Josie Jade

This tea smells just like lemonade with a warm spiciness added. I wasn’t quite sure what to expect from this tea, I don’t really know if I like cardamom or not. I know that I do like lemongrass and lemon verbena. The tea smells like a vegetal green tea with a little lemon noticeable. Without sweetener you taste a grassy flavor, followed by a tart, citrusy note. With a little sweetener added everything blends together very nicely into a perfect mix of green tea, light lemon flavors and a slight spiciness. I like that the lemon is too overwhelming, it’s more balanced. I’m happy to say that I like this tea more than I thought I would!

-Dry blend has small green tea leaves, pieces of lemongrass and cardamom pods.
-Dry leaves smell like a slightly spicy lemonade. Tea liquor aroma is of vegetal green tea with a hint of lemon.
-Tea liquor is a clear medium yellow color.
-Light grassy flavor with a subdued citrusy finish. Very subtle spicy aftertaste.
-Best with sweetener.
-Good tea. Gentle citrusy flavors with a hint of spice.

This is the tea that I sleepily reached for in my cupboard this morning. Not a tea that I drink everyday, but a nice every once in awhile tea. I didn’t really notice any peppermint in the tea, and the toffee flavor is really strong, almost a burnt toffee taste, but in a good way.

-Pyramid shaped teabag.
-Teabag smells of caramel/toffee and black tea. Tea liquor aroma is malty with a sweet rich toffee note.
-Tea liquor is a thick dark brown color.
-Almost burnt toffee flavor with a strong malty finish. Lingering toffee notes.
-Best with milk and sweetener.
-Good tea. No peppermint flavor noticeable. Creamy toffee cup when milk is added.

This tea practically leaped out to me tonight when I was looking for something out of the ordinary to sip while working on homework (exciting Friday night, huh?) The dry leaves smell wonderful, like sweet milk chocolate. The tea smells like hot chocolate, and with a little milk and just a pinch of sweetener it’s very much like sipping a nice hot cocoa. I wish it was a little more creamy, but overall it’s a nice tea treat.

-Dry blend has black tea leaves and pieces of cacao.
-Dry leaves smell like sweet milk chocolate. Tea liquor aroma is of strong hot chocolate.
-Tea liquor is a clear medium brown color.
-Heavy chocolate flavor with a sweet rich finish.
-Best with milk and the smallest amount of sweetener.
-Good tea. Heavy chocolatey dessert tea.

This is one of those teas that I purchased with such high hopes. I prefer black tea over green tea, but my fiancee likes green tea, so I thought this would be a good one to keep in our cupboard. Even he ignores it when making tea, so I’m rating and passing it along. The teabags smell like tart hibiscus and berries. The tea liquor itself actually reminds me of the warm berry filling in a pie or cobbler. Unfortunately the flavor is rather lacking. It starts off with a burst of tartness, but then this icky, musty taste with an artificiallness to it finishes. Sweetener brings out a little more berry flavor, but doesn’t disguise the yucky finish. Just blah. I even checked the bottom of the tin to make sure that it hasn’t expired, and it’s good until this upcoming June. It may be good as an iced tea, but I just don’t even like it enough to try it out.

-Round natural unbleached teabag.
-Teabag smells like tart hibiscus and berries. Tea liquor aroma is of warm berries.
-Tea liquor is a deep purple color.
-Tart flavor with a musty artificial finish.
-Best with sweetener.
-Poor tea. Nasty artificial-tasting finish.

This tea smells very lemony and has a lot pieces of lemon peel mixed in with the tea leaves. The tea smells like warm lemonade and the taste reminds me of lemon juice, and it even has that tart bite at the end. It would be a nice tea to have with breakfast in the summer, or maybe even as an iced tea. Calling all lemon lovers, this is the tea for you!

-Dry blend has small black tea leaves with plenty of pieces of lemon peel.
-Dry leaves smell like lemon juice. Tea liquor aroma is of warm lemonade.
-Tea liquor is a deep golden yellow color.
-Strong lemon flavor with a tart finish.
-Best with sweetener.
-Good tea. Reminiscent of warm lemon juice.

