QueenOfTarts

I’ve been saving this little sample for the longest time and I just needed to find the right moment to enjoy it. The end of a school block is never a good time, but I’m now on spring break for a week – so it’s TEA TIME!

The scent of this tea is of rich sweet potato and milk. Oh, this smells so delicious!
Sipping… this is a solid and smooth tea. It’s definitely got that sweet potato flavor with a bit of milkiness in the background. I’m not picking up on any astringency.. it’s just smooth & soft. Quite yummy!

I’m not sure I would buy this again as it’s pretty expensive and there are other teas I like more. Sadly, I’m also not getting the “wow factor” everyone else seems to get with this tea. This was a nice treat, though. Glad to have been able to try this.

When I first saw this tea on the DavidsTea website, it didn’t interest me and actually creeped me out a little bit. It just seemed strange with all of the… popcorn… tea… flavoring… kind of like a crazy carnival in a cup.

I received a nice sample from jessiwrites (thank you so much!) and the scent was calling to me from the bag. I sniffed sweet, salty, buttery… a bit like yogurt-covered pretzels (a huge love of mine — the perfect combination of sweet, creamy, salty). Once steeped, I became a little hesitant to sip because it smells like buttered popcorn jelly beans and I strongly dislike buttered popcorn jelly beans. Actual buttered popcorn is perfectly fine with me & is often my companion at the movies. Bringing my nose to the cup again.. I get caramel corn. Not so bad! Let’s give this a try.

Sipping… the sweetness is the first thing that I taste. It’s followed by a rather savory, almost salty note. Yep, it’s very much like caramel corn.. but in tea-form. There is also a bit of apple — I’m thinking Granny Smith as it’s rather tart. The apple balances out the sweetness pretty well and keeps things interesting. The more I sip, the more everything comes together. Caramel, tart apple, salted popcorn. The tea does finish on an artificial note, sadly.

I’m happy that I was able to try this tea. It’s definitely an original and interesting treat for the taste buds.

This afternoon I had a sudden and overwhelming craving for chocolate. That typically doesn’t happen to me all that often. Even though I had a few squares of chocolate already, I thought that it was about time that I tried this tea. I received it a while ago and just didn’t think that there had been a time that was appropriate to drink this blend.

I was so happy to see that there truly are large curls of chocolate amongst the oolong leaves! Sometimes tea photos are misleading in that they show all of these great ingredients and the actual tea never ends up looking like what was advertised. This tea is a real exception to some of my experience. I would almost say that there is an equal amount of chocolate curls to oolong leaves!

The scent is of a toasty, almost green oolong with just a touch of chocolate in the background. It’s surprising that the oolong steps up to the front after all of that chocolate has melted!

Sipping… What I get first is a very toasty, dark oolong. I do prefer greener oolongs, but this one is not too bad. I was at first disappointed to taste just the rather vegetal roasted oolong, but as I sip I do get a bit of creamy white chocolate. It’s not very pronounced, so you do have to look for it. As I get down to the bottom of the cup, I taste something rather milky and a bit like hot chocolate. It’s not milky so much in texture as it is in flavor. I like it!

I did enjoy this cup of tea, but I wish there could be more of the milky hot chocolate bit and a bit less of the toasted flavor. I would be interested in seeing how this tea would taste with a different base. Thank you very much to Nature’s Tea Leaf for a sample!

I’m not sure why I didn’t buy this blend when it first popped up. I had immediate regret after reading all of the yummy reviews. I realized that I HAD to try some and see what the talk is all about. Yssah generously shared a sample with me and this is my cup of choice this afternoon! Thank you!

Sipping… I detect a rather smooth and subtle tea. It’s primarily a black tea base followed by a whisper of blueberry. Darn. I was really looking forward to some of that cream cheese/pastry flavor as well! It seems like my tastebuds either hit the mark with 52 Teas blends or they completely miss. Now, this isn’t a bad tea… but it seems to be just a subtle blueberry black tea. I still have about a cup’s worth left to try and coax out more of the creamy danish flavor.

