I must say the amount of great tea offerings on Etsy is a little insane. I get lost for hours on that site so often. All I have to do is type in anything tea related and then poof 2 hours later I forgot what I was originally looking for. But in doing so you find awesome companies like this one.
I swear Nichole aka Cuppageek knows me a little too well it is kinda beginning to freak me out. I have wanted to try a tea from this company for a while now but when I finally would remember to look at their site they would be sold out of everything. Then low and behold there was this little package in my box of teas to review and it was from this company!
I love green tea and honestly I don’t order it enough. I tend to lean more towards black and oolong most of the time when I am purchasing tea. But I love green tea. This is a gunpowder blend with lemon balm, spearmint and lavender. Opening up the little gold package I was immediately hit with the smell of lavender which is one of my favorite smells. Then there is a faint smell of the spearmint and lemon balm which I am happy with since spearmint can sometimes overpower a blend.
Brewed the spearmint smells a little stronger but the lavender is still the strongest scent. The flavor is surprisingly light I was expecting it to be more herbal since the lavender smelled so strong but it wasn’t. The spearmint was the stronger flavor and the lemon balm gave it a light lemon aftertaste. This is a very tasty gunpowder blend I wish I had more than just a sample but oh well. I will make sure I pay attention to their Etsy site more so I can get a full size of the next blend that catches my interest.
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Green
Where to Buy: Grimoire Tea
Description
The essence of Lady Nocturnal herself, a refreshing green tea blend with the cooling effects of spearmint.
Ingredients:
Gunpowder Green Tea
Lemon Balm
Spearmint
Lavender
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Tardis Eleven Geronimo from Tea and Absinthe. . . . .
Okay, guys I have a confession to make. I have no idea what the name of this tea is referencing. I don’t know if I just live under a rock or if I am too young for the reference, so it took me a while to gain interest in trying this tea. But today I was digging through my little tea sample box and wanted to try something different. I did a google search to see what this tea was all about and on the company’s description it mentions vanilla custard- that is one of my favorite flavors!!! So I brewed myself up a cup and here is what I thought….
This tea was definitely creamy vanilla. I could smell it as I poured the hot water over the leaves. It reminded me of a fresh baking vanilla cake or vanilla bean ice cream. I added just a bit of agave for some sweetness and it really accentuated the vanilla custard flavors of this black tea. The tea itself was smooth, but definitely strong! However I was kind of in the mood for a strong black tea, i’m really tired and it is a rainy day. I always have a strong craving for sweets, and this tea really hit the nail on the head. The vanilla and custard flavors last on the palate long after the sip is gone. I bet that this tea would actually be a great base to mix other teas with, for example maybe a peach or apricot tea would go well with it because of the delicious and creamy vanilla qualities it has. I definitely will be playing around with my remaining sample because this was a good one!
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Tea and Absinthe
Description
A delicious black tea with vanilla cream custard flavor. Fish fingers not included. Goes well with TARDIS Self-Destruct Buttons (aka Jammie Dodgers)
Ingredients: black tea -Assam, -China, flavor, vanilla bits
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Star Wars Giveaway!! Fandom Teas Inspired by #StarWars from Adagio Teas
Adagio Teas is one of those tea companies that I have always adored. Being the self professed lover of all things fandom related, Adagio Teas’s customs blends have always had a special place in my heart. The fact that you can create your own blend to represent your beloved fandom and enjoy this creation while watching your favorite show or playing your favorite game. . . .I mean that is what drinking tea is all about. Enjoying life’s moments while having a trusty cuppa by your side.
With all of the Star Wars love that is going on this week, we thought this would be a great time to giveaway three sample tins of Star Wars inspired Adagio Teas Custom Blends to one lucky reader! Power Down (R2-D2), Bowcaster Brown (Chewie), and Blast (Finn). These blends sound amazing. . .especially Bowcaster Brown. I may have to pick up a tin of that one next time I order from Adagio Teas!
May the Force Be With You and Good luck!!
Adagio Teas Star Wars Giveaway!
Sherlock Holmes Inspired Tea from First Edition Tea Co.
Sherlock Holmes is certainly a classic literary character. There are various renditions of him on the market and everyone has their own favorite. My personal favorite is the Benedict Cumberbatch Sherlock. Though, regardless of which Sherlock you know and like, we can all agree that he is a bit of a jerk. Brilliant and has his soft spots, but “rough around the edges” is a bit of an understatement when it comes to this classic character.
With that in mind, I would say Mr. Holmes and a Smokey English Breakfast seem like a fitting pairing. Rough around the edges with a hint of sweet, and it doesn’t hurt that the base is traditionally English. Plus, among other things, the lapsang can invoke memories of the character’s well-known smoking habit.
Just like Mr. Holmes and his personality, smokiness in tea is a harsh and polarizing flavor component. It can be off-putting for some but when done right, as it is here, it creates an interesting scent and flavor, like a campfire. It is a bit like tobacco in taste but not bitter in the slightest. There is also a sweetness here though, like a hint of honey that compliments the smoke quite nicely. It’s subtle but it’s there and it keeps this tea from being one-note, and though I don’t personally sweeten my teas, I could see this taking sweetener quite nicely.
As far as smokey teas go, this is a nice take on a classic and in my mind, it is quite well suited to the literary masterpiece that inspired it.
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Black Tea
Where to Buy: First Edition Tea Co.
Description
A mysterious blend of traditional English Breakfast tea packed with plenty of pipe smoke, a hint of bergamot, nettle, and a surprising touch of honey sweetness. Perfect for sipping while lost in your mind palace. It’s elementary.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Green Jasmine Floral Tea from Grimoire Tea
I’ll be honest with you guys– I don’t know what Grimoire means. Or what Whiterun is. (Don’t take away my nerd card, please.) And frankly, I don’t even reach for green teas (or jasmines!) all that frequently. (I know. Stick with me, I promise.) So when I saw this one waiting for me in my sample stash, I was… dubious, to say the least. Never one to shy away from a cup of anything, however, I knew I had to give this one a try.
The jasmine, upon brewing, is the FIRST thing you smell– and I mean that in ALL CAPS. It is JASMINE! with an exclamation point. To say I was expecting to find that same flavor-ferocity in the sip is an understatement, but I was pleasantly surprised! The actual brew is a beautiful deep gold liquor, with a delightfully balanced jasmine flavor profile. I can’t say I’m picking up too much green in this cup, but the jasmine is spot-on– strong enough that you certainly don’t have to go hunting for flavor, but balanced enough that it’s not going to kick you tush-over-teakettle.
Also present? Stevia. I know this is a controversial ingredient, but I actually think it works really well here, friends. If you’re not partial to ANY sweet in your tea, I’d skip this one– but from what I can tell, I’m fairly certain the sweetness comes from the actual stevia leaf and not the signature artificial taste from the liquid. There are definitely some unaccounted-for green flakes in the dry leaf that would back me up on this one. That said, the sweetness from the stevia brings a nice rounding-out of flavors that make this tea more accessible for the jasmine-novice and infrequent-green-sipper like myself. Grimoire, you might be making a green/jasmine fan of me yet! (Now just help me fill that gap in my nerdery knowledge, and I’ll be good to go.)
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Green
Where to Buy: Grimoire Tea
Description
Strolling the marketplace from the central plains of Skyrim, a sweet floral green tea with a fresh taste calls home.
Ingredients:
Green Tea
Jasmine
Stevia
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
