T2

This was the first tea I tried of the T2 flavoured black “selfies”/their version of a sampler set I suppose. I made the bold choice of starting with this tea, first.

I spent much time inspecting and sniffing all the teas they had on display and Black Rose was 1 of perhaps 2-3 that piqued my interest.

It was much as I expected – it had all the expected flavors – currants, rose, tropical fruit (in this case, my favorite, mango) with the cornflower blossoms to give it that pretty appearance.

Quite enjoyable.

Tomorrow I move onto the next in the box: Blue Mountains, which shares the cornflower blossoms, and swaps the rest of the ingredients with the specific “natural and artificial flavor”. We’ll see if I should’ve stuck to my original plan of just buying a larger quantity of Black Rose!

I don’t know….minty. meh.

In my quest for a sleepy bedtime tea that also looks pretty in glass…
Brewed with boiling water for the time it took to find my iPhone and put it on the charger, which was longer than usual today…. :)
Im no chamomile expert – it has put me off a little bit at times before, but this one seems gentle. I added a touch of honey to the last bit given they mentioned a honeyed flavour – and this gives it a nice roundness, but it is quite an interesting little floral brew all by itself.

This is very tasty. My second unusual T2 tea – my first was White White Cocoa, which is a white tea with chocolate, whereas this is an oolong with nougat. I would associate both of those things with black tea, and probably drink them with sugar and probably a bit of milk. I never add either to whites or oolongs, so it makes for a much more gently sweet flavour, with no fear of bitterness. This one is very very tasty. Like White White Cocoa, it’s desserty but in a more subtle, softer way. I thoroughly approve.

Sipdown (116)!

Well, I was rather confused when I pulled this one out of VariaTEA’s package. At first I thought it was some sort of weird rock sugar type thing – why would she send me rock sugar? I don’t usually sweeten my tea at all…

But then I looked it up to add it to my cupboard. Instant tea? Well, that’s weird and unusual and I’m intrigued. I made it at once! Though, I’m not sure if I exactly made it correctly? But oh well – what’s done is done.

But to be honest; I’m not really feeling this one. Yes, it’s apple – and it is a “crisper” apple taste like the description suggests but there’s also a tartness/dryness here that is unenjoyable as well as a flavour that I instictually want to describe as “musty”. It’s still drinkable, but I’m definitely happy I’m only sampling this one and don’t have any more cups worth to get through.

Sorry VariaTEA but this one and I are not a very compatible match.

Evening cuppa. Just a sort of nice mellow, creamy banana pudding sort of profile on a brisk black base. I even felt like I got that sort of biscuit/cookie like “Nilla Wafer” taste from super traditional (ie. not instant mix) banana pudding. The kind your grandma would make.

Cold Brew!

Currently sipping on this and it’s really hitting the spot! The banana is rich, sweet and creamy in a way that makes me think of banana pudding. The kind made with nilla wafers. It’s balanced by a strong black tea base that introduces a bit of a brisk bite in the initial sip and then closes everything out with a lingering note of malt. Very yum.

I made a cup of this last night but I oversteeped it so horribly because I got too distracted by the episode of Grey’s Anatomy I was watching. It was undrinkably bitter. Like a cup of banana tea that someone had put a couple squeezes of Bitrex into. Very sad.

Cold Brew!

Drank this one yesterday and really enjoyed it. The banana notes is a bit like the banana penicillin that you’d sometimes get as a kid, but definitely not as sweet/cloying. There’s also a sort of ‘milky’ cream note that accompanies it, and it makes me think of banana pudding. More the banana pudding that has the soaked wafers in it though and less of a “pudding cup” kind of pudding you’d get in your childhood lunchbox. I think, to me, the key differences is the latter is a little richer and more processed tasting. This is still a dessert type banana profile, but there’s a little more of a delicate nature to it and I get elements of real banana in addition to the banana medicine/candy vibe.

Cold Brew!

I had to take Gorilla (my hamster) to the vet last week because I was noticing some weird behavior and hair loss. Little guy seems to be doing pretty fine now and is on some meds for the hair loss, but the vet also noticed his joint had some inflammation (likely just due to old age) so for the next two weeks I get to give him a syringe of medicine.

I share that because, for the last four days, every everything I get to measure out this medicine that smells POTENTLY of sweet candy banana. Even more intensely than the banana flavoured penicillin that many people (myself included) had to take during their childhoods. It smells way better than I feel lit has any right to, and that has gotten me craving banana teas really badly. So that’s why I ended up brewing this one up.

Honestly? Tasted exactly how the medicine smells which was very, very satisfying to me.

Adventaggedon Day 19: Tea 7/8

I wanted to like this tea much more than I actually ended up enjoying it. The dry leaf smell was insanely good though! A very fresh and sweet banana runts type of scent but with an underlying creaminess. It seemed so promising! However steeped up and with a splash of cream it tasted kind of flat. The banana was just really weak and the focus of the flavour was all on the very malty/bready tasting black tea. The black tea was solid and have some lovely body to it, but when I’m drinking a tea called Banana Bake I want to taste the banana.

