English Tea Store

Tea #30 from Traveling Tea Box C

I almost opted out of trying this one, because chai is not typically my thing. But when I opened the bag and got a sniff, I just had to. I love Indian spices, and this is just amazing.

It smells like curry, and coriander, a little cumin, and cardamom. Just like my apartment when I’m making a curry. Woo!

I brewed this with a teaspoon and a half of leaf to about an ounce of water, then poured over milk and a tiny amount of sugar. The result was exactly what was promised by the smell. Creamy Indian-spiced goodness. I think this would be a chai blend even Fiance would love!

I don’t think this one is going any further. This is too awesome, and too weird to pass up.

Another tea I had a strong liking for in the past but can no longer drink.

Considering this is now my second English Tea Store blend in which I find the artificial flavors amped up, I can only assume that my palate has changed since the last time I drank this. I can taste the tropical notes in it but they seem to be overwhelmed by an artificial quality that makes drinking it unpleasant for me.

I’m very disappointed because I was quite fond of this tea, but I guess now it’s time to come to a parting of the ways.

This tea has a sweet, fruity aroma that wafted up from the pot as I poured the hot water on the leaves. After a 4 minute steep, I added milk and sweetener. The tea’s flavor was not as fruity as its aroma promised and it had a very slight artificial tasting undertone. However it was enjoyable and I will re-order once I’ve cleared some space in the cabinet.

Tea #12 from Traveling Tea Box C

There’s definitely more going on here than a typical vanilla rooibos. I think the almond adds a kind of depth and richness. I don’t know that it really strongly comes across as almond, but it’s there. It’s also nice and naturally sweet, and would probably make a good latte.

The cinnamon adds a spiced note at the tail of sip, but other than that isn’t really present in the cup.

Neither flavor overcomes the rooibos, but it’s a smooth rooibos that doesn’t really have any landscaping chip notes to it.

Tea #8 from Traveling Tea Box C

First thought “Holy crap they recommend a seven minute steep time?”

Second thought “Holy base, Batman!”

Third thought “You know. I never really liked chai…”

That said, it’s a brisk (and strong) black base and the chai spices aren’t super potent. Surprisingly, it’s not the spices that turn me off this. The base is a bit much for me, and has some very slight bitterness and some less slight astringency. The spices I got initially were clove and ginger then some cinnamon. They all intensified as the cup cooled. As it cools down I can pick up the vanilla, but it’s never really in the forefront. More like an afterthought that never got completely realized.

Hopefully there are some chai spice lovers further down the tea box!

So. Fiance and I went up north(ish) to have a weekend of kayaking, swimming, mini golfing, bonfires and general amusement. The plan was originally to head home tomorrow afternoon sometime, but we left tonight to avoid the traffic. We still got in everything but the swimming, so it’s all good. Definitely heading back up over labor day to spend some time with my sister and her boyfriend.

Tea #3 from Traveling Tea Box C

There’s quite a bit of stuff in this box with little or no caffeine, and while my caffeine addiction might not be thrilled with this, the part of me that likes going to bed at a reasonable hour is ecstatic.

The dry smell of this tea is sweet and desserty and has a nice subtle vanillaness to it. Brewing though, I can definitely pick up the rooibos. That being said, this tea has a nice vanilla sweetness that comes through in the forefront, and a natural cocoa note lingers at the tail of the sip. It also goes down really nice and smooth. This isn’t enough to mask the rooibos though, as the other 90% of the flavor is rooibos.

Honestly, rooibos and I are still at odds. It’s starting to taste less like cedar chips now, but I’m still not in love with the flavor so this is definitely not really a tea for me.

Tea #19 from the traveling tea box.

First a bit of a complaint about improper ingredient listing, then I’ll move on to the tea. I have food allergies, some more severe than others, so it really bugs me when a company isn’t clear on what ingredients are in a tea. Nowhere in the ingredient listing for this tea did it state there was cinnamon in it. I’m highly allergic to cinnamon it gives me hives and in some cases causes difficulty breathing, so I go out of my way to avoid it. In fact, when the tea box first came in I had my husband go through and set aside anything that clearly stated it had cinnamon in it so I could take some allergy meds ahead of time in case I needed to touch the package or got a wild hair to try one.

Natural flavors does not mean cinnamon. I’m just glad that the baby didn’t get ahold of my cup of tea today because he is even more allergic to it than I am.

end rant

Now on to the tea. I had to dump this out for obvious reasons, but I did drink a fair amount before that. I think that this vanilla rooibos blend has a lot more depth than most that I’ve tried. It is slightly sweet, but you can still taste the rooibos and the cinnamon adds a spicy kick at the end of each sip.

Tea #18 from the traveling tea box.

For a tea that is supposedly the Champagne of Teas I found this rather unremarkable. It didn’t have an overly strong aroma or taste and I wonder if the process to make this decaffeinated might have something to do with that.

I don’t find this to be undrinkable, but I have certainly had much better darjeeling teas.

Tea #16 from the traveling tea box.

I made this first thing this morning and somehow forgot all about it. When I finally rediscovered it I tossed it in the fridge to enjoy cold later in the day. This makes a pretty nice iced tea if you like rooibos. The vanilla gives it just a hint of sweetness that really appealed to me.

With a five minute steep time I can taste more vanilla bean than cacao and the rooibos comes through very strong. Since I’m not a huge fan of rooibos this tea isn’t for me.

