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Post by π cahusserole π on Jan 28, 2016 23:36:26 GMT -5
I was at Lupicia last weekend to restock my supply of La Belle Epoque, and I picked up one of their lucky boxes. For $30, I got:  I priced it out, and that's $70 worth of loose teas! I've had the Momo Oolong and the Sakurambo before and really liked both of them. The only one I'm kind of iffy on is the Muscat, but I think I'll save that for the summer and use it for iced tea. |
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Post by Liz n Dicksgiving on Jan 29, 2016 9:04:56 GMT -5
I'm starting to run out of black tea, and American Tea Room sent me a 20% off coupon, so today I ordered: -Genmaicha green tea -Lychee black tea -Romanoff black tea (smoky black tea with blood orange) -Calypso black tea (black tea with pineapple and coconut) I'm stoked! That Romanoff tea sounds really fantastic. |
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Post by The Stuffingtacular She-Hulk on Jan 29, 2016 9:46:56 GMT -5
I'm starting to run out of black tea, and American Tea Room sent me a 20% off coupon, so today I ordered: -Genmaicha green tea -Lychee black tea -Romanoff black tea (smoky black tea with blood orange) -Calypso black tea (black tea with pineapple and coconut) I'm stoked! That Romanoff tea sounds really fantastic. I can't wait to try it! It sounds a lot like Russian caravan tea, which I really like, and it's the perfect season for blood oranges. I'll report back once I've tried everything. I'm really impressed with their shipping, by the way. I ordered it around 5:30 PM Eastern time and got the shipping confirmation 15 minutes later. I just went with standard USPS, but wow. Ah shit, I just remembered we actually have some blood oranges at home - I gotta make a salad with them or something soon! |
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Post by The Stuffingtacular She-Hulk on Jan 29, 2016 16:12:08 GMT -5
Huh - I just got a call from them! A customer service rep wanted to let me know that they mistakenly sent me the wrong package and that they were currently putting together my correct shipment, which should arrive a day or two after it was originally supposed to. He asked that I just refuse the first shipment, and apologized profusely.
I've never had such proactive customer service like this from any company, ever. I'm very impressed.
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Post by The Stuffingtacular She-Hulk on Feb 4, 2016 10:28:34 GMT -5
Sent back the incorrect package yesterday morning by scheduling a USPS pickup; got the correct package by the time I came home from work last night. They even sent me a generous sample of their most popular blend, Brioche.
I'm having a mug of the Romanoff tea now, because it has the highest caffeine level and I'm grumpy thanks to Wells Fargo's stupid app, but this tea is delicious and starting to chip away at my grump. It's not as smoky as I anticipated, but that's all right; too much would overpower the blood orange flavor, which isn't fake at all. It's a just a nice, strong, slightly smoky black tea with bits of dried orange peel. I did add a bit of sugar, which really opens up the orange. I like this a lot, especially for winter!
I did open the other bags out of curiosity, and my god the lychee black tea smells incredible. I know they use flavoring for that one rather than pieces of dried fruit, as I'm sure it's much easier for them to obtain/more economical, but mmmm. I might go for a cup of that later. The genmaicha looks lovely too, nice big pieces of tea and puffed and toasted rice, but doesn't smell like a bag of walnuts, which I hate in genmaicha. The Calypso blend (black tea with coconut and pineapple) smells overwhelmingly of juicy fresh pineapple, so much so that my mouth started watering. If it's as good as the coconut black tea I had last time, I'm excited.
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Post by The Stuffingtacular She-Hulk on Feb 4, 2016 12:31:28 GMT -5
Went for a cup of the lychee black tea before lunch, and wow. It tastes just as good as it smells - very close to the lychee smoothie I had this summer at my favorite Vietnamese restaurant. Very floral and fruity without being perfumey.
By the way, I do always taste new tea without sugar, and then add it in later. I like a little sugar in my tea, but I prefer to gauge its natural sweetness first before adding in anything else.
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Post by The Stuffingtacular She-Hulk on Apr 20, 2016 13:43:07 GMT -5
Bought more tea from American Tea Room!
-Marrakesh Moroccan Mint
-Tangier
-Black Mandarin
The Marrakesh Moroccan Mint is a blend of gunpowder green tea and spearmint. This is lovely and smooth, a little smoky and a little sharp, perfect for the afternoon. I haven't tried this iced yet, but it's divine hot, with and without sugar.
