Tea Guys

DOUBLE DUTYING This Review!!! A tea with a product!!!

As for the tea I am sampling at the moment…WALNUT GREEN…

LiberTEAs sent this one to me, too! :) Thanks girl!

Yes…the first thing that hits you is the SCENT! It’s every bit of Walnut Green Tea you could imagine and then some. It tastes JUST LIKE it smells! Nutty yet refreshing! This is pretty good. I’m scoring it a bit high because it really surprised me and it’s more complex than “just” your average walnut taste. I wouldn’t say it’s like Maple Walnut Ice Cream in the form of a tea but it’s fairly close.

I also happen to be drinking this in my NEW Kati Loose Tea System by Tea Forte
http://www.teaforte.com/store/tea-accessories/cups/kati-loose-tea-system/
I just got it today!!! WOOT!
I am now a proud owner of the “GRASS” Design one.

Description on the Tea Forte Site is:
Our double-wall ceramic tumbler and integrated stainless steel infuser make brewing loose tea by the cup simple. The innovative double-wall construction keeps tea hot and the tumbler cozy to hold. Brews a generous 12 oz cup and is dishwasher safe.

My findings on the products…first the tumbler itself…
It’s heavy-duty which I like. I am keeping this at work so I tend to walk around with my WORK mug. I will say that THIS is NOW going to REPLACE my old ‘mug’ completely. I really LOVE the design! Like I said, it’s the GRASS one and it’s “so me” because some people refer to me as a tree hugger or hippie! It’s earthy, natural-looking, and FUN!

I really LOVE the fact that it has a LID. 1 because it keeps the tea itself warm(er) than if the tea is exposed while steeping or infusing like I did it before. And 2 because I am a klutz and will really be benefiting from the usage of this lid!

With the double-wall ceramic the description refers to…I also like this feature because you are still able to pick it up while hot. BUT…it still gets warm…I would have to say it cuts down on the ‘holding temperature’ at least by half…this is my estimated guess I haven’t officially or technically tested it…but to give you an idea of the ‘heat to hand’ comparison…if you know what I mean.

As for the “integrated stainless steel infuser” I would give it a thumbs up as well! I did find it a little less heavy duty than other strainers but it also allows for more movement of the loose leaf. Having said that, tho, it’s also easy to remold into the original shape…so…no worries there.

When you discard your loose leaves (the ones I have tried so far) do stick a little bit but it’s nothing I can’t deal with. The Strainer PERFECTLY fits the tumbler! Like I said before I tend to walk around the office and sometimes spill. While the loose leaf is infusing the leaves stay put regardless. They DO NOT “Jump Over Board” into the liquid…they DO stay put! YAY…NO FLOATIES!

I am going to try and review this product several times with different contacts and teas to see how it handles other ‘types of tea and tisanes" but I am here to tell you my first attempt was VERY successful! I’m such a HAPPY tea drinker at the moment!!!!

The only thing I miss is a handle on the side…but because I am so excited about the actual product and ‘know’ it’s supposed to be ‘different from a mug’ I will certainly look past that!

As for the rating of this post – I’m simply rating the TEA mentioned in the beginning of the post…as for the product from Tea Forte…So far I give it 2 thumbs up! A great addition to ANY Tea Lovers Collection!!! More reviews and ratings coming soon! I will also be posting on my personal tea blog as well a teareviewblog.com down the road!

Backlogging from earlier today – I had some of this iced. It makes a very good iced tea, but I think I prefer this one hot.

Enjoying a cup of this tea right now – it went really nicely with my multi-grain toast with Nutella. (A local bakery here makes the most incredible bread! YUM)

Nice, sweet, nutty. The pineapple of this blend is more of a background note, I can taste it but it seems to be there mostly to create depth rather than to focus on pineapple flavor. Not surprisingly by the name of the tea – the nuts are the real stars of this cup.

Light, fresh, and yummy! The more I taste this tea, the more I like it.

You know what? This tea is awesome!

Because I’m still sick, I’m not going to bump up the numeric rating just yet, but, I’m quite tempted. The flavor (Now – with impaired taste buds) is very nutty… much more so than I remember. A very pleasant buttery flavor to it. Sweet, and yummy… what a treat this is! I think I like it better now than I remember.

