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I’m sipping this one down as a cold brew. The green tea and matcha come across as rather bitter, but in a delightful way. The chestnut flavor is friendly and bright! Chestnuts are an autumn flavor, and I’m pretty sure I picked this up in autumn just before Lupicia closed their San Jose and other continental US locations, which is very sad. But I’m not one for sticking to seasons. I’ll eat soumen “summer” noodles or ice cream in the winter, and hot chili in the summer. Anyway, this is delicious, and I wish I could easily buy more.

Me: Hey Sara, I have this unmarked paper bag of pyramid teabags, I think from a tea festival, sound familiar?
Sara: Oh yeah, it was Tao of Tea I think, let me look…
https://steepster.com/mastressalita/posts/393751

Mostly I wanted to know what temperature to brew and for how long, but I figured it looked and smelled herbal. Yup, it’s an herbal hibiscus from Tao of Tea! I hot brewed it, but since reading Sara’s tasting note again, I want to try cold steeping it too. I didn’t pick up on it until reading hers, but I do pick out a weird tomato soup note along with the hibiscus and citrus and spices! This will be in my “drink until it’s gone” spot for now.

This was given to my daughter-in-law by a co-worker. The label says:

Happy Christmas Everyone!

I have thoroughly enjoyed meeting and working with you all since coming on this Summer. Thank you for welcoming me as part of the team! Wishing you a happy and healthy holiday season and New Year!!
With Love and Friendship, (name)

This is an Immunity Tea Blend that I make. It is 100% organic and blessed 108 times (the number of beads on a mala) for wellness, peace, and love to all beings everywhere. Drink to your health!

Ingredients: Astralgus, Elderberry, Echinacea Root & Leaf, Marjoram, Goldenseal, Dandelion, Peppermint, Amla

The tea bag has a drawstring and looks like it’s made of corn husk. The leaf and brewed cup smell familiar, possibly cause of the echinacea. From the beginning of the sip to the end, a variety of flavors dance in my mouth, mostly of the “medicinal” varieties. Lots of roots! There’s a medicinal aftertaste too. There’s also a hint of the peppermint. I’m going to give it a moment to see if I feel anything from it.

Okay, I feel good, maybe a little high? Probably blessed! Pairs well with chocolate chip cookies.

Another sample from the SF Tea Festival. The leaf smells almost like licorice, though I don’t see anything like that in the ingredients! I can also smell some cinnamon and clove.

I tried a sip and decided to add some oat milk. This is quite a treat! I love how the flavors balance together, which is pretty key for chai. Overall it tastes like a good gingerbread. I can pick out the cinnamon, clove, and ginger.

I might have to get more when the sample runs out!

I got this as a sampler at the SF International Tea Festival. My stomach is feeling a little off this morning, and this sounded good.

The leaf gives off a strong peachy flavor. The tea is sweet, with strong peach notes and a little fruit punch at the end of the sip. I’m reminded of a fruit salad that’s heavy on the peach. I’ll bet this would be good iced too!

My stomach has calmed down a little too. Hopefully I’ll be hungry later.

I got this from a Bestore across the street from my hotel in Chengdu. Just opening the pouch it came in, I got a blast of artificial peach smell. The brewed tea smells of it, but not as strongly.

I admit I can’t taste the tea very much. If this were served as an herbal peach, I would believe it. It tastes strongly of peach, with a little sweet.

Another cold brew. This is very lavender-forward… I’d say lavender with a little sencha. There’s lavender at the start of the sip, lavender and sencha in the middle, and a strong lavender taste at the end of the sip. A bit after the sip, I can pick out more vegetal sencha goodness. Does lavender cause a cooling sensation like mint if you have enough? Cause it seems like that. Actually, trying it again, I think there is a bit of mint flavor too. Maybe spearmint. As a lavender lover, I do love this. If you don’t like to go crazy with the lavender, I would avoid this. I can imagine plain sugar cookies tasting great with this!

Pretty sure I bought my fancy tin of this at the PDX Tea Fest with Sara in 2018. I tried cold brewing it, and mmm, it’s crisp and clean and… almost sweet, I’d say. The roasted brown rice flavor is definitely there, and I can smell it too. There’s a hint of the matcha flavor, but it’s not as strong as the roasted rice. Very nice genmaicha, would buy again!

Oops, I apparently never reviewed this tea before! Now I’m doing a sipdown, cold-brewed. It’s licorice-forward, and I love how the other flavors come together to support it. I loved it hot-steeped and love it as a cold brew too. I’m glad to see Portal Tea still makes it! I remember hearing they changed their name from Tea Chai Te, wonder how long ago that was.

Excellent tea, would buy again!

I got this from Martin and lost track of it, finally brewed it today. The brewed tea smells citrusy. Wow! With so many flavors, I’m getting an overall fruit punch flavor or a mulled wine flavor. I’m not picking out the aloe flavor, but I’m not sure what that tastes like. It pairs well with dark chocolate. Thanks, Martin!