SerendipiTea

This tea was provided for my four tea face off today by Missy. Thank you!

I’m with Dylan and Missy on this one! The Market Spice version is definitely mintier. You can see the fluffy bits of mint leaf before, during, and after steeping in Market Spice. This was good and came in third in the face off today, with Tin Roof Teas coming in first for me, followed by Market Spice, then this one, and lastly the Teavana version.

This is good, it really is, but if you want lots of fresh mint flavor you might want to get one of the other two.

Hrmm… not sure what’s going on with this right here. This is supposed to be a fairly typical chai… but it’s… not.

The concept of a savory tea is a little bit confusing to me. I’ve seen references to Frank’s tomato and basil tea, and it turned me a little green. This? Well, it’s also turning me a little green.

The two most predominant flavors I’m getting from this are pepper and… pine? I don’t know what to say, but it tastes like pine. I really have no idea why. It is truly bizarre.

This might be a case of ‘we need to try this again before we make any decisions’. I’m really not sure how it came out tasting the way it does… but at the moment, not too terribly impressed. Maybe I’m just having an off chai day ;)

Mm… mm… mm… Moroccan mint. Quickly becoming my favorite tea in ze world. Which is weird, because I’m SUCH a black tea drinker. Well, maybe not that weird, as it’s a gunpowder base. Anyway.

I ordered a large bag from SerendipiTea of this, because… well… frankly it will be awhile until I order from MarketSpice again, and I need a lot of this to get through the summer. A lot. MM is by far the most refreshing thing in the world iced.

Visually, the gunpowder is represented much more in the dry leaf. The pellets are larger, and there seem to be more of them compared to the mint flakes (tiny, tiny little pieces of ground up mint leaves in both teas).

This seems apparent in the brew as well. The gunpowder is much stronger in this brew, giving it more of the smokey, heady taste over the sweeter, minty taste that comes out towards the end.

So, still quite good, but more for people who want tea with a little mint, instead of a very minty tea.

No number tonight, for a couple of different reasons:

1) We brewed this at 200 for one minute, which isn’t what SerendipiTea asks for. We’re going to brew it again at their recommendation, and see how differently it comes out (though, we brew the MarketSpice version at 200).

2) I need to try it iced.

So here is another awesome sample from Dylan and Missy. This is actually the tea that sparked the super care package.

I get it. I totally understand Dylan’s fervor for this. I love the roasty foretaste. I always want to taste popcorn first, but am quickly hit with the reminder that it’s rice not corn. The slightly vegetal, yet still sweet green comes in to wrap things up. Together they make for a nice flavor combo. I really like the juxtaposition between the light feel of the green base with the hearty flavor profile of the toastiness.

I will surely place an order for this one. This will likely be a constant in my cupboard.

Another very loved tea…all finished! This one is perfectly spiced and enjoyable no matter if you cook it stovetop with milk, or brew it like regular tea — which is how we had it this evening. The tea base is strong enough to stand up to all that spice (and honey, and milk!) but never bitter. I took a thermos of it to visit my mom, along with a home made cheesecake. Very nice pairing — the creamy cake and the spice are lovely together.

Many thanks to dear Doulton for this one — I enjoyed every sip and I’m sad to see it go.

Made a carrot cake for my mom’s birthday, and brought a thermos of this to go with. Mmmmmmmm. I drink rooibos chai several times and week, and love it,

BUT

tasting the black tea in this one with those spices made my heart sing. The black tea chai is my favorite. I will continue to drink my herbal chai so I can sleep at night, but gosh. This was so good (and it was just brewed like regular tea – not even stovetop simmered).

Love the copious cardamom in this one. So chock-full of pods!!

Many thanks to Douton for this tea. (I miss your posts, Doulton! I’ve been reading a lot of Barbara Pym and her writing always makes me think of you.)

My usual stovetop chai, with a small but delicious addition. I used almond milk for part of the milk! It gave a slightly nutty (yum!) flavor, and the chai itself seemed a little thicker, which was really nice and very dessert-like! We usually have almond milk on hand for our cereal and oatmeal, so I’m going to make it like this from now on.

First stovetop chai of the autumn! Also, the first time trying this tea. Many many many thanks to Doulton!!!!!

I made it the usual way (cup of milk, cup of water, 4 teaspoons of tea simmered 8-10 min, generous squirt of honey) and it was exactly what I was craving. The spices were warming and delicious without being overpowering (black pepper was present but not obnoxious). It was full of cardamom pods which makes me extremely happy! I also love the fact that it’s fair trade and organic.

What a treat!