This tea was a nice start to the day. The little gold sugar balls in the tea leaves are pretty, and they add a shimmery sort of shine to the tea itself. I found the flavor to be a little mild, but overall very nicely of cinnamon and spice. This tea reminds me of having toast with warm butter and cinnamon and sugar. My Mom used to make this for me when I was little, and I still have it for breakfast most days of the week even now. This tea is a nice accompaniment to that! I will drink this tea again, simply for the fact that it shimmers – I love sparkly things! Luckily it does taste pretty good also.

-Dry blend has small black tea leaves and twigs with pieces of orange peel, little gold sugar balls and white sugar crystals.
-Dry leaves smell lightly of cinnamon and sugar. Tea liquor aroma is of faint cinnamon.
-Tea liquor is a shimmery clear medium orange brown color.
-Warm cinnamon clove flavor with a sugary sweet finish.
-Best with sweetener.
-Very good tea. Lightly flavored cinnamon and sugar.

I enjoyed a cup of this last night. It was my first experience with Della Terra Teas and I was excited to try one of their blends after reading so many positive reviews. I like eggnog and we always have some in our fridge every holiday season. Winter Nog appeals to me because it is one that I can enjoy at night right before bed, and what is more comforting that a cup of warm eggnog-flavored tea on a cold night!? I found that this tea was a little bland without sweetener added, and although it was smooth to begin with, adding just a little bit of milk made it even smoother. It unfortunately has that strange aftertaste that all rooibos blends seem to have, although it was a lot less than others and it seemed to go away as the cup cooled. The finish of this tea was almost like smooth, sweet caramel. A very nice tea, and perfect for a winter evening! Thanks, Cavocorax!

-Dry blend has red rooibos with white snowflake sprinkles.
-Dry blend smells of sweet eggnog with the rooibos base. Tea liquor aroma is lightly of eggnog.
-Tea liquor is a clear medium brown color.
-Mellow spice flavor with a smooth caramel-like finish.
-Best with the smallest amount of milk and sweetener.
-Very good tea. Softly flavored and reminiscent of creamy eggnog.

Another fun sample from Cavocorax! This one is interesting because it has a lot of sugary white powder in with the tea leaves. Not surprisingly, the smell is very sugary sweet also. I am not sensing much orange in the aroma, but a lot of creamsicle flavors are more vanillaish than orangey. Wow, the orange flavor in this one is definitely unexpected, but really juicy. It’s almost like biting into a fresh piece of orange. With just sweetener it tastes like orange, but if you add milk in it really brings out more of the vanilla flavors and becomes a little creamy. Thanks for sending this one, Cavocorax!

-Dry blend has small tea leaves with white sugary powder and pieces of orange rind.
-Dry leaves smell very sugary sweet. Tea liquor aroma is of vanilla and a little orange.
-Tea liquor is a medium brown color.
-Juicy orange flavor with a light vanilla finish.
-Best with milk and sweetener or just sweetener.
-Good tea. Ripe orange flavor toned down with vanilla sugar.

Cavocorax was so nice to send a package of samples and this is the first tea that I’m trying. I’ve been wanting to try this one for awhile, and just the smell of the dry leaves alone is living up to my expectations; very sweet and sugary like icing. There are cute little black and white chocolate chips and red and white sprinkles mixed in with the dry leaves. There’s just something about sprinkles that always makes me smile! The flavor is overwhelmingly sweet with a nice chocolatey finish. Adding just a touch of milk makes a very creamy and smooth cup. I’m loving this tea this morning and will be adding it to my shopping list. Thanks, Cavocorax!

-Dry blend has small black tea leaves and twigs, black and white chocolate chips and red and white sprinkles. Chocolate chips and sprinkles dissolve while steeping.
-Dry leaves smell like sweet red velvet cake. Tea liquor aroma is of rich chocolate.
-Tea liquor is a thick orange-yellow color with an oily sheen on top.
-Red velvet flavor with a lingering sweet chocolatey finish.
-Best with milk and sweetener.
-Excellent tea. Creamy and decadent.

Despite our heat being set to 74 I’m chilled and can’t seem to get warm. I’m hoping a nice cup of this tea (thanks to Serenity!) will do the trick. I’ve heard good things about Yorkshire tea and this is my first experience with it. Wow, is it strong! Even after adding milk and sweetener it is still a little bitter, and I didn’t even let it steep for the full time. Nice, strong malty flavor. I think this tea may be just what I needed tonight!