Tangier is a black tea with saffron and apricot, and it's light and sweet. The apricot is a flavoring rather than pieces of the fruit, but it doesn't taste artificial or fake. I've only had this hot, and it's perfect with about a teaspoon of sugar (to approximately 10 ounces of water).
Black Mandarin is a black tea with cocoa husks, blood orange peel, and vanilla beans. I've had this hot and iced and it's divine both ways - it tastes exactly like a grown-up Creamsicle.
ATR also sent me a sample of their ginger yerba matΓ©, which was spicy and sharp and delicious. I don't usually go for matΓ©, but I think I may buy some in my next order.
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Post by Liz n Dicksgiving on May 9, 2016 11:04:56 GMT -5
Being in need of a quick, easy thank you gift for a tea-drinker friend this weekend, we spotted a Capital Teas store near our hotel (we were visiting non-Hugs sister in the DC area). So we zipped in, thinking we were just getting a simple box of something bagged up already, but then we got sucked into sniffing all the blends in there. And walked out with 2 1/2 pounds of loose-leaf tea. This morning I tried the Sailor's Delight blend, with black and green tea (unspecified varieties, but whatever), and strawberry and papaya. It was summertime in a cup -- just delightful! Non-Hugs told us that a friend had recommended the store to her and she'd been skeptical, because she is also a total Todd & Holland snob. But then she happened upon one of their storefront locations one day, took a gander, and has really become hooked on a lot of their blends, flavored and otherwise. So that's my new tea story for today. |
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Trurl
Shoutbox Elitist 
Posts: 7,693
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Post by Trurl on May 12, 2016 9:06:06 GMT -5
Reading "Two Years Before the Mast", Dana says that the sailors were given tea sweetened with molasses which they called "water bewitched".
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Post by The Stuffingtacular She-Hulk on May 12, 2016 9:47:18 GMT -5
American Tea Room is offering 25% off their tea sachets through the 14th (Saturday) if you use the code TEASTOGO.
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Post by WKRP Jimmy Drop on May 17, 2016 10:52:47 GMT -5
Hey hello help plz! This local tea shop has this thing to make the tea, where they put the tea/water into a thing that looks like a mug and then when it's done steeping, they set it on top of your go-cup, release a lever or something and it all goes into the go-cup with no stray leaves? Anyone know what that's called? "Steeping mug" is not helping me.
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Post by Liz n Dicksgiving on May 17, 2016 11:00:32 GMT -5
Hey hello help plz! This local tea shop has this thing to make the tea, where they put the tea/water into a thing that looks like a mug and then when it's done steeping, they set it on top of your go-cup, release a lever or something and it all goes into the go-cup with no stray leaves? Anyone know what that's called? "Steeping mug" is not helping me. Hm, I'm not finding anything in a quick search that matches what I'm picturing from your description, but try a search with "infuser", maybe? |
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Post by WKRP Jimmy Drop on May 17, 2016 14:23:14 GMT -5
Hey hello help plz! This local tea shop has this thing to make the tea, where they put the tea/water into a thing that looks like a mug and then when it's done steeping, they set it on top of your go-cup, release a lever or something and it all goes into the go-cup with no stray leaves? Anyone know what that's called? "Steeping mug" is not helping me. Hm, I'm not finding anything in a quick search that matches what I'm picturing from your description, but try a search with "infuser", maybe? Yeah, I did that too; waaaay too many thing that are not remotely what I want. I'M AN AMERICAN; WHY SO MANY CHOICES. Actually my friend was all, "Uh, look at Teavana online or something, chowderhead(implied)", so I did, and found this thingie , which is in fact pretty much what I wanted. I was just hoping there was a specific name for that type so I could maybe find one cheaper. |
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Post by π cahusserole π on May 17, 2016 19:21:26 GMT -5
Hm, I'm not finding anything in a quick search that matches what I'm picturing from your description, but try a search with "infuser", maybe? Yeah, I did that too; waaaay too many thing that are not remotely what I want. I'M AN AMERICAN; WHY SO MANY CHOICES. Actually my friend was all, "Uh, look at Teavana online or something, chowderhead(implied)", so I did, and found this thingie , which is in fact pretty much what I wanted. I was just hoping there was a specific name for that type so I could maybe find one cheaper. My friend got me one of those Perfectea things for the holidays and IT IS AMAZING. (eta: look at ingenuitea also, those look cheaper) |
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Post by The Stuffingtacular She-Hulk on May 23, 2016 9:05:42 GMT -5
Yeah, I did that too; waaaay too many thing that are not remotely what I want. I'M AN AMERICAN; WHY SO MANY CHOICES. Actually my friend was all, "Uh, look at Teavana online or something, chowderhead(implied)", so I did, and found this thingie , which is in fact pretty much what I wanted. I was just hoping there was a specific name for that type so I could maybe find one cheaper. My friend got me one of those Perfectea things for the holidays and IT IS AMAZING. (eta: look at ingenuitea also, those look cheaper) I have an IngenuiTea from Adagio and it's awesome indeed! |
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Post by π cahusserole π on Jun 14, 2016 22:36:53 GMT -5
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Post by Dr Livingstone on Jun 15, 2016 0:21:32 GMT -5
Thanks for the tip!
