RiverTea
Edit CompanyPopular Teas from RiverTea
See All 86 TeasRecent Tasting Notes
Sipdown (206/208)!
Again, thank you Cavocorax for the sample! I think this one actually grew on me the more I drank it, and I’m going to have to bump up the rating a little bit now that it’s gone.
I had this for my morning tea, mostly to get an extra sipdown in because, the side effect of working nearly fulltime, it appears I’ll be doing less tea drinking now that I wont be home as often. That’s a little bit sad, but an important sacrifice if it means that I’ll be paying my rent on time.
This cup was nice though; very rich and fudgey and with a lot of anise flavour (probably thanks to the almost completely intact piece of star anise). I don’t think I’ll miss it terribly – but we had a good run!
One more cup and it’s a sipdown…
This mug in particular was really good; probably the best I’ve steeped so far. The anise was really present, as was the chocolate and the spices were cooperating by toning themselves the fuck down. Also, it somehow has an especially cakey mouthfeel tonight. Mmm!
And, our water is finally back (which is why I was able to make more tea) – so I got to take a shower! Yay! I’m getting all prepped for my first day of work tomorrow. Anyway, BB has been a little boring today – though the War Room/Isolated guests were amusing for a while when they had to match the house guests to their jobs/personalities. They couldn’t, for the life of them, figure out the bearded guy was the model.
Also, they made their final pleas for votes today! Soon… Very soon…
In a timolino as a travel companion yesterday. I’m working my way towards a sipdown. Cavocorax’s sample was super generous.
Last night I really got the “cake” out of this one, and much less of the spice. I also got lots of anise/chocolate which made for a delightfully sweet treat. I was a pretty happy camper ;)
Thanks Cavocorax for the very generous sample. I broke it out last night because I wanted to work on sipping down some of the blacks in my sample drawer that are in large quantity (so not one or two cup sipdowns).
This is another Rivertea blend with lots of bits, so I slightly overleafed it to try and get a few more of the chunks included (a huge piece of star anise!). Taste wise, I got prominent notes of cardamom, cinnamon, and chocolate and then slightly more background notes of the black base, vanilla, and the anise. Yes, that’s right – I finally tasted the yummy anise (screw you Ceylon Star with your no anise taste)! I do really wish it was stronger though in comparison to the spices. But I guess this is meant to be spice cake so it does it’s intended job.
Overall impression? I think this is a solidly average flavored black that would totally be some people’s cup of tea, but maybe not mine. And that’s ok.
Sipdown! Final tea of the evening today since the evening got away from us… god i hate wedding planning lol woot woot!
Final Count: 80
Almost at the end of this one and still enjoying it. I really like the fruit teas that Riverteas has, though i’m not much of a fan of their actual teas. However, this one does the trick for me for sure!
another tea from this evening. Just enjoying finishing up season one of GOT with my other half after a really long day. This is a nice pear fruit tea. I’ve picked it up a couple times now from RiverTea and it’s just what i need when i want something more like pear juice :)
go exchange rate go! it’s up a little tonight so that makes me a happy camper, esp since they’re forecasting it’ll be down around 85 cents by the end of the year. BOOO!
This is the last of this tea – the remainder is off to cavocorax to try since we’ve both mostly picked up different teas from RiverTea. I really like this one, though i wish it wasn’t such a heavy tea. I suspect that i could likely use a little less tea and brew for longer, but i’ll try that next time since i’ll likely be picking this up again as it’s a herbal option for when i’m in the mood for a not black tea :)
Why the exchange rate interest? Are you going away again soon?
uh…since most of my tea purchases are USD based, i watch the exchange rate all the time. I have a USD account, so when it’s on the up swing i convert for when i need to buy things. Since i’m an employee, my rate is always better than paypal/credit cards etc…
Ah yes I also do that with my USD acct. We only put money in there for trips though. Not tea purchases, but perhaps I should, since I also get a better rate. :P
sil is hardcore!!
Ech, glad I went through my BPAL phase while the dollar was on par. That’s why I keep an eye on exchange rates too (ordering across the border).
i figure over 1000$ a year in tea (since let’s be honest last year i went a little nuts and that doesn’t look like it will be much improved), that can really start to add up on the conversion
…also, if i don’t use it, it’s there for trips anyway so no harm
Haha, it’s nice to see someone else taking an interest in tea-related exchange rates.
Love this. Like a lot. When I get back I will write a proper note but this is wonderful. Only downside? Heavy tea = not many cups in 50g :(
So your flight wasn’t cancelled after all? :P I thought you were in florida but finally caught up to your earlier posts!
No. I’m still here. Leave tomorrow….I hope
I hope so too! Booo
Crossing my fingers you’ll get to board a freaking plane tomorrow.
I’m at the airport!
Aisling of Tea had this and it caught my eye because I ALSO live in Toronto.
What do Toronto Nights taste like?
I probably wouldn’t say they tasted like green tea with almonds and cinnamon and citrus, but apparently RiverTea thinks it does. This is a nice light tea, and the flavouring is not overly strong – I find it a nice contemplative cup for what would be my after dinner-cup if I had actually eaten already. And I wouldn’t say no to drinking more, but I’m not sure this is one I’d crave often. Maybe in the late spring, in the evenings, when I’m sitting in the backyard watching the little squirt run around in the grass… And maybe if it’s iced.
Rob Ford would not taste like this. :P
And the rest of this is being set aside for Sil!
