Tea Desire

Just got home from work – and everything is shaping up to be a really good evening! First thing I did was check the mail, and my latest swap with VariaTea arrived today (have you gotten mine yet?)! I just finished adding everything to my cupboard (98 – a personal high, yet again – which is scary considering how much more is on the way still), and like last time she was too kind and through in some extra stuff.

It was incredibly thoughtful of her to give me a few more Stash bagged teas to try out (my favourite bagged tea brand) after noticing how much I like them!

Then, I got into the appartment and, in an optimistic mood, started trying to work out what to make for supper because, despite only getting 4 hours of sleep and working a shift twice the length I expected to, I’m really energetic and feel like cooking! Much to my surprise, I opened up the fridge to see MILK! I haven’t had milk in well over two weeks! Tre went and picked some up today while I was out (and it’s about time – it was his turn). So, I’m cooking up some creamy garlic/dill scalloped potatoes while I munch on the home baked bread he brought home yesterday (he made it in his Siast course, and there’s a third loaf in our kitchen now that wasn’t there yesterday!). Yum!

I also decided that it was time I try out the cold brewed tea in the fridge that I made up a few days (two?) ago. I set this up to cold brew as per Tre’s request for iced tea. I used 5 tsp. of the blend and let it cold steep for 18 hours, after that I strained it and it’s been sitting in the fridge since. I’ve noticed the jug gradually become more empty, so Tre must be drinking it while I’m not home (I find that he wont drink tea, without my asking if he wants any, while I’m home).

Dry – this smell heavenly. There’s an overwhelming smell of tangy kiwi, sweet pear, and mellow melon which creates this overall very fresh and spring/summer like smell which is accented by incredibly subtle notes of rose. It’s also a really pretty blend to look at. Once again, Tea Desire has really opted to use large chunks of things (which makes this a bit expensive because it’s quite heavy), such as big pieces of kiwi and whole rose buds.

As for the taste? I’m just blown away. The pear, melon, and kiwi are very sweet and juicy while still tasting realistic. There’s a freshness to this that I have yet to get from another cold brewed tea. Yes, I’ve gotten similar – but in those blends the freshness was achieved by there being mint in the mix. Honestly, this is the first kiwi tea I’ve that I’d buy again – and the yummy melon notes, while certainly being different, are pretty close to on pare with the tasty melon notes in Butiki’s Watermelon Xylophone. If I didn’t know better, I might guess at there being a small amount of strawberry in the blend too, but I know there isn’t. The presence of rose in the tea adds depth and, as a cold brew at least, does not come off as perfumey (I would hope so though, since this utilizes TONS of actual rose).

I’m interested to eventually getting around to trying this hot to see how everything would differ – but as a cold tea this is probably the best cold brewed tea I’ve ever had. Yes, better as a cold brew than my beloved Tropicalia. I’m happy I have at least another cup worth of this in the fridge. I’ll have to make sure I drink it before Tre gets to.

Anyway – HIGHLY recommending this to anyone who likes pear, kiwi or melon (and especially if you like two or more of those).

Sipdown (111)!

Another tin freed up; this one to be filled with the Apache Tracker. There’s a lot of similarities between the two blends though I think that one ultimately is more nutty and will contrast the other Mate/Guayusa blends I have in a more noticeable way – and that’s why it’s time to finish this one off. Variety in the tea cupboard is key.

But this blend has always been enjoyable though; and I remember relying on it quite heavily in the months after I moved here. The need for a tea to jumpstart my day in an enjoyable way was real. So real.

Sweet, nutty, roasty, almost coffee like. Who knows; maybe I’ll order this again sometime or it’ll find its way into my standard “To Go” rotation of teas for when I stop at the TD store!

Hot in my timolino.

I really oversteeped this, but it actually tasted pretty decent still. Fairly roasty, and definitely with hazelnut notes. It was sweet; almost reminded me of burnt marshmallows in a way. I’m almost out though; one more cup worth to go, and then I can use the empty tin for the Apache Tracker, which is on its way to me now.

I was supposed to drink this at work, for the energy boost, but actually waited until I got home – it was just so busy. I was terribly tired when I got home too; I actually ended up drinking all of this and then pretty much immediately passing out. One of those days. Or nights, rather.

In my timolino!

Definitely a delicious energy booster, as always. I made it on Sunday because I had an early morning shift (I hate Sundays – I always start work way too early) and I figure I’d need the energy, and I was pretty correct. It was delicious, earthy mate with coffee, chocolate, hazelnut, and deep thick toffee notes. Yummy!

