RiverTea

Sipdown (200/202)!

Sample courtesy of aisling of tea.

I requested this one because it’s one of the more popular RiverTea blends, and I’ve read a bunch of good reviews on it. Plus, I like raspberries a lot and the meringue hats intrigued me. I also thought it might be interesting to compare with DT’s Fantasy Island.

There was more than one cups worth of this, but when I saw it was on VariaTEA’s wishlist I split my sample with her so she could try it too. And then, I ended up using a larger amount of leaf today because I did this one in a timolino.

Overall, I thought it was pretty good but really straight forward and simple; sweet raspberry and black tea. I kind of was left unsatisfied because I thought there should have been more depth to this. I didn’t pick up the coconut at all until the very end of the thermos, as well. Compared to Fantasy Island I think they’re pretty evenly matched though in slightly different ways; this was more raspberry than coconut and FI is more coconut than raspberry.

I’d drink it again – but I wouldn’t purchase it.

Also, I ate one of the meringue hats straight; it was pretty good! Crunchier/tougher than I expected it to be though – I was anticipating light and fluffy/chewy.

Not bad…got this as a sample from an order. I taste the berries and a hint of the grapefruit. Not sure this would be a tea I’d stock, but it’s fairly good and not bitter like I thought it would be.

Sample sipdown #4! I think this will be the last sipdown of the day.

The first time I tried this, I brewed it hot. Now, following the advice of aisling of tea, I decided to coldbrew the last of the dry leaf. I steeped this for abou 5 1/2 hours, which maybe wasn’t long enough, but I was just so eager to have another sipdown that I couldn’t wait.

So, this tea. It’s still very hibiscus-heavy, even after using agave nectar instead of honey to add sweetness and tame the tartness. Also, this time, there’s a bitter undertone I’m detecting that wasn’t there in the hot brew from a few weeks ago. However, it’s still very vanilla-y, and I think the vanilla flavour is even more present now than in the hot version. The lemon and the other fruit flavours, less so.

I’m just going to sip this over the remainder of the evening. This isn’t a restock, I think, but at least I got to try it and also get another sipdown today!

Thanks to De and aisling of tea for giving me a sample of this to try! This is my first taste of what River Tea has to offer.

Okay, so a little bit of background: today, for medical reasons, I had to fast. To prepare for a minor procedure, my doctor said not eat anything after midnight of the night before, and to drink as little as possible. Not wanting to risk anything, I just drank a glass of water in the morning. So I’ve gone most of the day without tea. :-(

Once I got home I decided to make up for this appalling lack by drinking something fruity and caffeine-free. So that’s where this tea comes in.

On first sniff, the dry leaf of this tea is very fruity and floral. I followed the instructions I was given, and ended up with a beautiful teacup of magenta-coloured liquid.

The smell of the wet leaf once it’s done steeping is different from that of the dry leaf, but very true to the taste of the brewed tea itself. There’s a layer of vanilla over everything, lending a hint of creaminess, but below that the strongest taste and smell is of hibiscus and rosehips (I find them very similar in flavour). I can see the lemon peeking out from underneath the hibiscus, but am finding it very difficult to discern the other fruit flavours that are supposed to be present. I sweetened things up with a touch of lemon-infused honey, but still the flowers are the strongest flavour.

Unfortunately, I’m not a big fan of hibiscus teas, so this is really more of a novelty for me than a keeper. However, it was nice to have something to look forward to when I came home earlier today.

Posting a tasting note on behalf of my brother, who I sent a package of RiverTeas to for his birthday. This tea is apparently “crazy good”! Now I need to try it XD

this was another backlog from yesterday. this is one that i’ll order again, when i want a really sweet, banana treat lol it’s tasty and delicious, just heavy. soooo heavy!

mmmmmmmmmm a delicious cup of this tonight while relaxing. I made little progress on my sipdowns today but hey, a long ass day followed by a nice evening? I’ll take it…besides even if i don’t make it, i’m hardly far off..

mmmmmmm delicious banana bread tea! I had a giant super awesome mug of this tonight while having a relaxing bath. The rest is off to cavocorax because i can. :) Quick way for both of us to try as many Riverteas as possible! :) Hopefully she’ll love this as much as me! heh

