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A sample from KittyLovesTea. This is another one I had high hopes for, because I like blueberries, and I like cheesecake. It’s also a rooibos, and I’m usually on the look out for some kind of evening caffiene free option. Unfortunately, this is another miss for me. I can’t actually taste anything other than rooibos, and certainly no blueberry or cheesecake. Woody, sweet rooibos is front and centre, and dominates the whole cup. As it cools, a very slight fruitiness does start to come out, but not nearly soon enough for me to say I enjoyed the whole experience. I’ll fiddle with the brew time, temp and leaf a little, but I fear based on other notes that I’m not going to have much joy here. Another one to chalk up to experience!

A sample from KittyLovesTea. I actually wasn’t sure whether this was black or green tea at first — I initially thought black, but the leaves do have a greenish tinge to them that had me fooled for a few minutes. Upon brewing, I can see that it’s definitely a black. The dry mix has slivers of almond and large whole cherries among the tea leaves. At least, I assumed they were cherries. Now I’m thinking they might have been cranberries. This tea has me completely foxed.

Unfortunately, so does the tasting. I’m not getting cherry or almond, or, in fact, anything much from this tea at all. Pleasant black tea, yes. Fruit or nuts? Not really. Maybe very, very vaguely in the background, but that could be wishful thinking on my part.

Hmm. I wanted to like this one, as cherry is a favourite flavour of mine. I’m not getting anything from this at the moment, though, so I’m a tad disappointed. Back to the drawing board with this one!

A sample from KittyLovesTea. On first sip, this one reminded me a little of 52 Teas Rainbow Sherbet. I’m guessing it’s the fruit flavours and almost-acidity, but there’s something of the same “fizziness” about them, paired with the black tea base. The lemon comes over most clearly here, perhaps understandably, but is followed by a slightly bittersweet, tart raspberry flavour. Both come across very naturally — nothing artificial or fake tasting here! I’ve enjoyed three cups of this from my sample over the past few days, and like it equally well with or without milk. It’s a fruity, slightly acidic tasting black tea, clearly flavoured and very enjoyable. Thanks to KittyLovesTea for sharing this with me!

First cup a couple of nights ago. Rooibos can be a tricky thing — generally I like it, but there are always some that just taste like wood shavings to me. This one is borderline. I love the sound of the ingerdients — caramel, vanilla, cream, and almond. In practice, they’re pretty muted. Creamy vanilla with a hint of almond, yes. I wasn’t getting any caramel. The rooibos also makes its presence pretty well known, although luckily that’s mostly in the aftertaste. A little fiddling around with some sugar, and the brew time and temp might help…it has potential.

Dug out my tin of this the other day. It’s been a good year or so since I last drank any, and I still like it as much today as I did then. Obviously it’s a fresh tin — I’m not that bad yet! The chocolate comes out clearly, as does the raspberry, making the whole thing rather reminiscent of a raspberry truffle. The base is so-so. A little astringent, a little bitter. This is a pretty good tea with a robust flavour, though. I can enjoy it from time to time.

Drank this after Bats in the Belfry a couple of nights ago. It’s a pretty solid vanilla rooibos. Not too woody, wonderful creaminess from the vanilla. The “cream” flavouring comes out more as a thickness in the mouthfeel rather than a fakey flavour, which I find cheering. Another great caffiene free option I really must try not to forget about.

Revisited this a couple of nights ago, and was reminded of how good it actually is. I think it’s basically Swiss Mountain with bat sprinkles, but I can live with that. I like chocolate mint teas any day of the week, and this is a good one. Not overpowering on the mint, sweet creamy chocolate…I’m glad I have a 2oz bag of this one!

Rounded off last night with a second S+V tea. I had a better time with this one — it’s mildly chocolatey, and, with milk, creamy. There’s something vaguely cake-like here, although it’s not strong. Yesterday was a long day, though, and I appreciated this as a tasty caffiene-free option. Musn’t let my S+V’s languish any more!

Had a cup last night, but I can’t actually taste anything remotely carrot cake like here. That’s odd, because I could last time I had it. Maybe I’ve neglected it too long? I do worry about S+V’s paper packaging. I’ll give this another go tonight, because I really want to taste whatever it was the made me think of carrot cake last time. All I got today was green rooibos, unfortunately. Not that it’s bad, but I wanted cake small tantrum

A sad sipdown from Wednesday. I’ve enjoyed every cup of this tea, and it’s got me through many difficult and stressful days. I love the strong, sweet maple flavour, all the more so given that it’s paired with a base that stands up to milk. It’s another one where I’ve said pretty much all I have to say in previous notes, but it will be sadly missed. I’d definitely pick up another bag if the chance arose in the future. I don’t get much “pancake”, but the maple is enough for me!