The name of this tea is so pretty that you just know that you’re in for a good cup of tea. The dry blend is very pleasing to the eye with perfect curls of white and dark chocolate. There are some full-size tea leaves in the blend also. The smell of the dry leaves is very soft, which is fitting for the ‘whisper’ in the name. The texture of the tea was a nice surprise – a little cloudy in the cup and very creamy. Although very light, the flavor is of mint with just a hint of chocolate. This is unlike any other mint tea that I’ve had and a nice change of pace. I think I’ll make my fiancee a nice, warm cup of this when he comes home – he loves mint teas and has been outside coaching soccer all day (in the snow/ice!).

-Dry blend has large whole tea leaves, broken pieces of peppermint leaves and white and black chocolate curls. The chocolate curls dissolve while steeping.
-Dry leaves smell lightly of mint and chocolate. Tea liquor aroma is vegetal and minty.
-Tea liquor is a cloudy golden yellow color.
-Soft grassy flavor with a hint of rich chocolate. Nice lingering minty finish.
-Best with sweetener.
-Very good tea. Creamy, refreshing mint tea. Sweetener brings out more of the chocolate flavors.

Another Anna Karenina tea for the book club discussion. Big thank you to Terri HarpLady for sending out samples of this one!

I knew that I would love this tea the moment that I smelled it. It has a deliciously sweet aroma, florally and a little fruity. The blend itself is very pretty with its pink and yellow rose petals and vibrant orange safflower, I think Anna herself would’ve approved of this tea based on looks alone! The flavor is nice and strong, with a sweet, jam-like flavor and a finish that reminds me of a rose perfume. It leaves a taste in your mouth almost like you’ve been drinking rose perfume, but it is so very good! This is a perfect tea if you enjoy rose flavors. Although this tea is naturally sweet on its own, I experimented with adding milk and sweetener and found that it’s best with both. The milk and sweetener somehow enhance the fruit and rose flavors together very nicely without taking anything away. I adore this tea and will certainly be purchasing some from Amazon in the near future ($8.99 for 8.8 ounces – perfect!).

-Dry blend has medium size black tea leaves, pink and yellow rose petals and orange safflower. Safflower petals unfurl and float to the top during steeping.
-Dry leaves smells sweet, florally and slightly fruity. Tea liquor aroma is malty, floral and sweet.
-Tea liquor is a clear medium brown color.
-Sweet fruity jam flavor with a rose perfume finish.
-Best with milk and sweetener.
-Excellent tea. A perfect cup of sweet rose tea!

Today is the day – Anna Karenina book and tea club discussion day! I’ve been eagerly awaiting this day since I finished the book about a week ago. This tea is so perfectly paired to the book, and the scene from the movie on the tea tin is just so pretty. I was a bit hesitant about this tea since I’m not a big fan of smokey Lapsang Souchong teas, but I LOVE rose teas so I hoped these contrasting flavors would balance out. The teabag smells only a little smokey, not overwhelmingly so, and there is a nice, strong, floral rose scent also. The tea aroma is completely of woodsmoke. I was a little sad to see that this tea takes on more of the smokey flavor than the rose flavor. The rose seems to be more noticeable in the aroma rather than in the taste, as there’s only the smallest hint of a rose flavor. All in all not a bad tea, just a very heavily smokey flavor, which is exactly as the tea is described. I hope my fellow book/tea club members found this tea to their liking!

-Round natural unbleached teabag.
-Teabag smells smokey with a rose essence. Tea liquor aroma is of woodsmoke.
-Tea liquor is a dark brown color.
-Malty woodsy flavor with a lingering smokey finish. Smallest hint of rose noticeable in the flavor.
-Best with milk and sweetener.
-Good tea. Very little rose flavor.

I’m trying to clear out my cupboard and force myself to drink and rate all the teas that I’m not too fond of so that I can pass them along to others. This tea attracted me because it’s caffeine free and it says that it’s a satisfying cup and helps curb cravings, so I thought “Oh perfect for late at night when I really want cake/ice cream/cookies/etc. but will get fat if I give in and eat them”. Unfortunately this tea tastes pretty bland in my opinion, so it’s really not much help. The teabags smell sickly sweet to me of artificial orange with a little cinnamon. The tea itself smells much better, like a warm, spicy cinnamon aroma. The tea is ok, pretty dull in flavor with not much of an aftertaste. Not a terrible tea, just not one I am likely to purchase again.

