Slurp

Down and dirty, this tastes just like a Red Hots candy. Another comparison would be cinnamon Altoids, but stronger. If you HATE cinnamon this is your personal kryptonite. If you merely like or tolerate the stuff then proceed with caution. This was my first experience with Harney and Sons, and I found this stuff above average for a bag tea, though admittedly it is tough to get an accurate read on the tea base on this because of the strength of the cinnamon. A decent anytime tea, and a pretty good holiday tea, also.

No notes yet.

A good darjeeling is one of life’s great small pleasures. This one qualifies. It has a light coloring; almost like a white tea. The taste is similar to a white tea also; tasting lightly of Mediterranean fruits and spices with maybe the slightest hint of nutmeg. It would make a nice after dinner cup in the summer or the tropics.

Final analysis: Very drinkable.

I have to be in the right mood for an Oolong tea, so you might take this with a grain of salt. This makes a nice cup. It has a fresh taste with fruity undertones. It was a pleasant experience but I won’t be knocking over small children and senior citizens to get a cup of it. (Just to be clear, I don’t knock over small children or senior citizens under any circumstances unless it is by accident.) If Oolong is your thing, it’s worth trying. If not, it still might be worth trying.

Final analysis: Good.

Lately, I’ve been making a conscious effort to find teas from Malawi. A friend of mine visited there and brought me back some Chombe in bags that pleasantly surprised me. When this one popped out of the Upton Tea catalog my fingers couldn’t click my bookmarks fast enough. Nor was I disappointed. This is a good cup. It is strong without being overpowering, takes milk or milk and sugar well, and just leaves you with that satisfied feeling that only a good black tea can give you when you’ve made it to your liking.

A very good tea. I want more of it.

No notes yet.

While this wasn’t a bad tea, it just didn’t seem to hit the right chords. The title is luscious, but made as iced tea it fell short of expectations. The strawberry was too subtle and the lemon myrtle didn’t offer enough sour to truly complement the Bai Mu Dan tea. A waltz on the tongue was expected, while a leisurely stroll in the park is what appeared. A little experimentation might elevate this one; a bit of lemon or perhaps a dash of Del’s Lemonade mix might make this a really good iced tea.

Final analysis: Drinkable, but could do with a little help.

I love peaches as much as I love tea. Every time I hear that someone has combined the two I just have to try it. This is the best one I’ve had in a while. The black tea base is nice, leaning towards robust, and above average for a lot of teas used as a base for flavored teas. The peach flavor is excellent. It’s not EXACTLY like a peach, but it is very close. I choose to use just a splash of milk and a little sugar, because who doesn’t like peaches and cream? If you like peach flavored teas, this is worth trying.

This was an excellent cup. It has a very smooth taste with hints of earth and roses. With a bit of milk and sugar it tastes almost like hot cocoa. This one will probably make my permanent on hand list. If you like black teas, you’ll probably love this one. Highly recommended.

Extremely disappointed with this one. Didn’t really taste oatmeal cookie; rather a faint taste of watered down grape kool-aid. I kept trying to like it, but it just wasn’t happening. The more I tried it the less I liked it. After two cups I’m not sure there will ever be a third. A rare misstep for 52teas.

This is a very refreshing tea. The cantaloupe is assertive without being overpowering. The cream comes in at the back end of the tasting and is a nice complement to the cantaloupe. I see this as a nice afternoon pick me up or a lazy summer morning first brew. Anyway, it’s hard to go wrong with this one.

A nice rooibos. I don’t think the organic aspect adds or subtracts anything to this one, but it is an enjoyable cup regardless. It’s pretty smooth, for a rooibos, has some nice floral and fruity notes, and is very refreshing. I tried this in the afternoon, brewed it in my two cup pot, and it seemed to give me a non-caffeine related lift. In my experience, a little honey (especially clover honey) complements the flavor of rooibos and this one was no different. Worth drinking.

Ok, I don’t have a lot of experience with puerh teas. This was the second one that has passed my tonsils. From what I’ve read, puerh teas tend to be really robust, earthy, smokey, and hearty. This one is definitely robust, but refined; which is the big difference between this one and the first one I tried. I don’t think puerhs will ever be my favorite tea but this one has made me much more open to adding them to the cupboard. I plan to experiment with this one some more. Worth drinking.

This was my first time trying a purple tea. I look forward to trying more. As recommended by Butiki Teas, I tried it using different times and water temperatures. The info provided below was the first go round. I tried it at 160 degrees first and it tasted much like a lighter oolong, or perhaps a strong white. The blueberry was definitely present and pleasant, but didn’t hit you over the head. At the other extreme, i.e., boiling, this tea came across similar to a weakish black tea in color and taste. Again, the blueberry was nicely balanced. In short, I think this would be a great desert island tea because you could brew for whatever you were in the mood for and only need the one package. With that in mind, the tea stands on its own merits. It’s not a gimmick. Worth trying and enjoying.

