Uniquity

Wow, that’s some vanilla! I received this sample from The Tea Merchant and am steeping it up while at switchboard. Thanks to The Tea Merchant! The dry aroma is in your face vanilla, it reminds me of vanilla pudding in a way. THere is something hiding behind the vanilla that I can’t quite place. Steeped for three minutes, the liquor is a pale yellow and the immediate aroma is of corn. Wait, what? Yep, corn and vanilla. I gotta say, this makes me worry. I don’t like green tea or really green oolongs. We’ll see!

The flavour isn’t as aggressive (yay!) but I do get a bit of that corn I was smelling, and then it’s a smooth vanilla right after that. I enjoy vanilla, but I’m very specific about it. This is yummy, but getting dangerously close to too much vanilla (when it starts reminding me of coconut, which I loathe). I also am getting a weird hint of mint which I want to blame on my mug, but I haven’t had mint in it in ages. Very strange.

As I progress through the cup (and it cools) the flavours are coming together more and a hint of the oolong is peeking through. It’s a bit green for my preferences, BUT it works. Very light and refreshing though there is a creamy aspect from the vanilla. I think the beau might really like this one, I’ll have to get him to try it. Overall, this is a yummy tea but a bit overdone on the vanilla. I might like to see a bit more oolong in the taste OR change the name to Vanilla Explosion or something, hah! : )

This tea tricked and impressed me. I received it yesterday as one of four free samples from The Tea Merchant – thank you! It came wrapped up in brown tissue paper with a golden wax seal. LOVED that. I steeped up a cuppa this darjeeling this afternoon and must admit it’s my first darjeeling. While I love black teas, I have not experienced a darjeeling yet so I didn’t know what I was in for. The aroma was a bit musty and reminded me of barns and animals – not in a negative way, but in a hay-ish sort of way. No poo smell, I swear.

Steeped for three minutes, I have a surprisingly light orangeish liquor which shares the aroma of the dry leaf, but more refined somehow. It’s like the dry aroma was a fuzzy picture and the steeped liquor is it’s sharper cousin. The taste is impressive – again, it’s clearly a black tea but really good quality. It’s smooth and has a hint of astringency underneath the tea. I find it hard to describe, other than black tea. My words are failing me today.. EDIT: After reading other reviews, malty totally fits what I am getting here. It’s very malty – I don’t know what muscatel means, really, so I can’t speak to that but it reminds me of rich beer, almost.

I must say that I thought the leaves were a bit small for a pure tea and I expected that to translate into more bitterness, but it doesn’t seem to have. I expected fuller leaf, but this doesn’t suffer for the breakage that is there. Solid black tea – not my favourite, but certainly would make a good standard black in the cupboard.

This is another sample I received from Della Terra Teas after winning their Facebook giveaway – Thank you to Della Terra Teas! See my note for Caramel Cappuccino Crunch for info on shipping (if interested.) This tisane suffered a lot from the smell contamination, but I think it’s mostly back to normal now. I must say I don’t smell strawberries or kiwi but instead some vague indeterminate berry aroma. I get a hint of cinnamon (which is weird!) and I can smell the hibiscus in the dry leaf. Steeped for approximately 5 minutes, the liquor is a vibrant red/pink from the hibiscus and the aroma still has that hint of something I can’t place.

First sips are surprising. I don’t know if this needed more leaf or more time, but the flavour is very mild and unassuming. What flavour I get is lightly sweet (hibiscus is not nearly as present as I had feared). Again, I don’t get strawberry or kiwi. Just something vaguely fruity – and that strange note I couldn’t place from the aroma is still there in the taste. I am thinking it might be lingering smell contamination from the chocolate puerh, as there is nothing in the ingredient list to suggest this flavour.

Unfortunately, this is another one that I am glad to have sampled but would not keep in my cupboard. Strawberries are my favourite berry and I am continually looking out for a tea that can accurately replicate their flavour. This one doesn’t even come close so it’s a bit of a letdown. I think this might stand a better rating under a different name (berry melange or something like that). Expecting strawberries and/or kiwi just leaves me a bit disappointed. Sorry!

EDIT: After reading Sil’s tasting note, I’m thinking I might cold brew the other half of my sample and see if that has a better flavour. It can make a huge difference in the taste of fruity teas, so I’ll try to get to that. : )

I received this and a Strawberry Kiwi Fusion sample from Della Terra Teas on Friday after winning their Facebook giveaway recently. Amazingly, the tea arrived in Nova Scotia only a week after they sent it, which is a Canada Post miracle. Unfortunately there was some serious smell contamination from a bonus sample of Chocolate Chai Puerh they threw in, so I left the three teas to air out over the weekend. All that aside, Thank you to Della Terra teas for the samples! Winning things is always exciting!