-Round natural unbleached teabag.
-Teabag smells of artificial and very sweet orange with cinnamon. Tea liquor aroma is of sweet spicy cinnamon.
-Tea liquor is a cloudy medium orange color.
-Bland orange flavor with a muted cinnamon finish.
-Best with sweetener.
-Fair tea. No bold flavors.

This is the tea of choice this morning as I need something seriously good to motivate me to get up, go to class and be productive in general for the day. This tea is interesting in that almost all of the ingredients are some form of cocoa or chocolate – yum! The teabags are very powdery with a fine, cocoa-like filling that floats up out of the tin when you open it. The Republic of Tea recommends brewing the tea for 7 minutes, and the end result is a cup of cloudy tea that smells exactly like hot cocoa. It tastes just like hot cocoa too, one you add a little milk and sweetener. If I had any mini marshmallows in the house I would throw them in the cup also. This tea takes me back to my childhood days of sipping a warm, sweet cup of hot chocolate during the winter. This has been one of my favorites for a long time and it looks like it’s time to purchase more as there is only one teabag left!

-Round natural unbleached teabag. Teabag is powdery with a fine cocoa-like filling.
-Teabag smells strongly of rich chocolate. Tea liquor aroma is exactly like hot cocoa.
-Tea liquor is a dark cloudy brown color.
-Deep dark chocolate flavor with a strong sweet cocoa finish.
-Best with milk and sweetener.
-Excellent tea. A rich creamy and satisfying cup.

Oh what a day! I had so many errands to run today and it is freezing outside (well, freezing from a Southerner’s point of view!) I arrived home, weary and chilled, to find a package from Nature’s Tea Leaf waiting for me – oh joy! I instantly decided that this Milk Black Tea would be the perfect cup of comfort to pick me up. The dry leaves smell interesting, but not in a bad way. The aroma reminds me exactly of powdered milk. I love a cup of strong black tea with a little milk and sugar, so this tea definitely appealed to me. The tea leaves are basic, small black leaves but during steeping they really expanded and filled up my little tea pot – very pretty! The tea liquor smells more sweet than the dry leaves. The flavor is very nice with a fresh milk flavor. It’s a little creamy, and the creaminess increases if you add a little milk. I added sweetener and then a little milk, which was perfect for a cold day. I think it would also be nice as a breakfast tea in the summer with just sweetener. All around a very comforting cup!

-Standard small black tea leaves.
-Dry leaves smell strongly of rich milk. Tea liquor aroma is of sweet warm milk.
-Tea liquor is a clear medium brown color.
-Sweet, fresh milk flavor with an evaporated milk finish. Slightly creamy mouthfeel.
-Best with milk and sweetener or just sweetener.
-Very good tea. Fresh and comforting cup.

I picked this one up last summer from the London Tea Room and it was my first experience with pu-erh and mate. My fiancee and I were hoping for a smooth, chocolatey flavored chai, but it wasn’t quite as we expected. I’m rating it today so I can pass it along to someone who will hopefully appreciate it more. The dry leaves smell very sharply of a spicy cocoa. The description mentions a Ayurvedic long pepper, so I am guessing this is the reason for the spicy aroma. The tea liquor is a rather thick, dark brown color with an oily sheen on top. The flavor is overwhelmingly of pepper. A little of the vanilla comes out when sweetener is added, but it is still followed up by a strong pepper taste. It honestly is like drinking liquid black pepper, bleh. I am not going to rate this one since I saw that Terri HarpLady enjoys it and I know that The London Tea Room has excellent teas. This one is just not for me!

-Dry blend is a mixture of small broken black and green leaves, pieces of bark/wood, twigs and coconut slivers.
-Dry leaves smell like sharp, spicy cocoa. Tea liquor aroma is very earthy and peppery.
-Tea liquor is a thick dark brown color with an oily sheen on top.
-Subtle cocoa flavor with an overwhelmingly strong peppery finish.
-Best with sweetener.
-Poor tea. Sweetener brings out the vanilla notes, but the primary flavor is overwhelmingly of pepper.

