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I’m not a huge fan of fruity teas, but I think strawberry is just a happy fruit for me. It’s kind of hard for me not to love it.

When I opened my pouch, I was blasted in the nose with the friendly scent of strawberry, and a gorgeous half-inch piece of freeze-dried strawberry lay on top. Mmmm…….

I decided to make an attempt to follow the brewing instructions, so I dropped the tea ball in at 165 degrees Fahrenheit. I think it’s a lost cause for me to attempt a proper steep time, though. I’m definitely getting clear notes of both strawberry and cake, although the cake tends to linger in the background for a bit while the strawberry dances up front. It steps out for the finish, though – buttery white or yellow cake that’s kind of spongy but melts a bit on your tongue with the strawberries and cream.

Speaking of cream, this one probably would taste great with milk and sugar. Maybe even with just milk. That would probably take it to dessert heights. I wish I were in the habit of doing that more often again. I never really think about it until I’m idly sipping my tea and am too lazy to get up again to put milk in it.

So, I think I might order a larger packet of this to come with my next subscription.

So, this is less of a tasting note than a brewing note, I guess. After reading this article (http://www.seriouseats.com/2015/06/how-to-make-the-best-cold-brew-iced-tea.html), I decided to try it out, and this is the tea I pulled out to try it with (don’t know if it’s the best tea for this method, but it’s what I pulled out _ ). I used a full rounded teaspoon in…. I think about a liter of water? I keep forgetting how big that pitcher is. I’ll need to re-measure it one of these days. I did use a teaball, and looking back at the article, it looks like the author left the tea leaves loose in the water, so we’ll see how this works.

I will update in the morning. :)

7/21/2015 ETA: I realize I never updated this. Sorry, life happened. I got three ~10oz cups of tea out of my pitcher. It was very refreshing, but I must admit, I lost a lot of the flavor of the pu-erh. It was there, but much harder to find than before. Also, I tried cold-brewing a pitcher of my Star Trek Earl Grey (currently my favorite EG), and got similar results – I got more flavor from the Earl Grey (the lavender and bergamot) than I did from the pu-erh, but they were still muted compared to hot-brewed. I did like having the pre-steeped tea in the fridge, because I could still enjoy it, and it was easy to just pour and move on to what I needed to do. I am going to try this with other teas – still need to try it with some lighter teas, I think. And some ithers with strong flavors. I suspect that the cold brewing will work better with…. strong-flavored teas. I don’t want to say artificially-flavored necessarily, but I think the subtle flavor variations naturally occurring in tea from different regions may get dampened to almost nothing by the cold-brewing process, and you might as well be brewing Lipton (not that there’s anything wrong with that _). It the article, it mentions that cold-brewing can shorten the distance between a decent-quality and a great quality tea, and after the two I tried (both extremely good quality, as far as I can tell), I think that might be the case, since the cold seems to wash out the variation.

Anyway, I’ll continue to experiment, and try to remember to report my results here.

This smelled beautiful as I scooped it into the teaball. Sort of earthy and floral at the same time. (I’m not normally a fan of “earthy” smells but this one worked.)

There’s a grassiness and almost butteriness to this on the first sip. As it cools, the grassiness is more pronouced, and it’s approaching bitter, but not quite hitting it. There’s just a touch of sweetness to it.

This is beautiful. It’s calming and serene. This makes me happy to sip it.

Used the tea bag version of this from the sampler I was given.

I’m smelling black tea and bergamot. :)

The taste is pretty much black tea, without much spice from the bergamot. This isn’t bad, but it’s nothing special. I don’t know if it’s the brand, or the tea bag vs. loose tea (I do tend to like the teabags themselves), but I much prefer the Star Trek Earl Grey from ThinkGeek (maybe it’s the fact that it has lavender in it, though I’ve been told that makes it a Lady Grey. Or the fact that I can see the lavender and bergamot flowers in it).

Sniffing this tea dry gave me notes of bittersweet chocolate and greenness. Steeped, it smells a bit vegetal and earthy. Very earthy. The first sip is also vegetal and earthy, but there’s the slightest hint of sugar and sweetness

So, this is my first honeybush tea. Also, this is from the new 52teas (I didn’t discover the company until the Kickstarter).

It was recommended on the package to brew the tea at 195 degrees, for 6 to ten minutes. I brewed it at a slightly lower temperature, but for a much longer period (more because of circumstance than on purpose).

So, it reminds me of a rooibos tea. At first sip, I’m not really noticing the extra flavor. It has the sort of honey-ish flavor I usually associate with rooibos, and it’s got a deep red color (seriously, I would think it was rooibos, if I didn’t know the name.

I wonder if adding milk and sugar would bring out the coconut cheesecake flavors. As I keep drinking, I do detect an undercurrent of coconut, and the tanginess I associate with cheesecake, if not a full cheesecake flavor.

This is very pleasant. I don’t know if I’d like it better with milk and sugar, but if I remember, I think next time I’ll try it. Just to see if the milk and sugar bring out the flavors more.

Mmmmmm, smells like chocolate malt with a little bit of grass.

Tastes like chocolate and malt, too. It reminds me of chocolate Horlicks or Bournvita, but without the sugar. At some point, I think I’ll want to try this one with milk and sugar. The chocolate is strong with this one. :)

This smells spicy, both just out of the bag and while steeping. The strongest flavors I’m getting from this is ginger and black peppercorns. There is something else, too – a warmer taste, like turmeric.

This reminds me of my parents’ house. If I added sugar and milk, it would be just like the tea they used to give me when I had a sore throat

So, as this one is steeping, it smells grassy, flowery. The first sip is very grassy, too, though I think I need to wait awhile longer to drink this – that first sip nearly scalded my tongue!

Ok, since my tea has been cooling all the time I was on a family phone call, it’s definitely cooled off by now. I’m getting a bitter, almost astringent flavor from this now, and just the barest hint of sweetness. I don’t know if the bitterness is part of the flavor or because of my oversteeping, but it’s a pleasant bitterness.

I really like this one. It’s my first pu-erh tea. I think I want to try some more. :)

This is probably one of my all-time favorite teas, gifted to me by a friend. I tend to save it for when I feel like I really need a little pick-me-up. And I need one tonight. The most prominent flavor I get from this is coconut, with the other spices backing it up nicely. It’s like they’re blanketed in a soft coconut layer.