358 Tasting Notes
Sipdown! Another one from the 12 Days of Tea pack that I am just now trying. White teas aren’t really my favorite, so while this one looked nice, I wasn’t super excited to try it. The dry leaves were really big and pretty, but I didn’t see any dried black currants in my pack. The tea liquor is a really clear pale yellow color, it almost looks like water. The flavor is really fruity and perfumey. I can’t taste the bergamot, and the black currant seems different that other black currant flavors that I’ve had, and it ends on a slightly artificial note. Not terrible by any means, but probably one that I wouldn’t purchase again.
-Dry blend has large tea leaves and twigs.
-Dry leaves smell lightly of fruit. Tea liquor aroma smells of overly sweet black currants.
-Tea liquor is clear and almost colorless.
-Soft fruit perfumey flavor with an artificial sweet finish.
-Best with sweetener.
-Fair tea. Light and fruity.
Preparation
Sadly, this tea doesn’t do much for me. I love plum flavored teas, but this one is just too light. It tastes like more of water than anything, and even adding a little sweetener doesn’t bring out any stronger flavors.
-Round natural unbleached teabag.
-Teabag smells of green tea and cinnamon. Tea liquor aroma is lightly of spiced plum.
-Tea liquor is a cloudy yellow color.
-Green tea and cinnamon flavor with a sweet plum finish.
-Best with sweetener.
-Fair tea. Hardly any flavor.
Preparation
Sipdown! I tried a cup of this over the holidays from the 12 Days of Tea and I remember liking it. Today I finished off the pack and made the boy and I two cups of tea. I love the way this one smells – very buttery and lightly of rootbeer. My fiancee claims it smells like butterscotch, but I smell more of a licorice and creamy vanilla. I’m obsessed with this flavor – it’s not like the strong, overwhelming rootbeer flavor of a soda, but a nice, soft taste with a smooth and creamy texture, and no artificialness. I’m sad to see this one go!
-Dry leaves are medium sized.
-Dry leaves smell softly of butter and licorice. Tea liquor aroma is of licorice and vanilla.
-Tea liquor is a clear orange brown color.
-Smooth licorice flavor with a creamy butter finish.
-Best with sweetener. Milk optional.
-Excellent tea. Light natural creamy rootbeer flavor.
Preparation
Hmmm. . . I’m the first one to rate another of Nina’s teas. This one smells overwhelmingly sweet when you open the packet, obviously from the passionfruit. I noticed that the black tea in this one is much like in the Hepburn blend – it’s very strong and a little bitter, in a good way. I think that in a lot of flavored teas the flavoring completely overshadows the tea base, so that you get very little actual tea flavor. It seems like Nina’s has figured out the perfect balance when adding flavoring to a tea. I love that I can still taste the black tea but that there’s a really sweet fruit flavor on top of that. The aftertaste of this tea is overwhelmingly of passionfruit, so if you enjoy that flavor this would probably be the perfect tea for you!
-Dry blend has small black tea leaves and blue and yellow flower petals.
-Dry leaves smell sweetly of passionfruit. Tea liquor aroma is of strong black tea and sweet fruit.
-Tea liquor is a clear medium brown color.
-Slightly bitter black tea flavor with a light fruity finish. Strong passionfruit aftertaste.
-Best with milk and sweetener.
-Very good tea. Overwhelming passionfruit flavor.
Preparation
A little cliche, but how could I not drink some Ripe for Romance tea on Valentine’s Day?! Truth be told, I was a little worried when I decided to drink it since I loved this tea so very much last year. I have heard so many people commenting lately that Adagio’s teas have become weak or bitter to them, and since I’ve not had it in awhile I thought “Nooooo, not my beloved Ripe for Romance!” Luckily that wasn’t the case and this tea was exactly as I remembered. This is one of the few teas that I can enjoy without added sweetener, and it’s a cup of rich, dark chocolatey goodness. Once you add the sweetener it definitely brings out the juicy raspberry flavors, and a little milk makes it so nice and creamy. Ohhhh it tastes just like taking a bite of a lovely piece of chocolate with raspberry filling! So happy to have this tea to enjoy today, I wish everyone else a wonderful day full of love and tea!
-Dry blend has medium black tea leaves with pieces of green raspberry leaves, raspberries and cocoa nibs.
-Dry leaves smell chocolatey and of sweet raspberry. Tea liquor aroma is malty and of rich chocolate.
-Tea liquor is a thick dark brown color.
