Butterfly Jasmine

Butterfly Jasmine from DT

Ingredients: Chinese green tea from Fujian Province, scented with Jasmine blossoms

So exciting!!!

I have been wanted to try this tea for quite some time.
What was stopping me? It is the most expensive tea that DavidsTea sells! Twenty dollars for fifty grams! 
What finally got me to buy some? The fact that I didn't have to buy it! I used my DT frequent steeper points and got 50 grams for free! (I used the other 50 grams of free tea I had saved the points up for and got more Quangzhou milk oolong)

 Not going to lie, I had my nose inside of the bag the entire drive home from the mall. I think I told Chris "This is the best smelling tea ever" about fifty times within those ten minutes. This tea makes Dragon Pearls jasmine smell like afalfa.

I steeped these gorgeously wrapped leaves for four minutes my plain old ceramic pot. 
Everything smells amazing!

It tastes exactly the way that it smells. 
This is the smoothest, creamiest jasmine I have ever had. It is beautiful. The floral accents are at the perfect level and there isn't a hint of bitterness. I'm sure that the second cups worth that is still in the pot may be a little too strong by the time that I get to it, but it won't be long. I am powering through this absolutely perfect cup I have right now.

I was wrong. Even with the second half of the pot sitting for fourty five minutes, it is not at all bitter or overpowering; just stronger and still delicious and perfect!
Holy shit, this tea is magical!

Beautiful. 
Everyone should treat themselves to this tea at some point in their lives.
I am in LOVE.

Best tea?
I might just have to say YES.


Happy euphoric steeping,

~K



Update:
Yoshi loves it so much he is trying bathe himself in it!

Just Peachy

no picture right now
sorry

Ingredients: Apple, sweet blackberry leaves, peach, natural and artificial flavouring.

I tried this for the first time this Saturday while waiting for Chris to get a hair and beard trim. The barber shop was only two stores down from DavidsTea and I could not resist popping over for a nice cold drink. I also wanted to try something different and new, so I went with Just Peachy.

Wow.

The biggest wow. I was SO surprised by this tea. So surprised, in fact, that I went back and bought some less than five minutes later, literally.
THIS is a peach tea!

It tastes almost exactly the way that it smells. So peachy and delicious. It's not sweet, but you don't need any sugar added. Nothing needs to be added. Peachy heaven. I was afraid that the apple would over power the peach, but it definitely does not. It tastes like apple and peach juice, without a bunch of sugar-y junk in it.

I made myself some at home the very same day! Does this tell you how in love with the amazing iced tea I am? It should. Especially since I have a whole jug of a "cluster fruit" (as Laura so awesomely called it) of iced teas.

I have yet to perfect the making of on the spot iced tea, like they do in store... but soon. Soon...


Bravo, DT. You made an iced tea that I am just crazy about.

Salted Caramel

Salted Caramel had me super excited.

Super. Super excited.

ALLERGY WARNING: ALMONDS

I love caramel. I mean love it. I'd eat it alone if I had the chance not that I've done that before.

I steeped the 1.25 tsp to 1 cup of boiling water for 6 minutes per directions. I JUST WANTED IT TO BE PERFECT CARAMELLY

It smelled exactly like caramel when I opened it up, with a slight hint of black tea behind it. I was very excited! Can you tell how much I love caramel yet?

But when I tasted it, it was bitter. Let me know if you guys have had the same experience? So, to offset the bitter, I added milk. A quick fix!
Once I added milk, it had a light caramel flavor, and was a little creamy, and you could still taste some of the black tea! Overall, the balance wasn't bad at all, nor was the flavor...but it just wasn't caramelly enough for me!



If I am drinking something called Salted Caramel, I want to drink it and think "this reminds me of salted caramel!" not "Well, I guess this kinda sorta might make me think a little bit about caramel..."

Good, but not the best. So, I'm not getting it again. I'll stick to my caramel apples!

Enjoy your teas, everyone!

