Tsaa Tea Shop

Wow. I must have hit the perfect balance of leaf vs water and infusion time.
No added sugar and this was so perfect. I even got the good tea feels! from a decaf.
Light on the leaf is key here!! bumpity bump goes the rating

I was cold all day today and wanted something low in caffeine, to warm me up. This did the trick! A nice mix of fruity and ginger. Not much of a black tea taste but it was decaf so I can’t really complain.

I made poor man’s long island iced tea: this tea, lemon juice, tequila and a bit of sugar. Not bad! Me likey.
Hot, it is quite mediciney. But cooled down… oh man that was good!! The ginger and peach is a lovely complement to the alchohol part. Not overly strong. The lemon brings out some tartness that I enjoy as well. I’ll probably add a squeeze or two when I’m having the virgin version as well.
Great balance of flavours and it goes down easy. A girl could get tipsy on this. Hehe.

Pretty sure this was a sample from Indigobloom. Drank it quite a while ago, and my recollection was that it was sweet and tasty, but not quite what I was expecting, possibly because I was mixing up houjicha and kukicha in my head (haha). Looks like I only had one serving though, so this is the best I can write about it! I should probably try another straight kukicha, if only for interest’s sake.

Indulged during our board meeting this afternoon. It really hit the spot, and had that lovely drying sensation that I find so addictive in TKYs. I’m glad I had a whole pot. Oh and the server was kind enough to give me the second steep in a to go cup! I was happy with that, as I’d have otherwise had to discard the leaves and thus my fave part of oolongs :)

The entire day has been about food it seems. Smoked salmon salad, Greek phyllo spinach pastry, naturally supper sweet strawberries, cored and stuffed with chocolate chips… Yup. So delicious. If you live in Toronto, get to the Danforth stat, there’s a fruit/veg shop there that has the best berries I’ve had in years, and they were 2 for $2. The regular size clear plastic containers. Very worth it!

My friend gave me a sample of this. Unfortunately Tsaa doesn’t have any descriptions available. Bah!
She didn’t like the menthol aspect, but hey I do! Actually, this is the first white tea I’ve enjoyed in awhile. It has a nice base, I think its the depth that appeals to me, like a super rich silver needle with some malt on the side. Noms. Thanks K!!

This is a green tea mixed with brown rice grains that have been roasted, some to the point that the kernels have popped.

Once steeped, it develops a light roasted aroma, combined with the fragrance of green tea.

What I found outstanding about the tea was its balance of green tea vs. roasted rice flavours. They were balanced well, without one overpowering the other (as is the case in cheaper supermarket blends). I also found with my 1 min 15 sec steep time (approx.) it extracted the flavour well without much astringency.

Overall, a pleasantly light tea.

Sipdown. It was great when it was fresh. Not so much the last few cups… but close!
I look forward to getting more once I have a better handle on my cupboard size

I bought this the other day at our board meeting. Oh man it is so tasty. Warm and nutty. Macadamia? Otherwise very similar in profile to a Sencha, but less harsh and cutting. There is also a hint of butter. This is definitely a comfort tea. Now, I only grabbed 25g, since it was pretty expensive, but yeah, that was very much worth it!
Also, I am getting a rather pleasant buzz. There must be a decent amount of theanine in here hehe. Another few cups and I’d be tea high :D

You know whats depressing? I have a cupboard of tea, and almost none of my fave, good ol Assam. My supply is scarily low. So I’ve been scrounging for scraps. Of course, this is part of my sipdown plan… I really want to tidy things up, reduce my samples/stray bits of tea etc. That means I’ve been making a lot of Franken-teas. Homemade blends cobbled together from whatever I think would pair well.
So I had a bit of this left, and decided to add some Darjeeling (Jungpana I think) and Yu Lu.
Overall, it made for a nice brew. Not bad for a last hurrah of my new fave, even if it was just a sample. Of course, I’ll be picking up more first chance I get… which knowing me will be at the Tea Festival. 26 days left. Eeeeeee!!

Noms!!
My friend K was kind enough to give me a few cups of this tea. I’m in heaven <3

Naooooooooo! I wrote a note, and a good one! Aghhhhhh. I don’t know what happened. I was typing and then all of a sudden I was on the previous screen. But my fingers were nowhere near the tab or F5/6 etc buttons. GAH! way to ruin my vibe Steepster. I was on SUCH a role.
Anyhow, I am in love with this tea. At first I was not feeling it without any milk, but after correcting that, I started swooning immediately.
My first impression was honey, or maybe burnt honey…. which led me to think of molasses. And then it was cocoa. But roasted cocoa, the dark kind with just a bit of milk in it. Very decadent!! It’s almost like a hybrid between hot chocolate and tea.
I feel like I’ve indulged in a special(the tooth rot kind) treat, only I added just half a teaspoon of sugar and two splashes of milk!
I need to get me some more. Thank you for the sample Tsaa!!!

Tasted like medicine. Yuk!