I wanted a cup of hot chocolate today as it is sub-Arctic at work, but I couldn’t find any anywhere. Drat! So, I turned to this one as a good substitute, with less calories. Win! I gave it about 8 minutes to steep, which yielded a dark amber liquor, with the aroma of a rooibos based cappuccino. It does smell like cappuccino (coffee, sweet, cream) but the rooibos aroma is very present too. There is a bit of a bitter note at the end that is more reminiscent of coffee, but I’m hoping that isn’t included in the flavour (I hate coffee but tend to enjoy sweet frou frou cappuccinos the odd time I get them).

The first sips are a bit thin and a bit bitter. Not bitter in the way that tea can be, but more a hint of roasted coffee. I am a little surprised at the flavour, though I don’t know why because it tasted like it smells. Maybe I somehow anticipated the taste of a cappuccino, which would be hard to do without adding all the fat and sugar! :) I wish this had a touch more caramel flavour as that is the real selling point for me. There were a couple little squares in there which I can’t seem to find now so I assume they melted in? Either that or they disappeared!

Cumulatively, I enjoyed this, but it didn’t present the depth of flavour I was hoping for. Maybe if I doubled up on ‘leaf’ it would be a different story, but I’m worried about emphasising the dark bitter note too much. I’m such a wuss. Anyway, brilliant in theory but not quite for me in practice. Thanks again, Della Terra Teas!

So, I gave in and splurged on matcha. We got 50 grams of this at Davids, and also picked up their matcha starter set so we have an adorable bowl and whisk. I am not a green tea fan so I was very hesitant, but wanted to know if I like matcha before committing to a Red Leaf Tea order for flavoured matcha, which I am strongly considering. The dry smell of this is very green, but not offensive. I was pleasantly surprised that though it didn’t smell appealing, it wasn’t off-putting. Once I sifted it, added some water and started mixing the smell took on stronger vegetal tones, and a hint of seaweedy earthiness. That was less appealing, but still worth giving it a shot. We did a thinner matcha to avoid and strong bitterness and it was actually pretty decent on it’s own. The beau and I agreed we preferred some sweetening, so we added one of my new grapefruit agave sticks. With that, it was perfect. The slight grapefruit taste masked the vegetal nature of the green tea and added enough sweetness to cut the bitterness but also left the matcha flavour very present. I would call this a matcha success – though I would prefer flavoured matchas to plain. The beau likes it quite a bit and is very excited. I was very impressed at how easy it was to whisk, though that was partially due to the sifting, I assume. I had no clumps and it stayed integrated very well. We only did about 1/3 of the bowl to share between us, but this isn’t the sort of thing I would like to have a lot of at once, I get the impression it has the potential to give me an upset tummy.

This one surprised me. I had been wanting to try it (Hello – kiwi?!?!) but was hesitant as it’s a green tea. We grabbed it to go as the iced tea of the day yesterday and I must say it was good. It was quite weak, which was only hampered by the additional ice they added (anyone else notice how little tea volume you get with the TotD?) but I really enjoyed it. The green tea was not present at all, but there was the taste of something definitely kiwi. Worth playing around with to try to increase the strength but I managed to resist the urge. For now. : )

Booze! This smells and tastes of booze. The beau and I got one as iced tea of the day then went right back in to pick some up to add gin to on occasion. How can this be so boozy? Aside from that, it was quite refreshing. Not too tart, not at all sweet. A lovely mix – almost like a kick-butt lemonade.

This was very nice! I can no longer recall if I received this is in my box of teas from LiberTeas or if a friend game it to me for my birthday, but the beau and I finally did this up today. Unfortunately, our electric kettle which heats the water to your desired temp chose to die today, so we had to wing it in terms of temp. The bloom opened really beautifully, I had a grand time trying to photograph it through the teapot. The tea itself is really unassuming, lovely flavour with no bitterness at all. I found it really refreshing hot and also after it had cooled off a bit. We intend to do another steep of it later on – blooming teas really have a lot to offer!

This wasn’t the most attractive bloom I’ve ever seen (there were 2 or 3 smallish white flowers – I presume jasmine flowers?), but all blooming teas are a treat to behold, and I am very impressed with the way the flavour held up (as I find that can be a bit of a disappointment on occasion). Loved it!