This is one of the better peach flavored oolongs I’ve tried. The peach flavor tastes very natural and tea has nice little floral notes. My one small complaint is that when re-steeping it seemed to lose it’s peach flavor pretty quick; yet, the oolong does nicely by itself. A pleasant cup.

I’ve never had pumpkin creme brulee as a dessert. Plain old creme brulee I’ve had a few times and, I must confess, it’s not my favorite dessert. But, anything with pumpkin in it is a must try at my house. I’ve tried this one with milk and sugar and without. Both times brought back pleasant memories of my Grandmother’s “no crust impossible pumpkin pie”. However, this tea seemed to lack something. I can’t put my finger on it, but there is some hint of spice or flavoring that is absent or too understated for my palate. It’s a good tea, but I wouldn’t knock anyone over to get a cup. If you’re a pumpkin fiend I don’t think you’ll be unsatisfied, but neither will you be stunned.

Well first I have to say, WOW! This is a really, really good white tea. Generally, I prefer the whites to the greens because they tend to have less of a “fresh mown grass” flavor to them. This was incredibly light and fresh with hints of citrus to it. It gives the mild impression that you are drinking fruit juice instead of tea. As a few people have noted before, the tea leaves are huge. It comes with whole leaves still attached to twigs. This was a little tough to get in the brew basket of my two cup pot, but I decided to drop the leaves into the pot and use the basket as a strainer. Worked like a charm. If you like white teas, give this one a try. Highly recommended.

No notes yet.

A nice cup for cold weather and the Christmas holidays. I was hoping the orange flavor would linger on the tongue a bit more. Nice black tea base, which seems to be the rule with SpecialTeas. A little sugar seems to enhance the flavors a bit, but isn’t absolutely necessary. Not my favorite cup, but I wouldn’t pour it out of the pot for something else. Worth trying.

A good cup! Very reminiscent of fresh baked almond cookies. I prepared mine with a splash of milk and a dash of sugar, which is standard operating procedure with most black teas at my house, and I think it enhanced my cuppa. If you like tea and you also like almond cookies you’ll probably find from in your tea cabinet for this one.

This is a pretty good tea. The cardamon and the cocoa complement each other well. This tea is a bit like chai, but less complex. It’s not a “light” cup, but rather a tea for cold weather and a slice of cake or rich pastry. It seemed a bit rich for an everyday cup, but for a special occasion or as an indulgence it would be quite nice. The only other gripe might be that the black tea base for this was just a teensy bit bitter, but that may be corrected with a shorter steep time. I only had a single cup because that was all the tea I had to work with, but I plan on buying more and possibly updating this review. If you like cocoa or chai, this might be a good tea for you.

A friend of mine brought me a box of Chombe Tea when he took a trip to Malawi to visit some missionary groups. I was skeptical of it right off the bat. It was in bags, not loose leaf. The bags didn’t look particularly well made. On the box it said “export grade”, which made me think tourist trap. It looked like a typical CTC black tea dust that might have been found in any grocery store in the world. Then I made a cup. Wow! Not bad! In fact, for a bag tea, it actually had a nice bright color, a delightful earthy/nutty taste, and it took milk and sugar really well. One of the best bag teas I’ve drank. I’ve since learned that Malawi has been growing tea for over 100 years from plants imported from China, so they’ve had a lot of time to develop their product.

This is a nice tea, but it took a couple of cups to reach that opinion. Why? I’m not sure, but it may have been the water. The first time was at home using non filtered water from the tap. This has never given me a problem before, but the tea wasn’t as flavorful as the smell from the container would lead you to believe. The next cup was made with filtered water. Wow! What a difference. Much, much more flavorful and tasted just like coconut cream pie. Hats off to 52teas. If you like tea and coconut cream pie, this match up is hard to beat. If you normally take milk in your black teas, don’t use it here. I tried a cup that way thinking it might accent the creamy flavor, but it really masked it instead. Looking forward to another cup or two of this one.

Ok, let me preface this by saying this is my rating for a bag tea. It’s not fair to compare bag teas with loose leaf. The bag will loose 99.9% of the time. Having said that, the Twining teas have been very consistent and make a good cup. This English Breakfast is essentially my yardstick for all other English Breakfast bag teas. It produces a nice color, has a nice touch of malty-ness, and, for me, has just the right amount of caffeine. It takes milk and sugar well, but does fine without, too. You can find it in most chain grocery stores. Again, it will never compete with premium loose leaf, but it’s head and shoulders above the majority of the bag options.