Raritea

Soft sweetness that blooms into a full licorice sweet twinge that fills the mouth. I’m usually sensitive to cardamom, but in this tisane it seems to be blended in quite well with the other spices.
I can taste the peppermint at the beginning of the sip. The ginger, cardamom and chili seem to give it a bit of a zip factor. I cannot detect any pineapple flavor. Thin mouth-feel. After-taste is licorice-sweet with a bit of spiciness.

I would probably prefer if there weren’t so many ingredients but I feel that they are very well-blended together. I wouldn’t say that all the flavours compliment the licorice but make for a very interesting tasting experience.

As the tea cools, I detect a thicker mouth-feel.

Beginning of sip has bare, slightly bitter and almost salty taste. A taste that I can only describe as the scent from a blown out candle leads into the end of the sip. I’m guessing that this must be the earthiness of the rooibos coming through. Strong, authentic maple syrup flavour near the end of the sip and on the aftertaste. Honeybush is detectable in this brew. It would be nice if the maple syrup taste could carry through the entire sip.

Finishing off the sample that I purchased, I just dumped the rest in which probably ended up being about 2 David’s Tea Perfect Spoonfuls worth. I’m really tasting the lemongrass on the forefront which mixes with a faded cherry flavour. Very mild carrot flavour notes mingle with the cherry close to the end of the sip. Melon-y notes throughout. White tea taste is present- the tea has a nice rounded flavour with the tea base. I am still not a fan of this flavour combination; it seems to not have enough of a focus for me.

This tea has a very prominent Jasmine taste and scent which fills the mouth and the sinuses.

Licorice-like sweetness fills the mouth on the sip. Oolong vegetal taste faintly in the background.

Mild sweetness fills the mouth. Floral taste near end of sip.

Pleasant sticky sweetness. Light maltiness of the black coming through. Jasmine floral taste is present.

Thin-tasting, overall. Bitter chocolatey taste near the end of the sip. Cinnamon present. Black tea is difficult to detect.

I had an opportunity to smell this one in-store. The scent strongly resembles Forever Nuts by David’s Tea.

Surprising green tea flavour from a bagged tea. Has what I would describe as a swampy green tea taste. Faint sweetness with odd aftertaste. The taste is somewhat reminiscent of camomile tissane taste.

Slightly creamy. Butter. High quality oolong taste. Seaweed complementary flavour in the background. Banana closer to the end of the taste. The banana taste goes really well with the oolong flavour. The stevia is well blended, I am usually sensitive to the taste/aftertaste.

Brothy taste with buttery edge. Hints of vegetal green tea taste with accompanying sweetness in the background. Vaguely reminiscent of a floral taste in the aftertaste. Light and well-placed astringency which compliments the brew.

Sweet throughout with earthy tones and a distinct citrus taste. Woodsy taste to it- maybe cedar mostly. Taste reminds me of the texture of coconut flesh. The aftertaste reminds me of honey

For some reason, the aroma of this tea reminds me of a newborn baby’s nursery with yellow walls and painted cartoon elephants. I think it may be because the scent reminds me of baby powder. Why I have a very specific baby room in mind, I cannot say.

On the first sip, grassy and brothy. Very full flavour. Hints of roasted taste, especially near the end of the sip. This tea reminds me of pepper taste and a peppery smell can be detected in the dry leaf as well.

The flavour is predominantly a blunt bitterness. The black tea taste is not very strong but is definitely present. The aftertaste contains all the sweetness and juicy-feel of pear and cranberry flavour. The fruit flavours are quite pleasant, I would prefer that they were more in the main part of the flavour.

Rating: 67

Black tea predominant at the end of the sip- leathery taste, reminds me of the musty smell of a barn. I think that the coconut comes out most on the aftertaste and gives sweetness throughout. The white tea seems to be coming in closer to the beginning of the sip. The chamomile sweetness is mostly present in the after taste with a sticky-sweet feeling.

For the second infusion (5 minutes), the black tea taste is subdued and the flavour of the brew takes on a somewhat creamy feel.

Rating: 72

Thin tasting on the sip. Raspberry sweetness present in the aftertaste. I’m not detecting any real chocolate flavour in this one. Definitely some roasted notes. Very smooth.

As this tisane cools, I am noticing a very full and quite delightful aftertaste.

This tisane may benefit from a longer infusion time.