Bought some of this today after trying an iced sample – I was really impressed with the sample, it was distinctly pineapple (of the dried variety) but the oolong was very present at well. Excellent balance!

I got a sample of this back n March and am finally giving it a go. I am steeping it up in my perfect tea mug for around 3/4 minutes-ish. I love citrus teas BUT find they are usually not done well, so I am eternally on the search for a good one. I am not a fan of green teas in general but find they do work well for citrus, so I hope I don’t regret this decision.

The dry aroma is very sharp, like the zest of a clementine, tangerine or other sweet orange-like fruit. The steeped liquor is much more muted, with more of a green tea aroma than anything else. by that, i mean sweet hay or grass. Fields after the rain, that sort of thing. : )

In terms of taste, the citrus is not very forward. It is nicely disguised in the background of the green tea and is actually really pleasant. I would like a bit more citrus, but this really works. Especially to the idea of a tangerine tea, since there is the sweetness from the green. Definitely suitable but not a re-buy.

PS – The beau is now the fiancee. After eight years, we’re now “official.” I’m so excited! Now to plan and pay for (what we hope to be) a small intimate country wedding. We shall see..

This is the second of the samples I received from Peony Tea S while they were testing shipping to Canada – Thank you! I have never had a yellow tea before, so this is a very new experience for me. The dry aroma put me in mind of delicate teas such as whites and greens, but the “leaves” were quite unusual. They were covered in a downy fuzz and looked almost like really thin pussy willows. They unfurled a bit during the inital steep and have more of a leaf shape now but they are clearly still buds.

Since I am at work I steeped this western style in my perfect tea mug. I gave it approximately 3 minutes to steep, which yields a lightly peachy coloured liquor. The aroma is reminiscent of sweet hay but it is a very light aroma, I had to hover over the cup to pick it up. First sips are mild but very tasty. It is very fresh tasting, and has a cumulative effect, with the flavour seeming more bold with every sip. There is no bitterness (which I like, even if I may have been a bit light on leaf) but a very light sweetness that is unassuming but refreshing.

This does remind me in some ways of greens (but lighter) and whites (but stronger) but not quite the same as either. There is a light, natural sweetness here, it reminds me a bit of fruit but without any bold flavour assocaitons. Maybe like the rind of watermelon, but not bitter? This is a weird thing for me, but I think this would be excellent iced. I don’t enjoy iced tea typically but this is so refreshing, it would be excellent on a hot summer day.

I didn’t really anticipate enjoying this one as much as I do, but it is lovely to have a new flavour in my tea cupboard, especially one that surprises as well as this. I really look forward to trying this at home with my gaiwan. Thanks again, Peony Tea!

This is another one that my Auntei got me a year or so ago. This seems to be a genmaicha, though it has a lightly floral aroma. I am not much of a green tea fan so it has sat untouched, but today I decided to give it a go. The slight fruity flavour carried over into the tea, but mostly I got a shockingly sweet green tea. It wasn’t that bad, for a green – I think genmaicha are my preferred greens, though I still would rather have most anything else. The beau enjoys green tea more than I do, so I might get him to drink it. It’s good to have diverse tea tastes in the house! : )

I still have a bunch of this left and brought it to work to finish up. I still get an unpleasant coconut note in here, which I would prefer to be more of a vanilla or cream note. The earl aspect if well balanced, not too dry and dusty but definitely not my favourite. The black tea base is a bit harsh, this could do with a small splash of milk or a bit of honey. I am fairly fussy about my earls, bergamot is a tricky flavour to do well.

Nonetheless, I am very grateful to my aunty for thinking of me and giving me this tea. As I’m sure you all know, it can be very hard to buy tea for a tea lover – we can be a bit fussy! : )

I received this sample today as part of Peony Tea’s shipping test. They graciously sent along this one, a puerh and a yellow tea but this is the only one I am familiar with so I thought I would try it out first. The shipping took just under two weeks from Singapore to Canada (which is impressive!) and everything arrived safe and sound. They also included a wooden measuring sppon which I am actually quite enjoying. It feels more like tea ceremony than my typical metal spoon. : )

The dry aroma of this tea was that of a very green oolong, it reminded me of some Tai Guan Yin I have had in the past. Sweet smelling, with a hint of hay or grass. Some sort of plant life. I am at work so I steeped this up western style in my perfect tea mug, resulting in a lightly yellow liquor with a green tinge. Steeped, the aroma reminds me of boiled corn. Mmm – surprisingly appealing, considering my usual tastes (I’m more of a dark oolong or black tea person).

