Stephanie

Okay, I decided that it’s just not realistic enough for me to refrain from tasting my new teas while trying to drink up my older teas. I’ve been trying diligently for a couple months now to use up my opened teas but it’s getting so boring!

So today, I couldn’t take it anymore, I just had to open up this tin! I was dying to try it!

And it is yummy!! Kind of like liquified Twix! Very caramelly with a burnt cookie edge.

Love it!

It smells very sweet—do they actually put sugar in this? But the taste is more bake-y than sugary. I think this would be super with milk. This could even be a tea equivalent of Starbuck’s Caramel Machiatto!

Very satisfying if you’re craving something sweet and warm. :)

I was having late night salty snack cravings (well not really “late night”—it’s only 9:15pm here but I try not to eat after 7pm) so I brewed this up and it’s helping immensely. It’s deliciously smoky and almost salty like soy sauce. I do taste the bacon—there’s this “meaty” taste. But, I’m really appreciating the savoriness of this tea, right now.

Thanks Man Teas! :)

This smells so yummy—like fruitcake, heavy on the cake (and I love fruitcake)!

I can taste the orange most prominently, then the ginger, then cardamom. It’s citrusy like candied orange rinds and spicy like mulled wine. A walnutty, gingerbread flavor arises as it cools. None of the woodsy sawdust of plain rooibos.

This is really a deliciously flavored rooibos. I am enjoying this!

Savory, steamed veggie-like aroma. Starchy like a boiled potato.

Fresh, green leaf taste. Somewhat bitter. Very light. More boiled potato manifests itself, as it cools. But it stays amazingly fresh and green in flavor—like I can almost detect the chlorophyll.

Pretty satisfactory tea experience. It’s tasty, but a bit too mild for me. I will definitely finish up my sample tin, though.

Having one of my favorites!! This never fails to warm and comfort. I love the dough-y, toasty, sweet, marzipan flavor—it’s like an almond bakery.

This is simply the best. A flavored tea classic.

Spent the rainy afternoon, warm and relaxed, indoors at Leland Tea Co. today. Had this tea with their “Tea Lunch”.

Tiffany’s is hearty, full-bodied and brisk. Very slightly smoky—reminded me of a lighter Irish Breakfast-type tea. I did not detect any floral notes. It seemed like a pretty straightforward black tea. It was dark as coffee and tasted delicious with milk. Very warming.

A perfect cup for a cold day!

After reading all these delicious notes for different Golden Yunnan teas, I just had to try this sample!

Tastes like a spicy, mashed up sweet potato! A little green bean-ish and “vegetal” _{(this word is so overused, but I have to admit it’s a good, general tea adjective)}.

Some butteriness. Smooth, no bitterness, with a slight, refreshing astringency. Scent is like sweet potatoes, too.

Pretty good, overall!

Now I know why they call this “Carol”—it’s short for “caroling” (like during Christmas)! How clever! :)

I’m so happy this was Lupicia’s free teabag selection this month. I’m always game to try strawberry-flavored things.

This doesn’t disappoint in its strawberriness. Over the tannic “bite” of black tea, I taste a creamy, candied strawberry—like Creme Lifesavers. Very yummy. I agree with the Strawberry Quik comparison, too.

I’m drinking it plain, but to diffuse the black tea’s astringency, it would be better with milk.

Overall, pretty good. Glad I tried it. But it’s cooling down now and the bitterness is getting a little distracting.

I’m glad I have this, but I think it’s best mixed in smoothies and desserts and such. On its own, I find it a bit too bitter and tart. I don’t detect much strawberry, drinking it neat. I taste more citrus than berry.

But I have it mixed in my smoothie now and it’s pretty good!

Very toasty!
Strong roasted flavor but it tastes “fresh” at the same time, almost green-like. Extremely tasty and smooth. I love toasty flavors and this tea has it in abundance.
Super large twisted, charcoally-looking leaves. Very cool. :)
Super generous sample. Thank you Gingko!!

Yum!

Malted barley-like in flavor. Cereally with subtle sweetness. Aroma is reminiscent of cocoa or carob. Very smooth.

I’m really enjoying this tea! It is delicious. :)

Thank you, Gingko, for the generous sample!

Had this at the Tea Lounge at Yerba Buena. I loved it!! It’s smoky, rich, chewy and kind of fruity—like black currant. It’s just as advertised. Served with cute little silver pitchers of milk and brown sugar—which I added both to—enhanced the underlying sweet jamminess.

A delicious tea for a cool, blustery afternoon.

I’ve been feeling a little out of sorts this morning…kind of anxious. So I thought that a sort of medicinal herbal blend might help.

I emptied three tea bags into my travel mug and topped it with hot water.

Tastes like spicy mentholated basil. It’s different and pleasant enough.

I’m going to drink this all day (using up the rest of the box) and see how I feel.

Smells like Doublemint Gum. Tastes like a green tea buttermint. Refreshing and soothing. A little light and thin…“crisp” is right.

