Gravitea

This had a very strong and really bad smell when I first opened the bag. It took me a while to pin it down, but it’s the smell of a really solid blue cheese when it’s ripe. Now, I like blue cheese, but not in my tea. The smell toned down some with steeping (and after letting the bag air out a bit) but was still present. It was easily enough to put me off the whole cup.

This one was really nice. It had a faint grassy smell to it with a lot of buttery caramel overtones. The grassy smell toned off considerably on drinking, but the caramel was still there faintly. I could drink this every day and be happy.

This was..interesting. I’m not really a fan of red teas. The dry aroma was very woodsy, almost dusty with strong hazelnut overtones. The hazelnut really popped while steeping and was present in the final liquor with a very mild flavor of the same. I was expecting a sweeter too, but had to add some agave. I can’t see myself drinking this every day – or even weekly.

A nice and delicate white. Nice flavor and bouquet. It was good…but it really didn’t stand out for me like I was expecting it to. I’d be happy to drink this every so often, but wouldn’t want to pay the premium usually associated with it.

This has a really delicate grapefruit scent dry, with it being boosted slightly when steeping. It wasn’t overpowering at all. The tea was nice and mild, like I would expect a white to be, with the very faintest of grapefruit undertones that were more pronounced on cooling.

This has a strong briny scent very reminiscent of miso soup. The flavor is about the same as the smell. Just add tofu and sliced scallions…
Not my favorite, although it would be fine to drink with dinner.

As this gets cooler, the fishy smell and taste are becoming more pronounced – to the point where I can’t finish my cup.

There was a very faint fruity smell when opening the pouch, but that disappears when steeping. The tea has a nice flavor, but no tangerine at all that I could detect. It’s not offensive by any means, but not something to get excited about either.

The smell while steeping is a bit overwhelming, but the mojito/rum smell came through fairly well along with the very strong berry smells. I let it steep for 90 sec since there’s a lot more herbal than actual green tea to the mix and it came out nice. The berry flavor is there, although I’d like more true blackberry flavor to come through, and the mojito flavor was absent. Still, it’s a nice herbal/berry mix. I added just a little agave nectar to help round out the sweetness.

I could pick up the umami as well, it made for an interesting cup. Not grassy either. Light n smooth.

Edit: had some more today, and let it cool off more. There’s an immediate light sweet note followed by the umami flavor. It’s almost meaty. The finish is crisp and peppery. I don’t think it pairs well with sweets such as cookies, but by itself or with a savory meal, it would be fantastic.