Josie Jade

I am slowly losing any motivation to have a productive day. It has been pouring rain all day and I went to class, so I feel like that’s enough productivity for the day. I’m going to make a cup of this tea and have lunch and see where the day goes. . . either a nap with the pups and some reading or starting an essay for english, blah.

I had been wanting to find a good kiwi flavored black tea for awhile when I stumbled across this one at Angelina’s. I eat a kiwi almost every day for breakfast. I had a kiwi black tea before from a swap, but it wasn’t labeled, so unfortunately I wasn’t able to find the source. I like that most of Angelina’s teas that I’ve tried so far seem to be pretty good quality considering the reasonable pricing ($2.14/ounce). This tea smells very mildly of tart fruit. The flavor is more sweet than tart, and although it is a little artificial tasting it isn’t bad overall. It would probably be good iced as a summertime tea. I will probably keep searching for my perfect kiwi tea, but this one will be good to have on hand in the meantime. :)

-Dry blend has large black tea leaves and twigs with light green pieces of flower.
-Dry leaves smell mildly of tart fruit. Tea liquor aroma is of sweet kiwi.
-Tea liquor is a clear medium golden brown color.
-Slightly tart kiwi flavor with a sweet finish.
-Best with milk and sweetener.
-Good tea. Sweet juicy kiwi flavor.

Sadly, this is a sipdown. When I first got into loose leaf teas I order a lot of the sample packs from Adagio since there were so many different flavors to try. This was one of my most favorites, and I turned to it time and again. I don’t really drink Adagio teas a lot anymore, but I do still have a cupboard full that I want to rate. I am hoping that this one isn’t bitter and is just as heavenly as I remember it being! The dry leaves smell milky, like a whipped cream. Ahhh, this one is just as good as I remember. It is very creamy even before any milk is added and has the perfect whipped cream flavor. I think this is one that I will definitely be ordering more of. Just what I needed to start my day before venturing out into all of this rain!

-Medium size black tea leaves.
-Dry leaves smell of dairy, like whipped cream. Tea liquor aroma is of black tea and cream.
-Tea liquor is a clear dark brown color.
-Robust malty flavor with a sweet milky finish. Smooth and creamy mouthfeel.
-Best with milk and sweetener.
-Very good tea. Smooth whipped cream flavor.

Ugh, another Monday morning. . .This is one of those teas that has been in my cupboard for awhile, and I’ll make a cup of it every once in awhile. The smell reminds me of dried apricots, very sweet and fruity smelling. The flavor is malty (you can taste a strong black tea) and has a light pineapple finish. There is a really strong dried apricot aftertaste. This is a nice tea that is very nicely blended, but not one that I couldn’t live without, especially since there are oh so many other TRT teas that I love so much more. :)

-Dry blend has medium black tea leaves and small blue petals.
-Dry leaves smell sweetly of apricot. Tea liquor aroma is of black tea and dried fruits.
-Tea liquor is a clear dark brown color.
-Malty apricot flavor with a light pineapple finish. Strong aftertaste of dried apricots.
-Best with milk and sweetener.
-Good tea. Flavor is reminiscent of dried apricots.

My fiancee noticed this tea one time when we met for lunch at The Secret Tea Room. We decided to go with a black tea instead, since it was such a snowy winter day, but I purchased some of this to surprise him with at home. Not being much of a rooibos lover myself, I never actually made a cup of it. My mom came over for lunch one day and made a cup, and I took a sip. It has a wonderful flavor, so I decided to make a cup before bed tonight. The dry blend is very pretty, with large yellow and orange petals and large sliced almond pieces. I can detect a little of the tobacco leaf smell in the dry leaves, and the tea liquor smells like warm vanilla. The flavor of this tea is a very soft vanilla, which is very nice with a little milk and sweetener. There is almost no rooibos flavor noticeable, which I appreciate, and it may be because all of the flavors balance so well. All in all, a very nice caffeine-free tea. I’m glad the fiancee picked out this one!

-Dry blend has red rooibos leaves, yellow and orange petals and sliced almonds.
-Dry leaves smell of rooibos with creamy vanilla and a hint of tobacco leaf. Tea liquor aroma is of warm vanilla.
-Tea liquor is a clear medium reddish brown color.
-Soft vanilla flavor and finish. Little rooibos aftertaste.
-Best with milk and sweetener.
-Good tea. Creamy vanilla cup.

I was excited to see this included in the samples that Kashyap sent, since I like pears and pear flavored teas. This one smells very gingery, and there is a lot of dried ginger in the dry leaves. There is also a smell of chocolate. I don’t know if it’s just the way the black tea base smells against the ginger, but I kept smelling it over and over again trying to figure it out, maybe I am crazy and just wanting chocolate?! The flavor is mostly of ginger, but a warm ginger taste, not the spicy taste sometimes associated with it. There isn’t a lot of pear flavor noticeable, but a tiny amount of it comes out more as it cools, but not a lot. I am getting some hints of chocolate though, mainly in the aftertaste. Typically I am not a fan of ginger teas, but I like this one in spite of the absence of the pear. I’m not sure if I’ve ever seen a ginger chocolate tea before, but this combination is actually surprisingly good. It’s definitely just the cup that I needed tonight! Thank you, Kashyap, for the sample!