-Strong dark chocolate flavor with a juicy raspberry finish.
-Best with milk and sweetener.
-Excellent tea. Perfect cup of creamy chocolate and raspberry!
Preparation
Wow, I’m the first one to rate this!? I will try to do it justice. :) I was really excited to try this tea. Orange, chocolate and cream – sounds perfect to me! The tea smells very sweetly of oranges and cream. Unsweetened, it is slightly bitter, but not in a bad way. Kind of like the way bittersweet chocolate tastes. You can taste the black tea base and the other flavors are kind of mellow. The chocolate is the least noticeable flavor, and the orange and cream comes together in a wonderful orange creamsicle way. This is a really good tea, I would love to get a full tin of it! Thank you for the sample, Sophie and Laurent!
-Dry blend has small tea leaves and twigs with pieces of orange peel.
-Dry leaves smell sweetly of orange and cream. Tea liquor aroma is chocolatey.
-Tea liquor is a clear dark brown color.
-Lightly bitter chocolate flavor with an orange cream finish.
-Best with milk and sweetener.
-Very good tea. Black tea and chocolate base with a perfect orange creamsicle flavor.
Preparation
I’m not sure what made me reach for this tea tonight, probably that it was at the front of my cupboard honestly. And I figured that with a crazy past couple of days I could use a ‘lulling’ cup of tea. I like this one, it’s not a bad tea, just a little too much ‘herby’ taste. It does have a nice floral note to it, of rose and lavender. It also gives me that nice warm feeling inside, which must be from the licorice.
-Standard teabag.
-Teabag smells sharply of lemon and orange with spicy licorice. Tea liquor aroma is floral with rose and lavender noticeable.
-Tea liquor is a thick golden yellow color.
-Light floral herb and licorice flavor with a soft citrusy finish.
-Best with sweetener.
-Good tea. Soothing cup with a warming feeling. Herb aftertaste.
Preparation
I’ve had a sample pack of this for awhile, and after having a cup I don’t know why I waited so long to try it. This is a beautiful blend with delicate petals in the prettiest shade of pink mixed in with the tea leaves. The coconut flavor really comes out if a little sweetener is added, and also once it has cooled down. It reminds me of a mounds candy bar, and just in time for valentines day!
-Dry blend has black tea leaves and small pink amaranth petals. Petals float to the top during steeping.
-Dry leaves smell of rich chocolate and coconut. Tea liquor aroma is of vanilla with a hint of chocolate.
-Tea liquor is a clear medium brown color.
-Malty vanilla flavor with a wispy coconut chocolate finish.
-Best with milk and sweetener.
-Very good tea. Chocolate covered coconut flavor.
Preparation
I had a cup of this for breakfast. It had a very nice true pumpkin flavor with a nice clovey taste, but it was just very light. The dry leaves definitely smell stronger than the tea tastes, and I just wish it had a more bold flavor. Still a nice cup, though. Thanks Ninavampi!
-Dry blend has medium size black tea leaves with pieces of cinnamon and clove.
-Dry leaves smell strongly of cloves. Tea liquor aroma is of warm cloves and cinnamon.
-Tea liquor is a clear orange brown color.
-Warm pumpkin pie flavor with a subtle cinnamon finish.
-Best with milk and sweetener.
-Good tea. Subdued flavor of real pumpkin pie.
Preparation
I really love banana-flavored foods, so even though this is a rooibos based blend and I don’t necessarily crave rooibos teas, I thought it may be good as an evening cuppa. The teabag smells really strongly of rooibos with just a little hint of chocolate and no banana whatsoever, blah. The flavor is actually more of chocolate with just a little bit of rooibos noticeable, and a nice sweet banana finish that reminds me a little of banana popsicles! I like this tea because even though it is a rooibos tea there is none of the awkward rooibos aftertaste that I despise. Hooray, this tea surprised me in a good way!
-Round natural unbleached teabag.
-Teabag smells heavily of rooibos with a hint of chocolate. Tea liquor aroma is of ripe banana and rich chocolate.
-Tea liquor is a cloudy reddish brown color.
-Chocolate and slight rooibos flavor with a sweet banana popsicle finish.
-Best with milk and sweetener.
-Very good tea. Nice banana flavor with very little rooibos aftertaste.
I forgot I had this one! Guess I better give it a shot, although I don’t know what I’ll think.
I’m excited to see what you think. I didn’t dislike it, it was just too fruity/artifically sweet for me!