T2

Ok Smarty Pants, I’m doing NaNoWriMo this month so it’s you and me till you run out. (Making good choices!)

Wow, T2—good job here.

This was a sample sneak peek I got to try of T2’s September limited edition teas with a “study” theme.

I saw the licorice root on the label as one of only five ingredients and felt a little anxious, but I went for it anyway and opened the sachet. CHEWING GUM! The spearmint scent is overpowering. The other three ingredients (apple pieces, basil and green tea) come into play more in the tea once it’s brewed and the end result is really refreshing and invigorating.

Darn you, T2. Quit pulling me back in.

Made this iced as per Memily’s suggestion and though it was pleasant enough, I think I preferred it hot. Iced, the base was more pronounced which pushed some of the tasty banana flavor to the background. Although, perhaps I was more biased having this cup because I just finished the tasty Banana Pudding tea that I enjoy so much.

Thanks Memily for sharing this with me. It is a pretty solid banana tea. Not something I immediately need to run out and stock but it certainly is nice and has a great banana flavor. I am happy I have much more to this sample so thank you once again.

Two tasting notes in one day? Must be on some kind of roll.
I received this as a taster sachet from my last T2 haul in London and what an extraordinary pleasure it was to try. I can certainly say I’ve never had anything like this before and initial thoughts had me dubious of what to expect. The leaves give off an almighty, sinus clearing scent that one would expect from the anise and spearmint elements in this blend. A little nervous, I bit the bullet and took my first sip, only to pleasantly surprised by a sweetness that works perfectly in tandem with the minty notes. All together, wonderfully refreshing and a much needed relief aid for my pesky hay fever.

This tea is a perfect brew to start the morning. The green tea makes for a decent health kick, while the sweetness of the berries counteracts any bitterness it may offer. However, if steeped for too long that tartness can slightly override the berry notes. But that is a danger with any green or white tea, so best to brew only as much as you need and drink it hot. On the contrary this particular blend doesn’t become that bad if over steeped and overall could be quite nice chilled. That is, when the weather here decides to become less dark and dreary. When that will be, I have no idea!

Got a sample of this in a lucky dip in store the other day. Took one sniff of it and threw it in an overnight cold brew. It tastes just like Jefferson’s “Summer Puddin’”. It’s fine. It’s a tart fruit tisane. I’m not fussed.

This was a total impulse buy. On a bright and sunny day, I was ill and freezing at work. What I wouldn’t do for some hot tea.
T2 had just released their awesome tea flasks; the black one with the built-in infuser and leak-proof lid. It was limited and it’ll be a while before they come back instore again.
The moment I saw it I was like, ‘that is so mine.’ Then I asked the girl if she minded brewing something inside the flask for me, gosh I felt so cold and sick, and it really made my day when she handed it back with Melbourne Breakfast.
Went back to the store later in the day feeling much better and bought a 100 gram box.
Tastes like a chocolate croissant with vanilla sugar. Having said that, I wouldn’t say this is a sweet tea. It’s actually a little bitter but in a refreshing way, and it can get astringent if oversteeped but yay to T2 for making awesome loose leaf blends readily available in Australia!

Last time I had this, I brewed it hot and had it plain so with the rest of the leaf, I decided to try it a couple of different ways: hot with milk and iced.

I find the addition of milk to the hot cup highlights the coconut flavour of this tea. So the start of the sip is sweet, creamy coconut goodness. As the sip ends though, the cocoa really comes through to finish things off with a rich chocolatey note. Though if I am being honest, I don’t think this tea really needs the milk as the difference between this and the plain cup is minimal.

Iced, this reminds me of a watered down sweetened hot chocolate. The base also comes through more strongly as well. Unfortunately, I find the flavours are just too subtle for an iced cup. So, at the end of the day, I think I will stick to having this one hot.

Thank you Memily for such a generous sample. I really enjoyed playing around with this tasty tea! 166.

This is good. Very good. he coconut is present and strong but true to the nut. It is creamy and rich but not lotiony in the slightest. The cocoa compliments the coconut beautifully and adds some depth to the cup. The base keeps everything tame while not overwhelming the flavors. I am not usually a white tea fan but I can get behind this. Thank you Memily for sharing such a tasty treat!!

Sipdown! This one will also be sadly missed. I’ve not come across another fruit blend that manages to taste so much like a decadent vanilla custard pastry. Absolute deliciousness!

