Rosehips Send Message

I feel as if I am going to be the dissenting voice on this tea- its not for me.
I am strongly reminded of Harney & Sons Carribe, which is also a blend with tropical fruits in it, and also does not light my fire.
I do not care for tropical fruits, and I care even less for them in tea. Also black and white blends tend to make me, well, a little queasy. I’m afraid this one did.
But I’m not going to rate this poorly. Just like Carribe, I don’t think this is a bad tea, I just think its a bad tea for me.
Thank you for Super Starling! for letting me try, but this one will not be staying with me.
Sipdown!

My cup of pure autumnal joy was somewhat lackluster. But, as I know this tea so well, I know that this was user error, and not the fault of the tea.
Drat. I hate when its me.

Brew of my morning!
This is one very flavorful tea. It keeps surprising me with new dashes of flavor that I hadn’t noticed before. Sometimes its a bit sweet, then theres a touch of something savory, even spicy!
This is all very lovely, especially for a flavored tea drinker, such as myself. Its good to know that dept and complexity lurk in black teas as well has their flavored counterparts. It inspires me to try more!

I havn’t been reviewing this as often as I have been drinking it, mainly because its just not an exciting tea to review, and I don’t seem to be discovering new layers of flavor or food pairings for it.
But I will jot a note now, as this is the last cup!
I don’t think this blend is well balanced. Lemon and ginger should be a wonderful combination, but I’m finding that paring to fall flat, with the ginger shoving everything else to the side, and the lemon and oolong making a distant second and third in the flavor profile.
Its a tea that I’m more happy to have finished, then to have tried. It will not be making another appearance in my cupboard, that’s for certain. There are better oolongs, and better lemon/ginger blends to be had!
Sipdown!

I felt extra cozy yesterday, and decided to watch Sense & Sensibility, knit, and drink this tea.
And its not a terrible cup, but its not very memorable. I was hoping for something absurdly creamy, with lush vanilla and almond notes. I love vanilla and almond, so I was hoping that’s what I would get.
Alas, I get a somewhat creamy rooibos, with the wood-y quality of the base being more prominent that any flavors the base supports. And I don’t get a single hint of anything cherry-like, which I know some people did.
The quest continues here too, but I’ll certainly keep drinking this.

I am always questing for a basic (and yet fantastic) vanilla black. I’ve come across some really good blends, but nothing that has yet fully earned the title of “cupboard staple”. So I pick them up almost aggressively, when I spot one that seems a likely contender.
This is a blend from a local tea shop, which is a cute little place. They have some English tea imported, and lots of teaware, and some of their own unique blends, which I picked up a good helping of the last time I was there. This is one of them.
And its ok. My first cup of this was perfectly decent, but nothing to sing about. I’ll drink it down without problems, and probably some pleasure, but its not The One True Vanilla Black.
Do you guys have a good vanilla black recommendation?

Ahh!
I’ve had this for a bit, but it didn’t feel like the right time to try it yet. Today was the day!
I was a little wary, as the Maple Pumpkin Chai from Q2T was not my favorite, but I’m pleased to say that Pumpkin Spice and I are getting along much better!
This is a nice blend of the spices, not overpowering, and not too sweet. Some pumpkin teas get really sweet, and this one avoids that, giving a nice mellow savoriness. The touch of sweetness is just a touch, and makes for a very nice and balanced cup.

It seems like everyone else was having a sipdown of this, so I decided it was high time that I killed it off as well.
Woody rooibos. If it ever had charm it faded long ago.
Sipdown!

Cup of the morning!
I am now gleefully drinking my autumnal teas, and October is the perfect month for Pumpkin blends, isn’t it?
This is fairly mellow, though I no longer know if its because its a bit elderly, or if it was just a mellow blend to begin with. I feel like something labled “Pumpkin Milkshake” would be pretty mellow.
There is pumpkin flavor in it, but there isn’t really the creaminess that I would expect from something with Milkshake in the name.
Oh well,

I have long lamented that most things that are “pumpkin spice” have no pumpkin, just pumpkin spice. Now, the spices are very nice, but I loooove actual pumpkin, and so I’ve picked up all sorts of things, only to be saddened that theres no hint of pumpkin in them, just cinnamon and cloves.
So I was delighted when my sister told me about this tea, which was not just pumpkin spice, but actually had pumpkin in it! I hit order very quickly when the floodgates of autumnal teas opened.
And ahh, this smells wonderful! A fabulous balance of pumpkin and spices. I could stand in my kitchen and breath this in for a long time, which would weird anyone out looking at me, but hey.
I’ve brewed it up, and it is very nice. I do get the spices, but there is a touch of that creamy pumpkin as well.
I steeped this for five mintues, but I’m going to try it next time for four, and see if I can coax out even more pumpkin flavor!