Sunday was actually a pretty sad day overall though; it was the last day of two of the store employees. Ludmila a sweet, caring woman who immigrated to Canada about two years ago from Russia and who basically learned English solely through working at the store quit/resigned – it was heart breaking to see her go; she was supporting three children with this job, and the company basically bullied her into quitting by cutting her hours down every week to the point where staying wasn’t a reasonable option for her and her family. It was a really emotional last day for her.

And then Benjamin, who only worked part time on the weekends, is a university student who I really, really liked working with because he’s SUPER fun and nerdy and he understands my stupid English Literature jokes, and drinks a lot, and watches Big Brother! The company let him go because we didn’t have enough weekend hours to continue employing him if he couldn’t also work weekdays.

As a sort of parting goodbye/farewell thing Bobbi (the other keyholder) and I decided to buy a cake for everything working during the day and have a sort of goodbye party in the staffroom. I think it was just what everyone really needed.

So I’m just gonna throw up a tasting note for this one to share that I let Tre pick his tea tonight and this is the one he picked, despite my advising him that it’s highly caffeinated so having it at midnight was likely a bad idea.

…And now he’s wide awake. So there.

So I gave a “loose leaf tea” crash course to a few coworkers today; Cody and Morningstar. I taught them how to properly portion the loose leaf teas I’ve brought in for store usage (all steep at boiling temperatures except one, just for convenience sake), and how long to steep them, and all those good things!

We had a fun time smelling the different tins. Anyway, Morningstar asked if I had something that was high in caffeine/energy because she wants to quit drinking coffee so I brought this one in for her. I mean, Mate is the route to go if you want high energy – and this is a roasted Mate with flavours that are sort of like a flavoured coffee. It seemed like a good fit!

So this is the tea I “taught” them with, and we all had a bit of it. Everyone seemed to really enjoy it; and that makes me feel very proud of my looseleaf. Morningstar even asked me a WHOLE bunch of questions about the ingredients and where she could buy something like this for herself – so I told her she could get this specific tea in town, and that if she’s just interested in the caffeine/energy to go to DAVIDsTEA and ask about “Mate”.

Squea for learning! EeeiiiiI!

Oh, I’m hungry…

I should really make some supper. Hah! It’s midnight and I’m considering supper; but then again I know I’m going to be up for like four more hours anyway. Yay for having the day off and getting to sleep in!

…

Frick frack; I have a DATE tomorrow! No pressure. BE STILL NERVES! But yeah, I’m excited for it – we’re starting this shabang off by going for tea at DAVIDsTEA which is cool, but his first impression of me is going to be me totally geeking out over all the looseleaf, and taking a shit ton of time to pick one.

But hey, speaking of tea… What about this one!?

I brought it to work in a timolino, and guzzled it during my second break. I needed the energy because of all the stock/product merchandising; except I think it’s only just now kicking in. Welp.

Taste wise, I can’t help but to now compare this to Adagio’s Apache Tracker fandom blend. This is like a more caramel/toffee sweet and less chocolatey version of that blend which written out sound like it’d be better – but I still think Apache Tracker blows this one out of the water! Ugh – I miss Apache Tracker! Still, this was pleasant and will be decent enough until I figure out how to get ahold of more Apache Tracker.

I suppose I wouldn’t want both around at the same time anyway, so I can finish this off while planning on getting more Apache Tracker.

WOOT!!! Guess who just got hired by Tea Desire! That’s right, me! I’m absolutely freaking out from the excitement! And of course, what was my first (ok, maybe not my first – but top five for sure) thought? How is this going to affect my Steepster reviews? Because, well, I drink Tea Desire’s blends quite often and I already have a ton of reviews up for their blends.

So – what is the most fair/reasonable thing to do? I want to be absolutely transparent in that I have no intention of high scoring anything just to raise the ratings of the blends and if that means not actually giving a rating to the teas I try, then I’m ok with that. However, I would like to keep reviewing and logging the teas – so is that ok if I’m not actually scoring them?

And then – what about the blends I’ve already tried and scored? Would it be better if I removed the ratings on them or is it ok to leave them up since I reviewed/rated them prior to being hired by Tea Desire?

Thoughts and Opinions of others very much welcomed.

