Tay Tea

Backlog:

A really minty blend. It smells like spearmint gum. But I’m happy to say that the flavor of the gunpowder green comes through, this isn’t so minty that I’m tasting toothpaste. It’s a strong mint note with a sweet, lightly vegetative taste of green tea. Very refreshing and smooth.

Clean and fresh tasting, it is a revitalizing tea. I enjoyed this one … I’m glad that Amoda included it in the April Box. sigh I’m going to miss my Amoda box!

I cold steeped this one yesterday morning when I finished the tea in my carry mug. It worked very well for me to do this, because then I had a cold tea to take with me when I left the office.

The spearmint in this really shined when cold brewed. Very nice.

This is a nice tea. I like spearmint a lot. This tea is a good spearmint and green blend. I’ll try this one iced to see how it is, but it’s good hot. I do have to say that I like The Tea Spot’s Moroccan Mint better, but that’s just me.

I apparently didn’t write the tasting note I thought I did last night. Maybe I never saved it? I don’t know.

This was the end of this tea from my May tea box. I will miss this tea. I will miss this tea a lot. So much so that I looked at ordering it from Tay Tea even though I’m kinda not supposed to be buying more tea. Of course, this isn’t a cheap tea. It’s $16 for the tea in a tin, plus $4.95 shipping…. You do get a pretty good amount of tea, and a tin (I love when tea has its own tin) but…I’m not supposed to be buying more tea right now.

So I will wait a little while. We’ll see how long that lasts.

But, I really liked this tea a lot. I didn’t even think I liked lavender until I tried this tea. Wow. I really liked this tea. Thank you so much Amoda!!!

I decided to have this one again today since my husband is snoozing on the couch so I didn’t expect he’d surprise me with bourbon this time. No bourbon, but plenty of tastiness. I quite enjoyed this tea, and I’m really glad that Amoda included it with the April tea box. It is incredibly well balanced between the rooibos and currant notes, with just the exact perfect amount of floral from the lavender. Absolutely delicious. I rarely sweeten my teas, but I wonder now that my mug is empty if just a touch of sugar would make this tea stupendous? Hmmm….something to consider for the next time I have it.

I had this one last night. It was a really nice mug before bed. Quite well balanced between the rooibos, the currants and floral. Of course, half way through the mug, my husband handed me a bourbon and there went the tea. I finished it, but my palate was ruined for enjoying the rest of my tea. I look forward to having another mug of this one, though.

sipdown

This is still a very enjoyable and relaxing cup, but it’s too floral for cold weather. I anticipate restocking a Provence blend in spring or summer. I like Tay’s blend better than David’s, but perhaps there are others out there worth trying too.

I don’t think I’ve ever had a floral rooibos before!

Overall I find this very soothing and expect to finish it off quickly. It’s just a lovely lovely bedtime tea.

I’ve never seen a black tea/rooibos blend before. I’m intrigued! The dry leaf smells like caramel and citrus. I would almost say orange, but I know it’s not. The color of the brew is definitely orange, though. The rooibos is very assertive. Woody. It’s tempered by a hint of caramel and citrus. The citrus peeks out at the end of the sip. It’s a generic sort of citrus flavor. I wouldn’t know what it was if I didn’t read the label. The creaminess comes out in the aftertaste and lingers pleasantly long after the sip is over. Caramel builds up in the aftertaste as I near the bottom of the mug.

This tea is ok, but nothing special. I’ll probably get my dad to drink the rest.

This was a surprise tea, but I like it. It’s what it promises to be – spearmint and green tea and a little gunpowder. Good! (I’m just so tired today – I don’t have words)

Interesting! Not one I would have bought directly but it’s good. It’s only partially an EG with subtle bergamot notes and creamy caramel and rooibos woodiness. I think of creamy lemon custard even though that may all just be in my head!

It’s Friday, you guys! Friday!
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Wasn’t my favorite tea, but it certainly wasn’t bad. The floral notes are a little strong, bt overall I enjoyed it.

This tea is smooth and delicious, It is one of my favorite teas that I’ve tried, and is excellent sweetened!

Oh man, I feel like a Scrooge tonight with my poor tea ratings. This tea smells like cherry cough syrup but if I ignore the smell then it actually tastes good. Currants and Rose petals are center stage with this one and give it a very pleasant fruity flavor.