-Laura

Mountain Organic Indonesian Oolong

Mountain Org. Indonesian Oolong
From Tea at Sea

Tea at Sea. So far they haven't much to offer as for selection of teas... but who cares! They are about quality and not quantity here, that is for sure! And I absolutely love them!! Not only is this tea so gorgeous that had me ordering right after trying it, just look at what they send you with your order!!

CORK BOAT!! LOOK AT IT!! AHHHH

Two samples for one little order of 50 grams of this amazing tea (which I swear I will get to very soon) and a little cork boat you get to put together. Unfortunately, the boat does not float in your tea (of COURSE I tried! Who wouldn't?!). And the packaging is just top notch and original!

I first tried this tea two Sundays ago when Laura brought it over when we had a mini tea/pizza party (what? We're on a budget, okay?!) and we made a nice big pot of it so we could both try it for the first time.
WOW!
This organic tea has everything that I love about oolong - light, earthy taste with none of the bitterness- but with a sooth, creamy punch of honey! This is a simple tea with a twist of something different that I can drink by the pot-full, which I did!

I fell in love with this tea. You will too.
Every lover of straight tea should have this in their tea cupboard.
Go! GO!! Get yourself this to-die-for oolong from an adorable company.

Happy Steeping
~K

Raspberry China Oolong

Raspberry China Oolong from Tea Desire

Ingredients: Oolong, raspberry bits and flavour.


Holy shit, an oolong with raspberries!! I couldn't say no. I DIDN'T say no. And I can't tell you how glad I am that I didn't....

Is this not the sweetest thing?

When my order from TeaDesire showed up (with an adorable little hand-written thank you note - aren't they just adorable?!) I ripped the bag open to inhale the most heavenly scent that I wanted to rub all over myself as a perfume and stuff in my mouth and chew right then and there. Reminiscent of raspberry gelato. A powerful scent for a surprisingly mild tea.

I tried several brewing times, the long the better for me. Never gets bitter, and with two perfect spoonfuls in a pot (the perfect spoon is really just a tblsp). Experiment with it. I certainly did.
Nowhere near as raspberry crazy as it smells, so don't fret if you're against that kind of thing. It's a soft, creamy hint of the tart fruit with that awesome-ness of oolong, best enjoyed on the hotter side. It isn't sweet at all, like one would expect from the intense scent. By the gods, is it ever perfect!

Eee! Teapot. My dad's favourite

BY FAR my favourite flavoured tea. I have already finished off half of my 100 gram bag! Addicted? Hell yes!
I love this. LOVE LOVE LOVE it. Definitely a favourite. I recommend it to everyone. Except my poor mum, who is allergic to raspberries (so tragic!)

This tea has captured my heart!

Better get your hands on some before I buy them out! ;)



Happy Steeping!

-K




 IF YOU HAVE ANY TEA YOU WOULD LIKE REVIEWED, LEAVE A COMMENT AND WE WILL SEE WHAT WE CAN DO.

Dragon Pearls

Dragon Pearls
From DavidsTea

Chinese green tea from Zhejiang Province, scented with jasmine flowers.

Yup, that's all it is! Beautiful green tea! No added stuffs. Ooooo

Cute little tea pot.

This is probably my favourite tea (so far anyway... dun dun duunnnn). It was also the first tea that I ever bought from DavidsTea several years ago for my mum as a birthday present and she insisted I share a cup with her. It has stuck with me ever since, even though (gasp, a but is coming) it's pretty damn expensive. ($27 for 100 grams - HOLY SHIT) booo

Now, I love green tea. I think I get it from my dad (I totally do). Seriously, he named our dog after his favourite tea; Jasmine (I shit you not!). And this reminds me so much of his special stash of tea. So, whenever I drink it I get a little sad, but also a lot happy - so please forgive my blathering. Here's to you, daddy. Skål!

Ahem!! As I was saying.... I love green tea. But, that bitterness that can cling to your tongue if you don't brew it just right can kill it for me. It takes a LOT to get that nasty-ness from this tea, but still... FOLLOW THE DIRECTONS FOR THIS TEA. If you're one of those strong green tea weirdos that I just can't, for the life of me, understand... still try four minutes first (of the recommended 3-4). Don't ruin a good (and expensive) thing. I used my awesomely adorable cast iron teapot that I got from my boyfriend's dad for Christmas a few years back to steep, it did a lovely job! I love green tea steeped in cast iron, it just...works!

