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I received a sampling of this tea as a reviewer for the Tea Review Blog.

The dry leaf is very pebble-y – like grains of sand in size, and dark, chocolate-y brown in color. It possesses a vibrant aroma – with deep earthy notes and a baked bread smell and even a distant flowery note. It smells… well, like Assam tea!

The flavor is malty – perhaps one of the maltiest Assam teas that I’ve encountered, with a strong astringency that has a clean, drying effect on the mouth. I steeped it for just 3 minutes but I’m tasting no bitterness. It has a deep baked flavor and a chewy texture. This tea has got some tooth! There is a honey-caramel sweetness to it too. It’s really delicious.

An excellent way to wake up!

An excellent Oolong. The flavor is rich and complex with layers of fruit, flower and even woodsy tones. Somewhat earthy but not heavily so.

Just lovely.

A very nice twist on the classic Earl Grey.

More citrus really amplifies the citrus-y notes of the bergamot and seem to smooth out some of the sharper-flowery notes. The Assam in this blend is really nice too, the tea is very brisk and I like the malty note together with the citrus.

This is one that I’m going to enjoy revisiting!

A very good mint green tea.

The green tea base tastes a bit like gunpowder green, it’s smooth, vegetative and a little sweet. The mint is strong, sweet, minty and crisp! The mint is the dominate flavor here but it doesn’t completely overpower the green tea base.

I thought I had tried this before today, but, I guess I hadn’t. Either that or I neglected to log it.

This smells very good, I love the nutty almond aroma of the dry leaf. The woodsy fragrance from the rooibos seems to enhance the scent… the brewed liquor smells a bit more of rooibos than it does of almonds.

This is a very decent cup of rooibos. Rooibos isn’t my favorite. I’m not a big fan of the odd sort of sweetness it offers but here, the almond flavor counteracts that a little bit and creates a very drinkable tisane. I can taste the woodsy note of the rooibos and I can taste the nutty flavor of the almond and these work well together. It would be even better if there were chocolate in this blend……

This is my “wake up” tea this morning. I have a blueberry danish in my teacup!

This is really good. (I say that a lot… I know)

The blueberry flavor dominates, but there is a smooth creamy cream cheese flavor, complete with a tangy note. It is very smooth and creamy and delicious. I brewed this one for 4 minutes, and I did detect a note of bitterness at the beginning of the cup… now that it has cooled enough to drink, the bitterness is not as obvious but it’s still there… so next time I will only steep for 3 minutes.

But even the little bit of bitterness doesn’t detract from the yummy-nummy-ness of this tea… it’s really scrumptious.

This is so YUM!

The green tea base is light and smooth. The papaya and lemongrass come together very harmoniously, both sweet in their own way, and just a hint of fruity tartness.

Very light and refreshing.

The aroma of this tea is delightful.

The flavor is good. The peach and passion fruit flavors are strong, juicy and delicious. The black tea is not real strong, but there is no detectable bitterness, and very little astringency to it.

This Oolong (Wulong) is a bit darker than a green Oolong, but not quite as dark as some of the darker (more oxidized) Oolongs… somewhere in between.

The longer oxidation results in a roasted nutty taste that I find quite alluring. It is smooth and has a pleasant mouthfeel, although it is not as thick or creamy a mouthfeel as a very green Oolong might possess.

There is a vegetative back note to this and it leaves an interesting effect on the tongue in the aftertaste – on the very back of my tongue I can feel a slight tickle/tingle that was not there before I started sipping this tea. It’s different and unusual, but not unpleasant.

This tea reminds me of a combination of Market Spice tea and a fruit tisane. It is very flavorful with a bold, spicy cinnamon flavor. Orange is the most prominent fruit, but I can also taste the peach, papaya and apple, and even a hint of the cranberry. Overall, the fruit medley is sweet, juicy and delicious, and the spices give it a really nice accent.

These flavors are quite strong, though, and do overpower the black tea a bit. I can still taste the black tea, but it is not the prominent flavor of the cup. Also not prominent is the almond. However, despite these flavor misses, I must say that this is a very delicious and creative cup of tea, and I am enjoying it.