First sips are surprisingly sweet, light with a lingering taste and aroma that I still find reminiscent of peaches and cream corn. There is no bitterness at all, but the flavour stays with you, light though it is. It has a cumulative strength of flavour and makes me want to keep sipping. Very nice! : ) I’m impressed it doesn’t end up tasting too “green” as that can be a real turn-off for me, but this works.

This is a sample graciously sent to me from Teavivre – I am very inexperienced with green teas so I figured I would go for this one to broaden my horizons. It tends to be universally well reviewed, so I figured I couldn’t go wrong, right? The dry smell is quite appealing, actually. i get a great deal of sweetness and almost honey notes. the beau proclaims it is earthy and vegetal, but I don’t get either of those smells. Honestly, I hide from vegetal and earthy – I’m glad this seems to have neither.

Out of fear, I steeped this approximately 1 minute 45 seconds in 80 degree water – we are each having a smallish cup of this so I used one heaping “perfect” teaspoon of leaves for the pot. The liquor is a warm yellow, darker than I would have guessed for the temp/time combo but as I said, I rarely brew greens. The beau likes them though, so he is the “authority” in our house.

First impressions are quite nice. The flavour closely matches the aroma and is quite nice. I get sweetness, and I am reminded of oolongs. I am not getting anything in terms of vegetal but I’m really liking it. This is the sort of green tea that I can appreciate – I think it is a little under-steeped in terms of temp, time or leaf but it’s still a good infusion. Will give a second shot tomorrow morning. Thanks again, Teavivre!

This is another from my second batch of samples from Teavivre (many thanks!) I was feeling a little Western Gong Fu-ish today, so steeped some up while watching the beau play Uncharted 2 with my brother – I LOVE that we can play games with my family even though we live a couple hundred KMs apart. It is a lovely way to spend the weekend, especially now that we have a headset and can talk the whole time – the internet is a wonderful thing!

Anyway, I’m using my gaiwan and wee double walled teacups, so these are small steeps (maybe 2 oz liquid for each of us per steep?) I am not terribly familiar with oolongs, but I have tried a couple Tie Guan Yin in the past and generally know what I think of them. I tried the regular TGY from Teavivre in my first batch of samples and enjoyed it so thought the honey soaked one could only be better (I love honey! IF I sweeten a tea, it is my preferred sweetener.)

First steep – 80 degrees, 30 seconds. The liquor is not as clear as a typical oolong, though it is a warm yellow shade, almost like sunset with a hint of ochre. The brew smells quite vegetal (a bit more than I might prefer) but there is a hint of sweetness in the aroma which I prefer. The leaves have barely unfurled at all! The taste is very different from the smell – I get sweetness from the honey and typical oolong taste underneath. VERY pleasant, if a bit mild.

Second steep – 85 degrees, 35 seconds. The leaves have opened a bit more, but not nearly at full leaf yet. This steep is not as powerfully sweet from the honey (I assume most of it will dissolve in the first couple steeps) but neither is it a very powerful TGY. Another nice steep, but a bit muted. The beau says this steep tastes more of oolong.

Third Steep – 85 degrees, 45 seconds. Leaves are almost entirely opened now and I imagine most of the honey to have dissolved. This is a bit more vegetal than the first two and the sweetness is more in the aftertaste, like a taste memory. This steep really shows the quality of the TGY underneath the honey and I like it! The beau says this is definitely the best steep and I would tend to agree with him.

Fourth Steep – 85 degrees, 1 minute. This will be my last, as it is getting warm in our apartment as the sun comes out and I hate feeling too hot! The aroma has lost all sweetness and has a bitter/vegetal smell, but the taste is not as powerful as the aroma would have me believe. There is still a bit of honey sweetness underneath the sip and lingering in the aftertaste.

While this could easily go a couple more rounds, I need a timeout for some cold water. This was a lovely experience, I think I might even prefer this to the ‘regular’ TGY. If nothing else, it is a nice change from the usual. The third steep in particular was really nice and balanced the honey and oolong the best. Thanks again Teavivre for a lovely treat!

Received my second batch of Teavivre samples today (Many thanks!!) and decided to steep this one up while at switchboard. Because I am at work and only have my perfect tea mug I will be doing this western style – something I typically shy away from with oolongs. I kept the water temperature pretty low though, so hopefully I won’t get any bitterness from the steep time (approximately three minutes). After three minutes, the leaves haven’t really opened up much, so I’m guessing there are several steeps left in this one. I used one of the little foil sample packets, it looks to have a few teaspoons of leaves, but this is a 12 oz cup so I assume all will work out!

