Valentine’s Day has come and gone but this tea feels like it would have been a perfect fit for such a sweet, romantic day. This tea contains cocoa nibs,hazelnut flavor and strawberry flavor. The hazelnut flavor is what I taste the most, with a finish of chocolate and strawberries. It also has a slight roasted, earthy flavor from the pu’er tea itself which goes really really well with the other ingredients. I used to love hazelnut lattes back when I drank coffee, so this tea is a real treat. I tasted it plain before adding anything, and it’s pretty sweet on it’s own. It also has natural cream flavor, so it’s got a little bit of sweet and creamy all on it’s own.
I decided to gild the lilly and add a little coconut sugar and coconut milk and sipped away. It was heaven. This would be an amazing tea to have with breakfast, or even a delicious dessert tea. When I closed my eyes and sipped, I almost felt like I was drinking a chocolate covered strawberry!! This tea really is perfectly balanced, because it would be really easy for these flavors to be cloying, but they so aren’t. They make for a nutty, fruity slightly chocolate-y tea that is pretty dang close to perfection. I loved every last drop of this tea, and can’t wait to have another cup.
Whether you make it for a loved one or yourself, it is a delicious, tasty treat!
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Pu’er
Where to Buy: Simple Loose Leaf
Description
This tea is no longer available on their site but click below for teas that are.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Awake from Bird’s Eye Tea. . . . .
I’ve been sleeeeepy lately. It seems with all that’s been going on in my personal life, a full 8 hours of ZZZs is usually the first thing to take a hit and man, is it ever slowing me down. So you can imagine when I saw this cute little packet of tea in my sample stash proclaiming to make me “awake!” I couldn’t open it fast enough with my sleepy little fingers.
It’s a beautiful mate with herbs galore– tulsi (my favorite adaptogenic herb), bacopa, spearmint and current. It brews up a beautiful, vegetal dark gold, and tastes brilliantly herbal with no bitterness (and no need for honey).
I can’t say I immediately perked up after my first cup, but the soothing holy basil and fresh spearmint chilled me out and gave me that nice, focused feeling of being awake without being buzzy.
Just what I needed! Now to find what else I need– a cozy bed and a spare two hours to nap.
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Mate
Where to Buy: Bird’s Eye
Description
Bird’s Eye is a monthly subscription plan. Check out the link below for more information.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Coconut Lime from Handmade Tea. . . . . .
Month two of my three month Handmade Tea subscription arrived. This time I kept that wax sealed envelope closed and decided I would let the tea speak for itself before reading the provided tasting note.
First thing I noticed was the big pieces of coconut in the blend. The scent of them takes over which makes since given the bright white coconut chips amidst a sea of black tea. When steeped up though, the malty assam base is what floods the nose leaving me a little bit worried that those coconut chips are just for show.
Sipping on the blend, I will say it is a pretty nice black tea. The malt is strong here. It is smooth but a little bit pithy and astringent as the sip finishes. I imagine that is the contribution of the lime element seeing as I have no other indication of its presence in the tea. There are also notes of raisin and stonefruits, sweet and jammy, with a drizzle of honey. Now and then there is a creaminess that I think is the coconut though it is faint and merely textural. To be honest, if I was blindly trying this, having not known the name or seen the dry leaf, I would have assumed this was a plain assam tea, not a flavored one.
So, having now tried the tea and assessed it for myself, let’s see how my observations compared to those laid out in the tasting note: “The black tea has light raisin notes along with a brisk astringency” – so far it seems my thoughts are in line with what is to be expected. “Next we add coconut chips to add a natural sweet flavor. Coconut also adds a thicker and more complex mouth feel” – I definitely got the mouth feel component here, though I interpreted as a creaminess as opposed to the described thickness and the sweetness I attributed to the base instead of the coconut. “Lastly, dried lime peel is added in to finish out the blend. The tartness and subtle sweetness of the citrus balances well with the coconut and raisin-like notes of the base tea” – this was lost on me.
In addition to the tasting note, the blender provides a message in which he also makes note of the stone-fruit flavor I picked up on in the tea. He also speaks to the fact that he believes this is a good winter tea which is an interesting point in light of the more tropical/summery coconut and lime flavors. However, having drank the tea, I can see how this is better for the winter given the focus on the rich base as opposed to the lighter flavoring
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Black Tea
Where to Buy: Handmade Tea
Description
This is a selection from Handmade Tea’s monthly subscription plan. Click below if you want to learn more about this plan.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Krampus Brew from Handmade Tea. . . . .
An awesome friend signed me up for a few monthly subscription packages from Handmade Tea. This is a company I had not heard of before so I was very excited to see what they had to offer. This past week the first month’s package arrived and it was bigger than the monthly subscription packages I have received from other companies such as Amoda and TeaTaxi. So, when I opened the package to find just one tea, I was certainly surprised.
Before me was 3 oz of Krampus Brew along with a beautifully wax-sealed envelope containing a note from the tea maker, brewing instructions and tasting notes. The tasting notes were an interesting touch because it seemed as if it were a guide telling me what I should be tasting.
I am told by the tasting notes that the base is similar to a light oolong, smooth but with a hint of smokiness. In fairness, that is pretty accurate. I am also told that the cherries sweeten the brew with a bright honey-like flavor and add a tart finish. I suppose that there is a sweetness here but I don’t know if I would describe it quite as a “bright honey-like flavor” and I certainly am not detecting a tart finish. Finally, the tasting note suggests that the cloves and cinnamon provide the classic spice taste and adds boldness to the mouthfeel. Like the description of the base, that is also pretty accurate.
All in all, it seems the tasting note I was provided is fairly spot-on. However, I am left wondering if I am detecting these things because I feel I should or if I am tasting them because they are actually there. Next month I will drink the tea first and then compare notes. As it is, this tea is mostly a sweet and spiced gunpowder tea. Pleasant enough albeit just a little boring. I expected more cherry from the big pieces in the mix but it seems they are mostly just contributing the fruity/sweet component that is hiding just beneath the base.
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Green Tea
Where to Buy: Handmade Tea
Description
This tea is no longer on the site but check below for what teas are and to learn about Handmade Tea’s monthly subscription plan.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Passion Peach Tea from Teavery. . . .
This tea managed to work its way into the bottom of my tin, lying in wait until the perfect moment. Today was such a moment. I’ve been vaguely dizzy and tired all day (I think my medication levels might be wonky) and drank this with lunch, iced.
Boom. Back on point. Full precision. This is my sipping companion in its Giant 30 Oz Water Bottle of Super Hydration and Daylong Peeing. I am very awake and able to concentrate again. My typing is loud. I am a laser-beam of focus.
This blend is a zippy peach black with saucy berry and zesty citrus notes. There’s something about it that sticks in the mouth even after you’ve swallowed. Something sweet. I think it’s the rose hips or passionfruit. Oh, and the black tea. There’s a lot of caffeine in this. It may give you a heart attack. But you’ll love it.
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Black & Rooibos
Where to Buy: Teavery
Description
Teavery offers four monthly teas each month in their subscription plan. Check out what all they have to offer in the link below.
