I Dream of Tea

eleven By Cara McGee

Official Description on Adagio: Edging the line of quirky and dark, this tea is unfailingly sweet, and as strong as you could ask for.

Ingredients blended with natural vanilla flavor, natural coconut flavor, dried coconut, and accented with apple pieces. Teas: assam melody, vanilla, coconut

My Review

The coconut and vanilla mingle seamlessly to tantalize your nose every time you open the bag, the apple pieces offering the barest hint of tart sweetness. 

Steeped at 212 degrees Fahrenheit for 3 minutes, the tea is a lovely, light copper out of the pot (of which I've to do a hardware review on the personaliTea at a later time). The longer the tea steeps, the deeper the color - you probably don't want to let it get too past a sort of red ochre for maximum flavor. You'll hit that around 5-7 minutes of steeping. However, if you end up over-steeping it (which happens when you forget the tea bag in the pot,) the blend doesn't turn as bitter as some other teas can; it does lose coconut potency, however, and there's just the beginnings of a bit of astringent tang (most likely from the assam melody) that lodges in the back of the throat.

The blend maintains its coconut fragrance in the cup with the lightest notes of vanilla and assam melody noticeable in the background. For me, the apple pieces offer negligible flavor - the coconut and assam are too strong in comparison. Still, the tea is almost milky in feel and the blend overall manages to be a warming and yet refreshing thing. Even as the tea cools, the blend maintains its creamy, comforting taste.

Cyberman Spirits Blend By Aun-Juli Riddle

Official Description on Adagio:

Drink to the spirit of Cybermen, to the deletion of emotion, and to the free upgrade to the next level of humankind! This is a deep, warm tea with full-bodied taste and a hint of sweetness.

Ingredients: Teas: assam melody, toasted mate, cream blended with black tea, assam melody, toasted mate, natural creme flavor

My Review:

This past weekend I attended the Art of the Tardis craft faire at Clockwork Couture. I did not intend to purchase many things, but that went right out the window since there were tons of great handmade and custom items at over a dozen different booths. The Fancy Narwhal was there, with comics, stickers, and a ton of tea samples and full tea bags available. When I first arrived, the booth was terribly packed, so I elected to return later; a decision to my detriment because many of the teas had sold out by the time I went back. Still, I was able to procure a few samples, as well as a bag of Cyberman Spirits.

The initial scent is very earthy, the toasted mate evokes images of woods to mind. Steeped at approximately 195 degrees Fahrenheit for 3 minutes, the tea pours out a dark, rich brown, and the assam melody flavor is at the forefront.

As always, my first cup was completely without additions. For the strong scent of assam melody, a mouthful is surprisingly mellow with only the tiniest bit of astringent reaction. Lightly smoky, I lose almost all trace of the mate – the assam melody is absolutely the star of this blend. The only detection of any hint of cream in this is probably the sheer smoothness of the tea. There is a barely any aftertaste.

My second cup featured a generous helping of cream and a pinch of sugar. If the first cup plain I thought was smooth, this second cup was downright silky. That tiny pinch of astringent is completely nullified with the addition of dairy (seriously, I used cream because I discovered I’d actually run out of milk). I must caution against oversteeping lest that assam melody and toasted mate develop bitter overtones. I am not entirely certain I would buy this blend again, but I will certainly enjoy the bag that I have for now.

I gave this blend 3 out of 5 stars. You can purchase it here.

Official Description:

amy pond

created by: Cara McGee

Fiery, a bit tart, and ready for adventure. She's the blend that waited.

Inspired by BBC's Doctor Who, which I am in no way affiliated with. This is created purely for my own enjoyment. 

ingredients: orange, cranberry, rooibos vanilla chai

  My Review

I suppose I was expecting a bit more tartness out of the cranberry and orange? Because Amy Pond. Although, perhaps the eventual mildness exactly fits the way this spitfire of a character progressed (looking at you, Moffat). Anyway.