The dry leaf smelled quite nice, after inhaling deeply I got a faint aroma that was lightly sweet and very natural. Beyond that, however, it just smelled like tea. I’m terrible with aromatics. I always think I smell a hint of cocoa, but I rarely get much beyond that. I also don’t know what I’m looking for, so this is as detailed as it gets for now! : ) The liquor is really rich in colour, almost orange. It’s coloured more like a pale ale than tea – now I want a drink too!

First sips are surprising. The flavour is bold but mild at the same time. Not necessarily assertive, but complex. At the very end of the sip (and in the aftertaste) I get a hint of natural sweetness, almost reminds me of apricots or apples. I’m loving the aftertaste. This is much richer than I typically think of oolongs being, and I’m quite enjoying it. It tastes more like a black tea, so I am assuming this is a roasted oolog? It certainly doesn’t seem very “green.” That aftertaste really is something special. I have been thinking that darker oolongs are more my thing, and further tasting has really solidifed that belief.

Underneath the main sip I get a sense of fuzzy oolong taste, which may not make a lot of sense but is as accurate as I can get. It’s not bitter at all, but it’s almost like the idea that is could be if I weren’t careful. It’s like a warning from the tea…I wonder what this will be like with the gaiwan. As it cools/I continue sipping, the flavour seems to build up on the tongue and becomes a bit overbearing. I think I might prefer this in smaller quantities, as I’m not a true oolong lover quite yet. This is a nice offering to tempt in an oolong newbie such as myself – I can only hope I haven’t totally missed ALL the nuances. : ) Thanks again, Teavivre!

Picked up some of this and Perfect Pear today as a Sunday treat – Happy long weekend to any fellow Nova Scotians!! The smell of this was quite appetizing, though not quite shortcake. Don’t tell anyone, but I’ve never had brittle (other than peanut brittle) and I don’t understand what its place would be in strawberry shortcake.

We steeped this about three minutes, to avoid potential bitterness and also to avoid too much sweetness. This smells like a sweet assault in the dry leaf, even though the sales girl said this is one that isn’t too sweet – I find my opinion on that note tends to differ. Anyway, it smelled lovely when steeped, though still not what I think of as shortcake.

The flavour was quite tasty. There was a great dael of sweetness (more than I would prefer) but I assume that all comes from the brittle. The beau and I both agreed that this might be a bit better with extra TEA under it all, so I think that the next time I will try it with a bit of extra black tea from one of my many samples and see if that lessens the sugar load. There was strawberry flavour, which was great, and if the sugary taste could be diminished, this could be a re-buy. I will need to work with it first, but I hope this can be redeemed a bit more.

This is one of those very rare teas that I would love to try iced – I think the sweetness of the brittle would lend itself to iced tea. Might try it cold brewed if there is enough left after a bit of re-working.

By the way, strawberry shortcake at my house tends to be a homemade biscuit topped with fresh mashed strawberries (a hint of sugar in them if they are too tart) and freshly whipped cream. I want some!!

Of course I still have some of this left – I never finish anything, it seems. I made a cup of this to take with me to switchboard today in my never-ending quest to finish some GD tea! The smell of the dry rooibos is sweet and vague, kind of bubble-gummy (as flavoured things keep seeming to me lately). The rooibos pieces are really large, the biggest I’ve ever seen so there is nothing to escape through my infuser – huzzah!

Steeped, this becomes an orangey amber and has a very sweet faux fruit aroma. I have no recollection of this being stellar but it is hard to imagine it being BAD. Just so-so, I think. The flavour is very similar to the aroma, an imprecise and artificial fruit flavouring. Nothing cranberry and nothing tart. This is the sort of blend that I would to have hibiscus in, I wonder if it might be improved by a hint of hibiscus. I don’t think so though!

ps – It does actually have a hint of craisin flavour to it. Man, I like craisins but only in my trail mix. I wish I had some now, I totally need to make up another batch of trail mix for work!

This is yet another tea that we purchased, sampled once or twice and promptly lost in the back of the cupboard. I decided to try this again today at switchboard because the aroma was SO appealing! I am not a fan of green tea at all and am not much for earl grey’s, as I mentioned in my previous note. However, the aroma of this is so crisp and reminiscent of fresh orange zest (almost like when you peel citrus and the spray comes out everywhere, you know what I mean?) that I couldn’t resist. I like citrus teas and am always hoping for a great one – unfortunately they tend to be paired with greens, so I have yet to find the perfect one.

