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De-cupboarding another one. In a way it’s a shame that these are limited edition teas, because I wouldn’t say no to more of this one. It’s been serving as my morning wake-up call for quite awhile so I’ll need to find something else to replace it with. Adios amigo.

Time to de-cupboard this tea. I found that adding some honey or agave nectar really brings out the pastry flavours as well as the cinnamon. I’m glad this one was added to the permanent collection as I’d love to buy this again some time in the future.

I recently received an order of samples from auraTeas – they seem to specialize in oolong teas, but they have a good selection of chais (both herbal and tea based) as well.

I was surprised by the smokey scent that wafted up from the dry tea when I opened the packet – that mixed with the usual spicy chai scent made for an interesting combination. I brewed it up lighter than I normally would for a chai and had it without milk or sweetener so I could get a sense of what the tea itself was like.

There was still some smoke in the flavour, but not as much as the scent would suggest. The spices were mild with a slight herbal undertoneand I could pick up a touch of sweetness from the licorice root, but they were thankfully quite subtle with it. At the tail end of each sip I got the rose – lightly floral but not too perfumey. In my opinion they’ve put together a very nice blend.

Another sample from my Butiki Teas pack. I have to admit I’m a bit disappointed in this one as I expected something with ‘truffle’ in the title to taste richer and more chocolatey than it did. It might just be that I needed to steep it longer but unfortunately my sample was only enough for one cup. The raspberry flavour was strong and real, which was nice as I’ve found that many so called raspberry-flavoured teas don’t deliver. My verdict is that it’s nice but could use some work.

This is last cup I’m having of this tea as the rest is going off to a new home with Will Work For Tea. This tea is clearly made for coffee lovers among us – of which I’m not – so I think that colours my opinion of this blend somewhat. Still with a bunch of sugar and milk it’s not half bad and has a nice slightly-burned, malty flavour. Subtle it sure ain’t, though.

I received three of these in a trade though I’m afraid I forget from whom. They’re a little bit beat up so unfortunately the one I’m currently drinking lost most of its flower bits. Awe-inspiring I’m afraid this ain’t.

The tea itself is a pretty basic, rather bland black tea with some flowery jasmine notes – not something I’d write home about. However the age and condition of the tea ball could be a factor so I’m going to avoid rating this tea for now.

The dry tea smells lemony – an interesting combination of fresh lemon juice and sweet lemon candy. The green rooibos base was a good choice for this blend IMO as it already has a clean slightly citrus flavour that enhances the lemoniness. It’s maybe a little bit dull hot, but I bet it would be great iced – it’s next on my list when I make up a jug.

Smooth, soothing chamomile is definitely the focus of this blend but there are also some sweet vanilla notes that mix well with the apple/herbal flavours of the chamomile. There’s also a licorice note but it’s nice and subtle and I can smell it in the dry tea bag more than I can taste it in the brewed tea. This tea also seems to work great for relaxing me after a long day at work, which is certainly appreciated!

I love the smell of this tea, it’s raspberry but more of a confectionary flavoured with raspberries than the fruit itself. That sounds like it should come across as being artifical but it doesn’t for some reason – at least to me. The green oolong gave the blend a nice, sweet base that complimented the fruit flavour nicely. The tea is very smooth with a creamy vanilla note that together with the raspberry makes me think of raspberry truffles or something. Very yummy.

I love the fruity scent of this tea and it’s interesting to look at too, with white, green and brown leaves of varying shades. The flavours are quite a mish-mash though not an unpleasant one. There’s the nutty notes from the white teas, vegetal notes from the green teas, and toasty notes from the Formosa oolong. The fruity apricot notes are there too although I wish the tea was a bit sweeter, as I think that would accent the fruit flavours a bit better. Maybe if the blend had just a green oolong base maybe?