(rating is 79 because I like the cup, but don’t see I’d crave it often. )
Preparation
I couldn’t even imagine what Rob Ford would taste like?!? Yuckie and ridiculous at the same time. Ha ha.
Um. No one wants to taste rob ford
Rob Ford would taste like cocaine, cheap booze, and his wife’s…Ahem, since he’s got “plenty to eat at home.”
I hate Rob Ford. Did you hear he’s being “bullied” by the gay community?
A+, Sil. :)
We asked Gabriela at RiverTea about the name when we ordered and this is what she told us: “For tourists, especially from Europe there is this vision we have about the night life in Toronto…sparkling, full of life.”
Ahahaha – aisling of tea. :P
Yes, no one wants to taste that!
Thanks for the slight image, Cavo, and then an extra thanks to aisling of tea for colouring in the rest of the image with TECHNICOLOUR. Good god.
I haven’t done my job unless everyone everywhere is properly horrified. bow and wanders off
lost my tasting note… grrrrrr…. own stupid fault.
long story short – too weak a brew, maybe i screwed something up…will try again. Got under 150 but orders in march will shoot me up again and terri is going to sabotage me. true story. :)
Final Count: 143
Is this one you only had a sample of? Because I have mor eif you want it.
It’s not as good as Dolce Vita though.
Yup, I’m gonna get that mammoth box together & put it in the mail finally!
Cavo…yeah this was sample size… If the other one is better ill just steal a bit of that haha
Just finished this tea today and sadly, dropped my rating a bit.
It’s a good tea, but it’s inconsistent. The flavouring chunks are so big they don’t disperse evenly so some cups are amazeballs and others are just ok.
Mmmm. This is very good too, but in a different way than Dolce Vita. It’s not as smack you in the face with fruit, but instead the mango and vanilla and cinnamon all coalesce together into something very relaxing and tasty. The cinnamon gives it a bit of a kick at the end of the sip to liven it up a little too.
I should try cold-steeping this!
Preparation
“OMG, this is so good.” – me, 30 seconds ago.
:)
The meringues in the tea contain gluten! :O I hope that isn’t a commonly undisclosed ingredient.
Oh wow. Looks yummy! Do the rose bits make it really floral though?
At least the packaging is clearly marked with an egg/gluten allergy warning.
And I didn’t think so. I don’t like really floral teas, especially rose, and I wasn’t distracted by it at all. I count that as a good sign!
Oh, this is the best way to start a Friday! It’s so freakin’ creamy and full of raspberry. Slightly tart raspberry but, wait for it, there’s NO HIBISCUS. I really love this tea.
I should probably leave this at the office but I just got it and I’m so excited and I’m not going to be surprised when at the end of the day I stuff all my new teas into my purse to stuff onto my tea shelves at home. Why do I even order tea for the office? :P Seems lik my new teas stay at home, and my small samples get smuggled into the office for sipdowns. But it works?
Anyway this tea is OMG raspberry yes.
Preparation
Not a lot of coconut, then?
I love raspberries teas that work. Sounds awesome!
I didn’t think so – it mostly added to the creaminess. (Unlike some coconut oolongs I’ve had there were JUST coconut – this is far more subtle).
This one is SO GOOD, right? I might need to make myself a cup…
no hibiscus – wheee!
Shopping listed! and also, I’m glad you can taste the raspberry here-often, the coconut flavouring can be overwhelming.
Yay for no hibiscus. That is one of the main reasons I plan on getting this tea.
Raspberry without hibiscus! I’m putting this one on my wish list.
Yay for no hibby, too!
sooooo another of my samples from RiverTea. Long story short? this would be a fantastic, awesome tea…if there were no flowers in it. Sadly, i’m picking up enough floral notes (even through the tartness of the raspberry) that it lessens my desire for this tea. I really like the fruity base of this, and the creaminess of the vanilla….but i just can’t get past the floral notes in here. Anyone who doesn’t mind floral but loves raspberry cream should really try this though, as i think that would love this!
This was one of my samples in my most recent order with RiverTea, thanks to winning their Valentine’s Day contest! I wish i had a bit of justea’s kenyan black to compare against this one, but maybe Cavocorax will indulge me when she gets the other half of this sample :)
I’m not sure how i feel about this one…there’s a strangely malty?sweet? taste hanging out that seems weird to me. It’s not a bad tea..but it perplexes me. I’l probably get this again as another sample just to try out again sometime haha
Finally I am getting around to this tea! the loose leaf smells absolutely knock-me-off-my-feet delicious! So does the steep that turned out to be of a very dark color.
The flavor is milder than the aroma. Which, I think, is good. I was afraid this tea might be too spicy, but it’s not. There’s a subtle note of citrus and a harmonious bouquet of spices that doesn’t bite your tongue. There were some lovely rose petals in it too, but I fail to detect them in the taste.
The base tea is slightly astringent and strong, which I like. I don’t like how with some flavored teas under the fancy flavors you discover… nothing. But it’s definitely not the case with this one. I might actually steep it for a little shorter next time, so the base is a bit less bitter.
Very enjoyable dessert tea!
Preparation
Did I not review this last time I drank it? Because this is definitely the second time I’ve drunk this since we got our big RiverTea order.
I love this tea! Green blends not based on sencha are my happy place. The dried cranberries look gigantic and like if you don’t get one, you won’t get any berry flavour, but that is definitely not the case. This is just delicious. Light and fruity with a nice smoky base.
