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I bought this tea because of the lovely mango-passionfruit scent. I should have known better. The tea starts off tasting rather bitter and then morphs into a weird sort of artificial-tasting sweetness at the end of each mouthful. The only fruit flavours I’m picking up are that of blackberries (from the sweet blackberry leaves I assume). What is it with DT and putting stevia/licorice root/other sweet herbals in all their teas lately?! If you want a sweet tea just put sugar or honey in the damn tea because nothing else is going to replicate the taste accurately!

Finally finished off my tin – surprisingly this tea kept its flavour very well over the years, possibly because I kept it in a double-lidded tin the whole time. A fantastic tea (especially if you like bananas or dessert flavours) it’s perfect for drinking either with or without milk and has enough staying power for at least one resteep. 10/10 would definitely buy again.

I’m loving all these French teas in the GCTTB This one is a mild mix of chocolate and caramel flavours that pair well with a smooth base that has some nice warm, biscuity notes. This would make a nice breakfast blend as it has strength without being harsh and the flavours are pleasantly soothing. Personally I’d like a bit more chocolate, but then I’m a total chocolate fiend. ;)

Sipdown. This tea lost a lot of its flavouring over the years – not too surprising given how long I’ve had it. Despite that I still get some melon notes even if they aren’t as strong as when the tea was new.

I was rummaging through the GCTTB for something non-caffeinated when I came across this. My only real exposure to mullberry is eating the dried fruit in snack mixes and hearing my freind’s story about making herself sick from eating too many fresh ones when she was visiting Asia. A quick Google revealed that (aside from being silkworm food) white mullberry is touted as a means of helping regulate blood sugar. While I’m not one to buy into the latest ‘natural’ health fad it isn’t half bad just for drinking.

The smell is very vegetal and distinctly “green” much like an actual green tea, the flavour is actually quite tea like as well, though it’s more reminiscent of a roasted green oolong, particularly since a distinctly sweet note comes out after the brew has a chance to cool. I actually found it really enjoyable. I’d recommend this for someone who wants a drink that’s tea-like without any of the actual caffeine.

Australia isn’t typically a place that comes to mind when you think of tea, particularly such a specialized variety as hojicha. It looks a bit different in appearance from the usually Japanese hojicha – whereas those are usually a light reddish brown, these tea leaves are darker, more of a greenish black. It has the charcoal-like roasted flavour I’m used to tasting in hojicha but there’s a bit of a greener note that comes through as well. I think I’d have to compare it side by side with the Japanese tea to really pinpoint the difference but I can tell that it is different, though not drastically so. Thanks Roswell for sharing this one. :)

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Yay more French teas (seriously, where did you guys find them all?). This one has a rich, sweet bourbon vanilla scent and flavour. It’s quite strong, though since I love vanilla (I bake with it all the time) that’s hardly a problem. The description mentioned biscuity notes and I can definitely pick those up too, there’s a distinct baked goods flavour to this blend that makes me think of cookies fresh out of the oven. I’m just drinking this plain but I bet it would be awesome with milk – though to be honest the black tea base and the flavours are so smooth that it doesn’t_need_it like some blends do.

Oh The O Dor, I’ve missed you since the Urban Tea Merchant in Vancouver stopped carrying your brand. So when I saw one in the GCTTB I pounced on it (don’t worry, there’s plenty left for the rest of you guys down the line). This a pleasantly soothing herbal blend, the lime blossom and lemon verbena are both mild tranquilizers so it’s a great tea to be drinking when you want to relax. The flavour is mostly lemon verbena, a sweet, herbal sort of lemon flavour without the sour acidic tang.

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I love teas that have a bit of history attached to them and this one is an interesting blend, a mix of strawberries and mint. The mint is fairly retiring more of a mild aftertaste that lends a nice freshness to the tea. I wonder if they used wild/Canada mint (Mentha arvensis) which is a native species that grows wild in wet areas across the country and is quite nice on its own as tea (I usually find it by smell when I step on it accidentally). The strawberry flavour is nice and strong, particularly after the tea has a chance to cool. The black base is a little astringent, so this tea might be a good candidate to have with milk (although that seems a but weird with the mint).

Wow, am I really the first to review this tea? The tea population in my cupboard was getting skewed towards green and black teas so I wanted some non-caffeinated blends to balance out my options. I’ve always enjoyed 52Teas honeybush blends and this one is no exception. I taste the cardamom predominantly with the orange coming in a close second…and sunflower seeds – I know they’re supposed to taste like pistachios but to me they just taste like sunflower seeds. It’s not a bad flavour mind you, the nuttiness works really well with both the base and the other flavours…but yeah, I’m not tasting anything pistachio-like. Still the orange/cardamom combo is a really tasty one and I’d definitely consider buying more of this blend.