Tsaa

When I first bought this it was overwhelmingly floral. I made very small cups!
I miss the RC from Tea Emporium. One of the few they did exceptionally well.

Now that I’ve had it a few years, the floral is quite nice. Faded isn’t always bad!
Today I infused it three times in a small tea cup and combined the three into a large mug. Very nice. Smooth and just overall pleasant. I always get lost in the cup and forget to take more specific notes other than to say this is a basic Chinese black base with some mild background cocoa notes and maybe sugarcane. The rose is very perfume like.
Fresh, this would have gotten a lower rating. About 65-70. Aged? much better. One of those that I procrastinate due to my memory of how it once was, and then I remember, it’s loads better now! and never regret my cuppa. I could have sworn this was in my cupboard here on steepster…. but nope, I just added it to the database today.

Sipdown!

Thanks to Indigobloom for a generous sample of this tea!

It does not disappoint. SO GOOD. Tastes like liquified delicious toasty cereal. I need more, but must exercise restraint. At least for now.

Oh rooibos.

If every blend tasted like you, I’d actually like you.

This is creme brulee in a cup. It’s sweet with caramelized sugar notes and hints of vanilla and a creaminess to match. No sweetener needed either!

There is still a subtle rooibos woodsiness and aftertaste that is easily overlookable (which is strange for me to say, given my dislike for the flavor of red rooibos), but overall all the flavors meld and make a wonderful cup.

Strong! If you like strong black tea, I suppose it’s good. Not my favourite.

Not a huge fan of coconut, but I LOVE LOVE LOVE this tea!! It’s so silky, sweet, mellow, warm and inviting. It’s true comfort tea!!

Tea #34 from HHTTB2

Mmm, this smells creamy and vanillay once it’s brewed up.

I totally don’t get any semblance of Toblerone here (I think it’s the complete lack of chocolate flavor), but what I do get is flan. Creamy, custardy, slightly caramelly, sweet, delicious flan.

The base is definitely rooibos, and the aftertaste is also definitely rooibos, but it’s a mild tasting version that melds with the flavor. This is so smooth and flavorful!

Nom.

Nom. Nom.

I’ve had this tea for the longest time and have only about 1/2 a bag left out of the two I received from the lovely Indigobloom! I’ve been trying to save this blend because it’s so hard to get. This tea has the nicest blend of vanilla and sugar with a mild rooibos base. It’s very sweet on its own and soothes any sweet tooth or dessert craving! I definitely get the taste of nougat, but it’s more like the individual components of nougat, not nougat paired with chocolate. There is a twinge of something artificial, but it’s not strong enough to stop me from drinking the cup. It does lower the rating a little bit, though. I can’t really describe it — it just interrupts the overall taste of the tea and doesn’t allow for complete smoothness that the vanilla suggests in the beginning. This is a nice dessert tea and I will be sad when the pouch is gone.

Thanks to Azzrian for this tea:)
Been a while since I’ve had a Wowzer of a tea….I think this would be it. Truthfully, I had started getting alittle weary of rooibos based teas, (Funny little after taste I hadn’t noticed before.) But I do not feel that way with this tea:) I looked up their website, unfortunately it doesn’t seem that they have the option to buy online, so short of driving 4 hours to the shop in Toronto, (Not that I don’t want to! Just lack of moola. But once I get a better paying job, it’ll be lack of time. LOL.) I’ll be SOL once I run out.
Anyways…back to the tea: This is sweet, I can taste the nougat flavoring, this is a perfect ‘in place of dessert’ tea.

Backlog from Saturday! Was so tired when I got home, this one totally slipped my mind.
So… from what I remember this was a great pot of tea. Notes of hay, spun wheat and mineral came through. I wish it had more depth.
In later steeps, something chocolate like emerged. A mild cocoa type flavour that shadowed something else. Malt balls perhaps? without the sugar of course.
Was tempted to try it with milk but the server was so busy that I dind’t want to hassle her. Well that and the two girls I was at tea with are purists… who don’t add anything. Not that it matters. Just saying! haha.
Lovely staff at Tsaa, they are so incredibly friendly and genuine that I can’t be upset about it! :)
Rating: 84

On a side note, I stayed home yesterday waiting on a phone call from my web guru and he never called. gah! Now I feel guilty cuz I could have gone to see my Aunt who broke her leg on Saturday facepalm

Is something wrong with me? I like rooibos. I like chocolate, but I don’t get Toblerone at all. It does taste like vanilla, and it has a bit of creaminess… But it has a major problem. There is so much flavoring oil on the surface that it leaves this horrible feeling on my tongue after each sip.

Not my cup of tea. Makes me sad because I was really excited to get to try this. Thanks anyway, Azzrian! I have enough for another cup so I might try again at some point.

Mystery tea! I don’t normally drink herbals hot anymore but it started raining and that throws normal procedure out the window every time.

This looked like it’d be okay hot too, and so far my tastebuds agree. It actually kind of smells like strawberry yogurt. The yogurt is a bit of a stronger scent, giving it a bit of a sourness but not in an off-putting way.

It tastes pretty good too! As it cools the berry starts to come out more. Definitely a lot like strawberry jam. Very sweet, with just the right amount of tart.

Tried a little sample of this one today, hoping that maybe it would be THE pear tea I’m looking for! No such lucky, sadly. It was definitely nice and light and pleasant, but the pear was far more subtle than I want. I think I may have to admit that I’m looking for a tea that tastes like a pear Jelly Belly, and infuses reliably. So the one I want will probably have flavouring added. Sad sad.

No rating because I didn’t drink enough of it to give a fair score :)

SIPDOWN!

