Raritea

0.5 tablespoons for 375 ml of water

A little thin tasting with berry flavour in the background. Slight creaminess near the end of the sip. Good balance of bergamot and black tea. Slight astringency near the end of the sip.

0.6 tablespoons for 188 ml

Overwhelmingly artificial aroma and taste.

Rating: 10

1.5 tablespoons for 375 ml
Infused for 8 minutes

Aroma of the tea has a fruity punchy-ness to it. I am reminded of the smell of baking dough. I can also detect a fresh-muffin scent in the background. Maple sweetness.

The tea is rather thin tasting. Watery on the sip and then blooms into maple sweetness with a hint of bakey muffin taste.

It is possible that this tea lost some of its flavour in transit.

Rating: 38

Thanks to Kittenna for sharing this with me!

1.5 tablespoons for 375 ml

Very full flavour. Sweetness of the mango/fruitiness coming through with the great cilantro complement. The tea is thick and brothy.

Second infusion at 4 minutes. The flavours from the first infusion are present but are not as robust. I’m detecting a nutty flavour. A different experience from the first infusion but still very enjoyable.

Third infusion at 5 minutes. Overall flavour toned down quite a bit. Mild white tea taste is primary with hints of mango sweetness and cilantro in background. Would not likely do well past the third infusion.

Thanks to Indigobloom for sharing this with me!

6 grams for 375 ml

Brewed tea has a very lovely floral aroma. Hint of lemon and chestnut.

On the sip- a little too much astringency for my liking. Strong almost licorice-like sweetness in the background. Leathery notes. Plum notes.

1 tablespoon for 375 ml of water.

Melon-y flavour in the background. The melon note has a slight quick bitterness to the taste that makes it seem more like watermelon or honeydew than another melon such as cantaloupe (which has a long, sustained sweetness in my opinion). White tea taste is present closer to the end of the sip. Slight metallic feeling from the white tea taste. Fruity sweetness from the end of the sip into the aftertaste- like the sugar-y taste after biting into a fresh watermelon slice. This note is toned down by the marshy note of the white tea.

More sweetness and fruity taste come out as the tea cools. Overall this tea has a very delicate flavour.

Second infusion at 6 minutes. Very little flavour.

1 tablespoon for 375 ml of water

Brewed tea has a lemony note that is associated with the pecan scent. There is a baked-goods note; like that of a scone.

Maple syrup main on the sip with an lemony tartness in the background. Toasted pecan flavour near the end of the sip and strong in the lingering aftertaste. The tea has a thin quality up to the middle of the sip but blooms with flavour into the aftertaste. Camellia Sinensis notes close to the end of the sip; detecting malty notes I would normally associate with black tea.

As the tea cools, I’m detecting notes of crumbly baked goods. Pecan flavour is surprisingly strong and I’m also getting a post-nut eating mouth-feel with the aftertaste.

Second infusion at 5 minutes. The taste has a greater focus on the strait oolong, I can taste hardly any of the flavouring.

0.5 tablespoons for 188 ml

Oceanic green tea flavour most prominent on the sip. Pistachio flavour and sweetness present in the background in the middle of the sip and blooms until the finish. There is a definite hint of ice cream-like creaminess associated with the pistachio flavour in this blend. The flavours of the green tea and pistachio ice cream come together near the end of the sip but are tasted separately near the start.

Second infusion at 3.5 minutes. Green tea flavour is still predominant. Very light pistachio flavour in the background.

1 tablespoon for 375 ml

Good mixture of flavours with the mint. The mint isn’t too strong on the sip but leaves a delightful refreshing tingly feeling in the mouth.

Thank you to Indigobloom for letting me try this!

0.9 tablespoons for 375 ml of water

Primary flavour is orange. I’m getting a citrus tartness that almost becomes bitter near the end of the sip. The overall flavour is too thin. Sweetness in the background. I’m getting the tingly sensation on my tongue that is typically associated with a citrus fruit.

1.25 tablespoons for 375 ml of water

The brewed tea has a note of chocolate in the aroma. Genmaicha scent is at the forefront.

On the sip I’m detecting an out-of-place fruity note. Chocolate flavour is very mild and only present near the end of the sip into the aftertaste. Genmaicha flavour is quite mild. Hint of roasted taste near the end of the sip. There is an odd chlorine-like flavour near the middle of the sip which I think is the result of the mild cocoa and genmaicha mix.

I found that there was a good amount of chocolate-y flavour near the end of the cup with the tea sediment bits that sink to the bottom of the cup.

1.5 tablespoons for 365 ml of water

The white tea flavour slightly overpowers the blend. Sweet guava taste is faintly present on the sip but blooms near the middle of the sip. I’m detecting hints of ginger near the end of the sip.
The flavours do not seem to be properly balanced with the white tea taking over.

Thank you to Sil for sharing with me!

1 tablespoon for 375ml of water
Infused for 8 minutes

Flavour is quite bland on the sip. I’m detecting mostly the waxy flavour of the honeybush. Mild stawberry flavour near the end of the sip. There is a definite hint of pie crust taste near the end of the sip as well. Only a faint hint of rhubarb flavour/tartness.

Thanks to Sil for sharing this with me!

1 second rinse with tea infusing temperature water
1 tablespoon for 375 ml

Nice smooth flavour. Molasses-like sweetness. Leathery hints in the background. Lingering sweetness, reminds me of a ginseng-type sweetness.

