moraiwe Send Message

This tea, if you steep it hot and then serve over ice is really a mess of bitterness and just really, well, a mess. If you steep to where the oolomg is comfortable you don’t get much black tea flavor, or it’s become bitter. If you steep to where the black tea is best, the oolong is bitter. It’s way too touchy!

So I cold steeped it.

And problem solved!

Really though, the flavors are good it’s a nice iced tea and sweetened it’s maybe even a little Snapple-y. I’ve just found other peach-mango blends I’ve liked more since I first bought this. Fiance seems to like it though, so I’ll probably be keeping a pitcher in the fridge until we’re out!

She’s a cherry bomb
She’s a bullet in my head
Pull the trigger and I’m dead
Oh, oh, oh, oh, yeah

I had to listen to Ash’s Cherry Bomb while I drank this. Which was weird because it ended up not being the same song my brain rememebered it as.

Oh well.

Both Shelley_Lorraine and momo gave me samples of this, so I’ll have enough to play with cream and sugar and other odds and ends… so yay! Thanks guys!

The base blend here is actually my favorite part of this (which is good, because it’s the primary flavor too). It’s, well, potent. It’s robust and smooth with that kind of malty yeasty pastryness that is so so good. The chocolate comes as a dust of cocoa powder with some astringency that pops at about the same time. And the cherry is really subtle. It’s not the star, but more of a layer of flavor enhacement. And it doesn’t have any of that medicinal cherry gross that a lot of cherry anything seems to.

I’m excited that I’ll get to play around with this because I’m torn as to whether this would sit in as a dessert tea or just a comfort tea. Either way I could see myself perhaps picking this up at some point.

I got some of this in a trade from jessiwrites (thank you!) and I’m really glad I got a chance to try it.

The dry leaf smells amazingly sweet and cake-y, with hints of cinnamon and something almost maple syrup-y. Yum!

Once brewed the tea takes on a life of it’s own and the little silver shards you see in the dry leaf make my tea shimmer in direct light! I feel like I’m drinking fairy water or something.

The taste is very crumbly cake with less blueberry. It’s definitely captured the essence of a coffeecake, but I feel it’s lacking blueberry. There’s a whisper of it on each sip, but it doesn’t ever seem to be fully realised. The base blend is fair and down’t really obscure or enhance the flavors in any way.

I think next cup, I’m gonna go halfway with some Blueberry Syrup tea from California Tea House and see if we can’t make some blueberry cakey magic. But until then, it’s still a pretty awesome crumb cake cuppa.

I want to like this more than my first impressions give me :(

The dry smell was all coconut with some distinct cardamom and lemon grass notes, and a tiny hint of ginger. And this was the flavor profile I was looking (and hoping) for!

The aroma of the steeped leaves loses some coconut and picks up a lot of ginger.

The tea itself it very spiced. Primarily ginger and cardamom, with a cinnamon bite. The sip ends on a bright lift from the lemon grass and they aftertaste is the coconut, lemongrass, ginger smell I picked up in the dry blend. Milk and sugar bring it together really well, and it’s definitely tasty. I think maybe coconut milk would help it’s cause.

I really wish the actual sip tasted like the aftertaste! I keep sipping hoping the coconut-y taste doesn’t leave my mouth!

I’m not always a fan of bergamot, but I’m really glad I chanced this and only wish I had grabbed more than 1 oz. This is not an Earl Grey and it doesn’t pretend to be!

The dry aroma is mind-blowing (but not as much so as the appearance). It’s mostly bergamot and rose, but there’s chocolate and citrus there too and they blend together in a way that makes my mouth water.

The Laoshan Black is so rich, and has those dark cocoa undertones that I was afraid might bring down some of the vibrancy of the citrus and floral notes, but instead you end up with something where it almost seems to hit your palette in stages.

First you get the base, and you have that rich malty almost dark cocoa flavor and then you get rose hints, followed by a flash of bergamot and ending with citrus (that I place more grapefruit than orange.) It leaves a much lighter, brisker finish than regular Laoshan Black.

