Praise Tea Company

This was my first time making matcha and I was pleasantly surprised that it was not quite as difficult as I had anticipated. I began by boiling my water and letting it cool a little bit, and then followed the directions on my tea canister by putting a tablespoon of matcha powder into a bowl with a little hot water, thoroughly whisking, and then adding the rest of the hot water. I then whisked for about a minute and a half, until a thin foam formed on top. I then poured it into my mug and enjoyed it while looking out my bedroom window, which overlooks a small forest. I noted the color being more grey toned, like an army green, than previous matchas I have tried. The tea didn’t have much of a distinguishing scent, maybe just a slight grassy aromatic. The taste was bright and earthy, with almost citrus like notes. At the beginning of each sip, the flavor was most impactful, mellowing out as it moved across the palate. I thoroughly enjoyed it and would defintely make again!

Sweet and fruity

Opening the bag reminded me strongly of the tobacco my Dad used to roll into cigars. Thankfully, after steeping the smell changed, although there’s still echoes of tobacco in the flavor. Funny, it’s a first for me to say I like this. Normally, I shy away from anything tobacco-ish, other than maybe when it’s leather. Anyway, I digress.

I understand the intention behind this tea, however it’s too drying and tobacco-y for it to be a true, chewy caramel. It’s still nice, full-bodied and rich, it’s just not the cup I wanted this afternoon.

This came from (I think) my first swap on Steepster, from Allie. Thank you again!

I’m currently sipping on this pu-erh. It has a very strong fishy scent that I don’t really care for. The rose is in there too, so it kind of smells like fish and roses which is kind of a weird scent. I’m trying to not allow the aroma to prematurely affect my opinion of the tea.

I did a quick rinse and then 45 seconds for the first infusion.

This is alright. It definitely tastes better than it smells, because I’m not getting that fishy or brine-y taste that I expected since I experienced such a strong fishy scent. It has an earthy flavor, but, not fishy. It reminds me of the deep, earthy flavor of a mushroom.

The rose comes through nicely too … not a strong rose essence, but it compliments the deep earthy flavor of the pu-erh. Overall, an enjoyable pu-erh. I’m glad that I didn’t let the aroma stop me from tasting.

Since I nearly gagged one one chamomile-related herbal today I figured I would try and throw down another one I have been holding off on.

This has no color. It looks like water. Smells like Lav and Cham.

Tastes like Cham & Lav. Not bad for those two ingredients but not my fave ingredients at that. This one is certainly more stomach-able than that last one. I just wish I liked these two flowers in herbals more. No rating for that reason. Perhaps if you love those two ingredients you would love this tisane and I don’t want to taint that.

The peach flavor is spot on! It has a peach essence with a very light floral note at the end. The smell alone is divine.

The white chocolate and orange are very prominent. The chocolate tastes rich and sinfully decadent, while the vanilla is sweet and creamy. These two are in a pleasing balance.

Saturday Sample Sipdown #2

Thanks to Amanda for this sample. Not something I would buy, but it was ok.

My original review of it, written in character on International Talk Like a Pirate Day, is here:
http://steepster.com/Terri%20HarpLady/posts/130732#comments

First, thanks to Amanda (the “Be a Fruitloop in a world of Cherrios” Amanda, there are 2 Amandas here) for this tea!!

I’m sitting here, eating breakfast & sipping tea with my left hand, & typing with my right hand. I thought that might occupy little T so I could write this review in peace. This is the 2nd of 3 teas she thought would fit the “talk like a pirate day” theme. (The third one is Buttered Rum, by Davids Tea, which Bonnie sent to me. I already reviewed it last week).

Dry, it has a fruity & buttery aroma. A dark tea with bits of cacao nibs, very enticing. I brewed 1 tsp in 8oz for 3min.

“arrrrrr…tastee! Buttery, creamy, bold, & worthy of a sea-farin’ swag like me…a wee bit of a bite, but not ‘nough to blow a man down. Tastes more like rum than whiskey, to my per-view, & I likes me whiskey, says I, says I. She’s a lovely diversion, a beauty for sure. Takes me back to the beaches of Moroloro, where I sat, stranded for a year, aye, yes it does. ’twould’ve been a miserable one, that, had I not found a treasure in the cave: barrels of black tea, 50 cases of rum, & some food rations. Endless supply o’ coconuts on that Isle…aye,… ’twas a year of wonder…”

My back is still sore and I am a little flighty from the two Flexiril I took last night. Youngest made a pot of this lovely oolong for me so I could enjoy it on my heating pad!

