Ally928

AMAZING! I love Earl Grey and this is my new favorite! As soon as I opened the tin, I knew it was a quality tea. The leaves are huge and it was full of lavender buds.

The tea is very strong and smooth, and the lavender goes very well with the bergamont of Earl Grey. This will definitely be replacing Adagio’s Earl Grey Bravo as my go-to morning tea. And the fact that I can pick it up at my local Whole Foods instead of having to order online is the icing on the cake.

It’s good. Pretty strong too, which is what I needed the other night. It’s got a subtle maltiness from the assam, which was nice. Still, this didn’t jump out at me as being anything super special the way GM’s Sinharaja did. Don’t get me wrong, it’s a very solid tea. Just nothing out of the ordinary. I probably won’t buy a whole tin of this but I enjoyed it and it definitely hit the spot the other night.

Mmmmm!! Great combo of flavors, and very well done!

The dry leaves have a strong smell of honey. The honey is still there in the tea, but the pear flavor is more pronounced. It’s really smooth and not at all artificial tasting. Definitely needs sweetener to bring out the flavors. Just add it gradually. I over-sweetened my first cup and kinda ruined it :(

This is a very uniquely flavored tea. It’s somewhat light while still being a nice treat, just like a dessert of honey and pears would be.

This is excellent. A nice, dark, flavorful tea with such a smooth taste.

The dry leaves smell sweet, which a “bready” quality. They actually remind me a little of banana bread for some reason. These are nice, long, full dried leaves that expand and unfurl to release some great flavors.

The tea tastes nice without any sweetener, but since I prefer my black teas to be on the sweet side, I added just a touch of sugar. The dark tea has a raisin-like taste, but without being particularly fruity. After a few sips it gets sweeter (maybe it’s because the tea is cooling), with a taste like the burnt sugar crust on creme brulee. And it does this all without being overly sweet.

I’m sad I only have a sample. After I finish all my Golden Moon samples, I’ll probably order 3 pr 4 of my favorites. This is definitely on my short list.

This is really nice… I enjoyed it better than a more expensive Ti Kuan Yin tea I tried from the Chicago Tea Garden. It has an amazing floral scent to it, especially in the first steep. The overall flavor was kind of weak though. Slight sweet aftertaste, somewhat vegetable. Overall, this is an enjoyable cup of tea.

It tasted and smelled likes something familiar but it took me a whole cup to put my finger on it… root beer! Or cream soda. Problem is, I really don’t like either. I’m guessing this was the vanilla coming through because I hardly detected any jasmine.

The root beer/cream soda taste was more pronounced with sugar so I tried the second cup without. I preferred it without sugar but it still smelled like the offending soft drinks. I’m sure a lot of people would actually love a tea that tastes like cream soda. I personally just didn’t care for it.

This was my first out of the Golden Moon sample so it was pretty disappointing to start with a tea I didn’t like. I still have 30 other teas to try though — I was bound to not like a few anyway.

Hmmm… I took my time drinking this before reviewing. First couple of cups were weak so I decided to actually measure a whole tsp plus added another pinch. I got a real dark copper colored tea with a great smokey scent. I keep taking sniffs before each sip. Kind of reminds be of a fireplace that’s just gone out. This will be great when it gets colder out. The smoky flavor is more mild than it smells, which is probably a good thing. It’s got a slight malt flavor to it as well. Definitely a solid tea to pick me up in the afternoon at work.

Hmmm… I was afraid the cream/vanilla flavors wouldn’t be noticeable against the earl grey but it was a nice balance. I thought the tea was a little on the weak size overall through when I steeped the recommended 3 minutes. It was much better when I let it steep for 5 minutes like I usually do with black teas. Also, it’s not really sweet on it’s own but for some reason, a little sugar/sweetener seems to go a looong way. I had to add less than usual to keep it from tasting too sweet. Other than that, it’s a nice twist on a classic. Don’t know if I’d go out of my way to order more but I can see adding in more samples next time I order from SpecialTeas.

Hmmm… it’s taken me a little while to get a good enough feel for this tea before writing a review. The good thing was that I’ve been able to get quite a few cups out of the sample!

First off, the recommended 30 second first steep didn’t produce a strong enough taste for me. I preferred 1 1/2 – 2 minutes. Regardless of how long, the first steep is big on a wonderful floral scent but kinda weak on flavor. The second and third steeps had a much more pronounced flavor. It’s somewhat vegetal but not quite like green tea. It’s very soothing and floral. The later steeps have a nice sweetness to them too. The only thing I don’t care for much is that it has a dry finish. Other than that, very wonderful tea!

This was the first time I tried chamomile that wasn’t in crushed and bagged form – wow! My mom used to make me chamomile tea when I was a kid and I always liked the taste (I also used to put it in my hair with lemon juice to bring out highlights in the summer but that’s another story). This takes it up a notch (or three). It’s like trying Ghirardelli chocolate when all you’ve ever eaten was Hershey’s.

It tastes fresh, smells wonderful, and tastes like honey when you add a little sugar. It’s also very relaxing, especially after a stressful day at work (might not be a bad idea to start bringing it to work in that case!). Also, as with all chamomiles, it’s great at soothing an uneasy stomach so that’s always good to have on hand.

If you like bagged, grocery store chamomile, please try this. You’ll be glad you did :)

I really enjoy this one. It’s a very nice balance of mint and green tea. I was afraid it’d be too minty but it’s just right. The gun powder green tea is very smooth too. Plus the leave are fun to watch unfurl more with each steep (I usually get 3 good steeps out of this).

