Kris Grey Black Tea from Ette Tea

Kris_GreyTea Information:

Leaf Type:  Black

Where to Buy:  Ette Tea

Tea Description:

Shaded as the quintessential earl grey, Kris Grey (Blend no. 050) is a western classic brew fortified with south east asian ingredients.

Kris Grey is a blend of black tea, javanese vanilla beans, blue corn flower, bluepea flower, bergamot oil & edible silver dust.

Learn more about this tea here.

Taster’s Review:

My second blend from Ette Tea!

So, I’m not the biggest Earl Grey fan; not that I dislike it, but I just don’t crave it often either. Under normal circumstances I probably wouldn’t have gone for this one – but who can resist sample sizes and the idea of sparkly silver tea? And really, the dry leaf is stunning! It’s covered in this really fine, gorgeous silver dust. So pretty!

Steeped up I’m not going to lie; I’m a little disappointed. The tea is still gorgeous and sparkly, but it’s not as dramatic as I’d have thought given the amount of noticeable glimmer in the dry leaf. Maybe about the same amount of sparkle as DT’s Gitter & Gold blend that people like to ooh and aah over.

The taste is solid though; it’s a good EG with a medium level of citrusy bergamot and silky smooth black base. I feel like a little bit more of vanilla would have really sent this one sky rocketing though. As it stands I can hardly taste the vanilla at all, but as is it’s just fine too. People who really love EG should definitely take a closer look at this because while it isn’t mind blowing, it’s got a really taditional taste with that fun sparkly element that makes it different from the average EG you can get at any store.

So for me, it’s a step down from Pandan Chiffon (which set the bar very high) but still not a flop! Definitely excited to try my next tea from this company!

Starry Night from Tea For All Reasons

starrynightTea Information:

Leaf Type:  Black

Where to Buy: Tea for All Reasons

Tea Description:

Inspired by Van Gogh’s painting, our version of “Starry Night” is a lovely combination of wild blackberry tea with splashes of blue in the form of cornflower blossoms, and candy blue sprinkles, as well as edible yellow and gold stars.

Learn more about this tea here.

Taster’s Review:

A tea with three different kinds of sprinkles. . . I’m in! This tea is pretty adorable with the blue and star sprinkles and the gold balls just add to the cuteness.  Tea for All Reasons always has a few fandom style teas.  This particular one is based off of Van Gough’s painting, Starry Night.  But I digress. . .now to the tea.

I added the tea to my Breville, set it up for the black tea setting (212F-3 minutes-4 tbsp-3 cups water) and away I go.  The tea definitely smells like berries .  I picked that up from the dry leaves as well.  As I start to enjoy this tea, I’m not picking up the bright berry flavor that I was hoping for. It definitely has an astringent factor to it.  The more I drink and the tea cools, it just seems to be more of a muddled flavor. Definitely drinkable but its like the blackberry flavor is trying to pop but its just not quite there.

For my second cup, I used my Breville Milk Frother and made myself a latte with regular milk.  Oh the flavors popped with this addition!   Can you say Blackberries and Cream! Yum!! The sprinkles that looked to be there for show before the addition of the milk are now lending themselves to a sweet and subtle addition to the latte.  I think I might just have to go for one more cup!  I think adding the milk is the way to go with this one.

On the Eleventh Day of Christmas, Della Terra Teas Sent Me This Tea!

Here we are, Christmas Eve!  Whenever I think of “Christmas Eve” I am reminded of a time when my youngest daughter – who is now twelve years old – would dance around a few days before Christmas Eve and sing “Christmas Eve is in a couple of eves.”  It was really adorable.  How quickly they grow up.

Christmas Tradition

christmastraditionTea Information:

Leaf Type:  Black

Where to Buy:  Della Terra Teas

Tea Description:

Go back to the days of Christmas tradition with popcorn strung on the tree, silver balls and delicious flavors.  This tea combines all of those, with vanilla, cream and amazing mint!  Create a new Christmas tradition with this magical tea!

Ingredients: Black tea, vanilla bits and flavor, cream flavor, mint, popcorn, silver and red sprinkles*

Learn more about this tea here.

Taster’s Review:

At first glance – and at first sip! – this tea would seem to be very similar to the Peppermint Perfection from Day 3 with the notable omission of the chocolate in this tea, and the addition of the popcorn.

I don’t know if the popcorn adds a whole lot to the flavor of this tea, but I do know that the chocolate certainly added a delightful dimension of flavor to the aforementioned Peppermint Perfection tea.  That said, I really like this tea.  This tea tastes more candy cane-ish to me because there is no chocolate, and I don’t usually have chocolate covered candy canes (although, this year, Santa will be putting a chocolate filled candy cane in my stocking).

I like the creaminess of this tea.  This tea seems creamier to me, and there is a savory element to this as well.  At the finish, and at the very start of the aftertaste, I note a pepper taste.  Just a slight “kick” of pepper.  I don’t know where that’s coming from, but it’s there.

This is less “minty” than the Peppermint Perfection.  The mint here is a gentle, smooth mint taste.  The black tea seems richer and more robust to me with this tea as well.  There is almost a malty note to this, and I’m not sure if that’s from the tea or if it’s from the vanilla and cream flavoring.