First tea of the day. No class today since it’s a holiday, but since I spent my snow day and the weekend reading Anna Karenina I have quite a bit of homework that I need to be doing (sigh). Hopefully with lots of tea breaks I will be able to get everything on my to-do list done! This was the first tea that I ordered from David’s Tea during the holidays and I was pretty impressed when I opened the packet. The blend is pretty, with nice big tea leaves and full-sized pieces of star anise and really large coconut flakes. It’s almost too pretty to drink (almost)! It smells like dark chocolate cocoa with a touch of sweet coconut also. The flavor is nice – not too over-the-top spicy and all of the flavors really complement each other well. I added a little milk and sweetener and that definitely pulls all of the flavors together well and creates a more creamy cup. This tea leaves a lingering licorice flavor in your mouth, lovely!

-Dry blend has large black leaves, star anise, large coconut flakes and pieces of chocolate.
-Dry leaves smell strongly of cocoa with a sweet hint of coconut. Tea liquor aroma is of spicy licorice.
-Tea liquor is a slightly cloudy medium orange color.
-Rich vanilla cocoa flavor with a somewhat spicy licorice finish.
-Best with milk and sweetener.
-Very good tea. Creamy and warming.

This tea looked really good to me when I saw it in one of Teavana’s emails. I love marzipan teas and the rose petals and candied violets decided it for me. The ingredients list rose petals, but I didn’t see any in my bag, and the only candied violets were in one large, kind of strange-looking, clump. The tea liquor smells amazing – all warm marzipan with a really nice sweet floral note. The flavor is lightly of almond and it’s the strong floral finish that leaves the most impression. I really can’t detect any cinnamon at all. Adding sweetener alone seems to only bring out an artificial over-the-top floral-sugary taste, but adding milk and sweetener brings out a more toned down floral flavor and also creates a little creaminess for the almond marzipan base. I will admit that I am a little let down by this tea, I was hoping for a bolder flavor instead of all of the fake floral notes. I don’t dislike this tea, but for the rather expensive price I probably won’t be purchasing any more.

-Dry blend has small black tea leaves, orange petals, pieces of almonds and purple candied violet pieces.
-Dry blend smells nutty, sweet and slightly floral. Tea liquor aroma is of sweet marzipan with a floral hint.
-Tea liquor is a medium orange brown color.
-Faint almond flavor with a strong floral finish.
-Best with milk and sweetener.
-Good tea. Weak almond/marzipan flavor. Floral notes are slightly artificial.

I had high hopes for this tea when I discovered it at Tin Roof Teas. I love fruit-flavored black teas and I love this tea store also. The dry leaves smell just like raspberry yogurt and the tea liquor aroma smells like warm, tart and sweet raspberries. In the past I haven’t really loved this tea, but after experimenting I’ve found that I enjoy it with just sweetener added, which enhances the berry flavor. If milk is added it brings out the creamy, yogurt flavors, which I apparently don’t enjoy as much. This tea would probably be excellent iced as well. I am surprised that I don’t love this tea more, especially since other reviews compared it to Tower of London by Harney & Sons, which I love. I think the Tower of London blend has more of a honey flavor to it, while Anna’s is obviously a yogurt flavor and that may explain my non-love for this tea. I like it, it’s enjoyable to drink (maybe just not every day), but it doesn’t compare to Tower of London in my book.

-Dry blend has black tea leaves and pieces of green raspberry leaves.
-Dry leaves smell like creamy raspberry yogurt. Tea liquor aroma is of warm, sweet raspberries.
-Tea liquor is a medium golden brown color.
-Light malty flavor with a hint of fresh raspberries. Nice, tart finish.
-Best with sweetener. (Milk brings out yogurt flavor).
-Very good tea. Nice tart raspberry flavor with the addition of sweetener.

I’ve had this tea for forever and this is my first time trying it. It was one of those teas that I was so sure of in the store that I just had to purchase it, but after getting home I would smell it and be like why did I buy this again? I used some of this in the 12 days of tea gift that I made for my Mom for Christmas and this was her most favorite out of all the teas, she absolutely loved it. The dry leaves smell overwhelmingly smokey, and I’m not quite sure if I’ll like that as a flavor or not. There is a nice hint of vanilla and berries in the smell also that makes it nice. The flavor is overwhelmingly woodsy with a very strong smokey finish. The berry and vanilla flavors come out more as the cup cools, and there is a nice tartness to the berry flavor. I just can’t get past that lingering smokiness that is left in my mouth! Although I probably will be giving the rest of this bag to my Mom, I wouldn’t mind having a mug of this tea to enjoy outside at night around the fire pit. Unfortunately we don’t use our fire pit very often, so I won’t be purchasing more any time soon!