I made a Tea Desire blend in “celebration”, and also because I needed the little extra energy. The taste of the cup is no different than what I’ve stated in previous reviews.

Anyway, I start on Thursday the day after I get back from my vacation…

Excited and nervous sigh/squeal combo??

I woke up this morning with completely dried out lips due to straight clove oil coming in contact with them; trust me, it’s not pleasant and I do not recommend it. Basically, I was having such intense tooth pain that the diluted clove oil my step mom was giving me to dab on the sore area wasn’t doing anything – so I applied straight clove oil which totally numbed the pain, but also resulted in my puffy/cracked nightmareish looking mouth. Ew.

Combine that with the fact I had an allergy attack (albeit a mild one), and I’m a bit of a sight for sore eyes right now.

Anyway, I made this to drink cold this morning, to kind of “jump start” my day and get me more energized/feeling a little better. I used 1 1/2 tsp. of leaf for an 8 oz. mug, and steeped it for four minutes in boiling water. It was pretty rich and hazelnut/toffee smelling, with a nice roasty, almost coffee like quality in the background.

Taste wise, it was definitely a sweet toffee and hazelnut flavour with the same deep, roasted earthy mate flavour that vaguely reminded me of toffee – though stronger than was in the smell. Didn’t get much of the sunflower today – but it was still really good.

Everyone seemed to be in a fruity oolong mood today – including myself! However, I’m at work now and I figured a long work shift would be a good time to ‘field test’, if you will, the two high energy teas I recently purchased (this one and Good Morning Sunshine).

This one I got from Tea Desire, and I’d been holding off on buying it because somewhere I’d got it into my head that this blend and Chocolate Rocket were too similar, and it wasn’t worth my time to have both. However, after being reassured by the Tea Desire sales ladies (whom I know pretty well, now, and who I trust a pretty fair bit in recommencing teas) that they were different I caved at last and got some.

Tea Desire does not have steeping directions for their mate blends – much to my annoyance, so despite being told that they were different blends I steeped this the same way I’d steep Chocolate Rocket: 1 1/2 tsp. in boiling water for four minutes.

The smell was divine: very much like rich, dark toffee. Not the dollar store crap, but the good stuff you have to pay an arm and a leg for which has depth and character and is so chewy that your mouth nearly gets clamped shut trying to gnaw your way through it. Much to my surprise, I could also smell the sunflower quite astutely. It was interesting because that’s a scent and flavour I would not normally associate with hazelnut brittle or toffee, but it was working quite well for me. Really, I just wanted to try this tea right then and there – but it was too hot to drink and I was running late for work.

After pouring this into my water bottle and then getting to work I was so distracted with stock shipments, catching up on my paper work, and an unexpected rush of customers that it’s been about two hours now before I’ve been able to get around to trying either tea (and I’m still hesitant about sneaking onto the till’s internet seeing how many customers I just had).

I have the water bottle of mate sitting next to me right now open – and the sweet toffee and gentle sunflower and hazelnut notes are managing to stand out over all the other weird “mall smells” that are usually super strong. Seriously – you have the food court (which always smells like Sweet and Sour chicken and Subway) right next to me, and the weird smell of pee and, as awful as it sounds, older people (if you’ve ever been in an old folks home you know the smell) that never dissipates – and yet the tea blend is what’s standing out to me.

Tasting it now – First taste is a mixture of chocolate, hazelnut, and toffee (but heavier on the toffee) that reminds me of when you eat one of those Toffifee candies whole. Very sweet and decadent and, I’ll admit it, quite different than Chocolate Rocket which is like a dark roasted coffee (heavy on chicory) with raspberry and chocolate. This is lighter, and less roasted tasting. I think maybe part of what makes the roasted taste lighter IS that absence of chicory and then the addition of sunflower. Again, it’s not something I’d expect to go with the other flavours but it is still present and it is working for me.

Lastly, after you go from Toffifee to toffee/sunflower, you get a lighter roasted mate taste with some creaminess that holds over into the aftertaste. That’s where I’m finding the mate itself most noticeable: the end of the sip and the aftertaste. Delicious!

I’m glad I did pick this up after all. It’s a really good blend that I’m sure I’ll enjoy over and over. I think sometimes my stubbornness prevents me from trying good blends: I’ll have to keep that in mind, especially in regard to green tea blends which I’m often too stubborn to give a chance.

Well – onto work tea #2 now! Good Morning (though rather afternoon, now) Sunshine from Butiki! Yes – it’s a very ‘high energy’ afternoon :P

(PS. Happy Turkey Day, Americans!)