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Post by The Stuffingtacular She-Hulk on Jun 16, 2016 12:59:05 GMT -5
-I don't know if I've just gotten used to it or if their source has changed, but my morning mate (Guayaki) has stopped tasting...well, like much or anything lately. Any other mate-drinkers here who'd care to recommend a new brand? I liked the American Tea Room sample of ginger yerba matΓ© so much that I went and bought some about two weeks after my last post about it. It's spicy and sharp and satisfying without being too strong and overwhelming. Plus, it packs a serious caffeine punch. |
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Post by Superb Owl π¦ on Jun 21, 2016 16:31:10 GMT -5
Similar to the infamous 'canned tomato sauce' thread, what is the best tea that I can just buy at the grocery store?
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Post by The Stuffingtacular She-Hulk on Jun 23, 2016 9:19:29 GMT -5
Similar to the infamous 'canned tomato sauce' thread, what is the best tea that I can just buy at the grocery store? Actually, I like Tazo a lot. I get their white tea with mint and lemongrass and it makes a really great iced tea. |
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Tellyfier
TI Pariah 
Unwarned and dangerous
Posts: 2,552 
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Post by Tellyfier on Jul 6, 2016 3:43:10 GMT -5
So it took more than half a year but all the fancy tea is gone.  Any recommendations on what overpriced tea to order next? |
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Post by Superb Owl π¦ on Jul 6, 2016 9:23:37 GMT -5
I think everything in our little tea thing is Tazo and Bigelow right now so I was doing alright! I will watch for Stash.
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Post by The Stuffingtacular She-Hulk on Aug 16, 2016 10:53:28 GMT -5
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Post by The Stuffingtacular She-Hulk on Oct 10, 2016 14:58:47 GMT -5
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Post by Pastafarian on Oct 13, 2016 11:34:45 GMT -5
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Post by π cahusserole π on Jan 4, 2019 9:22:08 GMT -5
And now they're closing the San Jose location at the end of January. I'm so bummed. Reading back through this thread, Liz n Dicksgiving , my mom and I LOVED the La Via del Tè tea we had at Gilli in Florence! We stopped by their retail store and picked up a few bags of loose leaf. They have a surprisingly complex English Breakfast. |
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Post by π cahusserole π on Jan 4, 2019 19:13:56 GMT -5
BOOOO! I was going to order some of the beautiful citrusy teas we loved so much from La Via del Te in Florence for Hugs for Christmas, but their website doesn't seem to allow for shipping to the US. Now we're just going to have to steep tea out of lumps of coal or something instead. Bah humbug! 3+ years later, they do ship to the US! I have no idea how expensive it is, but it is on their list of countries they will deliver to. |
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Post by WKRP Jimmy Drop on Jan 5, 2019 1:20:38 GMT -5
I forgot about this thread, but it is the perfect place to mention how the people at my local teashop judge the fuck out me when I ask for milk in my Oolong.
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Post by Liz n Dicksgiving on Jan 7, 2019 9:37:08 GMT -5
BOOOO! I was going to order some of the beautiful citrusy teas we loved so much from La Via del Te in Florence for Hugs for Christmas, but their website doesn't seem to allow for shipping to the US. Now we're just going to have to steep tea out of lumps of coal or something instead. Bah humbug! 3+ years later, they do ship to the US! I have no idea how expensive it is, but it is on their list of countries they will deliver to. !!!!!!!!!!!!! That's AWESOME news! |
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Post by Liz n Dicksgiving on Jan 7, 2019 9:37:46 GMT -5
I forgot about this thread, but it is the perfect place to mention how the people at my local teashop judge the fuck out me when I ask for milk in my Oolong. Those people can go fuck themselves. |
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