OH MAN! SOOOOOO GOOOD! Seriously…So when i first pulled this out of the bag i was like hmm..expensive trail mix anyone? It’s a heavy tea AND it’s 3tsp per cup….and there’s giant coconut strips in this…but MAN OH MAN. love it. My other half is making banana bread tonight..and this is like liquid banana bread. I even convinced him to have some and he was like oh hey…that’s really good. It even smells like banana bread baking in the oven… and the coconut? totally not overpowering and likely just adding to the delicious creamy banana taste. I dunno what else to say…this tea? sooo good. I had originally picked this up because i like banana flavoured teas and because i figure i’d try some teas that didn’t have tasting notes to help RiverTea out since i won their contest. I’m SOOOOO happy i did.

This isn’t the same sort of banana from foxy’s roxy’s tea…this is honestly…liquid banana bread. so it’s sweet…and very much banana bread..and so good..and did i mention it’s like drinking banana bread? holy god i love this smell… lol

Toronto niiiiights, like Toronto daaaaays, more often then not, are colder than balls, in a lot of good waaaays.

Sorry, I couldn’t resist.

This was . . . good. Interesting. I’m glad I tried it but I don’t think I’d restock. The overwhelming flavour of it tastes nearly exactly like Lucky Charms.

Well after dealing with some really terrible food poisoning, I can REALLY go for some “Infinite Good Feeling!”

And this tea really delivers. I was worried about the hibiscus, but I have no problem with it. Each sip is slightly tart, and super sweet, with strong raspberry notes, followed by a lingering creamy vanilla. It’s really delicious. I used my entire sample in my 24 oz mason jug which is great for now, but I wish I’d left some to try iced. I suspect I would drink gallons of this in the summer, and I could share it with the kiddo too!

I’m really happy I gave this sample a try – I wasn’t that sure I’d enjoy it.
(sipdown 186)

I got a sample of this tea in my order. I was intrigued by an earl grey with additional fruity flavor, since I’ve liked mixed earl greys in the past (ex. Paris by H&S). This is pretty good. The mango flavoring isn’t my favorite, but it kind of rounds out the bergamot. It’s kinda sharp though. The black tea base is pretty smooth. I think, if you like citrus flavored teas, this is a good one.

I haven’t reviewed a tea for a while. I don’t have a kettle at my new job but I do have a rather fancy coffee machine so I’ve been drinking and experimenting with coffee much more. Besides that, Perth is quite hot and my air conditioner can’t cope so it has been G&Ts all summer long here.

I had this tea sent to be me rivertea late last year when I won it in a competition. Like all the teas they sent me it arrived in beautiful packaging and has been pleasant to drink. It is a lovely drink with enjoyable sweet floral notes and although it might not have the complexity for some high grade oolongs, I don’t need to feel guilty about drinking it on an ordinary day.

Tea & Cards TTB

I’m not entirely used to the concept of citrus and honeybush as a thing, but this actually works out pretty well…it smells a bit like cough syrup, but the flavour is all grapefruit (and some other citrus I can’t put my finger on) on the front end and that delightful woody honeybush background.

It goes really well together, actually, and I enjoyed the cup.
Not sure I would have another one, but it wasn’t a pain to drink it down.

Tea & Cards TTB

Okay, so I’m just a sucker for pastry-esque teas…I surrender.

This one is pretty much as advertised – there’s a comfortable black base with all kinds of baked goods notes mixed in and a gentle citrusy-vanilla overlay – it really does remind you of a comfy sitting room and some sort of freshly baked tasty thing…

Very good and one I would gladly drink again…although there are a few others I’ve had recently that may be vying for the title of “one true pastry tea.”

Alas, the last cup :(

This one is so yummy and perfect. The orange and almond really shine through, and the white tea lends a sweetness to the cup.

If RiverTea ever re-opens, this is the first one I’d get.

Goodbye, Toronto Nights.

Only a very little left after this cup…sad to be running out of this one because it is really good. A nice clean cup with the taste of orange. Wish I had gotten more while they were open.