-Dry blend has medium black tea leaves and twigs with yellow petals, a lot of dried ginger and a few pieces of dried pear.
-Dry leaves smell strongly of ginger and black tea with a hint of chocolate. Tea liquor aroma is of warm ginger.
-Tea liquor is a clear medium brown color.
-Slightly bitter black tea flavor with a strong ginger finish. Very little pear flavor. Chocolate notes in aftertaste.
-Best with the smallest amount of milk and sweetener.
-Good tea. Mellow ginger flavor with hints of chocolate. Little pear flavor.

We woke up to cold rain and ice this morning. I am keeping my fingers crossed that my class will be cancelled so I can stay home and cuddle with the pups/kitties but it does’t look promising.

I saw this the last time I was at Angelina’s Teas and I thought I would try it since I usually enjoy the grand marnier flavor in desserts. The dry leaves smell a lot less strong than I expected, just a light citrusy aroma. The flavor reminds me more of grapefruit than orange, it has that slight tartness to it that makes your mouth pucker. Adding sweetener brings out more of the fresh, juicy orange notes. I think that adding a little milk really makes this tea just perfect, but it would probably be good iced also.

-Dry blend has large greenish-black tea leaves with yellow petals and pieces of orange peel.
-Dry leaves smell lightly of citrus. Tea liquor aroma is of malty sweet orange.
-Tea liquor is a clear reddish brown color.
-Slightly tart orange flavor with a juicy citrus finish.
-Best with milk and sweetener.
-Good tea. Tart and juicy orange flavor.

This is my last sample from Nina’s to try, and based on the reviews I’ve seen so far I’m in for a treat. It’s also my first Genmaicha – woohoo! The smell of the dry leaves is wonderful – fresh green tea and sweet kettle corn. Wow, this is really good! There’s a fresh, toasty flavor and with a little sweetener the caramel and vanilla notes come out very nicely. I love the popcornish aftertaste too! Are all Genmaichas this delicious? I’ve not found a ’can’t live without you’ green tea yet, but this one may just be in the running! Thanks Nina’s Paris for the sample!

-Dry blend has green and black tea leaves with pieces of crispy rice.
-Dry leaves smell like green tea and kettle corn. Tea liquor aroma is of buttery popcorn.
-Tea liquor is a clear dark yellow color.
-Fresh toasty flavor with a vanilla caramel finish. Nice popcorn aftertaste.
-Best with sweetener.
-Very good tea. Wonderful light caramel popcorn flavor.

I am finally getting a chance to try this sample that Kashyap sent me. This blend is interesting – the leaves are very shiny and look like they are wet. The smells is very spicy of cinnamon and it differs from your average orange spice tea in that it is really sugary sweet smelling, rather than just a natural orange flavor. Oh my goodness! This tea is really sweet. I think this is the first tea I’ve ever had that I’ve not been like, oh I’ll just add a little sweetener. I’ve been sitting here since I first smelled it thinking and thinking what the smell and the taste reminds me of and I finally got it! It’s exactly like those little cinnamon Red Hot candies. I am not really sensing a ton of orange flavor, mainly just a really spicy, burning cinnamon flavor. I’m not really sure what to even compare this to, as I haven’t had any other teas like it. It tastes more like some other type of drink rather than tea, since you really can’t taste any tea in the flavor. This tea really leaves a burning feeling all the way down your throat, eh. It does get a little more drinkable as it cools. I’m not really loving this but if you’re really into spicy cinnamon tastes this may be just for you. Thanks Kashyap for the sample!

-Dry blend has shiny wet-looking black tea leaves with pieces of orange peel.
-Dry leaves smell strongly of spicy cinnamon and sweet citrus. Tea liquor aroma is of spicy cinnamon.
-Tea liquor is a clear medium orange brown color with an oily sheen on top.
-Overwhelmingly sweet orange flavor with a strong cinnamon finish. Lingering cinnamon aftertaste that is slightly numbing.
-Best with milk only.
-Fair tea. Overpowering spiciness with no trace of tea flavor. Reminiscent of Red Hot cinnamon candies.

Another sip down! I woke up this morning very excited for tea, any tea, and this was the first one that I came across. Our indoor cat got outside late on Monday night, so we spent all day yesterday in the cold rain searching for her and putting fliers on every door/business in our area. Luckily our Greyhound found her last night just up the road from our house. Yesterday was a day with no tea and it was a sad day indeed. So this morning we decided to celebrate the return of our prodigal cat with some Lime Jello Salad.

The dry tea smells really sweet, just like a packet of dry jello mix. I didn’t see any dried pineapples in my pack, but there was a lot of white, fluffy marshmallow root. The flavor is exactly like lime jello, and adding a little sweetener brings out a small hint of the marshmallow. To me, the lime flavor is a little artificial, but lime jello tastes artificial also, so it really does live up to its name. My mom would always make me jello when I was sick as a child and she would let me drink a little of the warm jello before putting it in the fridge to set. This tea reminds me of that warm jello flavor!