This is such a good tea, and I am still drinking that sample from SimplyJenW. it was a BIG sample. Thank you!

The aroma is fruity leaning toward a minty scent rather than a candied scent. It is described as softly flavored, and it is. There is enough flavoring, but it does not interfere with your tasting the oolong base. Very good!

I wasn’t planning to review any further steeps of this one since I had done four already, but this merited an extra word or two. I continued to resteep and had this with a simple lunch of Mac and cheese and Chinese buffet style green beans. Even though it was the sixth and seventh steeps, this was excellent with food. I mean REALLY excellent with food. Around the eighth steep it started getting pale and weak. This was a great tea for today.

Special note: don’t drink eight steeps of anything prior to a round trip of fifty miles into the country for the puppies check ups at the no kill shelter that is basically a big barn. It doesn’t matter if you pee five seconds before you leave, you WILL have to go again! And you can’t stop at a Hess station with three squealing puppies and a largely untrained mama dog. LOL! So glad to be home…

This is a sample, albeit a BIG one!, from SimplyJenW.

I am brewing this gong fu fashion. The dry leaves smell like super juicy mango. What a fabulous aroma!

I steeped a bit longer than I should have on the first two tries, but it isn’t bitter so much as very drying. I learned my lesson and cut my time way back on the third. The water colored instantly when it hit the leaves, so I knew I could cut way back on my time steeping it this way. (I was chatting with hubby on his lunchtime for the first two.)

Third steep is still fruity, but now the tea isn’t drying at all. I can tell the oolong base is woodsy and medium dark. The fruit flavor is a high note rising mostly after the sip to me, and the flavor of the oolong base lingers.

Fourth steep – still excellent, lots of flavor, both the oolong base and mango. The mango may be more noticeable at the beginning of the sip now that it was at first. I think this still has a few steeps left in it, but I will end the reviewing at four so I can give this tea my full attention.

Thank you, Jen!

The last of my goodies from Fairyfli! This was so fun!

Carribean Flair is really good….lightly chocolate and very coconutty! It definitely satisfies the need for dessert. It tastes very sweet and the cream comes out with a little sweetener. Luckily, I have at least one or two more trials of this!

Subtle chocolate notes with a spicy finish.

A naturally sweet infusion has a smooth and mouth-filling body with well-rounded flavors of lemon and mango.

All the benefits of oolong, bu with a subtle fruity oolong taste. This one is close to flawless and a great value.

Tried to make a s’more latTEA by using 1 1/4 TB leaf, 1 cup each Fat Free Smart Balance milk and water, and 2TB marshmellow mocha creamer. I love my s’mores ozzing chocolate, but for a drink this was really good inspite of a pretty weak chocolate flavor. The nuts and spices of the tea really bring out the toastyness of the marshmellow and even a graham cracker type taste. It’s REALLY good.

Sample 2/7

Wow! This hasn’t even been put in the data base til now. I’m really getting anxious for my December vacation for my best friend’s wedding (37 days!) so I reached for this for my daily milk consumption.

The dry leaf smells very strongly of spice and just a hint of fruitiness.

16oz cuppa: 2.5tsp, 8oz water, 8oz Smart Balance Milk

Ok… I’m worried. I steeped in in only half the total liquid it calls for and the liquor is really light. Here goes nothing.

Yummm! What a wonderful suprise! I love how my brain works though. My immediate reaction when I took my 1st sip was “Hmm… it’s like a nutty, spicy, hot egg nog without the eggyness”. Anyway, it’s insanely good. It’s not chai like, but I could see myself switching to this for the month of December. And the orange is light enough that it does NOT taste like a hot creamsicle which is a major plus for me. I’ll wait to rate it til I try it clean.

The smell of the dry leaves is amazing…crazy fruity!! You can smell the different fruits individually.

After brewing, though, the fruits meld together so that none of them are really identifiable individually. There’s a taste that’s definitely “fruity/flowery”, but no matter how hard I try, I can’t assign it to any particular component. I ended up brewing for 5 minutes based on the dry smell (if it’s going to be fruity, I want it strong), and there’s a slightly bitter astringency that I think wouldn’t be there if I had brewed for 3 minutes. Will play around with it more.

Rich and hearty, with a bold and heavy body. Yet, its’ nutty and sweet. The second infusion is just as delicious as the first.