I have had this tea in my cupboard for a while but this is the first time I’ve tasted it.

The aroma of this tea is yummy – nutty, but also strongly fruity with the addition of coconut and pineapple added to the blend. It’s kind of like a nutty twist on a pina colada.

This is a delicious flavored green tea, and I like that I can taste the green tea amid the strong flavors of fruit and nut. The green tea has a nice, buttery taste. Fresh and smooth. The nutty flavor is toasty and sweet, and the fruit flavors are not as strong as the nutty flavor – which is good. I haven’t decided though whether I taste more walnut or almond…

A nice strong flavored tea, which is something that I need right now.

Very tasty – A strong ginger flavor, and the peach is very good… this reminds me a bit of a gingered peach cobbler. Yummy! I only enough of this tea for another pot… which is a bit bitter-sweet. Sad that it’s going to be gone, because I’ve enjoyed it, but happy it’s going to be gone to make way for other teas (I have so much tea!)

We just got home from running errands. I just grabbed something from my enormous supply of bags of tea, and this is what I happened to grab. Fortunately, I am quite happy with that choice. YUM

The peach flavor is bright and juicy, and the ginger adds just enough peppery kick to it. Peach and ginger were made for each other! They compliment each other so well.

I really like that the flavors of this tea are strong enough to enjoy, yet not so incredibly strong that they overwhelm the flavor of the tea. Nicely balanced.

Yum! This tea seems to get better with each time I brew it. I guess it’s growing on me.

The ginger has a pleasant kick to it, not extraordinarily spicy, just a nice warmth and a little peppery kick. The peach is sweet and delicious, but that sweetness does not overwhelm the cup. I can also taste the cinnamon here and it plays well with the ginger.

A very nice, well rounded blend of tastes.

Just trying this tea for the first time. I received the order a couple of weeks ago… in that order I also received the Papaya Ginger which I absolutely loved so this one kind of got overlooked!

It’s very good. One of the better ginger peach teas I’ve tasted. The ginger does not overwhelm the cup and the peach is sweet and very delightful. The flavors are well balanced and the tea flavor is brisk and lively. Muscatel is very complimentary to the peach notes.

I’ll have to write a review on the Tea Review Blog about this one!

I am watching a movie with my young one and enjoying a cup of this at the moment. The berry flavor is pleasant – sweet with just a hint of tart. The tea base of white and green teas is very soft, leafy (vegetative) flavor. It is very subtle and the blueberry taste is the most prominent of this cup.

Yum!

Yum… I decided for my last cup of the night, that I’d have a “late night snack”! Carrot Cake!

It is remarkable to me just how much like Carrot Cake this tea really is. So yummy!

This is my first time trying this tea. I have been really happy with the other Tea Guys teas so I am fairly confident I will like this one too…

Wow! This is really good. Much, much better than I anticipated. I’m not a big fan of rooibos. I like rooibos ok, but more often than not its a bit too sweet for my liking, and tastes a bit like artificial sweetener (like saccharine) has been added. But the combination of flavors here seems to offset that weird rooibos sweetness enough so that it’s not as prevalent. This blend also contains honeybush which I like much better than rooibos.

Make no mistake though, this is a very sweet tea. It just doesn’t taste like a fakey-rooibos-saccharine-ish sweet. It has a pleasant fruity sweetness, with a touch of honey and maple. A very nice dessert treat – and perfect for this time of evening.

Enjoying some of this tea this afternoon. The grapefruit has a pleasantly tart edge to it.

With my taste buds impaired, I can really taste the black tea in this blend, much more so than I usually do, and this has somewhat interfered with the “juicy” flavor of the grapefruit that I remember from this tea. It now tastes more earthy and less fruity… more like tea with just a slight citrus-like note.

I really like this blend a lot. The more I drink it the more I like it. It’s got a nice balance of flavors.

The grapefruit is not sour, but there is a little tartness that rests on the tip of the tongue in the finish. I also like how the three “teas” (black tea, green tea, and green yerba mate) blend together. It tastes very fresh, vibrant and alive with flavor.

