Stephanie

Ahh, Almond Cookie! It’s been awhile since I’ve savored your toasty, marzipan deliciousness!

For me, boiling hot water brings out the best in this tea—which only serves to enhance its baked, cinnamon-y flavor. I don’t detect any bitterness—just yummy toastiness.

It tastes like those crumbly Chinese almond cookies in the pink box with the red dragons on it. I love this tea!

Wow, my last log was almost a month ago! I feel kind of guilty for neglecting my notes. I’ve definitely been drinking tea all this time but it’s been a crazy, stressful summer where even jotting down tasting notes seems like a chore. But, despite that feeling, I have to get back to my Steepster habit! I have to remember that evaluating teas is fun!

Anyways, on this note:
I’m getting a nice, yeasty, honeyed bread-like flavor from this tea today. Very mild and almost “wheaty”. No pepper. No bitterness. And it’s been steeping forever in my travel mug. It’s a comforting, uncomplicated tea. :)

I love the scent of this!! It’s so much like one of my favorite Filipino desserts called “Buko Pandan” (sweet young coconut with pandan-flavored gelatin, condensed milk and crispy rice topping). It smells deliciously like sweet toasted rice and pandan leaves.

The taste is like toasted, slighty earthy green tea with sweet sticky (aka “glutinous”) rice. So it’s just as described—yum! :)

I really like this tea and I’m glad I chose this as my free sample. This is unique to my tea collection so I will definitely order more. Thanks Chicago Tea Garden!

ETA: I steeped this pretty heavily and did not rinse it like a regular puerh. But it was still pretty tasty. Although, on cooldown, I could detect some astringency and bitterness. So, it’s best to drink it quickly and not let it linger in the cup. I still love it, though!

Soil-y, plant-y spices!
Potent cardamom aroma. Heavy (almost minty?) cinnamon aftertaste.
I can definitely taste the earthy pu-erh. Tastes like (how I imagine) rain-soaked granite and slate to be. _{Just to wax poetic: Like ancient stones set in a verdant fog-covered meadow. :P}
Upon cooldown, there’s an almost sandalwood-like flavor. Reminiscent of an antique sandalwood filigree fan. Like wisps of a sweet oriental perfume.
A happy little green cardamom pod bobs in the liquid. Cute! :)

I’ve had this forever and just opened it this morning. Just had to share it with my co-workers who love genmaicha.

I was able to get 4 infusions from my 12oz mug.

This is basically Genmaicha “to the Max!!” _{(lol, that’s such an 80’s reference isn’t it?).} It’s super toasty, super green, mostly savory but with a little sweetness…and a bit of seaweed?

I enjoyed this because I love genmaicha. But it didn’t knock my socks off. So, while this was good, I’m not sure I’ll re-order once this tin is empty.

But it’s a good tea to share.

_{(hmm…I wonder exactly why I don’t love this? Since I find it good but not amazing, maybe the Samovar love spell has passed me over? ;) )}

In one word, delicious delicious _delicious!

I don’t have much time to type, so in short, this reminds me of a mango version of Golden Moon’s Coconut Pouchong. I love it!

Got this free teabag yesterday in the mail along with Lupicia’s newsletter. What a great, summery choice. On to my shopping list this goes!!

Quick impressions:

Ginger and Soil. Planty, peaty, earthy ginger. Warmed in a terracota pot in the summertime. Unsweet ginger.

I like ginger so I like this just fine.

Not bad. Not bad at all. :)

Lightly bready. Malty flavor. Pleasantly soft. Bread-like aroma too.

I like this tea. I like assams for their bread-likeness. This is a good smooth example so I’m pretty happy with it.

My packet arrived today—so quickly too! Yay!!! :)

Even though I have countless teas to try, I just had to rip this open as soon as possible. I needed my honeybush fix! :P

I’m sipping this piping hot. I’m getting the sweet honeybush flavor very strongly. Then there’s the definite ice cream vibe—I’m not sure how I’m getting that since the liquid is hot, but somehow I perceive “ice cream”. Must be the vanilla with its sense of creaminess. The chocolate is bittersweet. The strawberry has cherry notes.

The scent screams Neopolitan Ice Cream! The classic boxed variety (just like in the picture). Makes me want to run out and buy a box right now. ;)

I like this very much and will reach for it often. As usual, 52teas doesn’t disappoint!

Unfortunately (and surprisingly), my sample tasted bitter, smoky, stale and very peaty.

It was smoky not in a good way. :(

Other than this, I love Keemun teas—my favorite so far was A&D’s Jackee Muntz!—and this did not compare. So, based on my sample, I have to give this a “meh” face. :/

It was drinkable with milk…maybe I should’ve added sugar too?

Mild milk chocolate flavor. Powdery sweet cocoa aroma. Smooth black tea background. Nothing bitter. Slightly creamy.

Eventhough I’m not much for chocolate, I don’t hate this. :) It’s tasty. Nothing offensive or artificial about this at all. Very soft and soothing.

Oh lovely, lovely bacon!!! :)

I think this is more authentically bacon-y than Maple Bacon—the smokiness makes all the difference. Lapsang and bacon are perfect partners! This tastes like grilled Canadian Bacon. Grilled over mesquite in the middle of a pine forest.

Maple Bacon is for breakfast with pancakes. Smoky Bacon is good enough for dinner with a hefty meat course.

In one word: Delicious!

Pretty good vanilla flavor. Kind of toasty. But not as good as their decaf one-Vanilla Comoro. The aroma is similar, between the two. Although for pure, rich, caramelized flavor alone, Vanilla Comoro wins hands down.

But for a “real” (non-decaf) tea, I’d go for this any day. The black tea base is prominent and has a definite kick. The vanilla flavor is more in the background and serves as a delicious accent—it’s very smooth, creamy and authentic and seems to have a slight floral edge.

