The NecessiTeas

A new bag of this smells so good! Sort of between champagne and starburst candy (i think).

Preparation: Western
Tasting note: A little lighter in taste compared to smell but I think it hits all the notes. Strawberry and apple is juicy and sweet and fresh and gives it that sparkling wine/champagne feel. The rose gives it a little more body then expected, otherwise I think this wouldn’t be as good. Overall, I think this is probably my favorite strawberry fruit tea, which is great because it is also an herbal.

Preparation: Sweetened Latte
Tasting Notes: This was like more dessert than I intended but I am totally ok with it. I added like a tsp of raw sugar and 1/4 c of full fat oatly and it is like cinnamon ice cream or like apple pie with ice cream. I have never had a snickerdoodle but I think this is delicious as a latte. I think I would order this again when I run out.

When I had a sip of this without the oatmilk, it was bit too strong even with the sugar so I don’t give it the highest score because it isn’t as flexible as far as I have tried so far.

Preparation: Western

Tasting Note: This is a mainly honeybush tea, just looking from the ratio of honeybush to other ingredients. When I tasted the tea, the honeybush was mellowed out by the caramel and coconut. I don’t get a distinct caramel note in this tea, it is more of a lightly sweet and creamy. At the end of the mug, the cocoa powder is there and gives a chocolate-y effect at the end. I don’t think this one was bad but it wasn’t interesting enough to purchase again.

The website description describes this to be like a Disney Dole Whip, full disclaimer, I have not had a Dole Whip before. I imagine it to be as citrus-y and bright as a lemongrass, pineapple, apple tea.

Preparation: Western and hot in a hug
Tasting notes: This is really good! It reminds me of eating fresh pineapple but a little less sweet. It is bright, fresh and juicy. The lemongrass does a great job at freshening up a pineapple/apple tea. Nothing feels out of place or old. I think I would reorder this. I haven’t tried it iced yet but it is so good hot and luke warm and without any sweetener added.

Preparation: Western
Tasting Note:
I added a little rock sugar to this cup.

First impression: That this tastes that it has both chocolate and cherry in it. Sometimes Necessiteas chocolate blends don’t have the strongest chocolate notes. There isn’t a lot of creamy notes on it’s own though. The cherry is more tart than sweet. Since I did about 4 tsps of the blend to 10 oz’s water, I wonder, if I may have overdone it bit, it is a bit bitter and tangy.
Intermission…
Adding 1/4 tsp brown sugar and splash of oatmilk to the last bit in the mug:
Dark chocolate (or black tea) bitterness is gone, slightly malty and sort of faint cherry candy flavor is there, I think. I will need to start with this one as a latte first to get a better idea how strong these flavors practically.

Overall: I think if I am not having this one as a latte, I need to scale back on the tea a bit. Even with a potential oversteep, I think the chocolate and cherry aspects are there. Back to the steeping table on this one for next time.

Per my SO’s request, I made a honey oatmilk latte.

Preparation: Western/latte

Tasting note:
John initially told me he thought it tasted like a sugar cookie which I agree. When made as a latte the coconut, marizpan and yogurt pieces really give this a sugary creamy cookie sort of feel and the pineapple brightens the blend up.

Going through the first rounds of my newest order from the Necessiteas. After that going to do my best to sipdown what I have in my cupboard right now.

Preparation: Western
Tasting Note: The tea smells of banana and strawberries out of the bag. Right after completing my 5 min steep at 208F, the tea tasted mostly of rooibos and not much else. I checked out some steepster comments and saw that its best after cooling off a bit. I let it cool a bit until it was warm not hot and the banana’s creaminess really came out. There was a slight sweetness from the banana. I will say that i didn’t get much sweetness from the strawberry, only a tangy after taste which I didn’t care for. No detectable chocolate notes.

I think the slight banana and rooibos was nice but the strawberry tanginess (like eating a strawberry that isnt ripe or didnt develop enough sugars) wasn’t great. I don’t rhink I will repurchase but I will try some added sweetness or as a latte to see if it improves.

Preparation: Lazy latte (1/2 tsp maple syrup and oatmilk, no foam)
Tasting note: The first time around, I didn’t get much blueberry but this time I kind of looked through the bag to make sure there were some blueberries in my scoop. That helped a lot is making sure that there were blueberry notes. In latte form, the blueberry notes seemed more noticeable and the maple didn’t take over this time. I think that my latte tastes more like the blueberry syrup you pour on the pancake opposed to the pancake itself. More specifically, I wasn’t getting bready vibes from the tea or latte. I don’t think that is a bad thing, it is still quite good. Overall, this feels like a relatively simple blend but delivers well as a latte. I probably won’t buy it again because I feel like there are better blueberry options out there.

I will have to come back to this tea. What i paired to eat with it was not good so it is coloring my judgment on the tea.

Mastress Alita’s Monthly Sipdown Challenge: a tea that makes you happy
Sipdown 11/36

This tea is so cute- marshmallows and unicorn sprinkles. It certainly makes me happy! It’s an okay blend, not something I need to purchase again, despite the cuteness. It’s fruity- mostly pineapple. Cold brewed the last of it, which was the best preparation I tried.

