Black Tea – Page 2 – By Golly, Ollie!

Summer Mornings with Pique Tea

This morning was a get-up-and-go kind of morning. A who-has-time-to-let-the-coffee-brew kind of morning. A it’s-too-hot-for-coffee-anyway kind of morning. So I grabbed my Harry Potter travel mug, brewed myself some iced English Breakfast tea from Pique Tea (in a matter of seconds, mind you), selected a summertime read, and set out to find the perfect reading spot.

One of the best things about living next to a school (aside from getting to hear the marching band practice when Autumn falls upon us, which makes my heart swell with nostalgia) is the abundance of perfect summertime reading spots. Especially the school I live next to since it’s a cluster of schools– an elementary school, a middle school, and a high school– with a sprawling campus with walking paths, athletic fields, and benches galore.

Also, it has swing sets, which admittedly was my first stop.

After meandering past locked-up baseball diamonds, the running track with early morning ramblers, and the tennis courts with old men hollering after renegade, fluorescent yellow tennis balls, I finally found my perfect summer reading spot– a yellow bench near a mostly abandoned soccer field, save for a few fat, bumbling bees in a sea of sweet, red clovers.

I unfortunately grossly underestimated the intensity of the 8:00 morning sun though. I knew today was going to be a scorcher by Michigan standards (90 degrees with just a few cotton ball clouds in the sky), but I didn’t expect a blazing sun so early. Needless to say, my tea didn’t even last until the end of the first short story in Summer Days and Summer Nights. Next time I’ll be more prepared; I’ll bring along an extra bottle of water and extra sachets of Pique Tea crystals (and then, with a few shakes of my travel mug, I can pretty much brew myself refreshing tea anywhere).

Cozying up with Books & Thai Chai Tea

I think I write about the weather on Books & Tea quite often. It seems strange to me that this frequent topic of awkward small talk earns so much press on my blog, but I cannot help it that weather fills me with both inspiration and nostalgia. I sense that it settles in most often during the changing of the seasons, which is perhaps why I’ve been on a posting frenzy lately. And while I am grateful that Michigan is in the full bloom of Springtime, what I appreciate most are the occasional days we’re experiencing right now that are reminiscent of our Autumn– days that are cool and overcast and even a little rainy. Wintertime is taxing, but I still wish Autumn were right around the corner (hot tea! cozy blankets! apple cider! Oreo cookies with orange filling! soup for dinner every night! colorful crunchy leaves!).

Last weekend was one of those weekends that was chilly and rainy, and sadly I sensed it would be one of the last ones until October finally rolls around (although, when I first moved to Michigan back in 2005, I was greeted by frost on the grass and rooftop…on the 4th of July). Of course I took advantage of the weather by curling up in a chair with a blanket, a new book, and the most cozy blend of tea I could find in my cupboards– Thai Chai by Adagio Tea.

Continue reading Cozying up with Books & Thai Chai Tea

Hot and Cold for Coconut Tea

Actually, my feelings about Coconut Tea from Adagio Teas are lukewarm, which coincidentally is the temperature that I preferred this tea. It took experimenting with my entire 8 oz. sample bag of Coconut Tea in one day to figure that out though. It’s not that I dislike the tea, I just felt that Adagio has better flavored teas than this. Or, in other words, on a scale of Valentine’s Day Tea (which I didn’t like) and Lemon Soleil Tea or Caramel Tea (which I’m over the moon about), it falls somewhere in the middle.

Continue reading Hot and Cold for Coconut Tea

Lemon Soleil Tea in One Word: Happiness

Lemon Soleil Tea in a Bunch of Words:

Last weekend it was near 40 degrees (Fahrenheit), which is generally considered “balmy” this time of year for most northerners. Except it was a soggy and sleety 40 degrees, which somehow changes entirely how 40 degrees actually feels. It tends to seep in through sweaters and jackets and make your body feel heavy and your bones hurt even though it’s not really that cold. Then your body starts to tell you that you need to crawl back in to bed and cozy up next your significant other’s warm, napping body and doze off. Except, I hate sleeping. Truthfully I do because it’s so time consuming. (Does this make me weird?) So, I did the next best thing, which was root around in the box of Adagio Tea that had just been delivered to my apartment for something that would fill me with warmth.

Earl Grey Lavender Tea is a Fickle Fellow

During college, I had a waxing interest in the Steampunk subculture– not to the point where I wore Steampunk-inspired garb– but I did have a handful of Steampunk bands loaded onto my iPod. Abney Park was my favorite. I also frequented Steampunk blogs, and it was through them that I discovered a webcomic called Wondermark by David Malki !. The comic wasn’t really Steampunk, although it did make the occasional reference:

Continue reading Earl Grey Lavender Tea is a Fickle Fellow

Caramel Tea is a Sweet Treat

If there is anything good about my work office running out of coffee for two weeks, it’s this:

I’m rekindling my relationship with tea because I have to wake up earlier to get my caffeine fix at home.

