Vanilla Black from The Toni Glass Collection. . . . . .

by VariaTEA

Vanilla is one of those flavors that always make a tea sound better. It is a standard flavor note in a lot of dessert teas and can range in flavor from creamy to sweet to fresh to bright and so much more. Tea company after tea company have vanilla tea offerings and yet they can taste world’s apart.

This is The Toni Glass Collection’s take on a vanilla black tea. I steeped the tea sachet for 3 minutes in near-boiling water, despite a recommended steeping time of 5 minutes.

The tea has a great vanilla flavor, like fresh baked cookies. Unfortunately, the vanilla is overshadowed by an astringent black tea base. Every now and again I catch fleeting notes of a french vanilla but that gives way to a bitter and chemical black base.

It’s a shame the base takes over because the scent of the vanilla promised some deliciousness that this tea just did not deliver. I wonder if the steeping parameters played a role in the off-taste so if I were to have this in the future, I think I would brew it low and slow in hopes of taming the base and letting the vanilla flavoring shine.

Here’s the scoop!

Leaf Type:  Black
Where to Buy:  The Toni Glass Collection
Description

A nostalgic Black tea that is infused with all your vanilla memories. This great tea boasts a beautiful natural sweetness and mouth watering flavor

Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!

VariaTEA

Hey there! My name is Rachel. I’m a twenty-something from Toronto, Ontario, Canada who loves dogs and has a bit of an obsession with tea. As a child I hated the stuff since all I ever knew was Red Rose (no offense to Red Rose). However, a few years ago that all changed. I was on a diet and desperate for new flavors without adding calories and that’s when I turned to tea. I started off by going to DAVIDsTEA and Teavana for all their dessert-inspired flavors, and since I didn’t know any better, I bought 100 grams each of about twenty-something different teas. This was okay for the teas I liked but for those I didn’t I needed to find some way of getting rid of them. Enter Steepster.com. This is where I met some incredible tea friends, discovered tea swaps, and learned of so many amazing tea companies. My desire to try all the teas grew and since joining three years ago I have tried over a thousand different teas. I have learned what ingredients I love and I have learned what flavors I don’t like. I determined my go-to brewing method is Western-style with no added milk or sweeteners, though I also enjoy cold brewing, iced teas, teapops, lattes, and smoothies. I have yet to brew gong-fu style but I hope to do so just as soon as I get the proper teaware to do it. About a year ago, I actually stopped drinking tea but as my stash of over 200 teas started aging I decided I needed to respark my interest. I chose to take a 365 days of tea challenge on Instagram in which I post a new tea picture every day. So far it has been rather successful as I find myself drinking (and buying) more and more tea each day. Plus it enabled CuppaGeek to find me and invite me here to SororiTea Sisters.

This post was posted in Black Tea, The Toni Glass Collection

Lemon Green from The Toni Glass Collection. . . . .

by VariaTEA

Well this is my first time attempting to write a review on my cell phone and let me tell you…it’s kinda a pain in the butt. It also did not help that the Toni Glass website wasn’t very mobile friendly but this is happening and I will adjust.

Anyways, this tea is an interesting one. It is bright and citrusy while remaining light because of the green base. When you drink it absentmindedly it is flavorful enough to be enjoyable without demanding your attention. However, if you try dissecting this tea into its individual components, you may regret it. Sort of like a word that starts to look like gibberish the longer you stare, the more you focus, the more the lemon starts to taste like pledge and the base like grass.

So, this may be a tea for when you’re busy and don’t really care if you taste it or not. Though, in my opinion, there are better lemon teas and better green teas and even better lemon green teas out there.

Here’s the scoop!

Leaf Type:  Green Tea
Where to Buy:  Toni Glass Collection
Description

This tea is not on the website but click below for teas that are.

Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!

