Violet Femme

I am SO excited to have this back in my cupboard and may have made a mistake drinking it too late in the day. I am BUZZING with caffeine right now and need to go eat something… anything, after this post. I’ll curse Fed-ex tonight when I’m tossing and turning in bed for having delivered it later in the day and not my lack of will power combined with excitement overpowering my better judgement. This cup is SO good. <3

I used this tea to pair with The Mists of Avalon in my tea book club, titled Steeply Scared. It was such a hit. Velvety smooth, the flavors blended perfectly. Out of about a dozen or so teas I have introduced to the book club thus far, this one seemed to have the biggest positive reaction with a couple of members wanting to get the information on the tea to order some for themselves. I think that says more than anything I could write up here.

Seeing TeaTiff’s review reminded me that I wrote something up for this when tea-sipper shared some with me awhile back.

The flavors were all extremely well blended together. It was a really balanced floral and vanilla. I really did like this one. And I forgot all about it when I placed an order with Zhi recently.

My first BF order arrived last night. Zhi Tea. I added a sample of this tea to the order per a recommendation from fission___mailed. I love trying different EG’s and this was a fun spin on one. The smell of this is really good. It smells sweet and slightly floral. This is good! The base is there, yet smooth. I get slight hints of berg with a very creamy sweetness to it. At the end of the sip I get a tad flash of lavender that rounds it all out. Ooooh this is calming! This is slightly different from Zen Tea’s EGC, but yet similar. I like them both. Yum Yum Yum!

I feel like a princess when I drink it and I’m actually enjoying a cup right now! The sharpness of the bergamot is mellowed out by the creaminess of the vanilla. You can definitely taste the lavender but it isn’t overpowering. The tea base is assam so there is a little bit of astringency. You can enjoy this tea as is or with a touch of sugar and a splash of milk/cream. Either way, this tea is lovely and also beautiful to look at due to the cornflowers.

From the Here’s Hoping TTB, Round 4

Happy Thanksgiving! I was supposed to make pumpkin pie but didn’t prep enough so I’m making due with apple pie and some green bean casserole.

This tea smells deliciously sweet and creamy. Almost too creamy. I never really got into lavender scents until recently, and this certainly appeals to that sweeter type of lavender. It ends up just smelling delicious instead of bathroom-perfume-herbaly.

The tea is actually kind of brisk, which is a nice contrast to the how thick it smells. It’s a little astringent in that good way, and makes for a very nice morning cup.

Thank you so much MzPriss! This one sounded amazing: bergamot, cream, lavender on a base of assam. Cornflowers make the blend look gorgeous. And the scent makes me want to drink it… now. Maybe I didn’t steep it well enough, but the flavor isn’t as strong as I’d wish it was. Everything is kind of mild here… just hints of the bergamot, cream, lavender and even the tea which should be stronger because it’s an assam. At least none of the ingredients of the blend overpower the others. The second cup accidentally steeped for six minutes but it was a bit tastier anyway. I love the name. I had a Violent Femmes song in my head yesterday for some reason.
Steep #1 // 1 tsp // few minutes after boiling // 3 min
Steep #2 // just boiled // 6 min

Backlog:

Always happy to try Earl Grey varieties that I’ve not yet sampled.

The sharp, tangy bergamot is nicely softened here by sweet, creamy vanilla. I love the touch of lavender. Everything comes together in a really nice way.

The black tea has a nice richness to it. It is bold without being overly astringent. Not bitter but I wouldn’t advise oversteeping. 2 1/2 minutes in my Breville one touch makes it perfect.

The bergamot is strong, but I like the way the sweet vanilla softens the edges of the bergamot. There is almost a caramel-y note to this too. The lavender is soft here, not at all overdone, so there’s no soapy taste.

Masterfully blended.