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This is so good cold steeped.

It’s really fruity and light. I still don’t taste much in the way of black tea, but I can definitely find the slight pineappleness in this. I still get apricot and papaya first, though I’m starting to think the apricot notes are a result of the strawberry and papaya melding in my mouth. It leaves a fantastic tropical aftertaste too.

I don’t know why I waited until now to try it this way. Bring on the humidity, I’m ready!

Another sample from CK!

What is this witchcraft?

It looked like a brown liquor in my ingenuiTEA, and then looked dark green and murky as it dispensed into my cup. It kind of looks like toxic sludge more than a swamp. Yum?

It has a nice fruity tang, that reminds me mostly of strawberries, and a sweet sugar taste. The green rooibos is mellow and kind of nutty. There’s no bitterness and the rooibos is relatively mild. It has a little of the red rooibos flavor I don’t like, but it’s not overwhelming.

The aftertaste is really smooth and pleasantly fruity and I really enjoy it! There’s definitely a fun/novelty factor to this tea and I think that would be the reason I’d have some on hand. The taste was pleasant and inoffensive enough, but it wouldn’t be something I’d reach for on a regular basis.

I just had a crazy Tea ja vu.

This tea = ATR’s River of Heaven.

It’s a dead ringer. I was absolutely not expecting that!

It’s a sweet flavored green, with a generic fruity, flower taste. The fruit reminds me of pineapple and citrus, but doesn’t quite taste like either. The sencha base is good — smooth and slight vegetal.

The aftertaste is mildly astringent with a sweet-tart taste that reminds me of drinking baby powder. It’s the exact same feeling the River of Heaven left. I don’t know if it’s cornflower related (though I have no problems with them in EG blends) but it’s not really my favorite feeling.

I had to add this tea, and couldn’t find it online, so eep! I think it’s a local shop? But I thought the picture I took was pretty decent.

I got this sample from CK.

I’ve come to the conclusion I don’t really like my roasted oolongs with light flavor. Kind of a go big or don’t bother thing.

Not that this is bad. It’s just not my thing.

The base isn’t anything special, but it offers a smooth base with little astrongency. The peach flavor used here is actually very nice. It doesn’t have that candy/gummy peach quality that so many peach flavors do. It’s a really subtle stone fruit sweetness. I really wish there was a little more, because I like the flavor that it offers.

This would probably be pretty tasty iced, though.

I figured now that I’m on a huge tea drinking kick and accustomed to being well-caffeinated, this would be a great time to burn through as many samples as I can.

So thanks to momo for this one!

There’s a lovely earthy grassiness here from the mix of mates and guayasa. It’s very fresh and lemony without being chemical or tasting like cleaning agents. The lemon also a nice sweetness (I guess I’d call it lemon bar sweetness) from the mrytle… and is that pineapple I’m picking up? The aftertaste is very much guayasa-heavy and I’m getting hints of peach.

I’m excited to see how this stands up to cold steeping.

This was my last cup of this as the rest went in the teabox.

But I still like this tea, it’s chocolate-y and orange-y and definitely captures those orange shaped chocolate-covered orange peels that come out about Christmas time. I’ve never been big on Adagio’s chocolate flavor (too artificial) but I’ve found I love it blended with fruity flavors. The orange here tones it down and prevents it from leaving that meh after taste I’m not huge on. The rooibos doesn’t add much ‘rooibos-y’ flavor, but lessens the astringency of the black tea.

I might actually miss this one.

Tea #31 from Traveling Tea Box C

I love an excuse to get out my gaiwan and spend an hour or so getting tea drunk. The only problem is I don’t typically have a couple hours just laying around to do that.

So, I saved this one until I had some time. And seeing as I don’t have to be anywhere for another two or three hours, here we go!

1st Steeping — 0:30
Mostly a veggie flavor, with slight floral notes and hints of butter.

2nd Steeping — 0:50
Getting creamier. The floral notes are starting to open and becoming almost sweet.

3rd Steeping — 1:30
Oooh. There’s the creamy, sweet milkiness this promised. Becoming very floral, with a quality that tastes green, but not vegetal. There’s a very slight nuttiness, as well.

4th Steeping — 2:30
Remains creamy, but the floral begins to fade. Nutty flavors begin to dominate.

5th Steeping — 5:00
The creaminess is hardly present at all on this one. It’s nutty and vegetal again. Still ever so slightly floral.

I could probably get another steep off of these leaves, but I think it started losing it’s luster after the third steep, so I’ll probably refrain.

Final verdict: I enjoyed this milk oolong, and I’m very glad I had the chance to try it, but there are just others out there I like more.

This is the last tea I’m trying from the box, so that should be moving again tomorrow!

Tea #30 from Traveling Tea Box C

I almost opted out of trying this one, because chai is not typically my thing. But when I opened the bag and got a sniff, I just had to. I love Indian spices, and this is just amazing.

It smells like curry, and coriander, a little cumin, and cardamom. Just like my apartment when I’m making a curry. Woo!

I brewed this with a teaspoon and a half of leaf to about an ounce of water, then poured over milk and a tiny amount of sugar. The result was exactly what was promised by the smell. Creamy Indian-spiced goodness. I think this would be a chai blend even Fiance would love!

I don’t think this one is going any further. This is too awesome, and too weird to pass up.

Tea #29 from Traveling Tea Box C

Whoa.

This is like a tea punch to the face. It’s a pretty standard breakfast tea, though — slightly malty and really strong. There’s a little touch of floral here too.

I’ll probably be grateful I drank this while I’m upgrading computers in an office later today.

http://instagram.com/p/dcdttcCnNd/

My first non-teabox write up in a while (though a couple more of the teabox related ones might pop up later today). I have more of this tea at my house than I thought. Fiance really likes this, so assuming I was out, I ordered him three ounces. Of course, only to find another sealed three ounce bag in hiding a couple weeks ago.

So we made a pitcher of this last night and drank it iced with milk, sugar and boba pearls — kind of like a milk tea. It makes a creamy dessert-y tea that way and the raspberry flavor is more front-and-center. Nothing stellar, but it fulfilled its purpose. I foresee lots of this iced with how much we have now, too.