Pumpkin Chai

Pumpkin Chai

So, we're at the last of my Fall Tea collection. Kayla already reviewed this tea in the first week of the Fall reviews. But, twice the review!

I love how it smells. It is absolutely drool worthy scent wise!
Om nom nom nom.

It smells almost like pumpkin pie straight out of the oven. You can smell caramel, cardamom and cloves the most.
In fact, I can still smell it lingering around my room. Yum yum.

I again used 1 tbsp to 4 cup pot. So far it's been my best fall back measurement wise. The bag said to steep it from 4-6 minutes, so I steeped it 5 minutes, just because...isn't that what everyone does?

So I had this tea without milk, with milk, then with milk and brown sugar.

Without milk I could taste the caramel the most, then the cloves as a secondary flavor. 

With just some milk I could taste the black tea most. It ended up overpowering things so that it tastes pretty much like milk and basic black tea. Sad days.

With milk and sugar it really blocked out everything but the taste of the milk and sugar.

I honestly liked the tea better when it just had a bit of sugar in it. Added sweetness that rounded out the flavor and made it much more appealing. So this combination was a thumbs up for sure!

Overall, I liked the tea, but it wasn't what I expected. I'm honestly a little underwhelmed. It smelled SO GOOD, but tasted, underwhelming.  Good, but underwhelming. I know I'm really repeating myself on that part, but it's really true. It was nice. But it was ONLY nice. It's scent is it's main redeeming factor.

I really don't think I'll get any more before the fall runs out. I'll spare what I have for a special post down the road. (IS THE SUSPENSE KILLING YOU YET?) But, I personally don't feel it's worth buying a second time.

Skål!

Now I'm going to snuggle into bed with a good book tumblr. 

-Laura

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

Kiwi's Big Adventure!

Kiwi's Big Adventure!


First, check out it's page by clicking the link. It is honestly what ultimately made me buy it.

It's smells almost like apples; tart and sweet. The smell isn't quite as strong after it's steeped.
I used 1 tablespoon for one pot of tea. Any more and I personally find it too strong, also, if you steep it for more than about 3 minutes (4 minutes, tops), it can turn very bitter.

It has green tea, apple, kiwi, lemongrass, lemon peel, and artificial flavoring. You can almost taste the apple more so than the kiwi, which is a little disappointing. When I bought it I was really hoping for more of the kiwi to come through. It is still a nice tea, but not quite what I expected.
It has a tart, green apple, flavor to it. The real green apple, not green apple candies.

If you do not like tart things, you will not like this tea.

It looks a little like pee to me

If you are able to go to a store and smell it, you'll get a general idea of what it tastes like. I can honestly say, it tastes like it smells, just a little milder.

I'm torn on whether to get more after this runs out. Part of me does, part of me doesn't. If I do, I won't get more than 50g at a time because tit does take a while for me to go through it. You need so little of it to make a pot, and I need to be in just the right mood for it.
I did really enjoy it when it was hot out. Even as a hot tea, it does have a refreshing quality to it.

If you like or love green teas, you will like this.

If you drink this expecting a super fruity tea, you'll be disappointed.

So if you are buying blind (no smelling, no pre-tasting), then just keep that in mind.

shhh, my room is messy

WAIT

I just tried it as a tea pop. Again with ginger ale.

It tastes pretty damn nice. Ginger ale with an extra kick.  The ginger ale does out power a lot of the tartness of the tea, and leaves behind a very mild apple/kiwi-ish flavor. It would taste even better with some booze in it...maybe a peach schnapps?

Either way, quite enjoyable.

Skål, and happy steeping everyone!

-Laura

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

Original Sacher Tee

This tea may be one of the few teas that I'm reviewing that isn't DavidsTea!

This tea is straight from Vienna, Austria! Sadly, I wasn't the one to bring it home, my mother was. She went on a Europe trip with my Dad and they stayed there for a little.

This tea comes from the legendary Sacher (pronounced: Soccer) Hotel in Vienna. More Sacher History HERE

The tea itself is a mix of Earl Grey, Darjeeling teas,  and jasmine blossoms.

My mother and I made a pot of it to enjoy together. In the Davids filter thing, we put TWO HEAPING TEASPOONS of the loose leaf, then steeped it with boiling water for about 3-4 minutes.







It's shitty weather again, so the pictures are, again, inside. The ram is there because I felt like it.
I AM MATURE. I DRINK TEA. SHUT UP.









I first tried a cup black, and then a cup with some skim milk. I did prefer it black. To me, the milk brought out more of the Earl Grey, which then overpowered the other flavors/scents.
It has a distinct Earl Grey flavor, definitely the star of this rodeo. But, there is still the undertones of the jasmine and the Darjeeling aroma.

I haven't had much experience with Darjeeling, it's actually only from reading Wiki that I was able to place the taste/scent of the Darjeeling to the Darjeeling.

Overall, a nice tea. And, if you find Earl Grey too strong, it would be perfect for you. Just keep in mind, adding milk may make the Earl Grey more prominent, because it overpowers the gentler flavors.

Skål and happy drinking!

-Laura


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

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.