Art of Tea

Tea of the afternoon here, this one isn’t too bad, I like the cinnamon and spices. I’m definitely getting some apple here, not sure about the fig. It needed a bit of sugar to help the flavors pop. I’ve never had a fig flavored tea before, it’s pretty good but not something I would go out of my way to stock on a regular basis.

Sipdown…
all done with my sample size of this tea. I decided to mix some of it along with the smoky Scottish Breakfast tea I have from Peet’s.

It wasn’t an unabashed success but I am still high on a cloud from seeing the Roy Hargrove Quintet last night at Yoshi’s… enjoy this song if you like jazz. :)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qxeb0cwjE8U

Tea of the morning here…
I can’t believe I am the first one to log this particular blend on Steepster.

It’s raining again this morning and aside from it being an ideal day for an assam, I think it’s also an ideal day to go to the Legion of Honor Museum, which I am doing later.

So I steeped this up for 4 minutes in the Beehouse teapot. It’s a pretty good assam, maybe not the best I’ve had but still quite yummy. It’s a bit malty and caramel-y with only a little bit of pungency. I almost never drink assams plain so I added some soymilk to this, which made it really good. I think this might be my only breakfast today! :)

I’ve had this tea for a while now and haven’t felt terribly inspired to drink it. I don’t care that much for flavored puerhs and this tea has a funky smell after brewing. I’m hooping now that wintertime is coming soon I’ll want to drink more of my puerhs in general, I’ve been ignoring them a lot lately. This is kind of nice to drink after a meal but I know I won’t be ordering more.

Art of Tea was having a free shipping special so I decided to indulge. I like the fact that the sample size teas all come in these cute adorable tins, about enough for 5-7 cups of tea. I haven’t been buying a lot of new teas lately, I have so many already so this was my big splurge for the month.

I decided to try this one first because I love coconut and I also love puerh! Most flavored puerhs leave me kind of nonplussed, so I had some reservations about this one. The aroma of the wet leaf is a bit funky, it reminds me of barnyard mixed with tropical air freshener.

Thankfully the flavor of it is a lot better than the smell. It’s an earthy shu with a prominent hazelnut and coconut taste. This is quite pleasant to sip on plain, but I admit I liked it better after adding some plain soymilk. That made it more creamy and dessert-like. This would also be fab with some coconut milk, huh? I might try a slightly longer steep next time because I found the consistency of it to be a bit “thin” even though I used about 2 tsps. of tea for an 8 oz. mug of water. Probably won’t rush out to buy any more of this, but will finish off the little tin I have. :)

This is my usual cup (or two, or three) in the morning. Very strong, good enough to get me into gear. I usually have this with a little bit of milk and a half teaspoon of sugar or honey.

I decided to give this a try vs. my usual goto masala chai from Tranquilitea in Plymouth, MI. I made it with a teapsoon of sugar and a little bit of 2% milk. Not bad, but it seems a little heavy on something, maybe the cardamom? I like my usual masala chai better, but this one certainly isn’t terrible. I certainly wouldn’t have a problem drinking it on the regular.

sooooo i received this sample from someone….indigobloom i think? Hard to say since the tasting notes on this one are non existant. Coconut is one of my least favourite flavours so i’ve held off trying this one. I do love me some lime though…

this tea? it’s kinda meh. It’s like it doesn’t really know what it wants to be. Theres a coconut lime verbena body wash from bath and body works that I used to love and this…this just doesn’t stack up. Clearly i’m not drinking body wash, but the smell from the wash is what i think about when i think of this tea and the taste doesn’t match up. It’s just kind of hanging out in a creamy kind of coconut bliss.

UPDATE: here is the link to the recipe I used for what is mentioned below: http://theteacupoflife.blogspot.ca/2012/11/french-vanilla-cupcakes-infused-with.html Let me know if you create it yourself :)

I can’t remember the last time I had a great Earl Grey blend. I’m pretty picky when it comes to this type of tea. Might sound weird, but there has been too many times I’ve tried an earl grey blend from others and it gave me a horrible after taste. There was this one blend (can’t remember the brand) that actually tasted like fruit loops…great cereal, but not for a tea! Anyways…

I absolutely loved this one though. I think it has the perfect amount of vanilla, all the while staying true to it’s real, strong flavour. I know some notes for this tea already state they didn’t like that the vanilla wasn’t too noticeable, but on my package it stated “hint of vanilla” so I wasn’t expecting much and what I did get, I was extremely happy with and so were my taste buds.

While drinking it, I could immediately think of endless recipes to infused this blend in. I am currently making french vanilla cupcakes with it. I hope they turn out great. I’ll be sure to share the recipe on my blog afterwards (www.theteacupoflife.blogspot.ca) I plan to also try Teaspoon and Petal’s earl grey hot chocolate with this one as well.

Ohhhhh the endless creative moments coming to my mind right now just from one cuppa!

Backlogging several cups and sipdown, too! I really liked this!

I started my day with this one! It was nice…see other notes…

Azzrian Thanks!

Hum…a combo of Cinnamon, Fig, Maple, Apple, and a hint of other chai-like spices…wonderful combo for my palate! It seems I have been craving more and more fig flavored teas lately! HINT, HINT Tea companies!!!!

This is really nice, tho, the fruit and spice combos are RIGHT ON! Nifty flavors! YUMM-O!