You know? this one grew on me the more i had it. Bumping up the rating a little because it’s an interesting tea for sure. I like how it changes through the various resteepings while still remaining close to that sweet earthy taste that the first steep has. While i wouldn’t necessarily keep this in stock all the time, it’s certainly a tea variation i’ll be more aware of now, and may possibly look in to picking up a few more to try.

Edit: Also apparently my 1500th tasting note. woah nelly!

thank you raritea for this interesting tea. I wasn’t sure what to expect from this one but i’m always up for trying new teas.

After having a few steeps of this, i’m still not sure how to describe this. It’s woodsy and not really like any green tea that i’ve had. The leaves look much like brown sticks :) There’s an after taste to the tea that’s vegetal and sort of gritty in my mouth. There’s a bit of dryness as well. Overall, really interesting and something i’m glad i got the chance to try!

Thanks again to Raritea for a sample of this one! (Also, sipdown!)

I’ve become lazy in my tea comparisons, and have difficulty discerning different teas apart when they’re quite similar. This is no exception. However, I’m starting to think that all coconut oolongs, which suspiciously all have pouchong bases are one and the same. Yep, don’t care where it’s from, I think they’re all the same! Just different freshness(es), and storage, etc. etc. I could be wrong, but……

Either way, this is yummy as all the other ones have been. I love the toasty coconut flavour atop the pouchong base. Tonight it’s not quite hitting the spot though, possibly because I’m craving sweets like crazy right now, and one thing that this tea isn’t, is sweet. Oh well, I have a few more infusions of it to get through tomorrow, because if it’s like/the same as the others, the coconut flavour will last FOREVER!

1 tablespoon for 375 ml

On the sip, oceanic but with a slight lingering sweet note that reminds me of licorice or ginseng. Earthy/woodsy-ness that reminds me of chocolate. Hay-like qualities. Roasted tone. Hint of buttery-ness. Ginseng-like sweetness quality is accentuated as the tea cools.

Second infusion at 4 minutes. I’m detecting a bit of some black tea flavour qualities. There is still a hint of vegetal taste. The overall flavour reminds me of seaweed crisps.

Third infusion at 5 minutes. Still an enjoyable tea experience.

1.5 tablespoons for 375 ml of water

The aroma of the brewed tea is incredible. The primary scent is that of a creamy and very authentic coconut. There is a floral note in the background.

The beginning of the sip is a little bland but has coconut water undertone. Flavour blooms into full coconut near the middle of the sip. Amazingly authentic coconut flavour. I’m getting a mild creaminess near the end of the sip. The oolong taste is apparent in the background. The oolong and coconut flavours compliment each other very well and meld together the most near the end of the sip. I’m tasting a hint of the grapefuity taste I tend to associate with oolongs on the exhale of the aftertaste.

Second infusion at 3.5 minutes. The sweetness is subdued but the coconut flavour is still very present. Still getting a good coconut milk flavour. Slight tangy-ness. The oolong taste is able to come through more. The oolon is mildly floral and has a flat blandness to it that reminds me of a waxy taste. Still a pleasing experience.

Third infusion at 4.25 minutes. Slight creaminess still present. Coconut water flavour present.

Fourth infusion at 4.75 minutes is quite bland and flavourless. Very watery.

Thanks Indigobloom for sharing this tea purchase with me!

1.2 tablespoons used for 375 ml of water infused for 8 minutes

Punchy rooibos flavour- reminds me of fruitiness. I’m detecting a milky-like flavour. Sweetness throughout. Thin mouth-feel which does not compliment the flavour profile. Blandness in taste on the sip.

Rating: 65

Thanks to Indigobloom for sharing with me!

Chocolate mint teas are always a little too astringent for me. Why do I never learn?! My cuppa was enjoyable, but nothing to write home about, and not something I’d order again.
On the plus side, things are ramping up with the Toronto Tea Festival! We had our meeting there. I really love the Tsaa shop!

Had some of this alongside my Butterscotch Potion to see how it compares. Lowering the rating a tad because that little exercise put things into perspective for me. Here’s to fine tuning my rating system :)

Once again it was lacking a little on the third steep but not as much as the last time I had a cup. Next time… more leaf, shorter infusions!

My first Coconut Oolong in ages!! and oh man is it ever good. Well, mostly. A little too sweet for my liking, and I added no sugar.
First steep was 90s, second at 2min or so (maybe a few extra seconds)
I can taste the oolong, barely… and the coconut is very present. Did they add sweetener, or is that just the coconut? hmmm. Coconut cream! yes that is what I taste.
It’s pretty smooth as well. In this second steep, I don’t think it’s weaker at all. Hoping the third will bring around more lovely oolong.
Also, Raritea I hope you enjoy it! we bought 50g and shared it between us. Can’t wait to go back there :)

EDIT: 3rd steep was seriously lacking. It had some odd grassy/floral note that threw me off. More caramel than coconut. Lowering the rating one point! because I don’t make it past two steeps that often anyhow.

Backlog from last night!!
The cinnamon has seriously mellowed out in the last few months. (That, is a good thing)
Bring on the milk and sugar as it makes this is a perfect night time chai. Much nicer than Melange from 52Teas, which this is very similar to. Well, if you dislike fennel that is!
I think I might have another cuppa tonight.

This is some potent stuff. Holy shabaaaam!
A spicy chai rooibos this is. Like cinnamon hearts! with some agave and a dash of milk that is. My fave type of chai.
Reminds me of Bengal Spice actually, only a little more plain and lacking in the cocoa note. This will be fun to experiment with. I’ll be adding this gem to all sorts of other teas!
Rating: TBD but somewhere in the mid/upper 80s