Fantasy Island

Alright, tasting note 300!

This was a wonderful tea to come home to. It won’t knock your socks off; instead, it’ll kneel at your feet, remove your socks kindly, and then give you a hug. And it’ll smell of good things: home, innocence, laundry (laundry? shut up, keychange!). Ok ok, so it doesn’t smell like laundry. But how can a creamy cup of coconut tinged with raspberry not be comforting on a day that makes you feel as though winter has taken up residence in your very soul and will be there forever and ever? I hate all these layers of clothes; I hate feeling like a graceless sausage as I try to cram legs into leggings and then dress pants just so I can freeze at the office anyway. I hate having to walk so gingerly so as to not slip and fall, which given that I seem to have terrible balance at the best of times, is bound to happen nonetheless. And I hate the fact that I get cold so quickly—like I’ll be standing outside for ten seconds and then start shaking violently as if I’m having a seizure, and like, no thanks. How needlessly dramatic. But this tea really does make me feel as though a coconut and sun-screen laden summer isn’t terribly far away.

And those are my deep thoughts for the evening. Back to bitching about the cold and being annoyed at having to wake up early tomorrow morning.

I don’t know if anyone has ever tried any of Walden Farms calorie free sauces/dips but I found them in the store today and stocked up. I was so excited to find 0 calorie marshmallow dip and peanut butter and chocolate sauce and creamy dressing, that I convinced myself it would magically taste like the real thing. I was so excited in fact that I couldn’t even wait to get home to sample my new things. They were DISGUSTING!! OMG, they were so bad I think I will have nightmares for the rest of my life.

Anyways, in hopes of restoring my faith in the possibility of tasty 0 calorie treats, I turned to tea. Also, I turned to a tea I love. Hence I am having a cup of Fantasy Island. Raspberry deliciousness combined with coconutty sweetness. This hits the spot every time. Yum!!! Faith restored :)

Feels so good to not return an empty bag into my cabinet! I used up the remainder of the bag to make iced tea. I’m finding it really doesn’t take that much overnight to get a good flavor for some things…I definitely only had enough for 5 cups but I filled my pitcher for 8. Flavor is as good as always.

It really does taste like a cold coconut macaroon. This time around I taste more of the raspberry and I’m not really liking how it combines with the coconut, oddly. I guess because you don’t really see coconut raspberry macaroons.

But, glad to have room now for some of those new summer teas from Davids…it’s driving me crazy I can’t order them for at least another week!

And so concludes yesterday’s backlog! And consequently Tre just got home, so I don’t get to log any of today’s tea… So, tomorrow there’ll be backlog all over again. What an unpleasant cycle.

Teabags from Kat_Maria showed up a few minutes ago, so over 200 teas… Again. At least several are just one bag amounts, so easy sipdowns. I’m going to try to finish them all today, and maybe sipdown a few other things?

This cup was nice, though! I steeped the leaves for a shorter amount of time than usual, and consequently the raspberry and coconut were more prominent. Sadly, this cup was also fairly oily? Not just visually, but kind of it mouthfeel too, but that was maybe a fair trade off?

I am further into this tin than I would like to acknowledge. But today I was running late for class for no particular reason. When I stepped outside, it was raining. In March. Yet again. On the still freshly-dyed red hair I’m trying desperately to protect. Well, it was just a light drizzle I thought, and no time to go back upstairs for an umbrella.

I did make it in time to get a seat but I also learned that “just a light drizzle” really accumulates during a twenty-minute walk. And that sitting through two hours of lecture is unpleasant when you’re soaked through and have to repeat the drizzly walk to get home.

So, when I returned this tea helped me avoid looking out the window for the rest of the day and pretend that the weather was just dandy. It’s well-named, as Fantasy Island really helps with escapism. I love how rich this one is; each time I drink it I decide that it tastes like a different delicious baked good. Today it was macaroons. The coconut is definitely the star here, but the raspberry really adds so much. It gives this tea a wonderful little tang that I think is what sets it apart so much from all the (many) other coconut teas I’ve tried.

I’ve read that a rinse of black tea or rooibos is good for red hair. I’ll try it with some cheap tea, but if I used this I would be so tempted to leave it on my head and smell incredible all day.

