Jude

This is the best alternative to coffee I’ve tasted. You can even brew it in your coffeemaker. Very healthy with the ramon nut added, too. Full-flavored with similar body and depth to coffee.

First coherent descriptor that came through in my head after the surprised and delighted initial “Yum!” as I leaned over to inhale the steeping cup was … Juicy Fruit gum. Kind of honeysuckle-ish but I can see where it’s grape, too, reminding me of the wild grape vine in our backyard growing up… my dog used to love it when I peeled back the tart skin and squeezed the juicy, firm sweet inner orb into her mouth on a hot day. Forgot about that preciousness until this moment, and this tea, more than 30 years later :)

The Juicy Fruit carried through from aroma to flavor, as well, much cleaner and as sweet as the gum. Second steep is every bit as good, though with a hint of astringency on the finish that could have been due to leaving it in too long, can’t say.

I love this tea, it’s setting off the pleasure receptors in my brain, big time. A big thank you to Crystal for hooking me on this smack.

It’s not bad. Has a mild astringency. Best thing about it – besides its being drinkable late night – is it nicely complements the flavor of a graham cracker with dark berry jam… its straight-ahead, no surprises flavor dances well with the jam’s sweetness, which in turn makes the cup smile.

Butterscotch: if you like it, you’ll enjoy this tea. Smells like it and tastes like it… well, like toasted butterscotch, and not quite as sweet. There’s quite a bit of flavor here, no focused attention is necessary. Also Crystal, who surprised me with this delicious gift, noted a nutty flavor as well, good call on that subtlety; I’d peg it as hazelnut.

The creamy mouthfeel continues into a lengthy aftertaste, which is quite nice… like breathing butterscotch-caramel.

I’d recommend this tea for folks like me who don’t seek out “sweet” teas but enjoy a little sweetness now and then as long as it’s not all high notes.

This would be good to use as a flavoring for more plain teas, like that nondescript black that you want to use up. So … on the 3rd steep I added some Irish Breakfast that I actually like, and the results are great. Delicious, it cut some of the sweetness and added more interest to the black tea. This would be a great satisfying Saturday breakfast tea, now, like tea with a little sweet roll on the side, without the calories. When added to another tea like this, I’d give this a 90 rating. The strength of the flavor holds up remarkably well.

Smooth and easily recognized caramel flavor, complemented/sophisticated by the pitch-perfect level of bergamot, which is subtle. I’d prefer more depth of flavor, but it is a nice, easily drinkable tea. Astringent on the finish. Thanks to Crystal for tossing this into the swap!

This is a satisfying herbal tea, comforting, in fact, though I didn’t need comforting when I drank it. So like welcoming an affectionate hug or a warm bath without having sought that out. The fruit flavors are gentle and blend wonderfully together… must be the elderflower that set it apart from other tisanes… a soft but not at all boring flavor profile. Thank you, KittyLovesTea, for the gift of an unexpected hug :)

I’m not much of a fan of fruity teas but I’m always in search of a good chocolate tea, plus I love puerh. So my expectations were guardedly high. What I found was a delightfully strawberry, not-so-much-chocolate, very light puerh. The flavor is mostly one of those small ripe strawberries, the sweet ones, rather than the lush large red ones. Unfortunately I have to search a bit for the puerh, and the chocolate is subtle and phantom-like, appearing and disappearing. Drank it nude (well, the tea was nude), but looking forward to seeing the flavor development with a little almond milk. Will also use a bit more tea next time to see if that will intensify the chocolate or the puerh.

If I had to attach one descriptive word to this tea it would be “fun.”

Thanks for the sample, Crystal, big score on this one!

My favorite aspects of this tea are its smoothness and its perfectly mild maltiness. I’m not getting smoke like a lot of y’all are. Also, I’m finding its flavor intensity more middle of the road, but maybe that’s because I enjoy stronger blacks. I agree with Joel’s take on the Assam predominance. Thanks to Crystal, for the sample.

Kind of chocolatey, a little astringent but still smooth enough. I added an extra 30% to the basket for the 2nd cup but that didn’t do much to improve its wateriness. The flavor is pleasant so I can see that it would be a good tea to blend with others but too weak and a little flat-flavored on its own. Trying it with a little almond milk only watered down the flavor, no enhancement. My quest for a satisfying chocolate tea goes on…

As the other reviewers have noted, the flavor is much milder than the fragrance. This might be a good thing, though, if, like me, you’re a little wary of the sharpness encountered with some types of chai. Coming from this viewpoint, the first sips of this were a welcome relief: good complement of flavors without any bite. It’s smooth and it has some depth. Good both with and without almond milk. Cinnamony and just barely chocolatey enough to be satisfying, unlike with other chocolate teas where I’m left thinking ‘yeah, right, where’s the chocolate?’ It’s a good low-calorie treat for a winter day!

When you use enough of this, it’s a satisfying chocolately drink, unlike pretty much every other chocolate tea I’ve tried. I’m not getting the anticipated mate flavor, though. The spiciness of the cinammon is pronounced and might be just a hair too much, but not enough to keep me from drinking it. Especially good on this first snowy day of the season in metro DC.