The cloves are most certainly the dominant feature of this tea, particular upon first sniff. I put the kettle on, and once it hit boiling, I steeped a heaping teaspoonful of tea for 4 minutes. The scent diminishes significantly though the spicy hints of clove and chai remain. 

As always, the first few cups I had without any additions. For all that initial clove-and-chai olfactory punch, the blend is surprisingly light and mellow. I could not detect any cranberry, save possibly for the slightest tang left on the tongue. Be slightly cautious of over-steeping lest the tea becomes too bitter.

I tried a cup with a splash of milk in the bottom. Perhaps it is because of the chai element, but the tea became creamier and somehow more rich in flavor. More cups will be had since I can't quite determine how I feel about this tea.

(Hello readers, I'm sorry there's been such a long time between reviews. I've had several in my draft folder for ages and I realized I needed to finish them up and start posting.)

Official Description on Adagio

loki

created by: Stephanie Rabig

What's a volatile God of Mischief to do when stuck with an abnormally cheerful roommate? Sit down with a cup of tea and plot the next bid for world domination, naturally. Given Loki's rather tart nature, apple seemed like a good choice (just don't mention the whole incident with Idunn...)

My Review

So when I purchased this tea I did it from my smart phone and so didn't really look at the $24 8 oz tin option (I thought it would be the tall round option like before) but I just went to the website and OMG THESE SQUARE TINS I CAN'T EVEN. Obviously I'm going to have to get them when I restock. And I'm going to restock, because I quite like this tea.

Ugh. Sorry. Anyway. Apparently I'm partial to teas called Loki because I kind of also really love this one (Cara McGee's is the other one I love, so minty!) This tea is full of complex, lovely apple fragrances. I just want to keep inhaling the scent, like sticking my nose in the bag like a toddler because I really enjoy the sweet aroma with an underlying bite of sour apple, clove, and ginger root.

Official Description on Adagio

donna noble

created by: Cara McGee

At first glance you may assume this tea is plain, simple and maybe not very interesting, but let it stick around for a while, and you'll discover what a comforting presence it will quickly grow to be. Inspired by BBC's Doctor Who, which I am in no way affiliated with. This is created purely for my own enjoyment. 

ingredients: irish breakfast, cinnamon, orange

My Review

Ahahaha OMG you guys I forgot I've had like 3 reviews in the drafts folder. I realize I've totally been neglecting my other Tumblr accounts (like this one) but I'm trying my best to update more frequently (though nowhere near as often as I did before the job, it's just not possible right now.) Sorry! So - on the review!

The cinnamon aroma is so inviting right out of the bag. I steeped a heaping teaspoonful for a little over four minutes at 212 degrees Fahrenheit. The cinnamon mellows out almost completely upon steeping, though there is the slightest hint leftover in the cup, dancing with the orange zest. The Irish breakfast really steps up to the plate, a good, hearty black tea, enhanced by the citrusy warmth of the cinnamon-orange combination. The more you drink, the more those two come to the fore, making it a really enjoyable cup for me (I like flavor layers.)

So! Has anyone else had some issues with tea staining pots? (Not to mention teeth, but seriously, I drink a LOT of tea.) I mean, my first ingenuiTEA is pretty bad. A friend of mine offered this cleaning solution:

- mix baking soda, salt, a bit of cleaning solvent (for dishes) and some vinegar. It doesn't say what amount; I always put  some soda in a small bowl, salt as if I'm salting a food (but a little more than for actual food), a few drops of cleaning solvent and enough vinegar so that when you mix it all together it makes a paste. So mix it so it makes a paste, then scrub the stains for a little while (I use a toothbrush for that), and then leave the paste sitting there (on the stains) for a few minutes (I usually let it be there for 10 or 15 minutes). Then wash it well with warm water; and see if it helped!

To me it did, but my stains are bad so I had to do it more times.  I did it twice so far and the stains are still kind of there, but that's because of the material - it's porcelain but rough, there's no..glaze is it? on it, so it really sticks there.

I haven't tried this yet since I have zero free time right now, but I'm totally going to try it when I have a minute.

If you try this cleaning solution, lemme know how it works out for you.