And this is my evening tea, courtesy of Roswell Strange! :D
It’s chocolate and bananas and it’s really great and relaxing. It looks a little oily on the top but that’s not an issue as the tea itself tastes quite nice. Sweet! Like melted bananas and butter and chocolate – not healthy – so good!

Well, depending on how you look at it, I’ve had a really good tea day and a really bad tea day…

I got up literally three hours ago and since waking up I’ve added 21 teas to my cupboard – and the day is not yet done. I’m expecting to meet up with Janelle today and purchase the samples I wanted from her tea stash which shall add about ten more teas to my cupboard. Yikes!

So, after waking up the first thing I did (after checking steepster, of course) was catch the bus to the mall so I could go to the bank to take out my rent money and the money I’ll be owing Janelle for the teas. Of course Tea Desire is in that mall so I had to stop in to, if nothing else, say hi to the sales ladies and get a tea to go. Of course, in addition to having this as my tea to go, I walked away with 50g each of two mores teas (Prickly Pear, which I think will be excellent for cold brewing, and Brasiliano which is a mate that smells SO indulgent).

I had this on the bus ride back home, and I have to say I was not totally impressed. Shelby, my favourite sales lady, said this was a favourite of hers and highly recommended it, so I took a chance but I’m glad now that I only got it as a tea to go and didn’t purchase any.

Taste wise, the black tea base had a very chemical taste to it that I just couldn’t shake. It was super present and it ruined any other positives this tea had. I’m wondering if a shorter steep time would reduce the harshness of that chemical taste, but I also did allow it to steep for exactly the time that Shelby said she liked it best.

There were positives, though (just sadly out weighed by the harsh chemicalness)! The vanilla that managed to come through was very smooth and natural tasting, and the grenadine was sweet in a way that wasn’t cloying like I’d imagine a grenadine tea to be. It almost but not quite reminded me of a Shirley Temple.

When I got home, I saw that in the 40 minutes I’d been gone I’d recieved not one, but two parcels of tea! My order from Butiki had come in, and I’m SUPER impressed by how quickly that made it to me. I definitely was not expecting to get everything by Black Friday. Also, Stacy was super kind and added an extra sample to my order (Irish Breakfast)!

And, the package from RiverTea which I won in their “what would you do for 100g of your favourite tea” arrived today as well! Considering it was coming from Berlin and mailed out less than two weeks ago I’m also very impressed by how quickly it got here, and seeing as I’m one of five people to get to ‘pre-try’ their teas I definitely opened that one up first. All the packaging looks beautiful, and they even sent me this super cool steeper shaped like a musical note! I took some pictures of things as I was opening the package up, so I’ll be sure to link them in my first review of their tea. It’s neat because I can definitely see how they picked teas for my to try out based on the flavours I told them I’m interested in! It feels super personalized and I’m incredibly thankful!

Now the only problem is what to have first…

Last tea of the night, and it’s another one from the lovely MissB (looks like I’m not the only one who got their package from her today).

Considering how careless I was in preparing, in that I forgot how long I let the water cool and then also forgetting to set a timer and steeping this for much longer than necessary, it still managed to be drinkable. That said, I do not believe I’m getting the flavours quite right. I can’t really taste much but maybe coconut and possibly a little pineapple juiciness.

Definitely deserves a better chance with better steeping parameters, but still surprisingly good, all things considered.

MissB very generously shared some of this with me and it was definitely a flavor experience. It is so bold and flavorful. So many different spices are playing around on my tongue. Unfortunately, I think I wish the game was done because something about these flavors are just not sitting right with me. I am searching for the chocolate that I know I smelled but I am just not finding it. What I am finding is pepper and licorice, A LOT of licorice which is not a flavor I enjoy.

This was definitely a tea experience vastly different from any other I have had before. Thank you MissB for sharing but I think the sample you sent me is the last time I will be drinking this tea and since one cup used the whole sample, this is a sipdown!

Thank you MissB for sending me a sample of this teea.
I’m not a fan of anything licorice, so I did pick out the two star anise pieces that there were. Even doing that, I didn’t like this at all. I’m not even sure what it was, but it seemed really citrus acidic with strange spices. Sorry, but this was just awful. :(( I only drank about half the cup, no sorry couldn’t do it. Thanks for the experience, but this one is a miss for me.