I think it was probably honestly just a lot more frustrating because I had another Banana Bread tea just yesterday from 52Teas and their banana blends are soooo incredibly good that it really holds these other companies up to a pretty steep standard. This one just didn’t compare.

Sipdown (117)!

I had a good tea mail day today; packages from my tea twin VariaTEA and my Secret Pumpkin Anlina showed up today, so now I have a TON of stuff I get to sample and try! Even though my cupboard is only at 117, it feels like it’s swelled so much. But in a good way.

Couldn’t resist trying this banana tea as soon as possible, though; so it’s one of four teas from the two of them that I steeped up. And, this is really good; the banana flavour is really full bodied and fresh, and it’s complimented by a bouquet of vanilla and cream notes that make the whole cup so sweet and comforting. Additionally, the black base isn’t totally covered by the flavouring, and is very enjoyable without even the slightest indication of bitterness or astringency. The tea description also compares this to Banana Bread, and I can see the comparison.

Definitely a well done, and enjoyable tea!

It’s always exciting to finish off a tea. Down goes Sweet Dreams, in goes Gone Surfing! I think I’ll buy a box of Sweet Dreams for my visiting European friends though, they definitely enjoyed it. I’ll see what they think of Gone Surfing!

Delicious sleepy time tea for me tonight, and a lot of nights. I only really need one teaspoon for a large mug, so it’s taking me a good while to get through this one!

Happily drank down the last of this tonight, knowing that more can be obtained in the future if need be. Ah, the joy of a limited edition tea blend being added to the standard range.

WELL HALLELUJAH PRAISE THE LORD I guess next time I whinge about a tea being limited edition only I should check the online store, hey? This one’s been in an orange box (ie standard range!) for MONTHS now, and I couldn’t be happier. No longer need to worry about stretching out the last of this box I’ve got, time to slam it down!

It’s mildly hilarious to me that friends peering into my tea cupboard lately have remarked on how low it seems, where Steepster is still here to tell me I’ve got well over fifty teas in there.

I’ve drunk at least a litre of this in the past week and I’m still not sleeping well, but the tea can’t be blamed.

Oh, damnit.

I hate it when a limited edition blend is really good.

I’ve been hoarding this in the cupboard since January but when I ran out of Gone Surfing it was time to bust this open and I’m reminded of exactly why I snatched it up when I could, because it’s great.

It’s sweet, much sweeter than Gone Surfing, but herbal sweet (NOT licorice root sweet) and still zippy and calming and I’m in love with it.

So annoyed.

So I have just discovered that if you stand around in T2 for long enough agonising over which bedtime tisane will cure your early morning wakefulness, they make you go away by giving you sweet little pouches to try.

Lemon balm is the primary thrust, and it is something that actually has some evidence behind it as a calming agent. They didn’t have pure lemon balm. Maybe it tastes like crap?

This one has other floralities; the waft of the wares touted by silver-haired sales ladies at the school fete…which is the lavender I suppose. It is a pretty little tea to be kept in glass. I often struggle a bit with the herbals…I have settled into this one and I like it for quiet sipping. Let’s see how long I stay asleep tonight.

SSTTB2! WOO, thanks MissB for your distribution of largesse within the community. :)

So yeah. I opened it and went, “OH HOLY &(%%%$#%&$%)%%$#@%$(!!”

This is one of the top teas with no caffeine, so I thought I’d try it.

So far I’m liking it quite a bit. It’s sweet (perhaps due to the bit of honey I added) and cinnamon/fennely, with a bit of herbaceousness from the tulsi.

Not something I’m going to keep (because I’m not head-over-heels for it!), but a nice tea to have this late in the evening.

Thank you! :)

I must admit, this is one groovy chai blend. It is chock full of amazing spices and extra orangey bits which make this a memorable blend. In first taste, I thought the aniseed was a bit over the top, but after a few cups, it undoubtably became my favourite note of this chai. I have this as is, or with a tsp of honey for a dreamy nightcap. My new fun thing to add to this gorgeous chai blend, is a tsp of Honey Vanilla Honeybush tea also from T2. In a word, this combo is HEAVEN! I’m praying to the tea gods that Eastern Market Chai becomes part of their regular stellar range. prays

I apologise for the unscheduled hiatus that has happened here. However I can safely say I am well and truly moved to Brisbane now and I could not be happier with life. Yay! :)
So what better way to celebrate with some new teaware and a ton of new tea? (reviews for those will follow shortly~)
I can not stop raving about this little baby, even to those who do not give two hoots, but it’s just so nifty that I can’t help but show it off. I realise this isn’t a new concept by any means and most likely not the best either, however it’s great value and perfect for a single tea drinker like myself. As a bonus, this was sold to me in a discounted bundle which consisted of two 60g teas, a double wall tea glass and a tea scoop- all for $25! I was practically dancing out the store with glee after purchasing.
My only con would be that it’s a little fiddly to clean. Particularly when scooping out the used leaves, resulting in me having to use my hand to scrape them out. Although really it’ll be doing the skin on my hands some good if anything.
Overall, highly recommend for anyone who wants convenient and effective brewing, especially if you have minimum space like myself.