VariaTEA

Hey there! My name is Rachel. I’m a twenty-something from Toronto, Ontario, Canada who loves dogs and has a bit of an obsession with tea. As a child I hated the stuff since all I ever knew was Red Rose (no offense to Red Rose). However, a few years ago that all changed. I was on a diet and desperate for new flavors without adding calories and that’s when I turned to tea. I started off by going to DAVIDsTEA and Teavana for all their dessert-inspired flavors, and since I didn’t know any better, I bought 100 grams each of about twenty-something different teas. This was okay for the teas I liked but for those I didn’t I needed to find some way of getting rid of them. Enter Steepster.com. This is where I met some incredible tea friends, discovered tea swaps, and learned of so many amazing tea companies. My desire to try all the teas grew and since joining three years ago I have tried over a thousand different teas. I have learned what ingredients I love and I have learned what flavors I don’t like. I determined my go-to brewing method is Western-style with no added milk or sweeteners, though I also enjoy cold brewing, iced teas, teapops, lattes, and smoothies. I have yet to brew gong-fu style but I hope to do so just as soon as I get the proper teaware to do it. About a year ago, I actually stopped drinking tea but as my stash of over 200 teas started aging I decided I needed to respark my interest. I chose to take a 365 days of tea challenge on Instagram in which I post a new tea picture every day. So far it has been rather successful as I find myself drinking (and buying) more and more tea each day. Plus it enabled CuppaGeek to find me and invite me here to SororiTea Sisters.

This post was posted in Green Tea, The Toni Glass Collection

Creme Brulee from The Toni Glass Collection. . . . .

by VariaTEA

My sister went to South Africa for her honeymoon and since my family is a bunch of enablers who like to feed my addiction, she, of course, brought me back tea. However, since she does not drink tea at all, she doesn’t really know what to get so she often goes the safe route and gets variety packs. I am definitely not complaining about that.

This tea was one of sixteen Toni Glass teas she brought home. The variety pack she gave me is mostly simple flavors such as Earl Grey or Rooibos and each silken teabag is individually packaged in adorable little boxes. If nothing else, the collection is fun to look at – colorful and bright.

I grabbed this tea because I wanted sweet. This IS sweet but more honey sweet than sugary custard and I think that is because of the base tea. It is also a little bit peppery and woody, again because of the base tea. Unfortunately, I find myself searching for what makes this creme brulee. I am getting a hint of vanilla if I focus, but I am also getting cinnamon, which seems out of place. I just find myself wanting more. More creme. More brulee. More flavor.

So this one didn’t really work for me as I hoped it might but I have 15 other varieties to try and I am sure I will find at least one winner in the mix.

Here’s the scoop!

Leaf Type:  Flavored Honeybush
Where to Buy:  Toni Glass Collection
Description

This exceptionally smooth an decadent blend is a remarkable infusion of the naturally sweet notes of local Honeybush and a gorgeous blend of our warm rich vanilla. A true taste sensation…once you’ve tasted it, there is no going back!

Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!

VariaTEA

Hey there! My name is Rachel. I’m a twenty-something from Toronto, Ontario, Canada who loves dogs and has a bit of an obsession with tea. As a child I hated the stuff since all I ever knew was Red Rose (no offense to Red Rose). However, a few years ago that all changed. I was on a diet and desperate for new flavors without adding calories and that’s when I turned to tea. I started off by going to DAVIDsTEA and Teavana for all their dessert-inspired flavors, and since I didn’t know any better, I bought 100 grams each of about twenty-something different teas. This was okay for the teas I liked but for those I didn’t I needed to find some way of getting rid of them. Enter Steepster.com. This is where I met some incredible tea friends, discovered tea swaps, and learned of so many amazing tea companies. My desire to try all the teas grew and since joining three years ago I have tried over a thousand different teas. I have learned what ingredients I love and I have learned what flavors I don’t like. I determined my go-to brewing method is Western-style with no added milk or sweeteners, though I also enjoy cold brewing, iced teas, teapops, lattes, and smoothies. I have yet to brew gong-fu style but I hope to do so just as soon as I get the proper teaware to do it. About a year ago, I actually stopped drinking tea but as my stash of over 200 teas started aging I decided I needed to respark my interest. I chose to take a 365 days of tea challenge on Instagram in which I post a new tea picture every day. So far it has been rather successful as I find myself drinking (and buying) more and more tea each day. Plus it enabled CuppaGeek to find me and invite me here to SororiTea Sisters.

This post was posted in Honeybush, The Toni Glass Collection