SerendipiTea

mmm. Chocola-tea coconut.

Another package from my tea and yarn club. This arrived accompanied by yarn, of course, a lovely mug, and honey sticks, which were entirely unnecessary with this tea. Smelled heavenly, and tasted wonderful and sweet. ‘Twas fine with me that it was mild, it was also soothing. I liked the mix of black and rooibos, I’m not sure if it would have worked so well if it had been just one or the other. And the mix of chocolate, vanilla and coconut was a treat.

This is a full bodied tea. It’s smooth but not spicy. It’s hard to find it in shops unfortunately.

This one was part of the introduction to Japanese greens that EvaPeva sent to me a while ago, and I have to admit that this particular tea has been standing around in the cupboard being all neglected and shunned because I was a little bit afraid of it. For some reason that I honestly couldn’t explain if I tried, I’d got it in my head that I wouldn’t like it.

Then today I decided to try it. I’m not sure why I didn’t change my mind today or whether there had been someone else involved with inspiration powers. I just tried it out.

The leaves look like ordinary sencha with some fragments and dust mixed in, along with a handful of bits of something that kinda looks like hay. A little seaweed-y in smell, but other than that there wasn’t really much in the way of any kind of aroma of the dry leaves. Certainly nothing to be scared of.

After steeping it got that thick, fat slightly sticky smell. It was rather seaweed-y and a little cat breath-y, but that wasn’t really scary either. I’ve come to expect that from greens. Especially japanese greens. It was light green-ish in colour, a bit murky and honestly not really very appetising looking. I assume it must have something to do with dust-y fragment-y bits. So maybe not the most pleasant sight or scent in the whole world, but nothing out of the ordinary and nothing really to be nervous about.

(And no, I do not believe that matcha has been added to it. At least not on purpose. It doesn’t look like stuff that has had real matcha added to it, it looks more like the sort of dust and fragments you find at the bottom of the tin. Besides it doesn’t say anywhere that I can find that there should be matcha in it, and I don’t really think that would be something you wouldn’t mention.)

It’s supposed to be stems and twigs and what not and it’s not really supposed to have hay in it (right?), but it does taste a little hay-y. It’s got a bit of a bite to it, right at the back of the throat. A green flavour but a slightly darker tasting green. Not darker as in fermented, but darker as in… daaaaaarker. Less bright. Less sparky. Less I-Am-A-Lovely-Spring-Day-Come-Smell-My-Flowers-Yay!-y

I think maybe kukicha is to greens what smokies are to blacks. Green tea for grown ups.

I like it.

I did a second steep too and that’s even greener. The aroma is a little less in-your-face-y but other than that it’s the same. Apart from it looking, you know, extremely very green.

The taste seems a little toned down here and loosing some of that daaaaaarkness that I liked in the first steep. It’s a bit more normal sencha-y here. Apart, you know, from the filthy-looking colour.

I like it, but I definitely liked it best the first time around.

This one has a VERY full flavor profile so if you don’t like that sort of thing, then I would avoid this one. The primary flavor is mango, but the coconut provides a strong backdrop. The finish is all coconut. The Niligiri black tea is not bitter or astringent. This one makes a very nice iced tea. It didn’t rate higher with me as the flavors are not most natural tasting. However, I would buy this.

Tea party @ Rabs’ house! (Virtually speaking…)

It’s really pretty late for me to be having caffeine but tomorrow being a holiday and all I’m throwing caution to the wind. I had a cup of this earlier, but then I went for a run, ate dinner, put kids to bed, etc. before writing a note and I thought I’d better refresh my recollection. :-)

I’ve had a couple of really outstanding vanilla flavored black teas, some that were fine, and some that were pretty awful. This one is definitely at the high end of the spectrum, though I don’t think it passes Mariage Freres Black Orchid or Samovar Vanilla Dian Hong.

I bought a little tin of it from SerendipiTea, and it’s adorable. It’s the shape and just about the size of a chewing tobacco tin (not that I have one handy to compare it to, it just reminds me of that), but probably has a smaller circumference. The dry leaves have a vanilla smell along ice cream lines. Creamy rather than beany. There’s a dusky tea smell underneath.

The tea smells creamy rather than beany, too. Very pleasing aroma. Surprisingly, the taste isn’t as ice creamy as I would have thought. It’s smooth, but it has a sort of sneaky intensity to the vanilla flavor. You don’t realize it’s as vanilla-y as it is until you sit with it for a bit. The vanilla flavor really comes out in the aftertaste if you breathe in through your mouth after sipping.

