I Just Can’t Get Enough Tea

As our financial status and physical location have grown more stable, my husband and I have noticed we spend a little more money on things we used to consider pointless indulgences. Mostly drinks. Which has led to a lot of lattes, a love of cider (which could be a whole other blog post) and a cupboard that’s so full of tea it’s about to burst.

We haven’t forgotten the early years of university, when most of our lunches consisted of cheap ramen, so I consider this is a good thing. Plus it means I get to blog about more awesome teas I’ve found, so it’s a win – win situation!

I visited with a friend in the states in mid-March and took advantage of that trip to order a second round of samples from Desert Sage Natural and Dodger Coffee Company. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to grab as much from Desert Sage Natural as I wanted, mostly due to the exchange rate (and needing to stock up on coffee). I ended up purchasing samples so I could try a wider range of teas, and to help determine what tins I want to purchase on my next order (hopefully sometime this summer *fingers crossed*).

So without further ado, here’s the news from my latest foray into tea country.

Cowabunga – A Tea for the most awesome of turtles

One day, I’d like to try all of Desert Sage Natural’s Turtle teas. They all sound brilliant, and their Donatello’s Zen is still top of my list for the next time I order a full tin. In the interests of trying a wider range of teas, I decided not to sample the whole set, but it wasn’t difficult to narrow the list. The description for Cowabunga made it irresistible. First, the star ingredient is turmeric, which I’ve recently fallen in love with. (Who knew turmeric tea could be so delicious?!) On top of that it’s paired with orange peel which, as we’ve established, is one of my favorite flavors.

This was the first tea I tore into after I got back and it didn’t disappoint. In fact, I’m actually kind of hoarding my sample until I can get more. Turmeric really is the star of this tea. It’s the first thing you taste and it lingers on your tongue when all’s said and done. I think curling up with a cup of this tea and a good book on a snowy afternoon would be the definition of divine. It helps that the turmeric and kukicha tea blend really well together. And with just a couple drops of honey, the orange makes a sweet afternote. Desert Sage describes this tea with phrases like general comforting warmth and subtle spice and that sums it up perfectly. I cannot recommend this tea enough!

Nayru’s Knowledge – Another type of geeky tea

I actually chose this tea for my husband. Blueberry is his favorite flavor and he’s not really a fan of green tea (which was an ingredient in pretty much every other tea I ordered for this particular trip). I still remember when my husband refused to drink tea at all, and I so love sharing my passion with him that I wanted at least one new blend to test together. Plus this tea sounded amazing; blueberry and coconut? Yes please!

It’s interesting to note that this is part of Desert Sage’s Triforce Tea collection, which features a tea for each of the goddesses featured in Zelda lore. I’ve never been a huge Zelda fan myself, but I am a fan of geeky things, so I’m excited to share another geeky tea. If Zelda is your thing, you should totally check out this collection!

Anyway, back to the taste! I drank this tea with a splash of milk, because I find it generally helps bring out the fruit flavors in fruity teas. My first thought after adding the milk was that this tea looks exactly like a blueberry milkshake. And you know what? It tastes like a blueberry milkshake too! I’m planning to try it chilled sometime this summer, just to carry through on this theme (I’m guessing it’s going to taste amazing). Both my husband and I really loved this tea, so I consider this a successful mission!

Archimedes Anodyne – absolutely fabulous

The last sample I chose for this order was pure indulgence on my part. I discovered genmaicha tea shortly after I ordered from Adagio for the first time. I was somewhat leery of it at first because a tea which included roasted rice seemed weird. But I try not to make judgments on anything until I try it, and I’ve actually taken to the taste. Genmaicha is the type of tea I save for when the mood strikes me, and I find every cup deeply satisfying. So I was drawn to the idea of genmaicha paired with chocolate and lavender.

My initial notes for this tea say only fabulous! Which on one hand, isn’t very helpful, since it says little about the tea itself. But on the other hand, pretty much tells you all you need to know. This tea tastes exactly the way I imagined it would. The rich cacao flavor blends perfectly with the nutty quality of the genmaicha, and the lavender pulls it all together. Incidentally, I was struck by one of those genmaicha moods this afternoon, so I’m drinking a cup of this tea as I type this. It remains fabulous!

Bonus! Adagio’s Gemini Tea

The last time I ordered from Adagio they offered to toss a free sample of zodiac tea into my order if I shared something on Facebook. What the hey, I figured, free tea is free tea! In case it isn’t obvious, I’m a Gemini, so Gemini is the blend I received.

Adagio’s site describes this tea as a light blend of white tea, rose hips and peach flavor… apricot pieces, apples and marigold petals are a colorful feast for the eyes and senses. This tea is pretty colorful and it smells fantastic. But I have to say I never tasted peach when I drank it (nor apricot, nor apple). This tea is light and creamy with a general sort of floral/fruity taste and I did enjoy it. But I also felt it lacked a strong foundation. None of the flavors really penetrated the mix, so it kind of tasted like a generic medley. Don’t get me wrong, it’s solidly okay, but I felt like it tried to be too many things at once and didn’t really end up excelling at any.

Then again, that’s a pretty apt description of my life as a Gemini, so maybe this is the most accurate zodiac blend ever. You can find your zodiac blend here; Aries certainly looks tempting!