two leaves and a bud

A bland green tea. Perhaps its because I had their tea bag version. Perhaps the loose leaf would be better but honestly there were no good green notes to pick up from this one. Drinkable but not something I would get again.

While this is a solid chai blend, it is nothing special. I’ve had better, but I’ve also had worse. The spice combination is pretty typical and nothing spectacular. The black base and spices all seem very high grade and fresh, though, which puts it above most grocery store teas.

Pleasant, hay-like aroma and taste. Actually reminds me very strongly of my grandmother’s barn. In a good way.

However, very weak even when steeped Western-style for 3 minutes in near-boiling water. I don’t detect any apricot, floral, or other notes besides the general sunny grassiness of the tea.

It looks like I will have more time to review teas for a while. My job was eliminated last Thursday. I am not going to rant, whine, or complain. This is the first time it has happened to me in a 40-year career, which makes me fortunate. The last thing I will say about it is if you know someone who is looking for a very experienced technical writer, online training developer, and jack of many computer trades, please let me know.

OK. Now to the fun stuff! I found this tea for a great price at our local Dean and Deluca store. Its round cardboard container intrigued me as it reminded me of the packaging for fireplace matches.

The very short and thin black tea leaves had a sweet malty smell. I brewed them for four minutes at 212 degrees as recommended on the container.

The steeped result was a dark molasses-colored liquid with a sweet aroma. The odor was almost like tea covered with healthy doses of milk and sugar, although I was drinking it straight.

The flavor of the tea was extremely pleasant with distinct sweet and malty accents. The specific black tea flavor was just a subscript to the other more clearly enunciated attributes. The entire cup went down exceptionally smoothly with no astringency detected by my palate.

I like this tea a lot! It is the perfect storm of flavor and smoothness. It will be a fantastic addition to my morning black tea rotation.

I have not been able to brew much tea lately, and for the most part I have been putting up with cheap-o green tea bags during my work day. Today at work, I thought I would give this genmaicha a try to liven up my 9 to 5 a little.

This was my first rodeo with a tea of this variety, and it is safe to say that it will not be my last. I steeped this sachet in about 10 oz of just under boiling water (which is the best I can manage at work). At first I was taken aback by the flavor profile of this tea, it tasted like soup, not tea. The tasting notes on the front end of the sip could best be described as slightly salty, and “oily”. On the back end of the sip, I clearly picked up some bitterness out of the green tea.

After getting accustomed to its unique flavor profile in the morning, I found myself craving more later in the day, so I helped myself to a 2nd cup. :)

I have been drinking chamomile since I was a child, and have had many brands, this is by far the best I have ever had and I discovered it at a coffee drive thru, it is organic, the buds are fresh the tea bags are in nice packaging, the flavor is sweet and pure. No milk or sweetener was added.

A nice Earl Grey.

I found the green tea used in this blend extremely pleasant. I have a difficult time finding green teas that I enjoy because so many are bitter, astringent, or too weak. Anyway, I love the green tea used in this.

The jasmine went really well with the green tea. I normally enjoy very strong jasmine teas but I actually really liked the subdued jasmine in this because it allowed the green tea flavour to how through.

First steep was 3 minutes in very hot water with one teabag in a medium size teapot. Second steep was more flavourful because i let it steep a four more minutes. Third steep was starting to be overly tannic. The second steep was my favourite, but I think if you played with the times a bit, you might be able to get three good steeps out of the teabag.

This is a really good rooibos tea and I love that it’s caffeine free.

I adore peppermint tea and this one tastes really good. I like it better than the Tim Hortons one.

I did not like this tea at all. I like African Sunset better.

It’s been a long time since I’ve had a good cup of jasmine tea, and this fits the bill! :D

Had one last cup of this at work before I decided that I simply couldn’t drink any more. I originally though this tea was decent, but I no longer think it’s quality green tea at all. While the aroma is very citrusy and fresh, the tea doesn’t taste like it at all. In fact, it is very sour in a way which the green tea and other flavour elements don’t seem to mix well at all. Each sip leaves quite an unpleasant aftertaste in my mouth – slightly grassy/seaweedy, but mostly sour. Not like citrus-sour either, more like spoiled sour. =/ It’s not even old – only a couple months. I got in in February on my birthday. Disappointing, this could have been a good tea.

I had this at Swich Cafe where my friend works yesterday. This tea vendor had lots of interesting choices, and I went with this one because I wanted something lighter and refreshing to go with my sandwich (which was also delicious).
Unfortunately they put absolutely boiling water on these delicate leaves, so I feel like a lot of the flavour was lost or burnt off, but it still had a nice greeny base with hints of citrusy notes here and there. It was just OK this round, I’d want to try it again properly brewed next time.

Tasty, mildly sweet assam.

Delicious! My favorite black tea. Lightly sweet and floral, hint of jasmine.

this jasmine suits my disposition and position on jasmine as my flavorite favor, mnang taste lovely

Very light in nature, delicate flavors. Nearly no aroma. Grassy. Subtly sweet. I really enjoyed it. For a ‘bagged’ tea I was thoroughly pleased with the appearance of the post-infusion leaves — you just never see that in a tea bag. Amazing colour to the liquor too — bright yellow, almost like a white tea. Gave this a 3/5 for value and flavor (however light) in my teal cupping journal.

I have had this one every morning this week…good mix of malty and sweet, without bitterness. One sachet is strong enough to hold up for 16 ounces of water. I recommend it when you’re looking for a morning Assam and want the convenience of a bagged tea.

An excellent quality jasmine. Not quite as floral as Paromi Jasmine, but for people who don’t love heavy flowers, a great option.

Not bad for a green tea in a bag. Had this one at a breakfast place in Davis this morning. Could use some more taste, it was a bit on the bland side, but what was there was very good. Nice and light, with hints of straw and grass. I could even sense a slight hint of butter. I little too light for my taste, though.

I highly recommend this tea – it is my favorite. I drink probably 4 cups a day with raw sugar