Majesteas

This was a pleasant sample to try from Indigobloom. It was a balanced cup for a start to the day. Not too harsh, not really astringent or bitter. Although nothing really jumped out at me, it was just a nice cup of tea.

Tried this tea for the first time at the Toronto Tea Festival years ago (2018? 2019?) and it was lovely on its own. I can’t say I’ve had a black green tea blend, but I certainly didn’t hate it!

Made a cup when I got home with milk and sugar and that’s where I hit the jackpot. This makes for a beautifully light creamy tea. It reminds me of a Lady Grey but a bit more floral, maybe due to the jasmine flowers.

Majestea’s Tea Company no longer exists, which means this tea blend doesn’t either. I’ve been hoarding what I have left of my bag, and I’m on a mission to find a dupe for this tea. I have found other black green blends of the same name as this one, but they just seem to be missing whatever the special ingredient is in this one that makes it rise above the rest.

Backlogging and full thoughts on this one…
http://sororiteasisters.com/2016/02/26/macdonalds-highland-blend-from-majesteas/

Ok so now I’ve had this a few times, I’m glad I got some before it disappeared. It fills a gap I didn’t know I had! Not expected but I’m ok with that.
This is a very mild blend. Great alone, and easy sipping with milk. Not so good iced, with milk sadly. I need to try it cold brewed and with no milk as well.
Will definitely have to find something to fill the hole when I eventually sip this down :)
One day I’ll post a review with actual flavour notes haha

Based on the website description, I expected this to be a hair smoky. Certainly not something I’d prefer sans leche! I found it rather delicate and very balanced. Satisfying in a way I haven’t yet put my finger on.
Of coursea all I have in the house is almond milk and I was realllllly craving milk tea so I tried that today. It worked well enough, despite a few almond clumps(organic for ya), though I feel the need to wait before rating as it definitely is not what I expected. Still quite tasty overall.

Also… I tried duck egg this morning. Ahhhhmazing. I have a new addiction.

P.S. Farewell Majesteas, Ian and Robert will be greatly missed xo
I have a bunch if anyone would like to try, as I’m holding the last of it!

I picked up a sample of this last weekend at Majesteas (they had some of the samples on sale and I’m a sucker for a good deal). The dry leaf smells like a delicious dessert: sweet caramel and toffee. The earthy pu-erh flavour really comes out when the leaves are steeped. The first steep was a little too fishy for me (maybe I should have rinsed the leaves?). So I steeped the leaves again, and I really enjoyed the second cup.

I bought this at the tea festival after trying a sample… and I was HOOKED.
This reminds me of a blend I had as a tea lover way back when I was just getting into tea. Figures I can’t recall where it was from!
Ah well.
I love the way this one is blended. A little tart, very citrusy, and a hint of bitterness with a faint aftertaste of sweetness.
Oh and my palate tastes distinct a grapefruit note, despite there being none in the ingredients. And I love me some grapefruit :)
Must be the orange vs hibiscus vs carrot shrugs!

Another tea from raritea from a company that’s local to Toronto. I’ve tried a few of their teas out, but haven’t yet tried this one. Sadly this one falls flat for me. It sort of tastes like not very much of anything. there’s a taste that’s trying to peak out of this, but it’s not strong enough for me to really grasp. oh well. win some, lose some. thanks raritea!

Purple puerh had me instantly intrigued as soon as I heard about it, however the tea making conditions in Europe left a lot to be desired, so I brought this back with me and am currently sipping it, cooled, on a blisteringly hot day in the Kootenays (BC, Canada).

It tastes very different cold than hot, although still pleasant. I get earthiness, almost a damp mossy earthiness, with a honeyed sweetness and then…. camomile? Huh? I’m positive it’s chamomile, as I only get this odd feeling in my throat when I drink chamomile tea (like all the cillia in my throat are at attention). Interesting.

Aha! Rarity was the one who gave this to me during our Edinburgh “meet for tea and swap tea” first ever, face-to-face visit. Yes! Thank you so much for your time and gracious sharing … I have so much tea here that I would’ve only had the opportunity to try because of you. Merci!

My husband is Irish and I’ve been to the UK six times, sometimes for a few months together. Eventually you get to a point where on a rainy day you could use a cuppa. This nails the concept of a cuppa. It’s not fancy. It’s not frilly. But its smooth and well-balanced. My husband just made a cup and yelled “Good normal cup of English tea” to me from his office.

Joins Stash White Christmas to be my top two teas. It’s sweet, its got some licorice, its got some minty, some cinnamon-y and it just gets better as it cools. Seriously good stuff.

We had a soup and game night with Superanna and her husband and ChelseaR and my son. My daughter, Superanna, gave me this as another gift from her Toronto trip and we all shared it. It was loved across the board!

The puerh flavor is definitely light. If you drink it really hot you taste puerh and mint, but let it cool a little and the vanilla and cinnamon spring forth. A little longer and the licorice root comes out and rounds the whole cup with sweetness. It is fantastic. I am drinking a third steep right now and it is so flavorful. I actually forgot it and left it who knows how long, but it isn’t bitter at all. I intended to share it with a friend who is coming over but I will need to make a new pot because this one will be gone by the time she gets here.

They say it is delicious iced, and I bet it is! I need to try that soon, but it is really cold outside right now and I need pot after pot of hot tea.