Tried a shorter brew time last night, but I got about the same level of tartness with less vanilla flavour. The longer steep is definitely the better option! The vanilla flavouring is just too good to miss :)

A sample from Memily! This one made my kitchen smell so gorgeous last night. If I hadn’t known it was tea, I’d have thought someone was baking some kind of vanilla pastry. I gave 1 tsp of leaf 5 minutes in boiling water. The resulting liquor was a fairly dark red, so I think I may have overdone the brew time a little. I have enough left to rectify this next time, though.

The initial taste is fairly tart — I’m thinking hibiscus, but elderberry could also be a culprit. At first, it’s all I can taste, but then the vanilla pastry I could smell in my kitchen starts to come through. The vanilla is so, so natural — vanilla beans rather than essence. The pastry note is light, buttery and delicious. There’s something a little shortbready, too. If it wasn’t for the initial tartness, this would be an amazing dessert tea.

I think I’ll try a shorter brew time for my next cup, to try and combat some of the tartness and bring out a little more of the vanilla-pastry-shortbread that has the potential to be so, so delicious. Thanks to *Memily" for introducing me to T2 — of the teas I’ve tried so far, I’m pretty impressed!

Thank you Memily for sharing but this is not for me. It has a very strong ginger quality combined with a sweet cinnamon flavor and the two are just not blending well. I wonder if Sil has tried this as I know she is a ginger fan. Perhaps I will pass along the rest of the sample as this really is not for me. It was still fun to try though :)

I decided to have this iced and that was a great choice for this tea. The cherry flavor really pops and the chocolate notes take on a more milk chocolatey vibe. It is almost like a cup of liquid cherries garcia and it is great. Thank you Memily for this tasty, tasty sample!

When I was brewing up my cup of Finbarr’s Revenge, I decided I wanted a flavored tea as well. I had so many options but I landed on this one and honestly I think it is because of my current obsession with Guardians of the Galaxy seeing as Cherry Bomb is one of the songs on its soundtrack of fun 70s/80s pop music. Anyways, as I sip on this tea, I can’t help but feel it is pretty awesome in its own right. It has a bright cherry flavor that manages to avoid taking on a medicinal/cough syrup quality. There are also notes of dark chocolate every now and then to keep this from becoming too sweet. It is a really, really nice tea. Plus, the base is smooth and provides the perfect foundation for the flavors to shine. Thank you Memily for sharing this with me. It made for an enjoyable cup.

I am complete matcha freak! so when I stumbled upon my favourite tea companies version, I was there in a flash. it looked so good that is was completely worth the (expensive) price. ( 24 dollars for 30 grams). But now I must say, I am not regretting a single dollar! I cannot wait to get more.

Sipdown! I needed a good, strong cup of tea to drink while working on my PhD proposal, and this fit the bill perfectly. There are other strong blacks that are just as good, so I won’t miss this one too much, but I’m glad to have had the chance to try it all the same. Many thanks to Memily for sharing with me!

A sample from Memily. This is a bold cup if ever there was one! For some reason, I was thinking this one was going to be like MF Marco Polo…I think the “red” in the name was making me think of strawberry syrup! Perhaps fortunately, it’s nothing like that.

It’s a black tea, and it’s sweetly malty with a strong grain edge. It reminds me slightly of Butiki’s Crimson Horizon, or 52 Teas RadioactiviTEA, although this one has a more lingering taste. It’s like I can smell it just as much as I can taste it when I take a sip. There’s a lovely dark cocoa/chocolate note, maybe the tiniest hint of smoke. I can see this one being really nice with cream just to smooth the edges a little, so that’s something to try later! Surprisingly, there’s no astringency at all. It’s a little rough, but I can tolerate that. This would be a brilliant morning cup — it may have to come to work with me on Saturday to get me up and running. Boo for 6 day weeks!

Relatively strong for a floral tea. It mutes the floral notes to an extent, but I don’t mind that too much. It’s predominantly apricot and bergamot that I taste, and it makes for a good combination.
This was a sample which I may consider buying once I finish all the variants of Earl Grey that live in my house.
It’s been a few days since I actually drank this sample and I still think about it, which is probably a good indication.

I tried a sample of this on the T2 counter today when I dropped in, because for me it was the most appealing of this month’s three limited edition teas (theme: chocolate).

The smell of this tea was INTOXICATING and totally lamington! Super strong coconut and chocolate notes.

Unfortunately the tea itself wasn’t anywhere near as amazing as the scent—the black base was totally overpowering and the more exciting flavours got lost in it. It was actually kinda astringent, even.

I love T2’s creativity but I think they need to take a serious look at the base tea they’re using. This isn’t the first time one of their amazing limited edition teas has suffered with a poor base (looking at you, Banana Bake). But I’m pretty over it by now. I won’t be buying this. Take a break, wallet!