I steeped this in my Perfect Tea Mug for about 2 – 2.5 minutes, which is about as exact as things get while making tea at switchboard. Thank God I am only here an hour a day, because it would drive me batty for any longer stretch of time! The steeped aroma is muted and a bit flowery/dusty. It reminds me a bit of dryer sheets – this does not appeal. More likely than not, it is the bergamot I am picking up on. I am also getting a sense of froot loops, as I usually do with EGs.

The first sips are a bit of an adventure. A bit too much dusty floral-esque bergamot, but underneath that I get a bit of sweet green tea and a hint of something cinnamony – but here’s the shocker: I’m liking the green tea underneath! Maybe I over-steep my flavoured greens? Something to consider, though I’m still not even close to ready for green tea. This does have me craving a good green oolong though. At the moment, this is hitting the spot, but it doesn’t seem to have lasting appeal. I think I want a bit more citrus in here. Maybe some grapefruit? Oh, how I love grapefruit.. One of the issues with flavoured green tea for me is that the green tea needs less steep time, but the flavours seem to need more (or higher temps). Bah!

I think it’s time I tried the new citrus teas I got at DTs a month or two (or three?) ago.

This definitely isn’t the first time I’ve brewed up a cup of Queen Catherine, but it may very well be the first time I did so without screwing it up quite badly. This is part of a swap with Simply Jen W from probably a year ago now. Clearly, punctual tea drinking is not something I put on my resume – though I do appreciate all swaps and samples, very much so!

This time I used a teaspoon of leaves, steeped around 3 minutes and have a much more pleasant seeming cuppa. (Last time it got busy at switchboard while it was steeping and I had a 15 minute steeped disaster). This is an odd duck. It doesn’t quite smell like black tea, there is another edge to it. It smells as if it should be bitter, but the first sips yield a slightly sweet liquor. Again, it’s not quite plain black tea, there is something different here. There is no bitterness (a bonus in my book!) but there’s not really a lot of character either. As it is, I would have no porblem drinking this but I can’t imagine craving it either.

Thanks for the chance to sample, Simply Jen W!

I know I just logged this a week ago but I wanted to share with the tea drinking world in case any packrats have some of this bad boy left. Steep it in a T-Sac. I realized today that there is just too much broken “leaf” in this one to do well in my infuser and prepared it in a T-Sac instead. If only I had thought of this a year ago..

I will be honest though and warn you that using the T Sac really mutes the lemon flavour. I’m okay with that though, as the bitterness from the black tea and the lemon rind aspect were just too much for me. This way I get a lightly sweet lightly lemon flavoured black tea. Kind of blah but much better than bitter! I’m adjusting the rating back up a bit because it is redeemable but a lot of work.

I don’t know how I’ve managed to never log this one – especially since we bought it months ago and I am positive that I’ve tried it before now. I recall it being too sweet and bubble-gum as opposed to cranberry or pear – in the way that many DT teas tend to be to me for the last year or so.

On to the tea! Steeped a pot up with the beau and father-in-law, the aroma is very much of bubble gum. I’m starting to worry that my memories are correct. First sips are sweet, but not exactly bubblegum. Maybe artificial pear. Very artificial. LIke a lightly flavoured hard candy or something. There is no cranberry and no tart (I would expect tart in this one!). It’s tolerable but not fabulous. No black tea taste, but I can feel it on my tongue if that makes sense. It’s a supporting role. Unfortunately, this is another middle of the road sweet fruity tea. I’m not so fond of those anymore. : (

Edit: I can’t believe I’m so out of tune with everyone else on this one – what is going on with me?!

Just a quick note to say that this is a tea that can take a licking and keep on ticking. (:D). We had a pot steeping when I was called into deal with a leaking shower emergency by the beau – the tea was totally forgotten and left to steep for 10 minutes or so before I had managed a redneck repair so he could have his shower. Gotta say, sick of living in apartments and even more sick of dealing with repairs myself because my landlord is annoying. We haven’t had an oven door handle on our stove for the entire two years we have lived here! Anyway, the tea is still good. Very thick and rich, almost brothy. Strong cocoa, it’s quite over-powering, honestly. Very decadent. No bitterness to speak of, which is amazing. Way to go Davids!