Thanks MissB for sending me a sample of this.
MMMMMMMMMmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm this has a lot of the elements that I LOVE about Davids Coffee Pu’erh. I like that the pu’erh isn’t totally masked, it’s there but more as an accent to add depth and mouth feel to the chocolate. Seems to me this makes it more “truffle” than most black teas are able to achieve. I really like this, but it’s not coffee pu’erh. Thanks MissB!!!

It is cold and windy and snowing here tonight. My plan for the evening was to curl up on the couch and sample some more of the teas MissB so generously sent me.
This was on top of the pile, and well, ummmmmm, I’m now working on my fourth cup and haven’t made it any further into the stack.
I really quite like this, I’ve been drinking it all evening and am quite sure this sample is going to get finished off tonight.
Why do I get caught up with the names though…? This is a nice chocolate tea, but I’m not getting any cookie, and not much creamy. A splash of milk solves the creamy problem, but cookie – sorry I’m missing that.
Oh well, I’m just going to be happy with this desserty tea, and thank MissB for sending it to me.

This is one of my all-time favorite “teas” from not just Tea Desire, but out of any teas I have tried. It is completely unique experience.
When I first smelt this tea, its nose sent me reeling in desire to immediately brew a cup. I find the nose very intriguing, I personally am most hit with mint, and then a strong but mellow orange scent after, then I pick up the less prominent scents, such as the lemon grass.
This brews relaxation. It has such a great calming vibe, and it is just as delicious as it smells!!Though, the mint I find is always the after note to each sip. Completely delightful!!

Ah phooey, I oversteeped this slightly, and went with the wrong steeping temperature. The bag says 185F, I should have done my normal 175F. It’s still lovely, just a bit astrigent, when it’s normally buttery, fruity and delicious.

Ah, this has yet to disappoint me. So delicious!

Second large mug-full, and it’s just as tasty as the first. Plain, it’s more buttery than anything, with some coconut creaminess. Sweetened though (again, Truvia) the fruitiness pops, and it becomes like a boozy cocktail out of my dreams. I’m making this with some coconut milk as a latte next time!

This smells quite lovely as the pouch opens: creamy coconut is what I got, followed by something tropical and fruity. Yum!

Smells more crisp and clean brewed, and less like a pina colada. Drinking it however was where my eyes rolled back in my head… wow. I knew I had to sweeten it just a bit after the first sip, as it was a bit too delicate to taste much initially. A bit of Truvia though, and I’m in heaven.

I actually feel like I’m drinking a creamy, buttery, coconut booze concoction, with some hints of mango and… lemongrass… in the mix. It’s mostly a creamy coconut though, and I’m quite okay with that. LOVE the buttery feel minus any sort of oiliness. A new favorite.

Thank you for the sample Roswell Strange but this one is most definitely not for me. I had high hopes but this was way too sweet for my liking. Even as a latte I found it cloying for my tastes. I am glad I tried it though!

I didn’t get to bring any tea with me to work today! I was supposed to get up at six so that I could watch an episode of Supernatural, shower, and make my tea without being rushed – but instead I woke up at 8:20 with my alarming going off. I literally slept through my alarm! So, I scrambled to get dressed and do my make up, grab all my work shit and get out the door so I wasn’t late (and I wasn’t) – but that meant I showed up at work all gross and smelly with no tea! Boo…

It DID ensure, however, that I went to Tea Desire on break and picked up a Tea To Go. No way was I going a 9 hour shift without any tea. I decided to get a latte, and to my surprise I met a fourth staff member (I’m there A LOT and up until today I’d only met three staff members). She was very nice, but I’ll admit it was kind of disappointing not being immediately recognized and greeted by name. I’ve sort of grown used to that…

I doubt I’d purchase any of this tea for at home – I already have some good Cream Earl Greys and Tea Desire has a lot more interesting blends that I’d rather keep stocked. However, there are some really nice things about this blend specifically that really make me enjoy it. It has rose petals in it, and I find that the notes they contribute really stand out (they were lovely as a latte today – the rose was so creamy and smooth without being light and indiscernible) compared to a few different Cream Earl Greys I’ve tried, and there are bourbon vanilla bits in the tea too, although as a latte today I got much more vanilla than bourbon.

Anyway, long story short I was a happy camper sipping away at this. I got lots of lovely London Fog(y) foam, and the rest was the perfect temp. and steep time. Yum! It definitely made not bringing tea with me much less of a blow.