The Tea Emporium

Eeek, I oversteeped the first infusion and ended up with a super scratchy and bitter brew! ick. The second one is a little too light but is that because I sucked out all the flavour the first time? or is that how it’s supposed to be… *sighs, darn you time, how dare you run away from me like that.
I tried the first brew with some milk just to see, and it was quite lovely. It was actually like a malty black. I wasn’t in the mood for milky tea so just threw the rest out, it was way to strong and I don’t want to know what the caffeine hit would do to me! ha.
The second one that I am sipping at now is light, watery, with a definite honey note but it’s not overly strong. More like a sensation of honey, but I can’t put my finger on it. There is a moment when I swallow where I could swear there is actual honey in here, and I am drinking this bare. Impressive, I must say.
Well, this is pleasant enough, but not enough to say I love it. I really like it… The scratchiness is still found in the second brew so that is definitely biasing me.
Even still. I’m glad for the experience. I’ve never tried a honey oolong before this.
Maybe I will take it the office, it could make a decent “working” tea :)

I think this is a pu-erh? when I got the sample I thought it’d be white… but no, it is too earthy for that. And terrible!!! ugh.
If anyone wants my sample they are welcome to it. I’ve officially decided, these teas are NOT for me, except the Cinnamon Heart, which hides the awful woodsy flavour. I blame CH for fooling me into believing I liked Pu’erhs!! I have had worse Pu’erhs of course. This one atleast does not have the texture of dirt, just the flavour. I’m getting a watery note in the background, it’s pretty strong, the saving grace that prevented me from spitting it out at first sip.
The lapacho tea I have tastes similar, but somehow I don’t mind it so much. It’s milder. Perhaps because its supposed to be a wonder tea, cornucopia of good for me stuff…

Holy Shamoley!!
I finally tried this at home… added some sugar, and steeped it with regular non-coffee infected water and it was so very yummy!! I want more now.
I’m raising the score way up… this was seriously done wrong the last time I made a cuppa.
The strawberry is much stronger, and the rooibos perfectly balances it out. Mmmmm. I will definitely be buying more when I run out! xx

Hmmm, I’m not sure what to think! this SMELLS heavenly, and the first sip tastes like liquid strawberry goodness! but halfway through the cup it became oversteeped (which is tough to do with a rooibos)
I think I need to stop trying teas for the first time while at work- but that is when I crave a new tea experience the most! bah, what can ya do.
The rooibos completely took over the strawberry here. I think I should have added some agave as well. My throat is all irritated to, as the over-thick liquid was a bit much, and I have an extra large mug. I’m not giving up on this one though. There are so many options to play with! :)

Dry leaves smell starchy, a bit grassy and a touch flowery. Rinsing the leaves brings out alcohol smell, I want to say cherry liqueur, it’s very subtle.

Even after a rather short steeping time, the liquor is very dark.

This is a creamy, mild tasting pu-erh. It doesn’t have much complexity in the taste but still comes out as a rich drink. One very interesting characteristic I noticed in this tea is that it’s unusually sweet, which was surprising but pleasant.

Definitely not one of those “right in your face” pu-erhs, but very nice nonetheless. Little too simple for my taste, but at the same time might be good for times when you feel like pu-erh but don’t necessarily want to over think it.

This tea tastes exactly like it smells – very very creamy. I need to steep it well to get that delicious oolong bitterness and herb flavors out of it, otherwise it’s a little too overpoweringly milky for me.

The whole milk oolong fakeness controversy can be a bit daunting to a novice drinker like myself but if I am to believe that milk flavor stays strong throughout infusions in real milk oolong, this tea carries creaminess all the way through.

Delicious tea for the morning that I can see myself drinking any time of the day.

Curious! I’m sure I burnt the leaves, but maybe I like my whites that way? the first steep anyhow. It had a very toasted feel to it. and it was sweeter than it normally is.
The second steep was ok, nothing special but more or less the same as the other cups from this bag. Oh well…

Another backlog…
So I replaced this in my cupboard, only 10g since it’s so expensive… and am I ever glad I purchased such a small amount! this batch is terrible!!! there were twigs in it, and the leaves were so dried out that they crunched when scooped up for the brewing basket. Flavour wise, none of the delicacy came out until it had cooled. It was still a decent cuppa but nowhere near the tea I once raved about. It makes me sad, this used to be my comfort. Taking it down a bunch of notches hurts…

After all the new teas I’ve been trying lately I wanted something familiar and comforting that wouldn’t keep me awake all night. This was the trick, only now I want more. It’s so light and airy, a bit grassy and milky all at once. Yummmm… I think this one was made just for me <3
and yes, I am upping the rating!!
There isn’t much of the sample left. It seems that I’m slowly running out of my favourites, but I can’t buy more until I run out of the ones that are just ok *sighs
Anyhow, I have three new teas to try so hopefully one of those will replace it :)

White Peony
I love this tea. Love love love! Or maybe it’s just “white” tea that I adore? It’s pretty much the strawberry white tea I reviewed last week, only without the strawberry and maybe a little bit heavier on the creaminess and not at all tart. I love that it tastes milky without any dairy product at all. The finish is great as well- slightly floral with that sweet dry aftertaste that lingers for awhile. Nothing beats the strawberry white of course.
Something I find odd though, is that I seem to prefer whites at room temperature. Sure, it’s great to have a nice hot cuppa’ but somehow the flavour really comes out for me once it’s cooled down.
I would definitely buy this tea again, if only it wasn’t so darned expensive! At double the price of most other teas, I only bought a ten gram sample. Boo! Oh well, when I finally try every other tea that I can get my hands on then I will splurge and grab me some more of this yummy stuff.