This is the tea that lead me to buy from Tea Guys, as I am on the lookout for an extraordinary grapefruit green tea.

I’m glad I did place this order – Tea Guys has prompt shipping and great teas too! I really like this tea, although I really think I’d like it better if it was just a green tea blend rather than a blend of black and green teas plus green yerba mate. It’s not quite what I was looking for… but I still like it.

It has a really nice citrus flavor – the grapefruit flavor is tart yet sweet. There is a little bitterness to it, but, it’s not a strong bitter – just a little bite that gives some added dimension to the cup.

I really like this tea. It is light and fresh with just a hint of mint. It must be the white tea in it that makes it so mild, because other Gunpowders I’ve had were much deeper.

This tea took a while to grow on me.
(Before you start reading, I sweeten things a lot. Just know this about me)

This tea always will remind you of it’s namesake. It has that carrot cake-y taste to it. Unlike the bake-y flavor often noted on the black teas, this definitely has a cake-y taste. Like the aftertaste you’d have in your mouth after eating a bit of that yummy cake-y goodness. My initial problem was that I only added half as much sweetener as I normally would, and I kept thinking the tea was lacking. Then I realized what I thought was missing-the cream cheese frosting. It tasted exactly like the inside of the cake, but where was the frosting?? This is necessary people. What is Carrot Cake without the cream cheese frosting? It’s a pompous muffin. Feh.

So I did it again, and added my preferred amount of sweetener and then added milk to help with the cream cheese deficiency. Ah! There it is. This is right. Now this is a dessert tea I can get behind.

Husband prefers it without the milk. So, obviously, your mileage may vary.

This even got a decent re-steep (with a bit of a crutch), which I found impressive. I’ve never had good luck re-steeping rooibos.

I will enjoy the rest of this packet, but probably won’t order more. It’s a good tea. Very good tea, but maybe not my cup of tea.

Opening the bag, the aroma overwhelms you. It’s like the best piece of baklava you’ve ever tasted. It’s caramel and walnut and condensed yum. It smells AWESOME.

Unfortunately, it didn’t quite hold up for me after that point. The brew I got was a little weak and flavorless. Once I swallowed, the flavor of walnut and caramel grew on my toungue, but then started to turn into bananas once the tea started to cool. Bananas? Really? I don’t tend to like bananas in my baklava.

I will definitely be trying this again, because it’s got such promise… it just doesn’t seem to be following through for me at this point.

Well, it looks like it’s Maple Day! Decided to make a sugary maplely chai. 1/2 of this mixed w/ 1/2 Adagio’s Masala Chai + 1tsp sugar free maple syrup and 1TB creme brulee creamer. Quite sweet- couldn’t enjoy this every day. But today, it’s SOOO yummy!

Maple Sugar Chai! 1/2 tsp each this and Adagio’s Masala Chai and 1TB creme brulee creamer. Unfortunately not very chai like, but oh so sugary sweet!:)

Made this for a friend today. I nearly lost the thing that means most to me next to God today. I didn’t realize that Madison’s invisible collar battery died and she ran up to the neighbors’. Luckily Christine was home… she’s never home on Friday afternoons. When she came up to bring my Madison home I made her a cup of this, sweetened w/ 1tsp sugar free maple syrup, as thanks. The day worked out great though because she ended up hanging out for 2 hrs and we’re going out tomorrow nite.

2nd infusion. Starting a new tasting note because I have to point out this is AMAZING w/ a grilled ham and cheese using Harney & Son’s lapsang souchong cheese!!! I went simple because I didn’t want to mask the cheese- a very thin layer of mayo on both sides of the bread, cheese on both sides, and 1 piece of ham on nice thick french bread and put in our George Foreman machine. The sweetness of the tea balanced the smokeyness perfectly. Quite possibly the best grilled cheese I’ve ever had. Would be amazing w/ tomato soup as well.

Breakfast was ready when I got up so I had this 1st instead of my matcha. Served w/ 1tsp sugar free maple syrup and chocolate chip waffles and breakfast sausage links. Yum!

Infusion 2 for mom.