Art of Tea

And the Breville keeps the tea at the perfect drinking temp. swoon

I got my belated birthday present in the mail today: a Breville One-Touch Tea Maker. Good Mail Day!!!!

What to brew in it first? Oh, the decisions!! I finally settled on this rooibos blend. It’s one of the first that I purchased from Cuppa, my local tea haunt.

There’s a few loose leaves in the brew since some bits were smaller than the holes in the brew basket. But the taste!! This is definitely the best I’ve had this tea. Brewed for my usual 10 minutes…wow!!

It tastes like a chocolate-covered banana, or like chocolate chip banana bread. It’s sweet without being sickly-so. Banana, real banana, not a candy banana, flavor is the first note, followed quickly by the chocolate, and then with a mild rooibos finish. If you’ve not had this tea and like bananas, you really need to get some!

And the One-Touch is awesome. Already plotting what tea I’m going to put in it to have ready for me at 5 am.

(edited because I had to experiment with making italics)

Yum! I do love this tisane. I was a little worried when I read some of the recent tasting notes from those who also subscribed to the Steepster Select box, because I have tried this tisane before, and loved it, but from reading some of the tasting notes, not everyone was very enthusiastic about it, so I worried that maybe it was a bad batch. But mine is very tasty – sweet, delectable pear … caramel flavor. Honey notes.

So yummy!

Backlog: Last night while watching television with my hubby I sipped on this. It was very delicious and dessert-like and oh-so-comforting!

Another gift from Doulton – thanks so much!

I received my order from Art of Tea a few days ago! I love the way they package the samples in the pillow boxes.

This tea is absolutely delicious. And you can’t oversteep it because it’s rooibos so it doesn’t get bitter, the flavor just gets more intense. However, my cup IS almost finished now, I was going to write a review about it on Tea Review Blog, so if I want to do that, I better get over there!

In honor of today’s Steepster Select, I decided to try this tea. And thank you very much to wombatgirl for sending it to me!

This is really good. I mean… really good! The pear flavor is very distinct. Sweet. This is probably the best pear flavored tea and/or tisane that I’ve ever tasted. I’ve tasted quite a few, and I even flavored one myself (and it was pretty darned good)… and I’ve liked quite a few of them… but as far as PEAR flavored tea goes… this is the closest to pear taste that I’ve ever experienced.

As a result of this tasting, I’m actually purchasing some of it… I’m glad it’s a steepster select item!

Slight backlog…brewed up a big pot of this before starting my Thanksgiving contribution: Chocolate Blackberry Spice cake. It’s now in the oven, and I’ll frost it in the morning. Here’s hoping it turns out well!

And now, my teapot is empty and I have to clean the kitchen. sigh

Did you know the World Equestrian Games start Saturday? Well, they do. They’re in my town, and today I got the first taste of how it’s going to affect my job. Let’s just say I’ll be pre-gaming motrin.

And then I realized: traffic downtown (where Cuppa is located) is going to be crazy. Crah-zee. So I went today to pick up some loose-leaf, and get my last tea fix before a possible two-week hiatus. And for some strange reason, I was really wanting a latte. I’ve only ever had one latte before (made with the rooibos chai, quite weak), but this sounded so good. It’s sweetened with caramel. It’s so wonderful and amazing and nummy. It could turn me into a latte drinker. I want to learn to make lattes so I can have this all the time. And I think the warm milk aspect is going to help me sleep, since I’m already ready to curl up and doze off.

Today whilst going through my tea drawer here at work, I found a Tsac that I’d made of loose-leaf tea. I hadn’t labeled it. sniff Could be a few teas that I have from home. So I brewed it up for 5 minutes, sipped and realized it was this tea. Let it brew for about 5 more minutes (I like my rooibos strong), and am happily drinking away on this mug.

I know I’ve logged/reviewed this before, but I really can’t say enough about this tea. It’s just delicious. I’ve only got one problem: there was only one bag, and this mug is just about gone.