Not much else to say. This is simply good! If you like mint, that is.

I heard that durian is a love or hate fruit. I’m in the “love durian” camp. I love it’s overripe guava-like, vanilla-custardy scent and texture. I think it’s a delicious (and insanely healthy) fruit. And I am so happy to know that Lupicia has it in tea form!

The flavor is decidedly durian! The flavor is right-on. Yay! I am not disappointed. And it is definitely “powerfully fragrant”. :)

The aftertaste really is like a “fruity onion”, as Mad_Alyss_14 so aptly stated. I love that description. There’s this “shrill” hint of freshly cut onion in the flavor and aroma…it’s intriguing. Like melon and onions. I know oniony tea sounds weird but it’s good!

The green tea base seems fresh and is slightly astringent. My loose leaf sample looks like fannings, though—like shredded leaves from a tea bag.

I’m enjoying my sample and will buy a full tin soon!

It makes me wish good, fresh durian were easier to come by here. All we can get easily is the frozen stuff.

This tea has really grown on me and I really love it. I love its malty, sweet roIl quality. It almost tastes like liquid Kings Hawaiiian Bread. I’ve been drinking this all day for the past several days and it’s just all-around great!

It’s so easy to brew too. I basically just toss a teaspoon in my travel mug, add hot water and forget about it. It’s always delicious. I can’t make a mistake.

I’m upping the score to perfect!

I treated myself to this at the Hayes (“Zen”) Valley Tea Lounge today! It was nice and relaxing. I found the flavor to be very mild, soft, slatey and earthy. I think I detected some cocoa notes. But the dominant flavor was minerally earth. Kind of “root-y”. Definitely puerh.
It was fine overall. Great to enjoy over a portobello mushroom and gruyere cheese sandwich (which is what I had) at the lounge. But it didn’t wow me enough to buy more to take home.

Good but not full-tin worthy. :)

Surprisingly, this tastes best with the hot water at work! For me, I discovered the perfect brewing method:

1. Tear open and empty three tea bags into a 12 oz travel mug.
2. Fill with hot water from the hot water spigot.
3. Steep indefinitely and sip until done.

That’s it! So simple. I get all the velvety, earthy cocoa and spice flavors. Nothing bitter. Very smooth and comforting.

I can’t get over the intensely fruity scent of the dry leaf. It just screams FRUIT (red berries, specifically). Fruits which are bordering on overripeness.

It’s kind of daunting in its fruity aggressiveness!

I just love the scent once brewed, though. It’s delicious, like a warm strawberry compote topped with cream and dusted with powdered sugar. There is a mild fresh floral and green stem component too. Like a bouquet of dewy, long-stemmed roses.

And the flavor is just as beautiful. The green tea taste reminds me of Sauvignon Blanc— brisk and grassy, clean and fresh. All overlaid with this hazy perfume of sweet berries and flowers. I can’t help but think of springtime.

Yummy strawberries!!!

Once brewed, this smells deliciously like strawberry jam on warm toast—yummm.

The taste, compared to the scent, is pretty mild. I detect something slightly grape-like and woodsy. Maybe even “bubbly” (like champagne). The strawberry flavor is way in the background—an accent.

On cooldown, I taste grape-y honeybush.

Not bad at all. The scent far outweighs the flavor, though. But I love honeybush—it’s very calming for me—especially after a long day. And I love the scent of strawberries ’n toast. So, I think this is fabulous in whatever flavor!

Made a substantial dent in my stash this summer—de-cupboarded several teas!
Thought I’d treat myself by cracking open this much-revered flavor!
What a beautiful tin! My first Mariage Feres!

Quick first impression:
Smells like a nuclear Strawberry Shortcake
Tastes like a Spring Easter Basket—all pastel candies and fresh meadow flowers.

More details later…

I still can’t believe how much this reminds me of actual neapolitan ice cream, when I drink this!

This time, I’m distinctly reminded of spumoni—must be the strong cherry note I’m getting—and I swear I’m tasting some pistachio in here as well?

Speaking of which, wouldn’t a Spumoni Honeybush tea be great?? :)

This should be called “Clove Tea” and nothing but! :)

The flavor is predominately cloves…maybe with a smidgen of cinnamon and orange peels scattered here and there as garnish.

I noticed that there are rose petals and carrots on the ingredient list, but I taste them naught. Perhaps as the tea cools I detect a hint of floral?

But if, at some time, you are craving the taste of cloves (Djarum cigarettes maybe? ;) ) drink this and it’ll do in a pinch!

Yep, this is very satisfyingly Butter Pecan-like! …and there’s also a hint of something vaguely like brandy? Like flambe’d sugared pecans. It’s a good, warming and comforting flavor.

Basically (and obviously), this is butter pecan ice cream re-invented as hot tea! The black tea base is strong too—has a good “kick”. Kind of malty, kind of toasty. Complements the sweet, nutty, vanilla flavors.

I love butter pecan ice cream and this is a good homage to it.