Second infusion at 2.5 minutes with near-boiling water.

Third infusion at 3.5 minutes with near-boiling water. A lot of flavour seems to be lost by the third infusion.

Thanks to Sil for sharing this with me!

1.05 tablespoons for 375 ml of water

The grapefruit and green tea aroma compliment each other nicely. There’s a savoury spice note (almost like an indian spice) in the aroma as well.

The flavour has the broth-y feel of a dragonwell. The grapefruit flavour is present right from the beginning of the sip. The grapefruit and green tea flavours compliment each other very nicely. There is a tartness present from the grapefruit flavour in the middle of the sip but it compliments the taste profile very well. I am getting the strong grassy note of the green tea mostly in the aftertaste. The savoury note from the aroma seems to be faintly present, latched on to the beginning of the dragonwell taste. Buttery mouth-feel.

Along with the aftertaste, my tongue is getting that tingly feeling that I would get from eating an actual grapefruit.

Second infusion at 3 minutes.

Fourth infusion at 4 minutes. Mostly dragonwell flavour. Still retains a buttery mouth-feel. Grapefruit flavour still present in the background. Still a pleasing experience. Getting a bit of a white tea taste as the cup cools.

Thanks to Sil for sharing some of this with me!

1 tablespoon for 375 ml of water

The black tea astringency takes over the blend. Only slightly bitter. Hints of cherry-chocolate flavour near the end of the sip. Maple sweetness in lingering aftertaste.

I was told that this was an older tea and it may have lost some flavour.

Rating: 47

Thanks to Kittenna for sharing this with me!

1.5 tablespoons for 375 ml of water

Lemony note. Delightful mint taste. Great flavour combination. Hot wax-burning candle aroma in the taste.

Personally, I would prefer a stronger licorice flavour.

Thanks to Indigobloom for sharing this with me!

1.5 tablespoons for 375 ml of water
Infused for 10 minutes

The dry leaf smells overwhelmingly like cherry-flavoured “Jolly Rancher” hard candy.

Tastes just like a cherry-flavoured “Jolly Rancher” close to the end of the sip and very much so in the immediate aftertaste. There is a hibiscus-like tartness which complements the blend. Very fruity flavour near the middle of the sip.

There does seem to be a sand-like sediment at the bottom of my cup. I can tell that it’s gritty because it makes a scraping noise when I move it around my mug with a spoon.

Thank Kittenna for sharing some of this with me.

1 tablespoon for 375 ml of water

The brewed tea has a primary authentic strawberry aroma with tartness. The black tea aroma is in the background. There is a hint of a smooth creaminess.

On the sip, the black tea taste is very apparent at the beginning. There is a hit of astringency that is slightly unpleasantly bitter. The bitterness blooms into the middle of the sip and follows through to the end where the strawberry flavour takes over. The strawberry flavour has a very authentic feel to it without a very pronounced tartness. Mild creaminess follows through from the end of the sip into the aftertaste.

Thanks to Sil for sharing this with me!

1 tablespoon for 375 ml

Burnt aroma.
Burnt food taste. Mild caramel sweetness. Smooth.
The flavour becomes more tolerable as the tisane cools.
The lingering aftertaste is a coffee (maybe burnt coffee) flavour.

Second infusion at 5 minutes. Dilute flavour. Burnt flavour still present.
Lingering aftertaste is smoother- tastes more like coffee without being burnt.

Rating: 60

I may have to alter the infusion parameters.

Thanks to Sil for sharing!

1.5 tablespoons for 375 ml of water

Milky floral oolong aroma in the brewed tea scent. Hints of soft vanilla sweetness and orange-y citrus; reminding me of orange creamsicle.

Creamy vanilla pudding flavour. Very mild citrus. Grapefruit astringency close to the end of the sip mixed with floral hints. Mouth-feel is a little thin for the flavour

Second infusion at 4 minutes. Muted creaminess. Citrus-y flavour comes through more. The grapefruit note is toned down but still present near the end of the sip into the aftertaste. Vanilla-like sweetness present but not as strong as in the first infusion.

Many thanks to Sil for sharing this with me!

1.5 tablespoon for 375 ml of water.

The spice is the overwhelming note in both the flavour and aroma.

Hint of smooth authentic apple flavour in the background. Fig flavour present in the background especially near the end of the sip which is accentuated into the aftertaste. Fruity tartness nicely compliments the flavour profile. Slightest hint of astringency, bordering bitter, from the tea base.

As I’m drinking this tea, I’m finding the spices to be quite overpowering.

Thanks to Sil for sharing this with me.

1 tablespoon for 375 ml of water

The brewed tea aroma is a nice mixture of a smooth black tea and baked-goods blueberry.

Sourness in the flavour. Authentic but dilute blueberry taste. Very nice black tea compliment in the background. I’ve never had zabaglione so I can’t comment as to how well this tea captures the flavour.

A creaminess creeps into the flavour as the tea cools.

Will infuse this one for only 2-2.5 minutes in the future.

Rating: 74

Thanks to Sil for sharing this with me!

1.25 tablespoons for 375 ml of water

Dry leaf has a very artificial chocolate aroma.

Brewed tea has a primary chocolate aroma with only a bit of an artificial edge to it. There’s a definite underlying creaminess. Black tea aroma hints in the background.

Strong earthy taste. Artificial soapy-like chocolate flavour. Very faint black tea taste in the background.

Thanks Sil for sharing this with me!