Pretty good, overall. I’m happy with it. :)

_{(unabashed gushing here :)):}

This is the most perfect strawberry-flavored tea! I taste creamy custard, vanilla and strawberries (glorious strawberries!) all floating atop a delicious black tea base. The aroma is heaven in a cup!

I love it!

A short but sweet note:

Yes, very pina colada-like! It’s similar to their Pineapple Upside Down Cake without the cherry or cake-ness. I can taste the rum and coconut flavors pretty clearly (but if you’re scared of the rum flavor being too harsh, don’t be—it just serves to enhance the yumminess of the pineapple and coconut).

Essence of the tropics, this is! I’m been drinking this so often that the 4 oz tin I have is practically half empty already. So I’m very glad this is part of the permanent collection!

Yep, this is a bacon-y tea alright!

The aroma is spot on bacon with dribbles of maple syrup. But if I linger on it too long, I actually feel a little nauseous because the scent seems to get “oily”! I think I’m just imagining lard congealing on a plate.

I think the taste is more akin to beef jerky than pork. Or like meat marinated in soy sauce. It tastes very “meaty”. And there’s that sweet edge to it—like barbeque sauce with molasses.

Upon cooldown, subsequent sips remind me of the taste of tea eggs.

All in all, I like this very much. It doesn’t disappoint. It seems satisfyingly bacon-y, meaty and protein-rich (all with a dose of sugar)!

And yet it’s tea. Amazing! ;)

I’ve been drinking a lot of 52teas honeybush blends lately. They are fantastic. :)

I’m a really big fan of honeybush now. Sometimes I just want something soothing and easy to brew—I can just throw a couple teaspoons in my travel mug, pour the hot water in and just steep it forever basically and it’ll still taste great. Also, I love honeybush because something about it seems to calm me down.

Anyway, this Lemon Cooler flavor is summer-y and delicious—like sunshine in a cup. The lemon is slightly tangy, green and herbaceous-tasting. It’s not a creamy or dessert-y lemon at all, obviously.
It reminds me of a lemon drop (both the candy and the cocktail) without the sugariness. But there is no bitterness or sourness. Very refreshing!

_{(I would love a Lemon Chiffon flavored honeybush blend next! Something creamy, light and sweet.)}

This “tea” kind of makes me angry. So this will be a sad review. Apologies, in advance!

It’s not juicy, yummy, tangy blood orange at all. It’s dusty, chalky, vaguely orange-flavored, chewable baby aspirin!! :(

I find it unpalatable, unfortunately. I tried mixing it with real teas, but it just ruins everything.

Bad, bad herbal blood orange! :P

I know why a full sample tin of this was passed on to me as a “giveaway”—it’s an “acquired taste” only a few can appreciate, I guess _{(i.e. because it’s awful)}. This tin needs to move on again—or I may just toss it to save anyone else the trouble and disappointment.

Poor Blood Orange—destined for the trash heap.

Quick note:

Tastes like sweet young coconut shavings (it’s called “macapuno” in the Philippines).
I’m not getting much of the “pie” part.
I would love more pie crust, cream and custard, please.
Maybe I should try this as a latte.
Otherwise, it’s an excellent coconut-flavored black. Very satisfyingly coconutty.

Thanks to Liberteas for the generous sample!!

Yum..I’m getting warm sweet bread again—in both the aroma and first sips of the freshly brewed liquid.

As the tea cools, I’m getting more of an unsalted, soft pretzel flavor. It’s still very bread-y to me. Scented with hints of freshly grated black pepper.

Toward the bottom of the cup, the flavor is like a Carr’s® Table Water® Cracker!

How is it that a tea can taste so much like baked wheat flour?

A very comforting cup! All of the flavor of wheat-laden baked goods with none of the bloat or empty calories!

Mmm..yum!! (thank you Lori for forwarding this sample!)

This is delicious! Almost like a mocha chai cafe latte! :) The taste is rich and almost coffee-like, to me. Nicely spicy and cocoa-y.

The scent is very much like mocha (very cocoa-coffeish). And the spices…I detect plenty of cinnamon, maybe a bit of cardamom and black pepper? It’s very chai-like.

This is a flavored tea done right! I’m so happy to try out a Kusmi tea. I’ve been so curious about this brand. This is definitely full-tin worthy!

_{(lol! I crack myself up— I’m remembering a Seinfeld moment— “Sponge-worthy!!”)}

I’m trying to use up my sample of this…it’s amazing how bottomless a sample can be when you don’t like the tea much!

All I can say is, the flavor improves a little, on the second steeping. The peach mellows out and becomes less fake candy-ness and more like peach pie filling. The toastiness of the oolong becomes more pronounced. But something is still “off” about this.

_{lowering the score by 10 points!}

I think is one of those teas that tries to enhance a natural oolong characteristic (like peachiness) with an artificial flavoring. Kind of like milky oolongs with milk flavoring. While I don’t mind flavored teas at all (in fact I love them!), this one just isn’t done right. So sad.

I may have to toss you, poor tea sample! I just can’t endure another cup!

_{(Nor can I impose your inferiority on others!)}

I’ve “re-discovered” this tea and have been drinking it a lot lately! It’s simply excellent—such a fresh, sweet jasmine flavor that seems to never get bitter. I’m on my second steeping and the taste is mellow and creamy. So refreshing!

Thanks to Lori for the sample!

I’m so glad that I had a chance to sample this because I can now confirm with certainty that this is SpecialTeas’ Almond Cookie! From the appearance, scent and taste it’s all the same.

So, please see my review of Almond Cookie for further tasting details. :)

It’s a delicious tea, nonetheless.