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Dry: I was surprised to see I hadn’t already reviewed this because I had it before at a restaurant and that was the reason I wanted to order it for the house. Anyhow, it is made up of short black and brown leaves (black and oolong teas). It has white tea in the ingredients also, but there are only a few silver needles in the 1.5 tsp I used along with a few twigs. It smells very fresh and lemony and obviously has a good bit of bergamot in the mix.

Steeped: Clear light brown liquor. I expected this to be darker, but I guess the oolong and white tea kept it from darkening up too much. The steeped aroma is lovely if you like citrusy scents. The bergamot and the tea come out really nicely with heat.

Taste: I am picky about Earl Grey types, but this one is pleasant and aromatic. Rich and flavorful, it is naturally sweet and light to medium-bodied with a rich lemony background. I added a dash of whole milk, which gives it a creamy dimension as well. This is a very decent breakfast cup to start the day.

This one is a sad sipdown as I really like it and will need to get more. Bright air and sparkling minerals meet soft nutty sweet notes. I wish I could describe it in more tangible terms, but it is light and lovely, like the clouds when you are laying on your back in the grass trying to decide what shape they are. I will miss you Huang Shen Mao Feng and will see you again soon. :)

This is a sipdown. I actually liked this H & S blend quite a bit, but the bottom of the bag is almost straight mint and is a bit too much this morning. I added whole milk and it is still too much, so I am diluting the tea with water. Apparently I love teas with chocolate notes, but this one was lacking for the final cuppa. Wishing in hindsight I had mixed the bag up more initially, but there were still a ton of little tiny minced mint specks that would have gone through the infuser anyway. Reducing the rating a touch, though I would drink it again if I could get it to taste like it did in the beginning.

Another sipdown. This is a nice fruity tea that lends itself well to an after dinner cuppa. With strong stone fruit notes, it is both tangy and sweet without anything added. I don’t know that I will order this again though only because Paris is my favorite fruity tea from H & S. Worth a try though if you enjoy cherries, apricots, plums, etc. and they frequently offer free shipping for orders $25 or more. Happy Thursday!

Sipdown number something or other. I honestly don’t have any good system for keeping track of anything with tea, as my cupboard is still currently exploding. Don’t tell my husband I moved his coffee for space, haha.

I still enjoyed this cup of tea, but I think after drinking two whole tins of Florence that I am ready to take a break for a little while. My husband still loves this one, and at times I do really want the hazelnut cocoa blend, but I wonder if there are other better chocolate + nut teas out there to explore. I welcome any suggestions from my tea brothers and sisters, of course. :)

I wanted to try something different this morning, so I brewed this up and added whole milk to see if it emphasized any creamy pumpkin brulee notes. I noticed that several of my other pumpkin teas were even tastier with additives. Sadly, it did not help- it was actually less flavorful unfortunately. It did smell better though- less cinnamon and other spices were breaking through. I brewed it per the bag parameters, but I am going to try it with the tea doubled before I add the milk and see what happens. That might be a project for later today before work if I can swing it because I am really wanting pumpkin today for some reason. :)

Bleh. I like green tea frequently in the afternoon, but this one just isn’t doing it for me. It is too much of a mish-mash between sweet fruity flavors and savory Sencha. It also isn’t very nutty given its name. I know this won’t be a reorder for sure, though I was surprised to see it was one of David’s best-sellers. Dropping the score down a bit because I’ve never really been able to make a truly good cup of this tea yet.

In other news, for the flavor profiles today I couldn’t find mint, muscatel, or pineapple listed. Hopefully it can be updated because those are three pretty common tastes/aromas in tea these days, ya know?

Felt like something chocolate this morning and I still have a little bit left in the bag. I can’t believe I’ve had almost 50g of this over the past year. Initially I didn’t really like it, but admittedly it has grown on me over the months to where I am actually considering buying another 50g when this one runs out soon. I still don’t care for the oily film that appears on some of David’s dessert blends, but this really is a nice minty cocoa tea with a hint of kick from the peppercorns. I like it best served with a dash of whole milk and it made quite a tasty cup this morning. 1.5 tsp to 8oz of boiling water. :)

I’ve been at work since Tuesday thanks to another winter storm (but I am home now at least). Not much to say other than nom nom nom as this is the first tea I’ve had in days. :)

Dry: Twisty oolong leaves with some silver tips. A nice pumpkin-spice fragrance. It actually smells very similar to Butiki’s Pumpkin Creme Brulee straight from the bag. Maybe a touch less bold?

Steeped: Clear amber liquor. I used slightly more than 1.5 tsp to 8oz water. Smells sweet and vaguely like pumpkin with those same subtle spice notes from the dry aroma.

Taste: I held off on reviewing this until I had tried it several times. I’ve discovered that this is a truly subtle tea. I’ve found tends to become creamier and more flavorful as it cools. Initially, there is a soft squash-meets-cinnamon flavor and a creamy background emerges later on with the lower temperature. I am not getting much in the way of vanilla or caramel and the base is very mild and pleasant. While I do enjoy playing with this one and I’m glad I was able to try it, I’ll stick with some of my other Butiki favorites.