So, it sort of surprises me to say that if I were asked to choose between the Peppermint Bark tea (which has chocolate in it) or this, the Christmas Tradition tea (which doesn’t have chocolate in it), I would probably choose this one!  There is something more complex and more unique that keeps my palate intrigued as I sip.  Both teas are really good, but, this one is more interesting to me.

Love Affair Rooibos Blend from Defthlesen & Balk

Love-AffairTisane Information:

Leaf Type:  Rooibos

Where to Buy:  Amoda Teas

Tisane Description:

Maybe it’s the unusual addition of rhubarb, maybe it’s the cute little candy hearts… but there is something making this a chocolate and strawberries blend like no other. It’s creamy, chocolate-y, fruity and honeyed without being overly sweet. You could sip this with your V-day dessert and not go into a sugar coma.

Learn more about this tisane here.

Learn how to subscribe to Amoda’s Monthly Tea Tasting Box here.

Taster’s Review:

This is the second of the three teas/tisanes that I received in this month’s Tea Tasting Box from Amoda Teas.  (Have you subscribed yet?  You can do so with the link above, and you really should!  It’s really fun to receive a package form Amoda Teas!)

I admit to finding myself a wee bit disappointed by this Love Affair Rooibos Blend from Defthlesen & Balk.  Oh, it tastes alright, but, it’s not quite as good as I hoped for.  When I see “Chocolate and Strawberries” in the description, I’m hoping for some seriously yummy tea.  You know what I mean?

And I must confess that I am a little spoiled, because for Valentine’s Day this year, my hubby bought me a dozen chocolate covered strawberries.  So, my tasting of this tisane comes off of indulging in juicy, ripe strawberries that had been generously coated in various types of chocolate (some were dark chocolate, others were milk chocolate and some had white chocolate drizzle) … and they were just sinfully decadent.

And … unfortunately, this tisane just isn’t nearly as decadent.  The rooibos blend tastes mostly of strawberries and rooibos, and the result is a nutty, sweet, fruity, tisane with hints of chocolate.  The strawberry tastes sweet with a tartness that reveals itself in the aftertaste … the tart notes are further accentuated with the rhubarb … even so, this is definitely more sweet than tart.  (That is a good thing in my opinion!)

The chocolate is rather subtle, and a bit too subtle in the opinion of this chocoholic.  If someone says chocolate … I want CHOCOLATE.  I don’t want hints of chocolate.  I don’t want a subdued undertone of chocolate.  I want CHOCOLATE.  And I’m not getting that here.  As the tisane continues to cool, I notice the chocolate a little more, but it never becomes a strong enough flavor to please my chocoholic palate.

The rose presents a very gentle floral note, and I do like that … it’s a nice contrast to the sweet and fruity notes.  Overall, a pleasant enough cup, it just doesn’t live up to my expectations.

Birthday Cake from David’s Tea

This is what it looks like before you brew it ...

Tisane Information:

Leaf Type:  Rooibos

Where to Buy:  David’s Tea

Tisane Description:

What’s the best thing about birthdays? It could be the presents, or spending time with loved ones, but let’s be honest. It’s all about the cake. With vanilla icing, and lots of sprinkles. And this sweet and festive rooibos blend brings the taste of birthday cake to your cup any day of the year – sprinkles and all. Best of all, not only is it low in calories, it also has all the goodness of rooibos. Talk about having your cake and eating it too.

Learn more about this tisane here.

Taster’s Review:

I don’t know if I’ve mentioned this here before, but, those that know me well know that I have a thing for cupcakes.  I see a cupcake shop, I get all giddy – and even giddier when my husband indulges me and stops to let me shop for one or two.  I even have a cupcake scented lotion that I use daily and it smells so much like cupcakes that my family perks up when they smell it, asking “something smells good.  Did you make cupcakes?”  Of course, they’re disappointed when they find out that I’m just softening my hands and not baking dessert.

And there’s no doubt in my mind that if I were not the only one awake in the house at the moment, that my family would be coming in here asking me where the cupcakes are … because this tisane SMELLS like cupcakes!

This is what it tastes like after you brew it!

It tastes like a vanilla cupcake, too!   It tastes sweet, creamy and like it should be about a thousand calories!  However, according to the little nutrition label on the back of this pouch, it is about 1% of that – Just 10 calories!  (If my math is way off, forgive me, mathematics has never been my strength).  Of course, if you are one who generally sweetens your tea, you’ll be adding more calories to that count – but with just 10 calories in the tea and just 16 calories in a teaspoon of sugar, you’re still at just 26 calories!  All that said, the truth is, you don’t NEED to sweeten this.  It is sweet and delicious without the sugar.

I’m thrilled that I don’t taste much from the rooibos.  Maybe a hint of nutty flavor in the background, but nothing too overwhelming.  The same is true of the honeybush.  I don’t get a lot of the woody/nutty taste of the honeybush, but I do taste a slight honey-like tone, which enhances the flavors.

But mostly, what I taste is CUPCAKE!  This has a rich, creamy vanilla flavor, maybe just a hint of butter, and a distinct freshly baked kind of taste that rounds out the overall birthday cake flavor.

I like this.  I like this a lot!