Sipdown!!!

So it figures, the last cup of this tea from my sample bag, and it’s pretty delicious. I’m drinking it cold, but I’m getting wonderful creamy coconut, chocolate, and a bit of fruitiness. There’s still astringency, but I’m willing to bet that it’s a consequence of the very broken leaf, which is more than likely my fault due to carelessness/carting this tea to/from school a couple times. I think this cup is better because I used a very fine Finum brew basket, which kept stray particles from getting into the cup and sitting for say, an hour before drinking it.

Anyways, big ratings bump here, as this is really fairly tasty. It would definitely go on the short list to pick up for a nice flavourful morning black tea that tastes great without additions!

Also, now I know that next time I have dusty black, if I use a Finum basket and a conservative infusion time, it might turn out ok! :D

ETA: Second infusion, 3 min at boiling, is coconutty and good. And thus this tea is now gone forever.

Back in April, my mom gave me money to buy a Timolino as part of my birthday gift. Last fall I was on campus for 12 hours straight every day and I seriously would’ve committed a crime to have a hot cup of tea by the time my last class started. So when I heard all sorts of good things about Timolinos I did a ton of research and then decided to buy one so that I could enjoy hot tea this fall, when I will be practically living like a hobo on campus 24/7 until they make me leave at night (or so I’ve be warned by other nursing students). I ordered my Timolino last Saturday and it arrived today (super fast shipping!) I kept waiting from April until now to see if they would have any cute colors come out (pink please!) but finally decided to go with the pretty white one. Well, lo and behold what do I see on Facebook right after I admire my Timolino and loving wash it out and dry it, that Davids is now offering 16 oz Timolinos!! That was my only hesitation in being completely sold on the Timolino – that it may be too small at just 12 ounces! I considered sending the white one back and exchanging for a larger size, but I figure I may as well try this 12 oz one out and then if I like it I will invest in a larger one in the future. I could use 2 sizes, anyways, since sometimes if I’m just running errands or going to church 16 ounces is almost too much.

Anyways, this is the one tea that I allowed myself to purchase from Davids along with my Timolino. I’ve been curious about this one for awhile, and coconut and raspberry are some of my favorite flavors. Overall, I like this tea! It’s very strongly coconutty, but in a sweet kind of way. It tastes similar to a coconut macaroon, but with a little fruitiness to it. I’m almost curious as to what a little chocolate thrown into this one would taste like. I’m not absolutely in love with this one, but I think it will end up in my Timolino many times in the near future!

-Dry blend has medium black tea leaves and twigs with slivers of coconut and dried raspberries.
-Dry leaves smell strongly of nutty coconut with malty and sweet notes. Tea liquor aroma is of malty black tea and buttery coconut.
-Tea liquor is a clear dark reddish brown color with an oily sheen on top.
-Malty and almost tart raspberry flavor and finish. Light rich coconut aftertaste.
-Best with milk and sweetener.
-Very good tea. Reminiscent of a coconut macaroon with a hint of sweet fruitiness.

My one cup of black tea for the day – I really should start having this earlier. But I’m so sleepy tonight I doubt it will do much. I’ve been reading *keychange*’s notes on this tea this week and last, and have been craving it now haha. Creamy and sweet, a bit of raspberry, a bit strong tonight but still delicious. Next time I will add some milk. Nice cozy flavor that reminds me of summer. :) see previous notes!

Thanks to Wifey_Woman for sending my way… This is the first David’s Tea product I’ve tried and I’m very impressed! Tastes as tropical as it smells when brewing. The coconut is a nice touch, making it sweet without needing to add more sweetener. I gulped this right down (once it cooled, so I didn’t choke on burning water!). I’d love to try this iced… guess I’ll have to try more teas from David’s Tea!

I’ll be honest, I wasn’t expecting much.

Coconut, raspberry black. Meh. I can imagine.

But wow. The dry smell is POW, a punch, right in the kisser! The tea itself smells just as strong, like this awesome raspberry coconut confection… decadent and .. wow. Took my breath away haha.

Love! Can’t wait to try it iced!