I finally got to go back to my regular haunt, Cuppa, today. It’s an amazing tea place here in town owned by an amazing lady and her family. I’ve missed them so much, and I got to stay and chat with them while they were doing their end-of-day routine.

Bought three teas there, and got a cup of this to go. It’s one of my favorite Art of Tea blends. It really, truly tastes like a pear that you’ve sliced and dipped into caramel fruit dip. The rooibos is not strong at all; the pear is definitely the star of this show. Makes a perfect dessert tea, or a before-bed treat.

Brewed for 10 minutes…love having a place where I’m such a “regular” that they remember how long I like my teas steeped!

Just finished off the last of what I won in one of Art of Tea’s Facebook contests. It’s good. Not amazing or crazy-memorable, but a solid vanilla earl grey that has been my staple morning cup for the last few weeks. Sad it’s gone, but probably won’t buy it any time soon.

roasty…. sweet
not too heavy
light mouth feel
I wanted it to be a little more brothy but it’s still pretty good

This brews up to be a much lighter color than you would expect. The first time I brewed it, it was for 5 minutes and I double checked the tea timer after I saw the color. It’s a delicate, floral cup, and like the other reviewer said, it’s more like a white tea. I’ve debated brewing it for longer, but I do like the lightness of it.

a cup yesterday and another today and I have to say I really enjoyed it…very smooth – love the lemon!

I never know what to expect with Ginger anymore. USUALLY it’s too fierce in tea for me…but I will say this one is darned good! It’s a smooth taste. There is just a bit more lemon than ginger and they are in perfect harmony! There is the slightest bit of Honeybush in the actual blend but would suggest any more! This is the perfect amount of that, too! This one blew my doors off! I was totally surprised by this and think it’s just darling!

… Put this one in the delicate category…
Water a little too hot… bitter
too much leaf… bitter
steep for the stated time!… BITTER!!!!!
my normal amount of leaf… BITTER!
HALF my normal amount of leaf… GREAT!
wtf
Anyways… after PAINSTAKINGLY figuring out what part of my soul the leaves wanted in the cup with them… This is pretty good.
It is tart and fruity without being a dirty mushy fruit salad or only tasting like hibiscus which is the highest compliment I can bestow on a fruit flavored tea. Good job guys.
But… why is it named pomegranate when it tastes of raspberries… and pretty much only raspberries? So yea… no pomegranate flavor so I dub this tea “Green Raspberry” from now until forever and then it’s good.

It’s a green Earl Grey. I like it.

I received this as a free sample when I placed an order with Art of Tea – their samples are quite generous!

This is really very tasty. The lemon is the most prominent, but it isn’t a super-tart, pucker-ish lemon, it’s smooth and juicy. The ginger seems to soften the tartness a bit, and adds just a little peppery pick-up to the cup. It’s not overwhelmingly ginger, it’s not too sour… it’s just very refreshing!

I like it!

There are pink pepper corns in this? really? Except for the fact that I can see them I would have had no idea what so ever.
This tea is faintly chocolate and faintly banana. Not a strong flavor at all… but it’s ok.
I can’t believe I don’t have more to say about this one. The rooibos is fine… the flavors make sense…
There you go?

This won first for an iced tea category at the North American Tea Championship, and I can see why. This is amaaaazing iced. It’s all right hot, too, but iced it is brilliant stuff. My mother-in-law, who is a self-professed tea hater, keeps asking me to ice cups of this for her.

It’s pretty earthy for a green. Every once in a while I even get a sip that screams Pu-erh esque right in my face. And I like pu-erh so it’s fine but yea… really earthy. Nice and mellow to.
Surprisingly thin mouth feel when you would expect, from the earthiness, a very round, think feeling. So I would certify this as a light and airy tea. Not refreshing though since I don’t consider anything earthy as being very refreshing.
All of the vegitality of greens are absent but there is an excellent toastiness which pairs with the earth very well.
Yum.