Teapigs

This was nice enough for an earl grey. The black tea was a stronger flavor, while the other flavors contributing to the earl grey were more subdued. I’d expect all of it to be strong, given the name? It’s probably just as well, since earl grey isn’t something I’m drawn to in general.

teapigs advent, day 4

A strong hibiscus fruit drink that’s nice and tart. It’s not my favorite fruit blend due to the particular berry mixture, but it’s a solid one. I liked it better hot than I expected. I wonder if I might have rated it better were it not for last night’s cup of a similar, preferable hibiscus blend.

teapigs advent, day 3

This is a perfectly good tea that just doesn’t work for my personal tastes. If you like a lemon ginger, I do think you should try this!

The scent reminds me of my early tea days, when I assumed that boxes in the grocery store aisle were the only options and I just took anything that said it had lemon.
It’s a simple tea, well-balanced with both lemon and ginger, though both the lemongrass and ginger are strong. I see a lot of positives in this tea, but I just don’t care to have a cup of lemon/ginger in general, so my rating is low.

teapigs advent, day 2

I wanted to love this tea. The warm spice is evident as soon as you open the packet to find the tea temple. It smells lovely; a festive holiday treat.

Drinking it was mostly ginger and chili, and the chili lingered as an aftertaste. I like a strong spice, so I appreciated that it was bold, it was just missing something. I got no hints of fruit until, near the end of the cup, it cooled significantly. Perhaps it would have been better iced, but as it was, I wasn’t a fan.

teapigs advent, Day 1

I picked this up at a local farm last summer but already had too many other chamomile blends open. I decided to try it out tonight after a long dog walk.

I am in love with this blend. It’s smooth and soothing and a new favorite.

I’ve not had any other Teapig products and I’m impressed with the environmentally friendly packaging. I was looking over their products and might be thinking about the advent calendar.

Strong, fresh nose of toasted rice which mellows in the mouth and is underscored by light grassiness and astringency. Easy drinker for the work day. Good for only 1 steep. I like to leave the sachet in the cup. There are better genmaicha out there. I can’t name one, but there are. I like a stronger green tea presence.

The fellow who shared his First Street black teas with me has absolved himself of such a heinous crime.

This one has a sour rose flavor that’s pretty unpleasant, but it can be decently tamed with sugar. It’s really sour, sort of like pink lemonade, but if you think of it in that sort of way, it works. I wouldn’t say I notice lychee specifically, maybe just a touch if I’m paying attention. It’s pink lemonade all the way. The way they create these to steep in cold water in seven minutes just leads to sour weirdness.

This is definitely my favorite Teapigs tea from my winter order. The pear flavor is pretty authentic, and the spices are warming and actually rather spicy in the back of my mouth. I would have preferred a stronger pear flavor and milder spices because the pear flavor really is lovely, but it’s quite hidden. The strongest flavor is definitely the ginger. In some cups, I don’t taste any pear at all.

This one needs a slighty shorter steep so it doesn’t get too tart or strange. Then, it tastes pretty accurate to the sort of mulled wine vibe it’s going for. There’s tart fruit, some spice, and definitely a lot of wine-inspired flavor going on. If it steeps too long, it gets quite strong, sour, and abrasive. It’s not my sort of tea, but it was drinkable.

The directions say to cold brew this for seven minutes, but when I tasted it, the flavor was much too mild. I left the bag in for an hour or so, and the flavor was stronger, but not super pleasant. It was a little sour and not great. I’ve tried it a few times now, and it just stays sour and generically fruity. These cold brew Teapigs teas aren’t working for me at all.

The directions say to steep this for 7 minutes in cold water. I thought that couldn’t be right, so I steeped it with 200 degree water for five minutes. Yeah, maybe I should follow instructions. This turned out super sour, and it tasted like pickles. I drank it, but it was pretty gross. The second time, I steeped it in cold water like it said, and it did taste like cucumbers, but also like pickles. I always peel my cucumbers because I don’t like the skin, but I know lots of monsters leave the skin on, so maybe this is what it tastes like when you do that. This one is just too savory for me. I tried it a third time, and I’m still getting pickle, so I think that’s enough for me!

I probably should have used less water, but this doesn’t taste strong like it says. The black tea is a bit weak, and it’s more floral than I expected. Really it was quite a mild EG, perfectly tasty, but I’ve had better EGs from Teapigs, and I prefer something bolder overall. And this is my last 2019 advent calendar tea! Finally!

The spices here are quite mild. The main flavor is the rooibos. The rooibos itself isn’t the best, but it’s easy to drink. I hoped for bolder flavors with a name like this, but it was much too muted.

This is quite a floral EG, with a decently robust black tea underneath. I enjoyed it with milk, though there was a slight edge of bitterness in one or two of the sips. Generally, it was pretty pleasant. The second steep tasted mostly like a pretty rich black tea. Pretty good!

Grabbed this bag from a tea box. Yeah something about mate always reminds me of thai tea. With some flavoring, this could be pretty interesting, but I think it’s a little boring straight. Just my personal preference.

Mmmmm… flower juice. I have no idea why this is so good. I think I was right about staying away from pure chamomile and sticking to blends; it plays a supporting role here and is really pleasant. Some folks have reported not tasting lavender at all, while some have reported applesauce, chamomile, and lavender. I’m led to believe that either they’re still sorting out their formula or the batches are unbalanced because this? This is (lavender) flower juice. I admit to sweetening it slightly, and it’s lurvely.

Strong in caffeine but less so in flavour. Definitely bolder than most of their blends, but not particularly smooth, and the bitterness sneaks in quite quickly. S’not bad, but s’not PG Tips.

Light fruitiness mixed with light ginger. Not too remarkable, but not bad. Not clearly rhubarb, but the fruit is interesting. I like my fruits and spices separate, but that’s just personal preference.

What it says on the tin. It’s perfectly pleasant, but honestly nothing special.

A very light blend, as these things go. I prefer bolder ones. Needs more bergamot. That said, it’s nice and smooth, and strong enough to withstand the addition of a few drops of creamer and sweetener without losing its flavour.

sob Friends, if you think that berries and hibiscus will be anything like the perfection that is strawberry and rhubarb, you would be mistaken. So… very… mistaken. teapigs say that this tea tastes as good as it smells. This is truth in advertising: it smells awful. My rating for this blend is lemony puckerface. You know the one.

Like the other teapigs cold brews I’ve tried (rose and lychee, peach and mango), this is a light and refreshing blend. Unlike the others, though, this one is a bit too light. The cucumber is lovely but has to be coaxed out by steeping longer than advised. The apple’s hiding a bit, but pops in to say hullo now and again. This is more of an included-in-a-variety-pack than a solo purchase for me.

Oh, green tea. It’s not you, it’s me. I’ve tried so hard, can’t you see? I think now it’s time I just let you be. Unless you’re hanging out with my buddy jasmine, in which case I’m here for it.

This tastes like smoky rice water.