I wish I knew why I have such a strong attraction to lemon teas. They just really hit the spot! Lately I’ve been drinking a lot of lemon myrtle and lemon meringue teas, but I thought that I would try this one tonight. I’ve noticed that the dry leaf smells very lemony, earthy and much less sweet than any lemon dessert teas. Hm.. this might be a nice change!

After water has been added, the scent is much more earthy and a lot less lemony. I’m not sure how I feel about that… It reminds me a lot of plain lemon myrtle without rooibos, lemon grass or lemon peel.

Sipping… I’m glad that the flavor is not as earthy as the scent. It’s definitely not sweet and desserty, but more savory. The general flavor is something like a blend of herbs.. Not very specific.. but a bit like Celestial Seasoning’s Sleepy Time tea. I can’t pick out much anything in particular, but I seem to taste a bit of a jumble. My tongue tastes chamomile, lemon and hay.

This tea, while not my favorite, feels appropriate for night time — it’s very soothing and relaxing.

I wanted to choose something special for my Valentine’s Day cup of tea. This one seemed very appropriate with the white chocolate curls and roses. I’m watching the snow fall after just making a big batch of chocolate chip cookies.. and have now cozied up to write this note.

The dry leaf reminds me of my childhood. I’m really not sure why, but I think it has to do with those plastic dolls/toys that were supposed to smell like roses or flowers. It’s not that it’s artificial, but just that it’s very ROSE scented. It brews up a very dark & mysterious liquor.

Sipping… I’m actually surprised by how much I like this tea. The strongest flavor is the rose, but it’s very gentle and smooth. Some rose teas are too strong, too much like the flowers were just picked and their very souls were concentrated. This one is nice and sweet and actually offers a nice balance between rose and black tea by the end of the sip. It’s quite astringent at the end, but I think this could be fixed with some sugar or maybe some milk. I’m disappointed that I can’t pick up on the white chocolate at all. It’s almost like those curls were never there. I wish that I could bring out the white chocolate more as it would be a lovely addition to this romantic blend.

I couldn’t have picked a better tea for today. It has everything a Valentine’s Day cup of tea should have. I will be picking more of this up in the future when I’ve worked my way through more of my tea collection.

I love lemon teas especially in the evening. I don’t know why, but I often crave lemon teas after dinner. The lemon teas I’ve had in the past have been lemon meringue or lemon pie or lemon tart — something a bit more creamy and less like actual lemon right off the branch. I saw that DavidsTea offered this herbal so I bought it in hopes of drinking something super lemony without the dessert frills.

The smell of this tea is strong lemon, but with something grassy or herbal in the background. It reminds me a little bit of the zoo… the grass, the dung, the animals… I don’t know, but I’m definitely picturing the zoo. It won’t stop me from taking the first sip.. but the image of the elephant house remains in my head.

Sipping… I’m rather surprised to be getting a smooth and sweet lemon flavor. I was expecting it to be more tart, but it seems to be naturally sweet on its own. The finish is very herbal, a bit like dried leaves. There is the smallest bit of the funky zoo flavor at the end. I like that this tea is lemony and sweet, but as it’s similar to (and not as good as) the dessert tea blends I have, I don’t think I’ll buy any more.

I have two favorite pies in this world. The first is pumpkin and the second (and tied with the first) is apple. I love apple pie.. the sweet apples, cinnamon, flaky crust. Mmmm! A big slice sounds just perfect for this evening.

This tea smells like an incredibly tart bunch of apples. I immediately thought of Jolly Ranchers and became worried that it would just be apple Jolly Rancher candies. Beyond the apples there is an unmistakable buttery pie crust. How in the world did DavidsTea create this incredibly accurate apple pie scent? At this point I’m hoping that all of this wonderful scent translates to the taste.

Sipping… like most of DavidsTeas blends, the brewed tea is not quite as strong as the scent. I mostly taste watery applesauce with cinnamon. There is a little bit of that pie crust flavor at the end of the sip. This tea leaves a bit of an artificial aftertaste in my mouth, but I’m enjoying the apple pie flavor too much to really care. Could the flavors be stronger? Yes, absolutely.. but is this a good apple tea? Yes!