This is the first time that the scent of a tisane or tea has triggered a memory. For some reason, the scent transported me back to the fourth year of my undergrad while I was studying for final exams in December. Specifically, I remembered how on one really strange day the weather would alternate between looking like a fresh spring day and a very violent snow storm every 10 minutes or so. Really neat! I have no idea why that connection was made in my subconscious- just thought it would be interesting to share!

On the first sip I am getting a predominant full melon-like taste near the end of the sip and carrying into the aftertaste. Sweetness is sourced from this flavour and carries through the sip. No bitterness is detected

As the tea cools, I’m getting quite a nice floral bouquet taste on the sip. The bluntness of black tea taste is clearly present in the background but it feels separate from the other flavours.

First sip seems thin. The banana tastes very artificial to me. Sweet throughout with a sickly sweet trail into the aftertaste. I can definitely taste the nuttiness from the almonds.

Dry leaf has a very thick, creamy, buttery smell. Sweet notes come through as well.

The brewed liquor maintains the buttery smell. It also smells like what reminds me of freshly baked goods. The sweetness is still present.

This tea feels thin on the creaminess in taste. Creaminess is present mostly at the start of the sip. Mild sweetness is present closer to the end. Near the end I’m getting some delightful roasted notes.

As the tea cools, I’m getting more of a fuller cream taste closer to the end of the sip. I am also finally getting the baked goods taste that I was describing in the scent.

I really like the complexity of the tea in which I am able to detect distinct creaminess as well as roasted taste.

This tea would not likely do well past its third infusion.

Dry leaf smells primarily like a vegetal, sweet green tea. There are hints of milk oolong as well.

I used 1 tablespoon of leaf for 0.8 of my aquaovo tumbler.

The brewed liquor has a sweet floral scent with a hint of something I would describe as “higher up” (for some reason I feel compelled to describe it as that) in the smell that reminds me of metal or copper scent. I am also getting a smell that reminds me of my aunt’s house; reminiscent of her perfume.

On the first sip, the green flavour is not on the forefront. I am getting that floral-perfume-like taste, as described earlier in the scent, on the periphery (sides) of my tongue. Reminiscent of a milk oolong. Creamy on the sip which fades throughout until the end. Sweetness crescendos up to the middle of the sip and then fades out. The taste ends with an unfortunately slight bitter tinge which turns more into a roasted note as the tea cools. The floral-sweet is strongly present in the after-taste.

The second infusion takes on a more typical vegetal green tea flavour. Prominent buttery notes. Floral taste is still present in the background and after-taste.

Dry leaf smells peppery. Fragrant with hints of milk oolong scent. Also, a herbal mix smell that you might experience when entering an apothecary (for example).

I used one tablespoon of dry leaf for approximately 0.75 of my aquaovo tumbler.

The brewed liquor has a distinct Camellia Sinensis scent to it. Some sour notes as well. Milk oolong scents are peeking out among the stronger notes.

On the first sip, I am getting a fruity taste mixed with a creamy milk oolong flavour. The milk oolong is more present at the end. The liquorice is coming through, less as a flavour and more of a numbing/sweet sensation near the tip of my tongue after every sip. I am able to make out the liquorice root flavour a few seconds after the end of the sip.

As the tea cools, on the end of the sip I am getting more of a full mouth sensation of the liquorice root. The liquorice flavour seems to really take over with only a slight hit of the milk oolong taste at the beginning of the sip leading into the full mouth sweetness. Very sweet and a kind of sweetness that doesn’t have a artificial unpleasant trailing aftertaste.

Overall, an interesting tea tasting experience. The liquorice root sensation is something unexpected that I think I would need some getting used to.

Caramel-butterscotch-tasting sweetness. Does not have any unpleasant trailing after-taste. The black tea taste is blended well with the other flavours. Hint of chocolate near the end of the sip. Definite mellow-maltiness coming from the black tea and the chocolate. Tasting more like cake as it cools, especially in the after-taste. I am definitely tasting cake frosting as well. Creaminess as the cup cools.

The second infusion is noticeably weaker but still quite pleasant. The black tea taste is more apparent with only a light sweetness from the sugary ingredients. I doubt that this tea would do well past the second infusion.

Licorice notes. Strong chocolate in the background. Creamy finish. Cinnamon taste compliments the flavour very well.

As I predicted, this tisane does not do very well on a second infusion. The flavour is noticeably diluted. This tisane is very powdery and a lot of the ingredients likely dissolve in the first brew.

Rating: 91