On the problem of cocoa: yeah, I get some, more in the taste than in the aroma. I find that there’s a very fine line between chocolate and vanilla flavoring sometimes, particularly if they are leaning toward less sweet. I generally think of them as opposites, having been trained that way from an early age (do you want chocolate ice cream? or vanilla? black? or white?) but when you think about it, they’re both from seeds. More specifically from beany, poddy, plant things. So why shouldn’t there be some similarity? In any case, the more intense the vanilla, the more it seems to me to have chocolate overtones. With chocolate, it’s a little more difficult to make a generalization, but I have found vanilla notes in chocolate on a number of occasions.

I like this one. Really. So what to do here?

I’m going to solve the rating question by bumping up Samovar and Mariage Freres slightly, to give what I think is an appropriate space between them and this on the rating scale, which will enable me to give this a slightly higher rating than I would have otherwise.

This is the first sample that JacquelineM sent me that I’ve used up :( It was absolutely wonderful this morning — all vanilla-ey and comforting. This definitely will be purchased in the future. TG

Warm fuzzies inna cup!

After the exciting contest put together by Daniel Mann, Morgana and I decided to both try the Colonille. Can I tell you how cool it is to have a tea buddy thousands of miles away? Yeah, it’s pretty cool. My sample of this tea comes courtesy of the wonderful JacquelineM a.k.a. my fairy tea sister! Okay, onto the tea: the first few sips the vanilla seemed to be all coy and hiding in the background — teasing the back of my throat with its presence. As the cup began to cool the vanilla gained strength and was just nummy. It’s one of those “sink into your chair” type of teas. Aaaaah…

I think that it’s a lot more subtle than the Tea Guys’ French Vanilla — which I’ll have to try again tomorrow to compare more accurately. Thank you so very much JacquelineM! TG

Smooth, creamy – heavy coconut and vanilla. Good full flavor.

This is basically a fairly mild, inoffensive dessert tea with no rooibos evilness to be found. The dry leaves smell awesome – chocolaty, coconut and creamy – but once brewed it tastes more like a soft blend than the smell led me to expect. The blend of flavors is nice, but just a little too mild. Not weak, just not as strong as I was expecting/hoping based on the smell. Though it does make for a more soothing evening tea so I don’t count this one as a total loss. In fact, I liked it more and more as I got closer to the bottom of the cup.

I am excited to see if my temperature tweak improves this tea. I am making it 10 degrees cooler than last time, but keeping the steep time the same as last time. I was having trouble with bitterness.

sip, sip, sip…

Yes – it is definitely less bitter. It also has a little less flavor than I remember – but I’ll take it rather than have bitterness.

The second steep is more of the same. I am disappointed because these were not cheap.

I don’t know – I think these plain ole jasmine pearls stuck a few feathers and scales on themselves and are masquerading as jasmine dragon phoenix pearls!!! I have definitely had better. I will drink my little tin up, but I will not repurchase. Rating downward! I still think Adagio’s Jasmine #12 were the best I’ve ever had!!!!

EDIT: I have one more tweak to try before I get tooooo mopey – making them in my lil oolong pot sans paper filters (maybe they couldn’t unfurl properly with the paper and that is why I’m not getting great flavor?). In any case I’m getting some bitterness as it cools, so I’m not getting my hopes sky high… ah, ya can’t win em all.

EDITAGAIN: Ooooooooh the end of this second steep is so bitter I just can’t even finish it. How very sad. I think this tea is going to have to hit the highway!

EDITONCEAGAIN: I gave it to my coworker for his partner who loves tea – bleh bleh bleh! Life is too short.

Mmmmmmmm! Happy tea! I’m on my third steep of this beautiful golden jasminey pouchong. It has that buttery flowery almost tropical/mango/banana like flavor. It is just a tad bitter, and I wonder if it is because I used 185 degree water. Next time I will try at 175. Nevertheless, very enjoyable. I hope a temperature tweak might up the rating next time!

I wanted to make a sort of rooibos chai with this, so I mixed 1.5 teaspoons of this tisane (cloves, cardamom, cinnamon, ginger) with 1.5 teaspoons of plain rooibos. Sigh -serviceable but much too weak in the spices! Next time I’ll try 1 tsp rooibos and two teaspoons of Yoda (he hee).

I couldn’t help myself from putting my review into the Yoda generator!

