Hesper June Send Message

I love my Libre.
I really, really do.
To be completely honest, I hardly use it as a travel glass.
I have had it about a year now, and its main usage is to brew my tea when I am at home.
It brews exactly the right amount of tea for my favorite mug.
I love the fact that you just add the tea right to the glass and when you pour the water in the leaves have lots of room to float around and be free.
Then when the leaves have been spent, just rinse with a little water and you are ready to brew again:)
I did a review earlier of the Bodum Tea for One, and I do very much like it, but the Libre will always be my favorite.

This is a beautiful and sensible Tea for One Set.
I love being able to see the color of the tea, and because of the double walled glass feature it really does keep your hands cool with hot tea.
The infuser is very fine, so I really do not see how any leaves would end up in your brew.
The cup is light and comfortable in the hand.
However the glass almost feels a little too light.
I have not had it long and maybe it is tougher than it feels, but I am constantly concerned about breaking it.
It just has a more delicate feel to it.
And I am a clumsy person.
But, it has not broke yet and I hope it will not anytime soon, because I enjoy using it immensely.

Today I need to do some serious cleaning.
We are having company this week and so I have to clean the Guest Bedroom/Dump-It-And-Run Room.
So, I went to the room, opened the door, peered in, shut the door and went to start the kettle.
I need tea to give me courage for this.
I grabbed something quite substantial, and it was this tea.
I love Earl Grey, it really is my favorite tea.
And nothing irritates me more than a “Shy Earl Grey”.
This tea is not shy…AT ALL.
If you are new to Earl Grey’s or not a huge fan of Bergamot than this probably is not the tea for you.
In fact, although I am a fan of Bergamot, I do believe Teavana could just tone it down a bit.
It does overwhelm the tea some.
But,overall, If a Earl Grey Fan, you are not gonna go wrong in trying this tea.
For me, I probably won’t be hurrying out and buying more of this particular brand just yet, mainly because there is a lot of Earl Grey’s to try out there in this big wide world.
Now, excuse me while I go and brave the dreaded spare room…

This tea could not have come at a better time.
We are having unseasonable cold temps here, today is in the forties and rainy and windy.
I opened the tin and took a big whiff then I felt like Emeril Lagasse, because I said “BAM” right out loud.
With the dry leaves I immediately smelled sugar, caramel and cream.
Once I poured the water over the leaves, I smelled warm milk, then a smokiness…then finally then the earthy Oolong came through gently.
The color is light, more like the color of green tea.
The first sip again brings to mind of warm milk, maybe with a touch of sugar.
Rather comforting.
It finishes with a nice smooth, light Oolong taste.
The second infusion it lost a bit of its sugary milk smell and taste and more of an actual tea flavor comes through.
Now, I do normally like more of a classic Oolong tea.
Most experience I have had with Oolong were in pots of hot strong Oolong delivered to our tables at the local Chinese restaurant.
My father also drank Sunluck or Bigelow Oolong.
But, I do like this tea.
Maybe it is the rain and wind beating against the window right now or the fact this tea is like something a Mother might make for a child who was having trouble sleeping.
I am certainly enjoying this unusual flavored Oolong (this is my first flavored Oolong, by the way)
On a much warmer day than today, I am looking forward to try this tea cold brewed.

I have held off on reviewing this because I just did not know what to say.
It is not a bad tasting tea.
I see others have reviewed this and reported it to be bitter or have strange flavors.
I have not found that, in fact I wish it did have more character.
It just kind of tastes like a very weakly brewed black tea.
It does not smell like an Oolong, and certainly has no Oolong flavors.
I have tried different brewing temps and times and also have tried increasing the amount of tea-to-cup ratio to no avail.
It is just a pleasant reddish-brown colored liquid that tastes remotely like weak tea water.
I see no reason to purchase this tea again in my future.

Well, I must admit, I am surprised to see the rating on this tea.
Or maybe I am just inexperienced at tea drinking.
But, my first thought when I opened the tin was “WHOA” and it was not a good “whoa”.
It smelled strong and slightly perfume-y to me.
To be honest, not very much like coconut at all.
Much more flowery and I repeat, perfume-y.
Once it is brewed and poured it calmed down some, smell wise.
Taste is more flower-ish than coconut as well.
Once, I told myself to stop thinking it as coconut tea and more like flower scented tea, I was able to enjoy it better.
I liked the second infusion better, smell and taste were milder.
It is brews up beautiful in a Libre or Glass teapot because of the lovely blue petals.
As I type this, I am curious to how it would taste iced.
I might have to try that next.
I will drink up this tea, but most likely will not be purchasing again.

This tea is actually very tasty as a Cold Brewed Tea!
The perfume-y taste/smell that I complained about above is not really there at all and (GASP!) I actually taste the coconut!
I used about 8 tablespoons in my Takeya and left in the fridge cold brewing for about 20 hours.
I am pleased with a smooth, light tea that is perfect for a summer day!

I like this tea overall.
It’s nose is not untypical of the ‘breakfast blends’.
However what surprised me was how it tasted.
For some reason I was expecting something fairly strong maybe even hearty.
But, what I found was that it’s like a English Breakfast’s shy little brother.
It is very smooth and almost a bit of brightness?? (sorry I am new at this)
I like it, but I have been letting it brew a smidge longer as well as making my measuring spoon slightly heaping when I make it and have been happier with the results.

I am a bit of a loose tea snob.
However, when I have tummy troubles I do not care, I just want some relief.
I like this tea.
As well as this companies Ginger tea.
They both are very effective.
I love this peppermint tea because if my nervous tummy gets nauseous or I ate something rich, this tea simply makes you feel less full and queasy.
I always try to keep a box of this around for tummy troubles.
Plus, you can re-steep the bags 2-3 times!

I love this Kettle.
Though, I do admit it is my first electric kettle, before it I was heating water and taking its temp on a stove top.
I find this kettle very user friendly and so far temps are accurate.
I use it roughly 3-6 times daily and have had for about 4 months now.
The only con I have found is the actually cleaning of the kettle.
It can not be immersed,so weekly I boil water with white vinegar in it to remove the water deposit that gathers in there (I have harder water) then boil plain water again and dump it before making my tea.
Clean the outside with a damp cloth.
But, I do not think that really puts a damper on how wonderful this kettle is!
Love it!