It has just started snowing here — lovely fluffy snowflakes! A cup of black tea is calling to me and this one seemed most appropriate. I actually don’t get much of a scent from the dry leaves. It’s a little surprising since I was expecting something a little sweet or perhaps spicy.

Sipping… Well, I’m not getting very much flavor at all. It’s a nice black tea with that mouth & throat drying aspect. There is a very slight sweetness in the background, but mostly it’s just the black tea base. My experience with chestnut teas says that the drying black tea actually lends itself to the chestnut texture. But in this case, where is the chestnut? The Vanilla? The texture is all there, but not the flavor.

I hope to figure out how to bring out more flavor because I’m not too impressed with this cup.

The first time I drank this tea I was so impressed and since then I haven’t really managed to make the same tasty cup. I decided to give it another try this evening. There have been just a few teas that have offered significantly different cups than when I first drank them. I always wonder how I happen to miss what seem like obvious flavors.

Sipping… this tea has lost all of its curious fruity notes (from my very first cup of this tea) and now tastes.. richer? There is a rather flat sweet flavor followed by something that reminds me of cinnamon or some kind of a spice. The end of the sip is strange because it gives you that nice custard-like mouthfeel, but also something pretty artificial. I don’t taste creme brûlée, sadly. Wish this blend could pull through as creme brûlée is one of my favorite desserts to eat! I usually don’t mind things that are slightly artificial, but this one is a bit too fake-tasting for me. I’m sad about lowering the rating on this tea, but it’s not for me.

I’ve had so much of this tea and haven’t written a tasting note yet! The scent is beautiful, buttery and sweet. Plus, melon teas have a special place in my heart.

Sipping, this is a very mellow blend. I was expecting something a bit stronger, but it’s still pleasant. The melon is subtle and is dominated by the rather buttery white tea. I like this tea base because it lends a bit of a bitter melon rind flavor to the end of the sip. It feels very full and thick as well. Very delicious!

I only wish that this tea could be with even MORE of that juicy melon flavor. Yes, it’s yummy, but I want more delicious melon!

Mmm.. I can already tell that this is going to be a good rooibos tea. You know I have a favorite kind of rooibos tea base.. a bit like sweet wood with none of the medicinal scent or flavor. This blend has that delicious base and I can’t wait to drink it! It smells creamy and very much like other creme caramel rooibos blends I’ve had.

Sipping… I don’t taste any eggnog or anything that really resembles eggnog. I don’t even detect the spices. This tea seems to be all about the rooibos with a very generic, sweet finish. I’m a little disappointed that there is no eggnog flavor, but this cup is still very tasty since the rooibos seems to be of great quality and flavor on its own.

Hopefully I’ll figure out a way to enhance the eggnog flavor. I haven’t given up on it yet! Thank you, ToiToi for sharing this tea!

Wow.. you know those teas that explode and blossom on your tongue? This is absolutely one of those teas. I really wasn’t expecting to get such an intense flavor.. but I’m really enjoying it!

Wow.. you know those teas that explode and blossom on your tongue? This is absolutely one of those teas. I really wasn’t expecting to get such an intense flavor.. but I’m really enjoying it!The smell of the brewed tea is of cinnamon with oolong and a light dusting of fruit, a bit like a raisin. If I judged a tea based alone on its smell, this one probably wouldn’t one of my favorites. It’s just a little bit bizarre and very musky… on the verge of being like smelly feet?

Sipping… there are so many layers to this tea! What I notice first is the vanilla bean and the fruit, followed closely by a very warming cinnamon note. Cinnamon and I don’t typically mix, but I can handle it in this tea because it’s not explicitly cinnamon, more of a warm feeling on the tongue.

The more I drink this tea, the more I think it tastes almost like a fruity shortbread cookie. I say shortbread because it’s a little drying in the same way a lightly sweetened shortbread cookie dries out the mouth, not because it’s buttery. While I don’t think this cup is too sweet, it does satisfy any craving I have for cookies or candies. The musky smell does find its way into the aftertaste… and I can’t put my finger on it, but it’s kind of funky tasting.

I really love the layers that are present in the tea, as strange they might be together. I wish that the musk could be removed from this blend as I think everything else works very well together.