To make a sort of rooibos chai with this I wanted, so of this tisane (cloves I mixed 1.5 teaspoons, cardamom, cinnamon, with 1.5 teaspoons of plain rooibos ginger). Sigh – much too weak in the spices serviceable but! Next time, try 1 tsp rooibos and two teaspoons of yoda (he hee), will I.

Not too far off from how I put it – I must already speak like Yoda!!!

Here it is if you want to play with it!

http://www.yodaspeak.co.uk/

A nice sleepy cup with lots of honey. This one isn’t as fresh tasting as it once was, and it’s low on mango and cranberry pieces, but still very enjoyable. I’m one of those people who actually like the taste of chamomile :)

I chose this one partially for relaxation, and partially because I’m still coughing and the honey is soooooo soothing. If anyone has a cough remedy, or even an OTC medicine that always works for you, I’m all ears. I haven’t had a full night of sleep in almost a fortnight (and neither has my husband!).

I had this last night as my “calm down! class is over! time for sleep!” tisane. My pot was filled with chamomile, and not much mango or cranberry, which is ok – it’s very delicious, fresh appley tasting chamomile! – but I did miss that extra fruitiness. The important thing is that it was warm, comforting, and boy did it knock me out :)

Back from class – full of delight! I am so excited by the stuff we’re reading this semester – TOO excited – I need to calm down so I can go to sleep! Enter Monk’s Mead! The chamomile is making me feel a leetle calmer, and the apple and mango flavors, accompanied by the squeeze of honey I put in, are soothing and delicious. I am going to try and get to bed now!! :)

Spent the day studying my brains out. Even though I was exhausted b 10pm, by mind was still whirling! Time for some chamomile. Ahhhh. Sweet, apple, mango, sleeeeeepy. I’m very lucky that chamomile relaxes me so much (with my husband, it’s like he drank any old tea!) I was sleeping after a few pages of my bedside book.

I’m mmmmeeelllltttinnnnnnggg!!! Ahhh. I love this chamomile tisane not only for the taste (apple mango mmmmm) but the feeling of relaxation it gives. I’m yawning as I type! I had a rough day of registration (including getting cursed at!) so I really needed a little something nice to help me have a good night’s sleep. Goodnight Steepsterites!

My class this semester is on Tuesday evenings until 8:40 pm. I arrive home a total manic, my brain filled with new ideas, things I want to look up, things I want to read about…but it’s bedtime! I made some of this tisane to caaaaaaaaaalm myself down!

I think this is going to become a Tuesday Night Ritual because YUM. This is the best tasting chamomile I’ve ever had the pleasure of trying to knock myself out with! Appley and mangoy and clean tasting. No musty bitter taste. So naturally sweet. I put a scant teaspoon of honey in and it was way too much. No sweetener needed – the natural fresh chamomile and mango does the job admirably.

Ahhhh now this is chamomile tea! These loose fuzzy cheerful yellow pom poms are like a totally different tea than the crumbled tea bag stuff. No musty dusty taste at all. The mango and apple add just a touch of sweetness. What a great before bed tea. I’m amazed! …and sleeeeeepy…

I was in the mood for something light and fruity this afternoon, and chose this one. Mmmm. Light and flavorful and refreshing. I think the papaya and pineapple are a natural with green tea! No bitterness, no artificiality. I really need to get in an afternoon green tea habit – it gives me a tiny lift which is perfect to get me through the rest of the day.

Funny aside: my former boss recently moved to LA, and tomorrow is interviewing someone who is on a Very Popular TV Show Shown on HBO. His name is a secret! BUT! He’s a tea freak and he’s coming to her apartment for tea. She asked what she should serve (he’s British). I told her to find a local tea shop that has good reviews and get something loose leaf and British style. No teabags! I could be totally wrong! Who knows what he likes!! But at least she is no longer my boss and can’t fire me ;)

It looks like I may have gotten the last of this tea for the moment, because it is no longer on the SerendipiTea site. This is a SAD thing because this tea is very delicious! The Chinese green tea, papaya and pineapple go so well together. You can taste the added flavors but you can also taste the green tea (which is smooth, slightly vegetal, and satisfying). Perfect warm weather tea! I’d love to try this iced too.

I did a second steep at 4 minutes and it is equally as wonderful. A little heavier on the tea, a little lighter on the additions, but so so so good.

Second cup of this from Hopetoun tea rooms in Melbourne.
Just as sensational as the first