It’s a great refreshing tea for the afternoon. Might even be nice with sweetener if that’s your taste. I just prefer my green teas without any.

Love, love, love this tea! This is a refreshing, tropical version of the usual chai (masala) and does it very well.

In addition to the usual chai spices (cinnamon, ginger, and I think it has cloves), there is lemon grass that adds a nice brightness. Then there is more ginger than in a typical chai giving it a nice bite. The star here though is the coconut, which bring a wonderful creaminess that takes you to an exotic vacation spot. I also love that it’s real dried, unsweetened coconut shavings instead of flavoring, which can taste artificial.

This definitely needs sweetener to bring out all the flavors. I don’t usually put milk or cream in my tea but I’d love to try this with coconut milk!

I got this as a free sample with my SpecialTeas order. I wouldn’t have ordered it otherwise but was glad to try something new.

It’s… eh. I think the cardamon flavor is too strong, and I’m not a big fan of the spice anyway. The cocoa flavor comes through too, and is pretty smooth.

It’s not a terrible tea, I just don’t think it’s my taste. I might drink it when I get low on the teas I really like.

This is a nice, smooth Assam. Plenty of nice malty notes (which I love). It’s got a great creamy mouthfeel and tastes good with or without sugar. Second and third steeps have definitely vanilla notes. Very good Assam all around.

I did notice a little more of an astringent taste as the tea cooled. I might try steeping it a little less next time.

I really wanted to like this. I’m very picky about rooibos in general so that’s probably what I don’t like about this one. It’s hard to pinpoint though.

Something smells off about the dry leaves, which is probably the rooibos. The taste isn’t terrible when it’s really hot but as it starts to cool, it got harder and harder to drink. I get the “lemon chiffon” quality b/c there’s definitely a creamy/vanilla flavor with the lemon. It just has a sour flavor that reminds me of sour cream. On nachos – yum! In my tea, not so much.

Still, I think it’s ultimately the rooibos that’s ruining this for me. If you really enjoy rooibos, take this review with a grain of salt.

I love genmai cha. It’s a nice crisp, clean, almost savory contrast to the sweetened black teas I like to drink in the morning. I always need to have genmai cha on hand.

This is a really nice, smooth genmai cha. It’s close to Adagio’s, which I had been drinking, but I think it’s a more well rounded cup of tea. The dry leaves are also longer, brighter green, and have a fresher scent. I ordered 1/4 lb… great price for it too!

Amazing. The dry leaves smell so incredible. My boyfriend, who’s not into teas, was impressed with the amazing scent.

And it tastes like liquid cookies. That’s all I kept saying while drinking the first cup. It’s full of the sweet, warm taste of almonds and vanilla. Also reminds me of an almond bear claw. Or french toast! I drink this with sweetener but no milk. It’s almost as great after a second steep (slightly astringent, which isn’t present on the first steep).

This is the first ‘100’ I’ve rated on Steepster so far. I wish I had ordered more than a sample. I think I’ll be placing another order with SpecialTeas real soon (by the way, quick shipping and beautiful packaging are icing on the cake with this company).

UPDATE: I tried a 3rd steep… still has the wonderful almond flavor! I think I taste a hint of cinnamon in this 3rd steep that wasn’t there before. Yum!

I tried to like this tea but it’s just not for me. I normally don’t care for fruity teas but Teavana had several fruity samples in the store and it made me want one. On top of that, when I asked the guy behind the counter what he thought, he said he “lives off that tea all day.” Ok, sounds good to me!

First of all, there is way too much going on. You’ve got green rooibos, jasmine pearls (which seem like a waste b/c I can’t taste them), hibiscus (which I can’t stand… didn’t realize it was in here when I bought it), and a whole assortment of dried fruit.

The taste is too tart. I do sweeten some of my teas, but never very much. I felt like this needed a ton of sugar to balance the tartness. But then I was left with a super sweet tea, which just isn’t my taste.

If you like strongly fruit flavored teas, this might be nice. Just not my taste. Unfortunately I have close to 2 oz of it (I think I’m done buying from companies that don’t offer smaller quantities). If anyone is interested in a swap, let me know. Just don’t offer me anything with hibiscus! ;)

No notes yet.

I haven’t tasted other genmai cha’s and I imagine they’re all an acquired taste. The green tea used in this one is pretty strong, which I like. It helps balance the also strong taste of toasted grains. I find the toasty quality to be warming. This would be great on a cold, rainy day.

It needs no sweetener (I cant even imagine how that’d taste!) and can be re-steeped once. I’m sure the taste isn’t for everyone but personally it’s one of my favorites.

I had a couple of rooibos teas that had turned me off, so I bought this to give it another chance without spending much.

I was surprised by the strong vanilla smell for a supermarket tea. The box does list vanilla bean in the ingredients (another reason I bought it).

I don’t care for it much on it’s own but it’s lovely mixed with other teas. I like to mix it with Adagio’s White Tropics. It’s also great with peppermint tea and some sugar. The vanilla really balances out the mint.

Blech. Too much hibiscus. This tea is bright red and way too tart, but not in a lemon-y way. No thanks!

Not a fan. When I think hazelnut, I think of the rich taste of Nutella or the buttery smell of the hazelnut coffee my dad can’t start his morning without. There’s not even the tiniest note of that here. Not really sensing vanilla either. This tea tastes and smells overwhelmingly of cinnamon and cloves. I tried maybe 2-3 cups. Now the box just sits in my cupboard.

This is my go-to afternoon indulgence tea. With just a half tsp of sugar, it keeps me from snacking at work. The flavors work well together. The chocolate is more pronounced than several loose leaf teas that I have. One of my absolute favs!