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Got husband to have gaiwan session with me this morning. :) That means I didn’t have to imbibe all that caffeine by myself. Which means I can have more other teas. :D so we followed the directions on teavivre’s website. Worked well! He even poured a few steepings. :)

The tea developed beautifully. Husband’s comments were great. He said they were like burnt flowers. Which I translated to understand as smokey and floral. Haha. I thought it was smoked prunes. Tasty. But a bit savory. Like a balanced meal.

Thank you Yssah for including this sample with the Pear White from Ovation you ordered for us. :) I really like the little baggie it came in. It’s the perfect size for a sample of tea. :)

The smell is quite appealing, but I don’t know if I’d describe it as blueberries and cream. It is vaguely desserty. Tastes more like rock sugar than anything else. The tea base is quite good though. I forgot about the tea for a good 15 minutes while it steeped. No bitterness or astringency to speak of.

Bright fresh bergamot. No astringency in the otherwise nondescript tea base. Definitely a step up from dusty bitter tea bags. I can drink this without additions. Which is rare for EGs but I’ve only had them bagged before now. I actually had a packet of sugar ready just in case, but it was unnecessary. :) this is the one with a Ceylon base. I’m eager to try my sample made with a Chinese black as that is supposedly more authentic. Would be fun to set up shot glasses of all the EG samples I got and try them all back to back. No time for that at the moment though. :(

Good cup in for the morning. The bright bergamot awakens your senses and the caffeine here is gently injected into your system.

Tasty and caramely and toasted-ricey. All together it tastes like caramel popcorn. All good good things. :) This is a very balanced tea with a slightly decadent and very comforting profile. I could certainly use more teas like this!

Tasty tea! It reminds me of the flavoring used for DT’s Chocolate Orange only this is used subtly so that the tea base can work with the bright citrus and creamy decadent chocolate. :) I would say the chocolate doesn’t taste all that authentic, but it is not unbearably fake. I am a bit of a chocolate snob so it might just be me. :)

Steep tea has a bit or orange rind flavor (nice and authentic here) and still a bit or creamy chocolate, but mostly it just tastes like tea. And not a bad black tea base either. :) Worth a second steep.

Thank you for the sample!

Yum! The smell! Wow! Smells more like butterscotch than caramel but I’m not complaining. And the spice! Frank has a way with spicing.

Definitely taste pumpkin and caramel. Love the nutmeg here. It’s an under appreciated spice. Tried it with a touch of cream and sugar but I like it much better plain. Cream hides the flavors. Might be okay with just sugar? Will try next time.

Second steep has little flavoring. Tastes just like a plain black with a hint of spice. Not a bad black base. :) I’m glad I took a chance on this one.

Hmm looks like I already rated thus one. I completely forgot I had it before. Doh! That means I have two sample pouches of this open. My brain is clearly on its way to dementia.

Well it’s worth reviewing against I seem to like this tea a lot more today. It is indeed fragrant. It tastes like a sweet potato roasted over a fire. Sweet and toasty and delicious.

The first time I had this tea, I had gotten it in a swap. I think it was from Kittenna. I remember being really impressed with how juicy sweet the strawberry flavor was, and now bakery smelling the vanilla and cinnamon made the whole thing. I finally got my own pouch of this and it tastes just as good as the first time I had this. Summery strawberries are so yummy. Can’t wait for berry season to come back! And the cinnamony bakey flavor makes me think of brown sugar cinnamon biscuits…which I haven’t heard of until I just imagined it right this second. They will exist in my tummy in the near future. :) Oh! Wait! Strawberry shortcake on a brown sugar cinnamon biscuit! I am a genius!! And this tea is my muse. :) Now I really can’t wait for berry season. :)

EDIT: This tastes better cool. I suspect that it’s because the honeybush flavor subsides and lets the flavoring through. So much more juicy strawberry… mmmm. :)

I was so excited when my 52 Teas package arrived! Yay! Tea! The best thing about being home on is getting the tea the moment it lands in your mailbox. And then brewing a cup of new tea right away! Perfect timing since I was feeling cold from walking my doggies in the snow. They were not pleased. They look absolutely adorable in their jackets though. :)
http://www.flickr.com/photos/23283174@N00/8456031767/

So since I’ve been wanting this particular tea the longest, I ripped it open and dreamt of sweet malty chocolatey tea while it brewed. Unfortunately, what it really tastes like is a vaguely sweet pure honeybush. If I didn’t see the cocoa nibs in there myself, I wouldn’t believe there was any chocolate in there at all. Where’s the malt? Where’s the chocolate?! So much disappointment. :( I’ve read some people saying that a newly flavored tea needs a few weeks to begin tasting the way it’s supposed to. But even if there seems to be no flavor whatsoever? So many good reviews for this tea from the past too… I guess I can only wait a few weeks and try again. I’ll hold off rating until then.