Tea Haus

Another from StarFevre!  THANKS AGAIN.  Had to make a note of this for the summer!  It’s a very berry heavy blend, but also very hibiscus heavy.  I’m not sure if it’s due to age or correct hibiscus usage/blending, but the hibiscus doesn’t take over too much.  Plenty of berry flavoring otherwise.  There is supposed to be vanilla here, which I wish made more of an appearance.  Also some sort of cream flavor WOULD have been lovely here.  But I like this!  I’ve had it a few times and it’s very consistent and balanced – just the right tartness.  The second steep is also very worthy — very dark and deep red.

I thought I had written a tasting note for this, yet another from StarFevre!  Thanks again!  I especially love this one because I think it’s the same as my beloved blend from Angry Tea Room, Orange Creamsicle!  It has lovely orange flavoring with yogurt bits and really does taste like creamsicle.  It’s also very tasty cold, after leaving it in the fridge until I drink it at night.  The rooibos is VERY dark even on the second steep, but it’s very pleasant and smooth rooibos.  It doesn’t hurt to have more of this around!  Also, apparently Angry Tea Room carries the same teas as Tea Haus, so I really wish Angry Rea Room had that lime blend I want to restock on!
Steep #1  // 2 teaspoons for full mug // 10 minutes after boiling  // 2 minute steep
Steep #2  // just boiled //  20 minute steep (then put in the fridge to cool)
2020 Sipdowns: 53 (Simpson & Vail – Tropical Papango)

Ordered a teapot of this tea at Tea Haus in London, ON. Both the employees working in the store seemed very approving of this choice and mentioned it was their best and most expensive tea in the store. They both mentioned they really enjoy and recommend it. Came to $6 for the pot of tea, which was several cups worth. I probably drank 2-2.5 cups myself, and my boyfriend 1-1.5, with another cup leftover that I brought home in a to-go cup, so quite a decent size full pot. We had a timer set for 5 minutes brought with it and took the leaves out when they were done steeping. (Didn’t get a chance to take the leaves and do a second steep.)

Very light and drinkable tea. Has a nice lemon-y aroma and taste. Lingering lemon aftertaste. I was able to drink a lot more of this tea than I usually do, basically it was as easy to drink as a lightly flavoured water – no astringency or bitterness, obviously not dark or overpowering in any way. Not much caffeine. Just very gentle and pleasing. Almost like the tea leaves just gave the water a quick kiss

This was my first experience with white tea and I enjoyed it. I imagine the flavoured white teas would be very nice as well.

Love this Earl Grey. You would think the lavender, rosemary and rose blossoms would overpower the bergamot…but it does not. The balance of all the ingredients makes for a very pleasant tasting tea. Great for in the morning as breakfast tea or in the afternoon when you want a little pick-me-up. Worth the wait to order it online.

I love this tea blend. The taste and aroma is just like a baked apple. Great hot and cold, although I prefer it hot, the idea of a baked apple invoked.

I’m wondering if this is the same as TeaGschwendner’s tea… I’m willing to bet it is due to having the same description. But, it is offered by this brand as well, and I’d rather use caution than not, so a separate entry into Steepster it is.

First off, THIS TEA SMELLS LIKE APPLE PIE. I mean, I just pulled off the lid of the tin and OH MY GOSH. It smells sweet and appley with a bit of cinnamon, and without making it my heart was already fluttering.

The taste, however, isn’t quite as good as the scent. Which is not to say it isn’t nice, because it is. In fact, the aroma still hits throughout drinking and makes you want to smile. But it’s not as strong or as flavourful as the scent would lead me to believe. It just… tastes a lot more watered down (which makes sense, I suppose, because it is, but I know fruit teas that are very bold, and this one feels like it should be, but isn’t).

So an A+ on scent, and that’s for sure, but somewhere in the B-, C+ for taste, especially if you compare expectations to reality.

Malty, but a bit weaker than other Assams I have tried. Leaving it to steep too long makes it very tannic, and even with milk and sugar it was bitter when overstepped. But when brewed at the Tea Haus’ recommended 3 minutes, I found it to be a little on the weak side. So I’d recommend 4 minutes for best results. Bought this at Plum Market in West Bloomfield, Michigan, where it is sold as one of Tea Haus’ bulk teas.