Thank you so much, Azzrian, for sharing some of this blend with me! What a nice treat!

I haven’t had the best of luck with Della Terra Teas. I’m saddened by this because I do enjoy drinking flavored teas, especially the types of dessert teas that Della Terra Teas makes… but I really haven’t been that impressed or amazed by any of the blends. I want to love them, but they just don’t sit well with my taste buds.

It’s freezing out today. No falling snow, but some still caked on car windshields, rooftops, sidewalks. I’ve been spending the last of my winter break by being the ultimate couch potato, truly. I need a tea that is comforting and tasty. I still have hope that I’m not completely done with Della Terra Teas… so I picked oatmeal raisin cookie.

I love oatmeal cookies – with and without the raisins. I usually don’t like raisins in baked things, but they seem like they were born to be in an oatmeal cookie. Perhaps I’ll make a batch this week…

The dry leaf smells oddly like a candle… and tea shouldn’t smell like a candle unless it makes up for the odd scent in flavor. After the tea has steeped.. I’m still smelling a cinnamon bakery candle. It’s not terrible and actually seems a bit toned down from my first whiff. Cinnamon is the strongest followed closely by something crusty and baked.

Sipping…. cinnamon with something artificial in the background. Yep, I’m just tasting watery cinnamon tea. Bummer. The scent seemed promising, but I don’t taste cookies or brown sugar or oatmeal. It’s very much a one note cinnamon candle tea for me.

It’s too bad that I haven’t been able to taste what everyone else is tasting. Oh well, more tea left for those who love these blends!

I’m very eager to drink this tea as apparently it has a great cakey flavor. The scent is almost like a maple syrup with something in the background that’s a little like pancakes.

Sipping…. I’m tasting more caramel than anything. It’s not like other caramel teas I’ve had as this one tastes a little bit burnt. It’s almost like burned caramel with maple syrup drizzled on top. Ew.

I’ve never had pineapple upside down cake so I’m not sure what this tea is supposed to taste like.. I really don’t taste much pineapple at all and I’m disappointed that I am tasting caramel instead of cake. It’s certainly drinkable, but the flavor is getting to be overwhelming.

Wow, the scent of this tea after water has been added is of pure, sugary blueberry! I love blueberries, but find that blueberry flavored things can get a little weird if they’re not done correctly. As it steeps, I’m detecting more of the hibiscus.

The color of the tea is like a raspberry, almost blood red. I’m sure it would be beautiful poured over ice! Sipping… Hmm… there are some nice flavors here, but it’s ruined by the stevia. The hibiscus is tart and the blueberry is soft and sweet. There is that lingering aftertaste of stevia that just makes this not too pleasant.

You know those teas that are drinkable if you kind of gulp them down and don’t really “taste” them? This tea is one of those, I think. It’s palatable until the end of the sip with that lingering aftertaste. It’s a shame because the blueberry flavor is just right & the hibiscus isn’t too strong.

I have had many cups of this tea, but haven’t actually logged it yet. I had actually missed the original release of this tea and the reblend as well. I thought my chance to try it was gone, but thanks to the lovely Rachel Sincere, I was able to happily drink this blend.

In short, I don’t think that this tea is exactly like a marshmallow treat, but it is very, very yummy. What I notice first is the toasted rice against the green tea. I usually don’t like roasty teas, but this is the perfect amount. The green tea base is smooth and not too grassy. The initial toasty flavor changes into a wonderful sweetness… very much like a marshmallow in that it tastes almost like pure sugar. All it needs is that fluffy character and it’d be just like a marshmallow.

I think that this tea is one of 52Teas’ best. I hope that it pops back up on the website again in the future. Thank you, Rachel Sincere, for sharing this tea with me!

[Backlog] – I can’t believe that I almost bought a lot of this tea. I saw it and was thinking about it.. but settled on a smaller size instead. All I can say is that I’m happy I didn’t buy more. The dry leaf and the brewed tea itself smelled exactly like cherry cough syrup. The cherry medicine flavor smothered the chocolate notes and eventually, I couldn’t even take one more sip. I’m sure that the black tea base is tasty, but my nose and tongue couldn’t get beyond that cloying, sickly, medicinal cherry.