Sorry to see RiverTea go…this tea is a favorite of mine. Nice and light, but with good flavors of orange and almond. I have enough for one more cup left, and then it’s gone. It is one I would have re-stocked.

I still don’t know why it is called Toronto Nights, but it’s a good tea, nonetheless.

Really good…getting notes of a sweet citrus, and the almond. Got 2 good steeps out of the tea bag…it was nice and strong. I always sweeten my tea (that’s just how I like it), and it was a nice cup to start the day (with all my co-worker’s drama this morning, I really needed it)

A nice, light cup of tea. I like the lightness of it. I’m tasting the orange, but also a lot of other stuff. I don’t typically like green, but this is one is not screaming GREEN at me. I’ve been to Toronto several times (having grown up in Rochester, NY)…so I don’t know why this would be like a Toronto Night, unless I’m missing some pop culture reference. ;)

My steeping time of 3 minutes is almost a personal shortest time for me…but I think it would have been too heavy with a longer steep time.

Wonderful tea…running out, so will definitely order more when it is gone.

I don’t think of this as a chai, but I guess it really is. It tastes like a chocolate spice cake…the spice gives a good contrast to the chocolate taste (which usually isn’t good on it’s own). There’s a lot going on, but I think it works well together.

Chose this as my ‘I can’t believe it’s my birthday today…last one before the big 4-0’ tea this morning.

I really like this tea. The chocolate spice makes me think that I’m eating something I should not be! Theoretically, this should keep me away from the donuts that a co-worker brought in this morning, but part of me suspects that will not be the case for long. :)

My Rivertea order came yesterday. Although it has nothing to do with the taste of the tea, it came in the most delightful packaging. Once I opened the cardboard box, I was greeted with tissue paper surrounding my order, and a cute sticker securing the tissue paper together that said ‘For a happier Kelly’. Considering my son had just finished an in-school suspension, and I apologized to the neighbor because my 7-year old daughter got mad at her son and mooned him…well, I could use some extra happiness!

The teas came in a bag inside cardboard containers. Very happy that the steeping instructions are on the bottom. I could definitely smell the teas, which worried me a little (I’m used to packaging that I can’t smell the teas through).

Before steeping, the smell of this tea just blew me away. I looked up a recipe for Chocolate Spiced Cake on Allrecipes, and yeah, I’m definitely smelling Chocolate Spiced Cake!

I steeped for 3 minutes 30 seconds, which is pretty quick for me. After my usual sweetening (I don’t think I drink any teas without sweetener…but I do try them first), I definitely taste Chocolate Spice Cake. I might have to go BAKE a chocolate spice cake after this.

There was a plastic swan also in my package…like a tea ball, but with a neck to hang over the side of the cup. I had a little bit of leaf escape through the holes, but it was cute, and did the job. The company made me feel special, and the tea is pretty good!

I don’t like reviewing teas “retroactively” but I really need to do it with this one. I only had a sample of it – enough for a pot for my husband and me, which means I have no more to try and review it later in the “afresh” mode.

So… I remember that it was fairly-fragrant, lovely-looking loose leaf – pieces of fruit (papaya) and calendula petals mixed in with downy white tea leaves. I noticed that RiverTea products’ flavoring is usually pretty subtle and I was afraid that with this one I am not going to get much beyond the base white tea. But I tasted… MULBERRY. It was definitely mulberry. And I don’t know how I know it because I’ve never had any mulberry. Okay, that is really odd, but I absolutely know that what they achieved in this tea is freakin’ mulberry. Sweet, smooth (and non-hibiscus like!) tartness, makes me think of a red, small, rounded fruit… but unlike any other I know.

Okay, I just google mulberry! Hmph! Looks like a blackberry. Perhaps it is somewhat related to it flavor-wise… Yeah, blackberry would be my closest guess.

I must actually get this tea next time and then I will attempt to review it again. This is more for “bookkeeping” purposes and the rating… Because I do remember loving it!

Other than that I’ve been still trying to reach sipdown status with many teas… And I discovered that 1 oz. is a LOT of tea – I still have so many Della Terra teas left since December/late November last year. And I only ordered an ounce of each!