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Best. Tea. Ever. My absolute favorite. Sweet, milky, tea perfection. Heaven in a cup. Need I say more?

Well, this was a sad sipdown! Had the last of it this morning, and said goodbye to Hello Sweetie. Normally, I don’t tend to post multiple reviews for the same tea, but this one was so special. Enjoyed every yummy banana-coconut-cream-pie drop. I don’t know what kind of magical blending mojo you’ve got, Stacy, but it’s a gift. I’m only sorry I didn’t order from Butiki sooner!

Ordered a sample of this with my last Harney order and have been dying to try it. My chance finally came last night when I had it with a few ginger thins as my after-dinner sweet fix. Dry leaf smell was very strong, very marshmallow-y, which got me a little worried as I dislike vanilla teas that taste more like marshmallow than vanilla. Brewed, the scent tuned to – and I know this sounds crazy – vanilla pudding! In the end, the tea was really nice, very drinkable, but I was wishing for a bit more of a stronger vanilla flavor. That being said, I enjoyed it enough that I will definitely be ordering more, so I can have a nice dessert decaf tea to drink at night.

Such a pleasant tea. Mellow strawberry and subtle vanilla cream flavors – fun yet refined. Although as a Westerner, these flavors evoke more of a springtime mood, I understand that for the Japanese, these flavors are associated with special occasions and holidays so it makes sense as a seasonal tea. I’d enjoy this tea any time of year.

Bellocq kindly gave me this sample when I purchased a tin of their breakfast blend last year. Yes, I know, last year, so maybe it’s a little past its prime. Still, this flavor is, well, weird. Not getting any black tea flavor, and the spices are unidentifiable. Vanilla? What vanilla? I think I’m getting a little anise flavor, and I hate anise, so, well, blech. The rose is not a floral note that I can appreciate. Also, I’m noting some tangy notes at the finish, and I hate tangy, too. So, this is not the tea for me. Too bad, since I think their breakfast blend is so superior.

Holy moly! Merry White Christmas to ME! This tea is so good it’s ridiculous – like Cookie on steroids. Smells like Cookie when you sniff the dry leaves, but it’s different when you brew it up. Yes, there is that sweet creamy flavor that is reminiscent of baked goods, but with the addition of a slight fruitiness, which must be the apricot that others are referring to. So yummy! Add milk and it’s pure heaven!

Had a visit with a close friend, and we sipped on tea and nibbled on cookies from a local bakery. She’s big into green tea, so for her, I brewed Lupicia’s Sencha Uji, but for me, it was this fabulous Ceylon (with milk, of course, me being me). Loved it! Bright and fresh, with that curious, almost-sweetness that I love about Ceylons. This one rivals my current fave (Lupicia’s Ceylon Nuwara Eliya), so I will be very sad when I finish it. Next time I’ll have it iced. Very impressed.

Got a sample of this and ended up using it for iced tea. We drink a lot of iced tea with our meals, even in the colder months, and I needed a new flavor to try. This is really nice iced, although the fruity, berry flavor is not as pronounced as it is in the Boston Blend. I may get it again, if only to try it hot – I used up the entire sample just making one quart of iced tea.

It’s tough to find a decent vanilla tea, at least for me. Most of them have a flat sweetness to them, no complexity or richness, kind of like a marshmallow (blech). What I usually do with these teas is blend them with other flavored teas. I find that they round out the other flavors and this way I can still get use out of them.

I wouldn’t do that with this one, though. It’s actually pretty good! The vanilla is a little too subtle, but there’s this hint of smokiness to it which is interesting. Kind of sophisticated. It doesn’t beat my favorite vanilla (Mariage Freres Vanile des Isles), but so far it’s a solid second. Had it with milk, as I tend to do. Can’t wait to try Vanilla Comoro.

WOW. I never thought it was possible for a tea to taste so…rich. Ultra-creamy, banana/coconut cream pie goodness! Tough to measure out because the leaves are so long, so I estimate the amount, and it comes out amazing every time. I drink this with milk, unsweetened, as I do with most of my “dessert-y” teas. Lovely, heavy aroma from the dry leaves that does not disappoint when brewed. Delicious!