Actually, the tea thing was happenstance. I normally have a stash of coffee beans in the freezer for weekend mornings, but I had run out this particular week, so I brewed myself two mugs of Irish Breakfast and read through a couple of blogs instead. Then I ran out of Irish Breakfast, so I’ve been working my way through my shoe boxes full of tea. Aside from rekindling my relationship with tea, I’ve also discovered two things: first, I should buy tea tins, because who stores their bags of tea in shoe boxes, and second, Adagio’s Caramel Tea is really, really good.

It’s a little strange that I ended up with Caramel Tea since I don’t go out of my way to buy caramel anything. However, when you are checking out online at Adagio, you have the option to “share” your purchase with your followers on social media, and in return Adagio lets you choose a free sample from a long list of teas. I’m pretty sure I thought to myself, “What would I never want to spend my money on?” as my attention settled on Caramel Tea.

The joke is on me though, because this is me after drinking Adagio’s Caramel Tea:

The ingredients are just black tea and caramel flavoring, and just like Adagio’s Chestnut tea, how much I enjoyed the Caramel Tea took me by surprise.

The Caramel Tea was a fairly mellow cup of tea considering it was a black tea with natural caramel flavoring. The black tea seemed a little thin, and it wasn’t astringent, which allowed for the aroma of the Caramel to take center stage. And, unlike some of the flavored black teas I’ve reviewed in the past, the flavoring didn’t assault the taste buds at all. I took my Caramel Tea with sugar, which is rare, but it transformed the mug in to dessert; it tastes like the burnt sugar topping of creme brule, which is only one of my favorite desserts ever.

I’m used to drinking black coffee in the mornings, so I need something unsweetened and bold, but Adagio’s Caramel Tea is a great after-lunch pick-me-up. And, I feel less guilty about drinking that than consuming Meijer brand pound cake, which I’ve been over-indulging on during the weekends.

Do you have a favorite dessert tea?

Sunday Afternoon Pick-Me-Up

Tomorrow is the first of June, but today feels like a brisk October day; it’s overcast and drizzly, windy, and brisk. I’m not quite sure how to feel about that. On one hand, I adore Autumn. On the other hand, I’ve actually been looking forward to sunshine and warm weather since this winter was so brutally cold. Still, I managed to get so wrapped up in the nostalgia of Autumn that I went to the store to buy a Spiced Apple Cider scented candle that takes me back to an afternoon at the Cider Mill or to Pig-a-Palooza.

While an inner peace settles over my soul in this kind of weather, it also makes me feel a little drowsy, so I needed a little pick-me-up– especially since I have a house-warming shindig to attend later in the afternoon. I’ve settled on Adagio’s Casablanca Twist, which has been my favorite tea lately. I was disappointed when I tipped the last remaining tea leaves in to my mug, only to feel relief moments later when I discovered I accidentally bought another sample pack. This tea is a play on Moroccan Mint tea; instead of Peppermint and Gunpoweder Green tea, Casablanca Twist is a blend of Peppermint and Darjeeling Sungma Summer tea, a black tea with a subtly sweet and floral aroma. In other words, I’ve got a dose of eye-opening caffeine and invigorating mint to keep me going. Truly the best of both worlds, it leaves me feeling refreshed.

Sample of Casablanca Twist provided by Adagio Teas in exchange for an honest review.

Pass Me the Cup, Darjeeling

When I drink black tea, I often compare it to drinking coffee or red wine or even beer. It’s bold and usually full-bodied. It’s rich and astringent and malty. It’s the kind of tea I drink on cold, overcast days because it warms me up and keeps me extra alert. But then, Giddapahar Muscatel from Golden Tips Tea takes everything I knew about black tea and flips it on its head.

The scent of dried tea leaves is sweet– the kind of sweetness you might find in a (semi-dry) white wine, although I didn’t think this sweetness carried over in the flavor. It had a brightness and fruity (read: grape-like) aroma to match, and sometimes, I thought the aftertaste was a little tart. The aroma of this tea lingered too, just the way I like it– unlike some of the other teas I’ve tried from Golden Tips Tea (Avaata Supreme Nilgiri Green Tea). I did find this tea to be pretty astringent though, but it wasn’t offensive to my taste buds.