The fire is going, Pandora Meditation Radio playing, the diffuser is blowing Citrus Passion, the candles are lit, and with this tea in hand it is cozy and blissful.

Matcha note. Not bitter.

Baked goods-like sweetness. Cinnamon. Juicy-grapey flavour. Clean crisp aftertaste.

Third infusion for 5:30 minutes at boiling yields an olive note.

The 3 minute infusion really brings out some the complex flavour in this tea. I still detect the chamomile subtle sweetness. There is also a sweet grassy tone. Abstractly, I would describe the overal flavour as brassy and shiny. It has both a thin (on the tip of the tongue) and thick mouthfeel (still provides an umami savoury sensation).

Pu-erh flavour comes out a bit more with the longer infusion time. I may want to try extending the infusion time further next time.

The dry leaf smells incredible.

The brewed tea is leathery but sweet- reminiscent of chamomile-like sweetness. There’s a bit of the characteristic pu’er note but it is very well balanced with the overall flavour. The flavour is not at all bold. I would definitely try experimenting with different infusion times.

Good thick mouth-feel. I’m surprised by this considering how mild the flavour is.

Thank you scribbles for including some of this in the package you recently sent me.
I’m always looking for a good coconut oolong.
Was drinking this last night and thought – wow great coconut, too bad the floral from the greenish oolong is coming through.
Drinking the rest of the sample tonight and I’m not sure what I did different, but this is really good, just a wee hint of floral way in the back.
I love the coconut in this one. If you like floral coconut oolong, I would recommend this. If I could always get this to turn out as it did tonight, this would be WAY up on my best coconut oolong list. If this had a darker oolong base it would be my favorite coconut. I’ve put it on my wish list. Will see if I can find another sample to make a final decisions on it.
Thanks scribbles this was a fun one….

More snow (sigh).

I decided to brew up a trusted favourite. I think I must always keep a coconut oolong in my cupboard. I haven’t tried one that I dislike, although I do prefer some over others. This is one of those that I like a little more.

Infusion is bright yellow. Upfront taste is toasty coconut. As the cup cools, butter and a touch of salt lingers.

The second infusion doesn’t offer much, but the toasted coconut still makes its presence known.

I received a sample of this from the wonderful miss scribbles – thank you so much.

On the package is quotes she wrote “For those who enjoy dark, astringent black tea” and then added “I guess I like astringent teas……..”
Hmmm I would have to say that I don’t like astringent teas, but as always if someone is generous enough to send me some, I’m willing to try it.
I drank this for the better part of the day at work. I’m beginning to rethink “astringent” – either A> this isn’t astringent or B> I don’t fully understand what astringent is.
I didn’t find this astringent at all (but then I also didn’t find the Ceylon I was drinking yesterday astringent?). So, are my tastes off, or do not understand. At this point anything is possible.
All in all I really liked this – was a really nice tea to have a work today.

I tried this tea one last time to see if maybe I brewed it wrong the first time.

Nope. Still pretty awful tasting.

A friend of mine who tried it said it tasted quite smooth to her, but I ended up giving this one (nearly the whole bag!) away to someone else. Miffed that I spent nearly $9 on this stuff.

Second infusion this time, and instead of adding honey, I tried adding lemon juice to perk up the fruit taste.

It didn’t make much of an improvement. Still tastes like white tea with a weird dusty, musty tone underneath. I think this might be the dried mango asserting itself, as mustiness is something I’ve tasted in fresh mangoes in the past.

I’ll still drink it, but I’m disappointed because the scent of the brewed tea is lovely.

Another purchase from the Toronto Tea Festival, this time from a specialty tea store on Queen East, where all the gentrification is.

Packaging/Instructions: The tea came in a resealable (zip seal) bag. The back label said the tea should be steeped at 170-190°F for 2-5 minutes, with 1 heaping tsp for every 6 oz of water. The bag cost $8.95 for 35g.

Prep: The kettle sat for a few minutes so the water wasn’t boiling. Because the leaves were so big, I used a few heaping spoonfuls in the infuser. About 24 oz of water for what I would guess to be 5 tsp of dry leaf.

Leaf: The leaves are broken into much smaller fragments/pieces than I think is typical for a white tea. Very few leaves are whole, and there are a lot of stems in the mix. On top of that, the tea claims to be mixed with mango, pear, and apple, but I see very few pieces of dried fruit. The blend smells sweet with heavy overtones of pear and even some melon scent, but also quite musty/dusty. It’s definitely a more complex scent than plain old white tea.

1st infusion: The liquor is a nice medium gold, and it smells lovely – the mango smell is strongest. However, it doesn’t taste nearly so pleasant. I really wanted to like this, and I hope that I overleafed it, but right now, this tea tastes very dusty and there’s even a hint of candlewax I’m tasting. I added a small spoonful of honey to heighten the fruit notes, but I don’t think it’s helping any.

I think I’m going to try again in the future and use less leaf to see if that helps.

Every time I drink this tea I think of butterscotch ripple ice cream. I don’t add any sugar to this, it doesn’t really need it – it’s quite sweet on it’s own.

I thought at one time this would become part of my permanent stash. Funny how tastes change and evolve. I won’t have any trouble finishing what I have left, but it is no longer necessary to always have on hand.

Re-steep is not great.