P.S. I have a book review on Unputdownables & you can win the book I reviewed, In the Kitchen Cooking School. Check it out: http://unputdownables.net/2011/10/06/the-kitchen-counter-cooking-school-by-kathleen-flinn/

P.P.S. I had a guest post there when my Steepster wasn’t working & it’s a little bit about tea! http://unputdownables.net/2011/09/23/bringing-out-your-inner-martha/

P.P.P.S. We are reading Anna Karenina together if you’re interested! I know there are many book lovers here on Steepster. Here is the reading schedule if you’d like to join in! http://unputdownables.net/2011/10/07/anna-karenina-read-a-long-starting-post/

Yummy tastes just like apples

I tried this blend this afternoon courtesy of QueenofTarts. Thanks for swapping!

I have to say, I really had trouble tasting the other flavors in with the rooibos. I really did not even get a hint of black tea. I am finding that there are only a few red rooibos blends that I really enjoy. This one was good, but nothing special.

I love blueberries and am always willing to try a blueberry tea. The dry leaf smells like yummy blueberries, but there is also a whiff of hibiscus. The blueberry is the dominant scent, so I’m not too concerned about the hibiscus taking over. I am getting a strange note of… bubblegum? I feel like this might be because of the flavoring.

Sipping… There is definitely a tart hibiscus note. For those of you that dislike hibiscus, I recommend you steer clear of this tea. It changes into a rather nice blueberry flavor — sweet. There is also something a little bready in the background, a bit like a pastry. It quickly fades, though. I don’t know how I feel about the finish. It’s got a bit of a cooling effect, almost as if there is mint in the blend. There is also something artificial about it as well. This isn’t my favorite blueberry tea, but it isn’t terrible. It might make a nice iced cup.

I’m finishing off the last bit of this tea that I have. It has that very familiar fruity scent that so many of these fruity blends have. It’s nearly impossible for me to separate the individual fruit from the hibiscus, but this blend seems to be a jumbled mess of hibiscus + fruits, all topped with strawberry. I don’t mind hibiscus as long as it doesn’t overwhelm all of the other flavors in the cup.

Sipping… to be honest, I don’t taste anything all that different from other fruit blends. The only thing that distinguishes this one from the others is the presence of the strawberries. The strawberries are actually very nice and sweet. The hibiscus adds a very tart note, but it doesn’t smother the other flavors. It reminds me a little bit of strawberry lemonade only without the heavy lemon. Overall, this is a nice blend for those who like strawberries. I don’t think that I will be buying any more of this tea, but it definitely made a very nice cup for the summer.

Well, perhaps I overleafed, but in my opinion, there was simply too much jasmine in here. I have to say that the pu’erh is an interesting touch to pair with the jasmine, but I really can’t taste the pouchong at all, which is the flavour I was hoping would come out the most. I’ll try a bit less leaf next time to see if I can get a lighter, tastier cup.

The second infusion pretty much tasted just like a reasonable shu pu’erh, and since I wasn’t really in a pu’erh mood, I didn’t bother to resteep the leaves further, although they probably could have gone another couple infusions.

The weather has been SO hot here for the past few days.. It’s the kind of weather that makes it nearly impossible to have hot tea…a dry sort of heat that lingers! I’m still not out of hot tea mode and much prefer it to any sort of iced tea. It’s night now and I can drink a cup of tea whilst in front of a fan. I have an early morning tomorrow so a decaf blend it is!

I am usually not a fan of peppermint teas… and when I do drink minty teas they are typically mixed with other things. I thought I’d give this one a try since I like SerendipiTea. They usually do a fine job with dessert teas. Sipping… this one isn’t actually all that bad! It’s got a rather floral peppermint note that is nicely toned down by the creamy vanilla. The first part of a sip actually reminds me of a swimming pool.. I can’t tell you what it is, though. Maybe it’s the scent… something that so clearly reminds me of chlorine. The tail end of the sip is the best part – smooth, minty and soft. Would I repurchase? Perhaps. I still think I owe this blend a few more cups before coming to any solid decision.

2012-12-21
i don’t taste too much ginseng in this tea.
it’s a nice balance of anise and peppermint and licorice.
both refreshing and warming in the morning.
clears the gunk out of my eyes while i eat my favorite vegan burrito.

2012-12-19
drank at Harrison Street Cafe in Richmond Virginia.
i love this vegan cafe!! i just wish they had slightly better tea is all.

the tea is fine enough. but all the other really good places here in RVA sell the local blow your mind awesome Carytown Teas. so obviously they should too. tea is so often treated as an after thought isn’t it.

My afternoon tea is also a swap from My Friend Rashad! (thanks again!) The black tea base on this one is very earthy (almost too earthy for me) with a punch-you-in-the-face fruit flavor on top. Drinkable but not going on my shopping list or anything.