Tea Queens

I assume this is the same creme brulee black tea that can be purchased at said Queen Mary Tea House in Seattle because that’s where I got it. My mother got some when we had afternoon tea (I had the Almond tea which is also great) and I tried some of hers and had to buy some.

This particular cup is not as great as I remember, mostly probably because I oversteeped it by I don’t even know how long because I was brushing one of the cats and it is shedding season so that took longer than expected so it’s more burnt than caramel this cup but I have an entire canister and I intend to enjoy the crap out of it.

For some random reason, SkySamurai decided to send some random teas my way! Very awesome and thank you so much. I tried to convince her to start another teabox because the one she started is now stalled… Somehow, I haven’t tried any of the teas she sent. I’m not sure I know the difference between the TeaQueens tea shop and the Queen Mary tea shop. I like the name. The blend is a black base with roses, bergamot and vanilla. This sounds like an amazing blend in theory! It’s definitely a combination I’d love. The first cup is heavy on the rose with a medium strength black tea. Maybe I didn’t steep it long enough though. Then somehow the second steep is mostly bergamot. The vanilla is missing all around. The black tea gets much darker on the second steep, crisp and brisk like a nice assam. The promise of the vanilla brings my rating down a bit, but I do like this blend overall: the briskness, the rose is nice and the bergamot is delicious enough.
Steep #1 // 14 minutes after boiling // 2 minute steep
Steep #2 // 5 minutes after boiling // 4 minute steep
2019 Sipdowns: 34

Picked this one up in a teabox with minimal labeling – a little googling was enough to create a product page, but it’s still sorely lacking in details.

It’s…spicy, in a potpourri kind of way. A bit of apple, bit of cinnamon – smells a little mulled but nothing remarkable. I’ll have no issues drinking the other cup’s worth of sample, but I doubt I’d try to buy it again (even if I could find it).

I find most Christmas teas, like the other two of the 2018 seasonal collection, are heavy in flavor. This one, however, is quite light. It has a citrusy appeal that gives you a clean mouth feel but without the heavy astringency sometimes found by combining both black tea and citrus fruits. If you tend to drink tea a lot you will be able to detect the subtle nuances of flavor this tea adds to your palette but those who don’t drink tea much or at all they will most likely find this to be too light. I personally am not a big fan of this type of citrusy tea and don’t appreciate the unneeded flavoring but I do think this could appeal to others.

Sipdown (613)!

Finished this one off yesterday; I’m finding myself with a sudden boost/drive to sip down teas – so even though I had intended to hold onto this tea until Winter I finished it off now. There’ll be plenty of mint teas for me to drink in winter; no need to hoard this one specificially.

It was good – sweet and strongly minty. Reminded me a little bit of those white “Scotch Mints” that every Grandparent seems to inexplicably have a tin or bowl of in their house. Mine used to keep a tin of them on their dash in their van – so the fact that this was a strong mint blend prepared hot seemed even more appropriate. Big nostalgia factor.

Discovery Tea Box – Tea Twelve

Pulled this one from the box because I wanted a caffeine free option to drink in between all of the caffeinated teas that I had also pulled; though I didn’t end up trying this right away like planned and it eventually just ended up being one of the teas that I held onto after sending away the box.

It smells really sweet and minty; and sure enough steeped up it basically just tastes like a really sweet peppermint tea with just a little bit of creaminess to it. Honestly, pretty damn spot on to its namesake – and really enjoyable. Maybe a touch thin, though? Not sure if that’s the tea itself of if I underleafed/understeeped – but I did compensate for that thinness by eventually adding just a little bit of peppermint agave to the cup which amplified the sweetness and peppermint and have it a little bit more body.

I’ve also never heard of this company before – but I did poke around on their website for a little bit. Most of the offerings look pretty run of the mill, but because I enjoyed this I figured I’d look at the pricing just to see if it was something kind of reasonable. This tea isn’t listed on their site at all though; maybe it’s only sold around Christmas!?

My first few tastings were ok. I wasn’t as appreciative of it as I have been with other. However, after forgetting I had a cup left and letting it sit for a while I came back to discover it’s true floral flavors are to be discovered when cooled. The dry leaves have a very light, roasty aroma. Gorgeously twisted with care. The scent is so light that it’s almost non-existent, so you really have to stick your nose in the bag. The wet aroma reveals some interesting floral characteristics. The flavor, when steeped between 30 seconds to a minute, are mainly grassy with slight vegetal hints and a somewhat mineral after taste.

This is by far the lightest flavored Earl Grey I have ever tasted. Glad I decided to have my cuppa before eating or I wouldn’t have tasted much. The essences of lavender and bergamot are so subtle it’s almost a shame. My first sip at 2 minutes was the best. As you steep it longer then citrus notes come out more.

Rich, creamy notes. Accented with earthy undertones. The custard flavor without the custard guilt. If you love creme brulee you need to try this tea. I was a little worried at first when I saw ‘custard flavoring’ that it would taste artificial. But it’s not.

I was originally drinking this hot an quite enjoying it, but then the 3 year old woke up the 7 month old and then it was bath time. Now it’s cold, still good but better warmer. So why better warmer? Because the chestnut flavor comes out more. There is an interesting sweetness to this blend that comes out just a bit more creamy when it’s warm. Besides the sweet, creamy, and nutty notes there are also a small amount of earthy notes. They lean more towards the woodsy side of earthy notes but they are somewhat hard to detect in this blend. If you want to try some let me know!