This is at the top of the chart for puerh, for me. Drinking it, I feel as if I’m descending into my own private cavern of meditative bliss. I wish I had more of this tea! If anyone would like to trade, please pm me!

This is a different tasting tea, for sure. I can actually see where TeaEqualsBliss is getting ravioli in the flavor. Ha! That’s a great catch. What it most reminded me of, though, is over-ripened fruit, like a banana or a peach that’s so soft and brown that it’s starting to let off an almost fermented sugar, sticky, rich sweet smell. Maybe with an edge of caramel, but more sour than caramel’s malty sweetness. I enjoyed it mostly because it’s exceedingly smooth rather than for the flavor which, while not unpleasant, wouldn’t draw me to seek this out again.

I enjoyed this but not as much as my fellow steeps, of course because I’m a hard sell with flavorings. That said, I appreciated the smoothness and subtle minty aftertaste that Lori mentioned — a bit of a tingle at the end, interesting for a tea without mint. The vanilla and honey blend well. Although it’s soft and not perfumey, the vanilla overtakes the flavor of the tea, itself. I think it’d be a better iced tea, though, as everyone mentions, and I’ll look forward to that. But I’m rating here for hot, not iced…

As always, I need to preface this by acknowledging that perfumey teas aren’t my thing. But I love vanilla and caramel, both of which are abundantly present in this tea. Just too abundant for my preference. And I’m not picking up the underlying tea flavor.

Second steep the vanilla arrives at a nicer, subtler level, so as it steamed off the pour I was looking forward to the cup, thinking my strategy next time I pull out this tea will be to give it a quick pre-steep rinse. Unfortunately, along with the perfume, the tea seems to have lost its depth and complexity. It’s got a nice fragrance but it all goes flat and ends with astringency. Tried adding almond milk as an afterthought, but that didn’t help.

I can see how folks who lean toward flavored teas would love this, because the first steep is a nice strong vanilla-caramel, and very true caramel, at that. As for me, I’ll try it again with a quick rinse.

Drinking this is a pleasure. Nice spring floral melody with mildly roasty undertones. Just astringent enough to make you want to drink more, but the astringency is tempered by the natural sweetness. In fact, I can’t imagine anyone wanting to add sweetener to this — it’s that sweet. The first feature that hits you is the great soft yet bright honeysuckle flavor, followed immediately by the surprising butteriness. Together, this rated a spontaneous ‘wow’ and a smile. Not a bad tea day! Only one caveat: if, like me, you steer away from perfumey teas, even if naturally perfumey, this might be too much for you since it was almost at my limit. It would be great to serve to guests you’re hoping to expose to great teas.

No notes yet.

I usually avoid jasmine but after drinking this tea I can totally see its appeal. This is a perfect proportional blend of flavor notes. I prefer the plain silver needle version of this tea, but this jasmine variation is no slouch. The fragrance is like that blissful inhale of a good green tie guan yin, though more pronounced, and the flavor carries it through all the way. Drinking this on an overcast day might fool you into thinking the sun is out.

Tastes natural, smooth, almost delightful. Holds its flavor well for multiple steeps.

By far the most predominant feature I picked up in this blend is the unmistakable scent of fermenting apples. Honeydew appears for an instant but then the flavor flattens out. The addition of honey took down the fermented fruit smell but still didn’t leave me with much to recommend it.

Clever way to evoke toasted marshmallows! This tea is fun to try. The lapsong is a complement rather than front forward, so folks who shy away from strong smokiness have nothing to fear here. Brewed one cup plain and another with added almond milk, which seemed to water it down rather than enhancing it. Just a little astringency on the finish. I’m picking up almond flavor, as well. Folks who are drawn to flavored teas would probably rate this much higher.

Gentle tea, well-rounded flavors. The mint is refreshing without being strong. This is perfect for folks who would enjoy a soft mint tea. The chocolate flavor is faint but does a nice job of adding an interesting depth. Thanks to KiTT for blending and sharing this. Really quite delightful, would be great iced, as well.

Soapy! I can pick out the orange but it’s buried in a strong soapy smell and flavor… I love puerh but couldn’t even finish the cup. Looking at everyone else’s reviews I’m wondering if I somehow got a bad batch.

You know when someone who’s wearing just way too much perfume walks up to you and you try to politely step back out of the cloud of it? That was my experience drinking this tea. It was overkill for me. I’ll make one more attempt using almond milk as some have suggested but I admit I’m not into a lot of flavoring, unless it’s a complement instead of brash center stage. If you don’t like perfume clouds, stay away.

I’m a dark chocolate enthusiast so I was psyched to try this, based on its name: double dark. Sounds dark, doesn’t it? Trust me, it’s not. So I initially gave it a low rating for not being dark and for being bland and watery. Put it in the recesses of my cupboard. Then, having pulled it out for a steepster swap recently I tried it again, this time with an extra long brew time, well beyond the recommended 7 minutes. Big difference. This is one of those teas that really benefit from being kept hot while steeping, and in fact it seems best off being left in the cup till the end. I like it with a little splash of almond milk and it can also take a little dash of cinnamon or shot of whatever alcohol you like with your hot chocolate. Still not double dark at all, but a nice drink on a cold day or evening.