The tree in the background makes it look darker than it really is.

Don't let the lightness of the tea deceive you, it still has flavour. And it is a GREAT flavour! The green with the sneaky hint of jasmine blossoms (not crazy powerful like Silk Dragon). It's simple, so simple... but heavenly. I would say this is the perfect any-time tea, but -again- it's just too damn expensive, so it's more of an indulgence for me. But if you can afford it... I hate you, Mr/Ms/Mrs Moneybags, you just go away.....

Anyways! Love this tea. Love love love it


INDULGE! do eet... dooo eeet

 
Happy Steeping!

-K

Meet Yoshi

This is Yoshi, my one-year-old  peachfaced lovebird.

Yoshi LOVES  tea

Creme Brulee

Picture taken from DavidsTea

This has to be one of my favorite teas. It has become a standby that I find very soothing, on top of being tasty!

It's Rooibos tea, and it's organic! It has organic red and green rooibos, safflowers, calendula marigold, and some natural flavoring. It's also caffeine free! Safe to have before bed. :)
It has a very smooth, caramel-y taste, while staying nice and light. Honestly, it follows the description on DavidsTea to the T.
It doesn't really smell LIKE creme brulee, but it is more like caramel sauce; relaxing and soothing either way!

It's nice to have with some cookies, or pie. Some sort of dessert, whichever you happen to like most.

My beautiful pot o'tea

I personally will make myself a pot cup if I'm having a nice relaxing candle lit bubble bath.

When making a pot, I put about a tablespoon or two in the Perfect Infuser, boil my water until the kettle start to scream  bloody murder (I cut it off before people suspect that it's a person, instead of the kettle!), and let it steep for...5-7 minutes? I'm not sure, to be honest. The amazing smell distracts me.

Without milk

Beautiful, isn't it?

Sorry no outside picture today! It's all cloudy and gross. MORE FUCKING RAIN. But...perfect day for a mug of creme brulee! Did you see what I did there? I rhymed...YOU BETTER LAUGH.

The slightly blurry with milk picture

I normally don't drink any of my teas with a dairy milk, or nondairy milk. But for you, dear readers, I'll give it a go.

I'm using skim milk, because that's what I like to drink.

Surprisingly, I like it.
Not as much as without, but it's still pretty good. If I used a cream, or even 2% milk, it may taste better than with skim. But, alas, we'll never know.



Skål!

-Laura

~~~~~~~~~~~

dun dun duuuunnnn
DOUBLE REVIEW!!

I am totally guilty of getting Laura to buy this, and she has become quite addicted. ooops?Nah. It's pretty obvious WHY.

Okay, honestly? What gets me about this tea? The SMELL!! Wow!
Creme brulee? Okay, you got us. no. It smells nothing like creme brulee (to me anyways), but it is amazing. Like... butterscotch pudding. Or those amazing little caramel cubes (best. Hallowe'en candy. ever!!) Just, MMmmmMMMmmm.

Excuse me *sniff sniff snnniiffffffff* Ahh...!
Oh, yeah. And it TASTES good, too!

To prove how yummy this is... My bird, Yoshi, the tea loving lovebird, had no interest in the Rose Congou Green. But he could smell this one and WHOOSH, he's on my hand trying to dunk his face into my steaming hot Creme Brulee! (More of Yoshi to come!)

I. Love. Rooibos.
So, naturally, I really like this tea. Very similar to Birthday Cake (will review soon) in many ways, but not as crazy sweet. This one tastes so much more naturally sweet. It just wraps you up in a blanket of dark caramel warmth. Perfect for a rainy day, like today.

This is definitely up there with my favourites - which I can't really put in any particular order or even just flat out say what they are, really... Creme Brulee rocks, though! Yum yum


-K

IF YOU HAVE ANY TEA YOU WOULD LIKE REVIEWED, LEAVE A COMMENT AND WE WILL SEE WHAT WE CAN DO.