-Dry blend has green tea leaves and fluffy marshmallow root.
-Dry leaves smell sugary sweet of lime jello. Tea liquor aroma is strongly of lemon-lime.
-Tea liquor is a clear medium green color.
-Citrusy lime flavor with a marshmallow lime jello finish.
-Best with sweetener.
-Good tea. Flavor is exactly like lime jello.

This tea is nicely comforting, especially on a cold winters day. It smells strongly of maple syrup, and I was worried that the blueberry flavor would be overshadowed, but it is surprisingly strong. There is a nice, lingering true blueberry taste. It reminds me of blueberry pancakes with warm maple syrup, yummy!

-Dry blend has large black tea leaves with small blue, white and yellow petals.
-Dry leaves smell strongly of sugary maple syrup and sweet blueberries. Tea liquor aroma is of malty black tea and blueberry pancakes with maple syrup.
-Tea liquor is a clear dark brown color.
-Slightly bitter maple flavor with a sweet lingering blueberry finish.
-Best with milk and sweetener.
-Very good tea. Strong blueberry flavor. Reminiscent of blueberry pancakes with warm maple syrup.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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!

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Second tea of the morning. I made stuffed french toast and turkey bacon for breakfast this morning and am trying to get through a couple of tea samples before we venture out to run some errands. The fiancee is very excited about this one, of course. I think this is a tea that would appeal to all men – there is something about chocolate chip cookies that seems to call to men, right? The tea smells chocolatey and you can instantly detect the strong black tea base that seems to be apparent in all of 52 Teas’ blends. This isn’t something that I mind in the least since I love a hearty black tea. Without anything added the tea tastes a little dull, but once milk and sweetener is added it becomes a liquid chocolate chip cookie. Probably not one that I would reach for everyday, but the flavor is certainly true to its name. Now my fiancee on the other hand is raving about this tea and swears he could drink it every day. Ha, men! Thanks Ninavampi!

-Dry blend has small black tea leaves with pieces of cacao nibs.
-Dry leaves smell chocolatey and of black tea. Tea liquor aroma is just like a warm chocolate chip cookie.
-Tea liquor is a clear medium orange brown color.
-Chocolatey cookie flavor with a sweet brown sugar finish.
-Best with milk and sweetener.
-Very good tea. Warm cookie flavor.

I’ve been wanting to try this flavor for awhile, so I was really excited to see this in the Christmas swap package that Ninavampi sent me! The dry leaves are pretty, with large tea leaves and a pretty mixture of yellow coconut slivers and blue cornflowers – it looks like confetti! The tea itself smells a little like artificial coconut, and kind of reminds me of tanning lotion. One of my favorite decaf teas (Tropics from Adagio) smells just like tanning lotion and I love it, so this isn’t necessarily a bad thing. The tea tastes nice even without anything added, and leaves a nice, toasty rum flavor in your mouth. The coconut flavor reminds me of coconut macaroons a little, or that may just be because I had some coconut macaroon ice cream last night. Although I like rum flavor, I’m typically not a brown liquor type of girl. However, I think this would the perfect Saturday night tea with a little rum and brown sugar, yum!

-Dry blend has large black tea leaves, pieces of vanilla beans, slivers of yellow coconut and blue cornflowers.
-Dry leaves smell like artificial coconut. Tea liquor aroma is of nutty coconut.
-Tea liquor is a medium orange brown color.
-Buttery malty flavor with a lingering baked coconut finish.
-Best with the smallest amount of milk and sweetener.
-Very good tea. Soft toasty coconut flavor.

This tea blend has only a few blueberries in the whole pouch, which was a little disappointing. The tea is a little bitter until sugar is added, and then it becomes a nice strong, blueberry cup. I almost didn’t add any milk, but oh once I did it became so delicious! Adding milk really perfects the flavor of this tea and brings out nice creamy notes and a fresh blueberry flavor. The blueberry flavor smells a little artificial, but the berry taste is nice enough. It’s the cream and hefty black tea that really makes this one a winner!

-Dry blend has medium size black tea leaves and a few blueberries.
-Dry leaves smell of strong black tea and sweet blueberries. Tea liquor aroma is of artificial blueberries.
-Tea liquor is a clear orange brown color with a shiny film on top.
-Soft whipped cream flavor with a strong blueberry malty finish.
-Best with milk and sweetener.
-Very good tea. Creamy with the sweetness of fresh blueberries.

I pulled this out of the cabinet tonight as I’ve had far too much caffeine today and will probably be up until the wee hours of the morning. This wasn’t bad for a bagged tea, and I would probably sip it again if it didn’t taste a little too artificial for me. It had a slight bitterness to it that reminded me of coffee, maybe a weak, watered-down coffee. I don’t love coffee, I love tea, so probably won’t be purchasing more of this one after we finish the box.

-Standard teabag.
-Teabag smells of creamy vanilla. Tea liquor aroma is of vanilla and nuts.
-Tea liquor is a thick dark brown color.
-Strong vanilla flavor with a slightly bitter finish. Nutty aftertaste.
-Best with milk and sweetener.
-Fair tea. Slightly artificial and a touch of bitterness reminiscent of coffee. Creamy mouthfeel.