I really enjoy this tea as a pick me up when I’m writing papers late at night. I really like the sunny notes added by the sunflower which really counters the darker rest of the tea for me. I know that some of my friends love this tea, and that others can’t stand it, so it seems to be very much a matter of personal taste.

I’m down with the flu… for the first time in years. Ick! I thought it would cut down my nausea but I think it made me feel worse… but that is no fault of the tea, as nothing seems to be helping. Ugh, Zeus help me!
On any other day this tea would get a much higher rating

I had this yesterday, as a latte. I added sugar, but apparently too much. It was OK. Not great, but OK. I’ve had chai prepared the “real” way with fresh spices etc a few times lately and it was oh SO good.
It is possible I didn’t add enough leaves but I’m not sure how to gauge that when steeping in milk
I love this tea so no way am I writing it off. Unless this happens consistently. If it does I will be heartbroken :(

This is another of my favourite teas. I don’t really taste the fruit in it, but definitely the cinnamon and something else that lends a slight malty chocolate flavour. I personally enjoy plenty of milk in my tea, and since this is a type of “chai”, it goes especially well with milk. I tried it with boiled milk once and it was out of this world!! I doubt I brewed it properly though. oh well!
It smells amazing, like the perfect cup of warm me up after a long walk in the cold brew. I only wish that it was a red tea, then I could have it whenever I want…. as I try to have only one caffeinated beverage per day.

This is one of the few teas that I never grew to love. I tried, really I did! The upper effect is great, but the cocoa flavour does not blend well with the Mate at all. I ended up giving it away to a friend. Adding milk helped dampen the earthy/cocoa-ness that made me wretch, but not by enough for my standards. If this were the only Mate I could get my hands on, only then would I consider having another cup.

I really needed to focus yesterday at work, so I decided to experiment with this mate. I used one teaspoon of this, and another of Egyptian chamomile from David’s Tea along with a teaspoon of light agave in my large mug and voila!! perfection!!! (how big is a standard mug again? this was maybe two oz bigger)
It really hit the spot.
This is one of the few teas that I could easily have every day and never tire of. Which is frustrating because that means it’s a staple in the cupboard and if I’m on a mission to cut down my inventory, I should stay away from my precious sunshine mate so that other teas can have a shot at being de-cupboarded. Hmph.

I brewed some of this up to get through the audit we were plowing through at work. Such a bore! but this kept me awake, mostly. Oh and the agave made it a tad too sweet, I guess cuz it was a bit weak.
The spoon went missing so I eyeballed it, and ended up using less leaf than I should’ve. Bah! it was tasty, and did it’s job. I love this tea!! The first tea I ever actually replaced in my cupboard :)

an extra large cup… sunshine mate… a dollop of agave… what more can I ask for??
I’m sad, as I only have 1-2 servings left :(
—it’s very smooth today. The lemon is perfect to, not as syrupy as yesterdays oolong. SO GOOD!

this tea is tasteee!! It got me through some rough times, when I was unable to indulge in caffeine. It has something else in it, Maltine I think? that is pretty much caffeine sans the jitters! I was alert and energetic, without the jumpiness. The fresh lemon flavour was great as well. The citrus smell there in both the dry and steeped tea, and it comes out in the flavour to. It does a fantastic job of covering up the earthy mate taste.
However, I really need to be in the mood to mix it with milk. The lemon covers up the earthy yerba flavour well, but when mixed with milk it just tastes a little odd. That said, I do partake every now and again! Also, I tend to save this tea for those days when I need that little extra push.

I used a bag this time… and I realize now how much of a difference it actually makes! I was dissapointed. Heavily. None of the grapefruit came through at all and it tasted rather weak even though I left the bag in for nearly ten minutes.
Oh well, can’t win every time. Here’s to better luck tomorrow! —I’ll be out n about so there’ll be no updates from me til late, if at all. What will I ever do without my Steepster fix?!
Oh and I wish we could do status updates on this site!!!

another great Rooibos tea. The grapefruit isn’t strong as I would like, but still adds a nice roundness to my sips. Sortof the orange pekoe equivalent of red tea, only with grapfruit instead… I do find that I really need to be in the mood for this tea, but then I am a mood drinker. With over 15 teas in my cupboard, I can afford to be! :P