Of the teas I’ve sampled from Golden Tips Tea, Giddapahar Muscatel is my favorite so far. The aroma and flavor are powerful and interesting, and the tea stands up to multiple steeps (although, I’m not sure I could get a third cup out of the leaves). I only wish I had some rock sugar to sweeten my experience.

Sample of Giddapahar Muscatel provided by Golden Tips Tea in exchange for an honest review.

Of Insecurities and the Jewel of the Arya Estate

Spring officially begins in a few days, but today it seems more like Autumn; its brisk and windy and overcast. I started getting drowsy in the afternoon, so I brewed myself a mug of Arya Ruby Darjeeling tea from Golden Tips Tea for a mid-day pick-me-up. Lately, I’ve managed to sip on teas that seemed to pair perfectly with the weather, and today is no different. Honestly, it’s just dumb luck though. I actually picked up the package of Arya Ruby Darjeeling because according to the Golden Tips Tea website, it’s supposed to have the aroma and flavor of a “bouquet of flowers & an orchard of fruits”. Upon opening the packet, I am greeted with a sweet and fruity scent– luscious is a word that comes to mind. Alas, that all changed once I steeped the tea leaves, because to me Arya Ruby Darjeeling tea tastes like a crackling fire in a fireplace, perhaps the first in Autumn when the temperatures begin to drop. At first, it’s smoky and woody, and after those aromas have mellowed, a sensation of sweetness dances all around my mouth.

Kind of like this:

I debated writing about this tea on my blog. Not because the tea was bad and not because I struggled to conjure up the words to describe my experience, but because of insecurity. Sometimes I feel really insecure about reviewing new teas because my experience seems so different compared to other people’s experiences. How can I perceive woody and smoky aromas from a tea that is supposed to have fruity and floral aromas? Is my sniffer busted? Are my taste buds faulty? Am I just inexperienced, and I cannot taste subtle differences in a tea’s flavor? Perhaps it seems silly, but I’m afraid that a more savvy tea-drinker will stumble upon Books & Tea and tell me that my review for a tea is…wrong. Is that possible– for a review to be wrong?

For any blogger that posts reviews, be it books or tea or whatever, are you ever reluctant to share your thoughts about an experience because you’re afraid someone will tell you you’re wrong or you don’t truly understand it?

Won’t You Be My Valentine Tea?

Some say Valentine’s Day is just a Hallmark holiday– a consumerist holiday to lure starry-eyed suckers into buying over-priced chocolates to prove their love. And to them I say, “if you’re not going to eat those, may I have them?” I shant complain about February 14, and if my boyfriend chooses to love me one extra ounce today, I shall relish in it. Especially since Adagio Tea’s Valentine Tea broke my heart.

Adagio’s Valentine Tea is a blend of black tea, rose petals, natural chocolate flavor, and natural strawberry flavor

I think my tea is an older blend, because the Adagio website says there is also cocoa nibs, dark chocolate chips, and strawberries in this tea, and I have none of that. Woe!

Anyway, Adagio’s Valentine Tea sounds romantic, right? It’s the sort of thing a lover would sprinkle on the floor from the doorway to the couch…for a Harry Potter marathon. Except, any tea lover would get distracted and scoop of the tea leaves and rose petals to brew a mug of hot tea. Most regrettably, Valentine’s Tea would ruin the mood. It smells weird– like a bag of chocolate hard candies. Fake chocolate hard candies. Do you know what is worse than fake chocolate? War, famine, petulance, and generally the end of the world, but not much else! Despite the scent, I still went into this feeling optimistic. I was crossing my fingers that Valentine’s Tea would taste like a chocolate-covered Turkish Delight because I can pound chocolate-covered Turkish Delights (Jon, make note!)

After steeping the tea, I noticed how dark the liquid was. It was as dark as a cup of black coffee, so I became a little nervous. I suspected the flavor would pack a punch, but really it was just a slap of disappointment in the face. It tasted nothing like a chocolate-covered Turkish Delight. Adagio has some great teas, like their Oooh, Darjeeling, but I am not having luck with their flavored teas– Chestnut Tea being the wonderful exception. Most of their flavored teas that I’ve tried recently flood my mouth with bitterness. The aftertaste is alright though…if you’re not offended by fake chocolate hard candies. As for the rose, I was hoping for some light floral notes, but if they are there, they are muddled by the stronger chocolate flavor and the strong, black tea. I even tried to sweeten the deal by adding sugar and milk. I thought that would cut some of the bitterness or mask some of the flavoring, but that just made it worse.

Even though I do not love Adagio’s Valentine’s Tea, a lot of people do. It’s earned a score of 93/100 on Adagio’s website and a 70/100 on Steepster. Proceed with caution with Valentine’s Tea.