[Backlog] – I thought that this would be a simple black eggnog tea to have on hand during the winter. I wanted something creamy and smooth with that signature eggnog flavor. The dry teabag smelled promising, but once water was added, I lost all of that eggnog essence.

I tasted much more black tea and spice. It was actually more like a cinnamon bun tea. It needed a bit of milk and possibly some sugar to make it drinkable.

I am disappointed that this wasn’t a very good eggnog tea for me, but am happy to have tried it.

This tea smells so yummy! At first the scent reminded me of bubble gum, but then I realized that it smells like those sugary fruit instant oatmeal packets. I can’t really detect the individual fruits… it’s more like a big blob of mixed fruits: strawberry, mango, orange, peach?

Sipping… wow, the fruits really come to the front of the cup! It’s a little bit tart and sweet with beautiful tropical flavors. With all of these fruits flying around, it’s very easy to forget about the green tea itself. It’s there, though, and adds a faint grassy note. I like how this tea prickles the tongue in the same way citrus fruits do. I almost think that all of the flavor fades quickly, but it actually lingers in the mouth for a good while.

This is a very delicious, very fruity tea. It borders on being a little bit like fruity bubble gum, but it’s still something fun to drink when you’re in the mood for an interesting tea!

I’ve had quite a few cups of this tea and haven’t written a tasting note yet. This is my very last cup since I’m all out… so time to write a note! I love flavored oolongs and although I tend to like the creamier ones, this is a refreshing change.

I taste pulpy and sweet strawberries — a bit like the strawberries found in a jam. It seems like there could almost be seeds in this tea given how authentic the fruit flavor is. It blends very well with the green oolong base. The oolong itself actually takes over by the end of the sip, but it’s actually a nice end to the strawberry note. It’s a leafy kind of finish that is almost buttery, but not quite.

This is a very enjoyable oolong, but I wish that the strawberry flavor was a bit stronger.

I’ve been eating such insanely rich foods lately that when I think of tea, all I want is something fruity and green. I could really go for a bowl of fresh melon, but this melon oolong will have to do! The dry leaf smells incredibly juicy & sweet. I can almost taste the ripe melon!

Sipping… this tea’s flavor is much lighter than the scent would suggest. As I sip, I’m thinking, “where is all of the melon?” Just as I’m about to give up, I taste it. There it is: creamy melon juice & flowers from the oolong. To me, it’s unquestionably honeydew. It’s sweet and juicy and SO delicious. The oolong is hand in hand with the melon and contributes that green, leafy bit to round out the cup. The two together combine into that juicy melon closest to the rind — you know, the almost bitter, almost flavorless part. I love how this tea is a perfect balance of sweet honeydew melon and floral oolong.

A part of me wishes that the flavor were a bit stronger. I would love that overwhelming melon sweetness in a cup of tea, but I’m enjoying this cup so much despite the rather mild flavor. Thank you, ToiToi for letting me try this tea!

My first cup of tea in the year 2013! I thought that this would be a special tea to try… black tea, vanilla and pretty little white tea stars. The stars are truly adorable — not too many crowding the black tea, but I manage to find a few by digging around in the blend.

I’m surprised at how creamy this tea is! The vanilla is light, but still very present. The white tea blends seamlessly with the black tea and the vanilla. It actually adds a bit of an astringent note in the background. How interesting.

Oh, this is so yummy! This tea has an airy, fluffy, creamy quality that I adore. There is a little bit of an astringent finish to the cup (beyond the white tea’s addition).. so I would be careful not to forget about this tea when steeping.

I think this tea has quickly bounced to my very favorite vanilla black tea spot. What a way to start the tea-drinking new year!

This tea smells creamy, buttery, green, toasty and earthy all at once. I’m really looking forward to sipping!

The scent smells so rich that it has me expecting a really thick or full mouthfeel. This tea is surprisingly light and clean. There isn’t as much caramel as I would have liked, but it is still rather toasty and sweet.

It is smooth and actually becomes a little bit more creamy as the cup cools. Very tasty & satisfying! Thank you, ToiToi for a sample of this tea!