-Dry leaves are small and black with a few dried fruit pieces.
-Dry blend smells very smokey with an undertone of berries and vanilla. Tea liquor aroma is strongly smokey.
-Tea liquor is a clear dark brown color.
-Strong, woodsy flavor with a hint of berry tartness. Lingering smokey finish.
-Best with sweetener.
-Good tea. Intense smokey flavor. Vanilla flavor becomes more pronounced as the cup cools. Sweetener enhances the nice berry flavor.

I a few samples of The Republic of Tea’s chocolate rooibos blends that I am excited to try. I have a hard time making myself switch from strong black teas to caffeine-free teas in the evening, and I am hoping that these delicious-looking blends will help. The teabag smells chocolatey and has that sweet odd scent from the rooibos. (I’m not a huge fan of rooibos, but am trying to be open minded!) The flavor is alright, it is kind of subtle. I added a little sweetener as I hoped it would enhance the sweeter flavors and also some milk as suggested, but both of these overwhelmed the tea. I was hoping for a more smooth and creamy cup. Although it’s not as good as I hoped, it’s still a nice caffeine-free cuppa for before bed, but probably one that I wouldn’t necessarily purchase a full tin of.

-Round natural unbleached teabag.
-Teabag smells of chocolate and rooibos. Tea liquor aroma is of sweet, warm red velvet cake and icing.
-Tea liquor is a deep reddish-brown color.
-Light chocolate flavor with a mellow red velvet finish.
-Best with a small amount of sweetener. (Milk overwhelms the delicate flavor.)
-Fair tea. Very thin and weak flavor. No creamy cake-like flavor as expected.

I suppose I am having my own little “Sipdown Saturday” today, in between furiously reading Anna Karenina! This tea came to me from Nicole (thank you!) and it smells heavenly. I love anything coconut flavored, and have had a few other coconut oolongs in the past that have been quite nice. This tea is very pretty in it’s dry form – nice, big olive green twisted leaves. The flavor is wonderful, nice and smooth and nutty, with a touch of natural sweetness also. It is not artificial-tasting like some coconut-flavored teas often are. This is my first experience with Queen Mary Tea, but I would certainly order from them after experiencing this tea. They have a very nice website, and their tea room looks so very cute. If I am ever in Seattle I will definitely be dropping by!

-Dry blend has large, twisted green leaves with a few twigs. Leaves unfurl during steeping to large, full-sized leaves that float to the top.
-Dry leaves smell of creamy coconut with a hint of sweetness.
-Tea liquor is a clear, pale yellow color.
-Smooth coconut flavor with a creamy mouthfeel. Lightly sweet finish.
-Best with a little sweetener.
-Very good tea. Sweetener brings out nutty flavors. Very light and satisfying.

I received this tea in the mail today from a swap with nwolf93 and am so excited to try it! It smells good – really sweet with a touch of cinnamon. I’m not the greatest fan of cinnamon, but this tea seems like it has just enough to give it a little spiciness to compliment the other flavors without it being overwhelming. I was worried to see that the tea appears to be a little thin after steeping, but the flavor is perfection – very creamy with marshmallowy goodness. David’s Tea absolutely hit the nail on the head with the flavor and name of this one! I added milk and sweetener, but this tea is so sweet by itself that it would probably be best with milk and just a little sweetener next time. I’m very happy I received this one in the mail today, as it’s a perfect tea to enjoy on a rainy day. Now if I could only build a fire inside and make some smores to go along with it!

-Dry blend has black tea leaves, lots of twigs, tiny marshmallows and pieces of brittle. Marshmallows partially dissolve during steeping.
-Dry blend smells very sweet, like vanilla icing, with a hint of cinnamon. Tea liquor aroma is of warm sugar and cinnamon.
-Tea liquor is a cloudy medium yellow color.
-Toasty with a creamy marshmallow flavor. Sugary-sweet finish.
-Best with milk and sweetener. Not much sweetener is needed.
-Very good tea. Very warming on a chilly day or as an after-dinner dessert tea.