I love the smell of this dry…very nutty and caramel. It’s making me crave creme brûlée. Steeped, it has a prominent caramel and Rooibos aroma. I generally like Rooibos but something about this blend leaves a slight perfume taste that is hard to ignore. I might have to try steeping it again…

I got an awesome Tay Tea sampler full of morning teas from my mother’s friend for Christmas. I absolutely loved every single one of them (especially the Kyoto) and I just had to review them! Although I had never heard of this company before, it is fast becoming one of my new faves. It has nice, full, beautifully curled leaves. The flowers make it aesthetically pretty. This tea is absolutely wonderful! It has that wonderful smoky flavor that is usually expected with most Oolongs, but what it was missing was what truly made this a new fave. I’ve found it hard to find Oolongs that aren’t bitter and have sharp aftertastes, but this one was VERY smooth (I think maybe because of the chrysanthemum flowers). The 2nd and 3rd steeping were a little weaker but heavy enough to still be delicious. The roasted taste made this tea a wonderful tea to start a cold winter morning. Overall, I would definitely recommend everyone give this one a try.

See my full review:
http://fullysteeped.blogspot.com/2013/01/tay-tea-twiggy-loose-leaf-oolong-tea.html

I feel like I made out like a bandit in my most recent swap with Alphakitty because I got sooo many samples of teas I wanted to try! I’m drowing in tea samples, and I’m very excited to try all of them.

I plucked this one out of the pile first because bergamot + rose = love, for me, and this blend also has cardamom and borage, which I didn’t know what it was at first but is apparently a mediterranean herb. I realized that I think I have seen this tea company at the NY Coffee and Tea Festival before, but I’ve never noticed this tea there I guess.

Steeped, it smells like a delightfully rosy Earl Grey. Unfortunately the taste is a little lackluster. As in, it doesn’t taste like much! The flavor isn’t very strong, and overall the tea really dries out your mouth and doesn’t really have even much of an aftertaste. I also get the impression that steeping it longer would just end in bitterness.

Oh well, thanks for the sample, Alphakitty! It’s good to know ahead of time since this company doesn’t sell small amounts of their teas. I will go back to savoring my Bergamot Rose Laoshan Black. :)

Special Thanks to Alphakitty for this one :)

It’s not overly spicy but I’m totally ok with that! The vanilla and lemon made for an interesting combo of flavors…to create a new flavor of it’s own, really! I enjoy it very much! There are subtle spices mixed in underneath…they make lovely assistants. As it cool at room temperature I can taste the ginger a bit more. Neat Rooibos flavored offering :)

I tend to dislike cherry flavoring in things—they remind me of all the cough syrup I had to drink as child, so I associate cherry with medicine. However, I’ve found that cherry in teas is usually pretty natural-tasting if it’s done right, and this is definitely one of those instances!

Tay is a small company in upstate NY where my aunt lives, and when she picked this up for me I was a little skeptical at first—the scent of the dry leaves is a little fake-cherry. But brewed, it’s fantastic and really not overly fruity at all. The light, airy cherry petals come through and mix perfectly with the rose. Neither is overpowering, and the green base comes through well. It’s nutty and grassy, the perfect compliment for a perfumey, lightly fruity blend. It’s also one of the few “fruit” teas I enjoy hot as much as iced.

The worst name for a tea ever, but so, so delicious. It smells amazing—the chocolate and mint both stand out—and sometimes I just sniff the tin I keep in my office cubicle when I don’t have time to make a cup. It is a dessert-y sort of tea (I guess the chocolate makes that part kind of obvious) and great after lunch or dinner, both pleasantly, mildly sweet and soothing at the same time.

I’m completely new to tea reviewing (in fact, this is my very first review), but I’ll try to be specific about why I love this tea so much. I first bought some at a tea shop in Woodstock, NY… was incredibly sad when I ran out… and then incredibly relieved to find it for sale online. This tea has the perfect amount of sweetness and a lovely, subtle, caramel-y flavor. I’ve never added any sweetener—it doesn’t seem to need it—but you definitely could (maple syrup might actually be good, or raw sugar) to heighten the taste. Very delicious in the afternoon (it has a little caffeine, but not much, and I’m sensitive to caffeine after noon), and also wonderful iced.

My order arrived none too soon from Tay Tea today and boy did I need it! Very stressful weekend… Saturday – found out my brother will be deployed to Afghanistan in Nov. for 12+ months, then find out my husbands uncle crashed is dirt bike that night and is in ICU (doing better now), finally Sunday my father ends up in the ER and has been admitted to figure out heart/stomach issues….PLUS I started in the new tea shopt today.

SO I really needed this tea! It relaxed me quite nicely. Beautiful aroma when I opened the tin and while it was steeping. It was so good I drained the cup in seconds! I’m thinking round two is coming up. Still very stressed out and not at all sleepy.