For a cheap tea that smelled pretty artificial this didn’t turn out so bad cold brewed. It definitely needed to just sit and mellow out for an extra day though.

There’s this weird floral quality to it though as it warms up. I don’t care for it. But I think I only have enough to cold brew another pitcher and I’d never have it again. But it tastes enough like mango. And black tea. I guess. It’s still nothing special even though it doesn’t taste terrible.

I have not been drinking much of anything interesting outside of water lately. Or probably much of anything at all. Blah. Such blahs.

And I did a go-kart race last night in some really intense go-karts and my entire body still hurts. I had to get up for work at 5 today too. It’s amazing I was actually able to put together the pastry case today and not have my arms fall off and I didn’t drop a plate of pastries on the floor either yay.

But in exciting news: THE PANDA AT THE ZOO HAD TWINS! and a hockey facility is being built half a mile from where I live. I am going to just go watch everyone play hockey because I can.

This comes far later than intended, I should have just put it off till morning but I meant to do it 90 minutes ago! I went to a yelp party tonight, it was ok, I always feel left out but eh. This one guy there, he’s a yelper too, but he takes pictures not even as one of the official photographer and tbh he’s the best. LOOK AT THIS. http://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/yelps-deco-dence-otps-first-yelper-party-marietta?select=eIHKdZKe6TLJwd4PhkjbZQ#jgwwq6EtoVO24tx2MVeutg
I have no idea how that is such a good picture because he was trying to get one and this little fly was getting all up in my face and I was trying to watch it to swat it away before that haha.

ok so I really really oversteeped this as a coldbrew. Like I hadn’t finished up my tons and tons of Sansa Stark tea so it kind of sat there a bit longer than necessary. It’s strong. it’s not very sweet. Though, I have never been much of a fan of this blend. There’s vanilla, but there’s really nothing else to it imo.

Well I used half the bag so at least there’s not much more.

Leif & I are cleaning house today. The kitchen is done, as is my studio. Now we’re taking a break, & sampling a bunch of teas from the TTB-A, so that I can send it off. We have 6 gaiwans lined up, using 1/2 tsp or so per Gaiwan This is our first sample.
This one is fairly astringent & has a hint of apple, which would probably be more prominent if we added sweetener, but both of our 2 oz cups are already empty.

This is a lovely tea. Good for any time of the day. Very mild

I nabbed a sample of this to cold brew from the Traveling Tea Box (A) before I sent it off today. I have very little interest these days in flavored green teas made hot (with a few exceptions), but I do enjoy them cold.

The cold brew was pretty decent, although at first it was a little perfumy. It just occurred to me now that it was kind of a dead ringer for this DKNY Delicious green apple perfume that I have. Probably good I didn’t think of that then. Anyway, after a few sips the perfuminess faded a bit and I was left with a decent green apple tea, though it was somewhere between green apple candy and actual granny smith apples. But I love green apple candy, so it worked for me.

meh, it’s hibiscus with other stuff added in to pretend it’s not just hibiscus.

I got this in a big swap with AlphaKitty and was really looking forward to this one. So much so that I brought it with me on our little mini trip away. Once we got to our destination and I was ready to settle in and relax I brewed some of this. It smelled great dry.

But alas, pu erh and I just don’t seem to be great friends. We get along great when I can barely taste it (cinnamon swirl bread, Aztec spice) but this one was a much stronger pu erh flavor and I just couldn’t seem to get used to it. Maybe someday my tastes will evolve, but that day was not today. Thanks for the taste though Alphakitty!

This was alright warm, but I let it cool off thinking because it smelled so much like a nice, tart granny smith apple, it’d be great iced. Instead it’s so gross, bitter, and the feeling it leaves on my tongue is terrible. Completely undrinkable.

I guess I’ll try coldbrewing it and hope it turns out better. Perhaps also give it a shot with the 160 setting on my kettle.

Another cold brew sip down, and this is delicious!
I think I am now hooked on cold brewing tea!

Still working my way through the Azzrian Tea Box! Thanks again, Azz!
This is a nice potent black tea! I’m not really getting the maple flavor much, but the Berry flavor is definitely there! I think the rest of this sample will become another cold brew.
Speaking of blackberries, as I was walking in my garden the other day, I realized I need to do a LOT of pruning that should have been done in the fall. Last year’s blackberry boughs are still there! I made a plan: I’ll prune them out & use them to form the sides of a raised bed! They are definitely long enough & sturdy enough, so I can anchor them together, line the inside with burlap coffee bags, & they will add nicely to the ambience of my strange but wonderful gardening methods!

This is kind of neat! A nice Earl Grey, not too heavy, the definite taste of caramel that doesn’t come off too sweet, and pretty flower petals mixed with the leaf.

I believe there is enough to make one more cup so I am going to try it with a 4 min steep too and see if that boosts the bergamot a bit more. It’s definitely tasty as is, but I think if it was just a tad bit stronger, I’d like it even more.

This was definitely a good afternoon tea as I have wanted to fall asleep all day for no reason.

Another Sipdown (299), this one came from Alpha Kitty, thanks, wherever you are!

Admittedly, this one doesn’t really work for me too much. It’s a little astringent, the strawberry flavor is in front & a little on the tart under-ripe side.
NEXT!