This blend was okay. I was excited to give it a try because once I opened the package it smelted divine. However, I felt it had an odd scent to it while and after it being steeped – almost like it was burnt. (Note: I only steeped in for 3mins and at the given water temp.)

It’s not my favourite cuppa but don’t let that steer you away from it. I don’t like the flavour of any coffee at all, so I think that might be my reasoning for it. For a bold tea, I didn’t exactly think it was “bold” enough. I think it would definitely be a great starting blend for a coffee lover who wants to get into tea.

I’m glad I had a chance to at least give this blend a try. I think I know what I’ll give my coffee lover friends for Christmas now! ;)

I requested two samples from Kate at Art of Tea, and within a week I received a package in the mail containing the two I requested and eight more. It was such a lovely surprise! I can not get over the great customer service Art of Tea has.

Before I even began to steep or try this blend I had no idea that this was an award winning tea of theirs. It is the winner of Buyer’s Choice (Best Blended Tea) – World Tea Expo.

Right from the start of opening the sealed packaged the luscious scent started to fill the room. I immediately pictured coming home to a fresh bouquet of flowers on the kitchen table. Once I began to steep the blend for about 3 minutes, the aroma got stronger and much more refreshing. The leaves are also pretty to watch while they brew (bonus!).

As for the taste, I’m usually hesitant when I hear about any type of flowers in a tea because I’m not too crazy for floral teas. However, I was surprised at how well the rose petals and the mint flavours all came together. There was never too much of either taste in the sips. It was a smooth balance blend with a delicious combination.

It was a delightful blend, and I highly suggest those with a hectic lifestyle from time to time give it a try. It was a great tea to refresh the mind during a late night. I even steeped my mom a cup, and she wanted seconds! It’s definitely a blend I will be making a purchase for more.

www.theteacupoflife.blogspot.ca

I am relatively new to the tea world, so I have been trying as many teas as possible just so I can get a better idea of what is out there and what I like. This tea came in the Award Winning Sampler pack from Art of Tea.

When I first opened the package and smelled it, it had a very strong, yet not overwhelming, mint aroma. It also had a bit of a floral note from the roses. Like I said above, I am new to tea, and I have not had many mint+floral teas. I was really skeptical when I made my first cup.

I boiled a pot of water on the stove (the tea is marked for 175-185F, I know), and steeped it for 3 minutes.

I let the tea cool a little bit before I took my first sip, and I was pleasantly surprised. It had a very light mint flavor with a hint of rose. This combination was delicious, and neither the mint nor the rose was overpowering. The taste and smell made me feel very relaxed.

I will definitely be purchasing more of this tea.

I think that the name of this tea is a bit misleading. When I think of pumpkin pie, I think of a custardy pumpkin inside with a buttery crust. It seems that there aren’t too many pie flavors, but more of the spices that are added to the dessert instead. The strongest flavor here is cinnamon. I wish that more of a creamy pumpkin flavor could come through. The finish is nice and sweet, but of course, I want more. Where is the pumpkin? Where is the crust? This cup is nicely fall-themed and does make one think of fall spices, but I think there are tastier caffeine-free pumpkin pie tea out there.

I am always on the quest to find a perfect rooibos/honeybush pumpkin pie blend. I want something creamy, with lots of pumpkin flavor & very light on the spice. Pumpkin pie is my favorite pie and I adore anything pumpkin anyway. I love this time of year because I feel less crazy for indulging in everything pumpkin! Anyway, I am trying the last of this tea again because I honestly can’t remember how it tastes.

This tea is interesting because like many pumpkin pie teas, it relies on the spices to deliver the pumpkin flavor. I don’t find the spices to be too overwhelming in this blend (hooray!). It actually morphs into pumpkin pie on the tongue if you really slurp. I actually like the way the spices blend with the honeybush. I think honeybush is a great base to use for this kind of tea because it’s sweet and smooth like a creamy slice of pie.

I am surprised at how mellow this tea is. It could be because it’s very old… I’m sure that the fresher teas would have a bit more strength. So far this is my favorite honeybush/herbal pumpkin blend. It still feels like there is something missing to make this just right… but I’ll certainly finish the cup!

I cannot remember who sent this to me in a swap.. but thank you & I’m sorry I forgot who you are!

Mmm lovely. I was going to come on here and say I haven’t really tried any new teas, and it’s true. I’ve had this before but I haven’t written anything about it! I picked this up at the beach a few months ago, at a little tea and beer house I hope made it through Sandy. It was a cool place!

Anyway, this tea is delicious. Light and fruity with the white peony shining through, how I like my white tea. It’s gorgeous to look at as well. Probably very good iced! The pomegranate is the main fruit flavor, but the blueberry is definitely there. Not tart, lightly sweet. Very tasty, and I know it brews a decent second cup from experience.

Tea: about 3 teaspoons
Water: 16 oz
Additives: None

Drinking a pot in bed on this overcast afternoon.

This is one of my favorite teas, the smooth balance of this tea really brings out the complements of each part, the sum of its whole is by far better than its components individually. Basically it all works nicely to create a wonderful cup of tea.

Finished off this sample! Still as delicious as I remember.

Today is finally my day off so I decided to have a minor sipdown and get some tea out of my way to make room for new ones :] I LOVE this rooibos. It’s absolutely perfect and a great start to my busy(but relaxing) day!