I have been preparing this blend western style. I taste orange, light sweetness, and the slightest hint of cranberry. This is blend reminds me more of a white wine or of a light juice (not quite white grape because it doesn’t have that muscat flavor but texture wise).

I specifically had a punchy sweet tart frosting sort of flavor in mind before when I bought this but this is much lighter and brighter and refined. Not bad just not what I was expecting. I think I would’ve liked a little more cranberry to show through on this.

Tragic Sipdown (1615)!

I really don’t have any plans to order from NecessiTeas anytime soon just because the shipping cost to Canada is so absolutely brutal and the inventory is so wildly inconsistent, but if there was any tea that I would break that rule/decision for it would be this one. I love butterscotch/caramel tea and I love soda inspired teas and this rich butterscotch/cream soda/rootbeer hybrid was a shining gem in my tea assortment that will be sorely missed.

Geek Steep S2E16 – Harry Potter & The Philosopher’s Stone

So this is the tea that I picked to enjoy during my rewatch of the movie. It was hard to choose a tea, but I ended up choosing this one because not only was it obviously in theme with the fandom but it also just fit so well with the intense nostalgia I feel when exploring this fandom.

This is probably the best butter beer tea I’ve ever had – it’s just intense flavours of rich butterscotch, rootbeer, cream soda, and warm spices. Kind of fits in that “butter rum crossed with butterscotch” taste that I always associated butterbeer with when I read the books/watched the movie but more sweet and less boozy. With a handful of jelly beans, this was the best pairing for the magic of this movie!

additional notes: dashboard is back working! I was taking the Steepster break to drink some old favorites anyway, especially summer favorites, as I will be leaving my tea collection to help take care of Grandma shortly. It’s always fun packing some teas for the trip. THIS tea is miraculous. An amazing balance of Just Enough flavor to not be overdone and hide the oolong. Some might call it suntan. I call it SUMMER and DELICIOUS. :D

Thanks so much for this one, Tiffany :) What a lovely surprise – I don’t think this blend could have found a better home. I opened it and the fragrance is so dreamy – oolong, toasty coconut, lemongrass, even the dreaded ginger is tolerable enough for me. The flavor is so great – a very delicious balance of all these ingredients for a Thai inspired brew. Maybe since the coconut looks toasted, it might age better. It’s a straightforward blend – I get what I expect here! No idea how old this blend is, but the coconut is on point. I have already steeped this up in two separate sessions – it’s a lovely tropical winter getaway tea… in the imagination anyway! It’s REALLY good – it’s like Tiesta’s I Gotta Colada but with lemongrass & ginger instead of pineapple. Why do I love these coconut oolongs so much? Very grateful I was able to try this one (as I wish I could try SO MANY Necessiteas blends – wish they did samples.)
Steep #1 // 1 1/2 teaspoons for a full mug // 35 minutes after boiling // 1-2 minute steep
Steep #2 // 20 minutes after boiling // 2 minute steep
Steep #3 // just boiled // 2-3 minute steep

Strange VariaTEA TTB: Tea 1

Roswell Strange and I started a TTB and it has returned so I’m making my way through some of the new teas…to make room for my additions. I have never seen this blend before and it’s caffeine free so it seemed the perfect option for a latte. It’s pretty good. I think plain, the honeybush may have been strong but as a latte, the flavour is mostly muted. Instead, I’m getting a lot of coconut flavour. So it’s like a tasty coconut latte, with a touch of sugar/caramel. Yum!

This is more mildly flavored than I’d prefer. It’s a bit desserty, and I can taste the berry a little, but nothing is very distinct. The base tea could also be a lot stronger. The second time I made this, I added soy milk, and I feel like that’s helping the maple flavor show up. My second cup of this was really pretty decent, though it definitely wasn’t a perfect execution of the flavor. And this is my last tea from amandastory516! Thanks so much for all the teas you generously shared – it’s definitely made me want to place my own order with Necessiteas!

Thanks for sharing this sample, amandastory516! The flavor isn’t really that cookie-like. The first time I had this, I tasted something like powdered ginger, not overwhelming or spicy, just sort of there. I didn’t really get any pumpkin or anything else too desserty. The black tea is pretty weak. The second time I had this, the flavor was sort of squashy, but not desserty or tasty enough. The flavor sounded so promising!

The main flavor I taste is a mild ginger. It’s not spicy, just sort of desserty. The base tea doesn’t show through much, and I don’t taste anything “brulee” about it. The first time I had it, I didn’t think it tasted much like cookies, but in my second cup, I can almost see it. It tasted nice, but I would have liked the flavors to be a little stronger. Thanks for sharing, amandastory516!

Thanks to amandastory516 for letting me try this! I definitely taste the berry and some sweetness, but no maple or waffle specifically. I don’t love the black tea that they used – I feel like it could be richer/tastier. With milk, it made a pretty decent cup. It’s generically desserty, but good.