So I got this in a swap aaaages ago from darby, I believe. Thanks for the swap, and sorry it took me so long to get around to it. I probably should have been drinking it before, because now I am losing my taste for teas like this. This is definitely sourced from TeaGschwendner, and I haven’t had the best success with their base teas, which is part of the reason I have put off trying it for so long. Also I think I got it around the time when I was starting to have a harder time with nut teas.

I will say, I am enjoying it more than I thought I would. It probably has lost some flavor and potency over time, but it’s still marzipanny. It’s not bitter, but it’s also kind of boring. There is maybe a hint of something off about it, perhaps the nuts in the blend. I am finding that I dislike actual nuts in my tea, and although I love nut flavoring, real nuts give off some kind of something when steeped that doesn’t sit right with me.

I will probably take this home and drink it strong with milk and sugar. Perhaps I can coax more flavor out of it that way.

Second try at posting this note. Steepster is having issues this afternoon. Thanks to Tea Sipper for sending this to me in trade. I’m highly enjoying it. The almond in it is coming along pretty strong to me and is leaving an absolutely lovely aftertaste for me to savour. It is pretty sweet too, above and beyond the sweetener I added to it. A touch of milk adds some creaminess that I think this tea needed and the whole thing is really nice. Good tea.

Thank you Dinosara for sending a bit of this one! I must be honest.. I had some of this before but I sent the rest out in a swap and then kind of, sort of missed it. But Dinosara had some to send my way! I love the sweet almond flavor. I accidently oversteeped this one for ten minutes and then expected disaster but it has the perfect astringency and very deep and malty while still keeping the marzipan flavors. Very delicious!

First to make a tasting note for this one? Thanks Darby, for sending this with our trade!

The steep color is a medium brown. I guess I always expect black teas to have a deeper color. But this one didn’t have a ton of flavor either. That’s a good thing though, because there wasn’t a ton of almond flavor that would have been masked by a stronger black tea. I’m pretty sure most of the almond taste didn’t come from the few tiny almond bits in the blend, but the “natural flavoring”. And the almond was really only present with a few of the sips and mostly at the top of the cup. I wish there were more to say about this one! Nothing terrible but nothing special.

Sipdown! 804. Strangely, this is better than I remember…. in spite of it being a year later! It tastes reasonably mango-y, though I can taste some rooibos and don’t particularly care for that flavour. There’s a bit of throat scratchiness going on as well, which I dislike. Bumping the rating a touch, but still not a tea I’d go for again.

Another sample from the very generous Indigobloom!

Ok, this one’s a bit strange. Definitely tasting the medicinal qualities of the rooibos, which I’m not particularly fond of. There’s some fruitiness to it, an overtone of mango, but that’s really all I’m getting. Nice concept but poor execution, imo. I don’t think I’ll bother with a second infusion because I suspect it will just taste of rooibos.

This is actually the peach and apricot teas mixed together, as they no longer carry specifically Peach Apricot. Fair enough! I could have chosen one or the other, but whey not both?

I’m liking the fruit flavours in this. Sweet and subtle. Overwhelming, chemical-tasting peach flavour has been a stomach-turning issue for me in the past so I’m very happy with this! Unfortunately I’m finding this overly bitter, too. I am actually doing short, 30-second ish steeps, which is working pretty well. It keeps it nice and light but doesn’t quite let the flavours come out to play.

This smells SO GOOOOOOD!!!
but sadly, as most teas do… it falls a bit short on flavour. This was expected of course! and with some extra agave will probably be solved- I added only a dash after all.
Don’t get me wrong, I definitely taste the mango. I’m just not sure this would make it to my “go to” pile once pouch is finished. It might grow on me yet. I haven’t ruled it out!
But the pretty yellow sunflower leaves are so nice to look at… Maybe I should just use this one as potpourri :P

This is growing on me. I am mostly tasting raspberry today… and lemon and unripe berries?

This tea is, um, interesting. I’ve not quite decided if I like it or not yet. It is not too terribly floral (although it definitely has a floral aspect) and it’s not overly fruity. There is something leafy tasting. Withholding judgment for now.

I don’t understand why tea makers always have to add florally things to fruit teas. Why can’t it just taste like mixed dried fruit? Would that be boring?