With the full-bodied base and brick flavor hits, this would be a really good morning cuppa. But similarly, with the maltiness and sweetness of the rose it would also be a really good dessert cheese with a berry torte or something really creamy and decadent. Why not both, I guess!

Tea Tally: 363

Hello Steepsterites! No, I hadn’t fallen off the face of the earth so much as I went on a wonderful vacation with Fiance. And I finially got to see Book of Mormon (totally worth it)! And got him to see Wicked (which was still amazing and totally worth it).

My mom was nice enough to grab my mail when she was over here to feed my birds while we were gone, so I did come home to a couple of tea packages on my counter, which was an awesome surprise too!

But yes! I’m back now with review 100!

Right off the bat, I want to thank TastyBrew for this one. I was a little hesitant because smokey isn’t my thing, but the dry leaf smelled so fresh-peeled-citrus and there wasn’t a hint of smoke.

The post steeped leaves have a hint of smoke, and the citrus doesn’t blow me away quite like the dry. There’s also a bit of generic sweet smell.

The taste is orange with a robust base. I associate it more with holiday candied orange peel than fresh orange. It’s not bitter or marmalade-y at all. The base has some real depth and darkness and I would think it would be a fantastic stand alone cup even. Then the smoke doesn’t peak until the swallow and then in the aftertaste. It’s definitely a lightly smoked tea and I find myself really enjoying those notes.

The second steep was fair, but the first really shined more.

This would be such a perfect morning tea in the fall and winter. It’s brisk and full and oh so very good.

Bonus Pic of Skitter and Gandalf this morning!

http://bit.ly/11hZBuP

Unf. This is so good.

In the first steep (10 sec), there are definite caramel notes and I love the wet rock mineralness (it tastes better than it sounds!) There are also some very subtle rich nut notes — like roasted chestnuts!

The second and third (12, 15 sec) steeps get creamier, the caramel notes are more pronounced.

The fourth (20 sec) is really grain-like. And reminds me of sun-dappled wet stones. I really don’t know how else to explain it, but imagine the warmth and body of a smooth stone still in the sun, but the cool smell of that same stone if it were wet.

The fifth (25 sec) steep is where I stopped on this set of leaves, but I might go further on the next. The sweet honey notes are the most pervasive and there’s a gentle almost orchid floral note. It still has a slight creaminess.

I maybe sorta don’t want to make dinner and lose the taste of this in my mouth. sigh.

I’ve brewed this twice now, and I’m still not sure how I feel about it. The pre-steeped smell is…well, not good. It smells like vinegar, briny. I guess it’s not horrible either it’s just not what I’d expect from a tea.

Luckily it loses that once brewed. It smells a little like a flowery cucumber. The briny hint is still there to a degree though. And it tastes clean. The white tea has a kind of earthy undertone and I definitely taste cucumber.

And the aftertaste? Raw cucumber.

This would probably be refreshing iced with honey. Or mixed with a sweet watermelon-y type flavor. And I think I like it, but I’m not actually sure yet. The smell of the leaves turns me off more than it probably should.

Thanks for this really strange cup Kaylee.

I also just realised that it’s 10 pm and I probably should have made note of that before I drank more tea. Way to go self!

Tea Tally: 341

I forgot to add the two (now one) Blue Raven Samples I had in my tea tally, so this is the first real sipdown today, I guess.

I used an extra tsp this time and definitely got more flavor from it. It reminds me a little of weak Mexican Hot Chocolate now.

Still not my favorite. But I upped the rating a little, because I didn’t find it quite as lacking this time around.

Anyway. Thanks again whatshesaid

I got this as a sample with my last Blue Raven Tea order, and I’m a little bummed I can’t seem to find it on her website, because this is a pretty tasty tea (and I seem to really like spiced coconut teas) It’s also attractive with big chucks of cinnamon, flowers, and full shreds of coconut.

The spice mixture is the primary focus on the sip here and has a nice bite to it, I get the cinnamon primarily, but also tulsi, cardamom and maybe some vanilla. The coconut hits after you swallow and lingers there until the next sip when the spices get you again. I find myself wishing I had some coconut milk on hand to add, because I think that would elevate this tea to another level.

Any recommendations on other Coconut Chais to try?