candy. I also put a splash of milk in it which made it super dessert-y! I am really loving these for a sweet treat after dinner. I have not even thought about a cookie. I am extra pleased that my husband is absolutely crazy about this one too :) I don’t need to be psychic to see an Art of Tea order in my future!

Thank you once again Jaime!!! I love it!

I can’t taste, so I’ll say “warm, comforting” but once again my husband flipped for this. It is on the MUST PURCHASE! list for sure! So sad to be done my sample from the very generous Jaime.

Many thanks to Jaime for this tisane!

This is really, Really, REALLY good! The blueberry flavor is fantastic, and I get a hint of tanginess. Not creamy per se (but I would like to try it some time with a splash of milk to see what happens!). I love it. It really feels as if you had a dessert. Sweet and flavorful. Great body and presence. Greedily slurped by husband!

About half way through my cup, I had to search for the Art of Tea site to see what other magic they had up their sleeves. BOY do they have some interesting caffeine free blends! Luckily Jaime sent me two more Art of Tea tisanes to try! I know what I’ll be drinking for the next few nights :) So excited to try them!!!

Thank you thank you thank you Jamie!!!

Swung by Cuppa for a latte before heading out to visit one of my schools…it’s such a yucky, rainy day that you just have to stop for a good cup of tea. I didn’t want any of the lattes that they have on the menu, so I asked Lisa to create a new one with this tea.

Winter’s Night latte: Starry Night black tea, 2% milk, and caramel, white chocolate, and vanilla syrups.

I’ve only got three words for you: Nom, nom, nom!!!!

(Not rating this one right now, since it’s been a while since I’ve had just Starry Night by itself. But it’s awesome, too, if memory serves.)

Thanks Jaime for sending me the wonderful art of tea samplers. This is one of the many (I lost count of what number out of how many I was on). I am enjoying the floral notes mixed with the rooibos. I think I would enjoy something like this more if it was a green rooibos as it doesn’t have the wet fermented wood taste, but it’s slowly growing on me. The floral notes are a nice change from the berry and vanilla and chocolate rooibosi I’ve sipped on lately. I can enjoy this cup, but can’t see it being in my cupboard, I just don’t care for red rooibos enough.

Art of Tea sample 11/24

I could sit here and sniff this tea all day, but that wouldn’t be a very good review. The blueberry pieces are huge in this blend, understanding why it smells so deliciously berry and jasmine. The taste is of sweet blueberry and jasmine, a very very strong jasmine. It leaves a taste on my mouth similar to getting sprayed in the face with perfume/hairspray/air freshner that just is not pleasant. I love the initial taste of the blueberries, but the jasmine really throws one for a loop.

I wonder if this could be tamed by blending with another tea? Or an herbal berry blend? I really really wanted to love this one!

It got a little better when it cooled off, the jasmine wasn’t so much a perfume…or maybe my mouth built up a tolerance to it?

Art of Tea sample 10/24

This tea has so much going on. The first sips are very tart with a bit of floral undertones. I definitely taste the rosehips in this one. Made the liquid a very dark orange. This tastes very herbal/medicinal. I think I would enjoy it more if it didn’t have the chamomile and mint in it. Too many mixes of flavor to be satisfying to my mouth today. Wow. Try this for an interesting experience.

Art of Tea sample 7/24

Not getting any chai spices after an 8 minute steep in boiling water. Wondering if this may have been mislabeled as it tastes like a plain rooibos. I may have to cut open the tea bag with the next bag to see what is inside. Holding off on the rating as I’m not sure if this is the right tea :(

Had a cup of this today while watching a movie and eating some popcorn. Due to the popcorn and a very long day I will more fully review this later but I can say this – it’s yummy!

Art of Tea Sample 4/24

Total user error/label reading FAIL on this tea. I thought it was a rooibos so I steeped for 7+ minutes as the timer went off and I didn’t go remove the tea promptly. It was probably steeping for over 10 minutes.

Wow did that make one cup of awakening tea. Glad to know that’s not how the tea should taste! It sure would have been a great wake me up cuppa. I will rate when I brew this correctly!

Ok, I had this at a tea bar yesterday and I think they may have made this wrong…it was very light in color, as if it was a white tea I was drinking and the flavor was very watered down. I could barely taste any oolong at all and no floral notes, just a vague sweet note. So I have come to the conclusion that they used too much water or not enough tea, either way I am pretty sure this was watered down and not how this should taste, so I wont rate it until I try it again.

Just updating: a lengthier review (and this is still good stuff!) posted at www.itsallabouttheleaf.com.

You know it’s summer when I start out the morning with a bottle of something chilled … but this is really nice straight from the fridge. Flavor doesn’t go south when you’ve stored it for a while.

I am not a banana fan, so I approached this sample from Doulton a little suspiciously, but
…wow! The chamomile, banana, and coconut work really nicely together—you can’t really taste where one ends and the other begins. Furthermore, chilled, this is a nice smooth summer cooler. I can see myself tossing in some orange or pineapple juice to make this more punch-y.