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Third steeping — back to tasting green. not really my type of tea. But if you like green teas and oolongs, and you want a tea that will take many steepings, go for this one. It’s just not quite right for me.

Steeped for just 30 seconds as per other people’s suggestions below. I don’t have a kettle that does exact temperatures, so it was about 4 or 5 minutes after boiling, which I figure to be somewhere between 180 and 200 degrees. Possibly less.

Disclaimer: I currently have a cold and am drinking this to soothe my throat and sinuses. As such, I may not smell or taste as much as other people. But I still want to make a point of reviewing it!

First steeping: definitely greener than I would like. To compare it to the Sanctuary T Iron Goddess of Mercy oolong, it’s much sharper at the first sip. It’s actually not too bad, and I think I really like it for a change of pace from what I usually drink. It reminds me faintly of my favorite Irish Breakfast CTC from Upton Teas – possibly because I tend to slightly oversteep and get a hint of bitterness/astringency. There’s also a hint of flavor to the astringency…it’s almost a spicy feel, with an extra burst of heat. The complexity is growing on me. I think I really like this cup for cutting through the awful coating of mucus on my throat!

Second steeping — water temperature probably about the same, but who knows. 1 min 30 seconds steeped. The leaves are definitely more unfurled now, and the liqueur is more golden than before. It’s a weaker cup than before (maybe I oversteeped the first time?) but the flavors are more mellow now. There’s still a jangly note of that spicy astringency but it’s not all I taste anymore. This is more akin to the Sanctuary T oolong, but still with that extra hit of green-ness.

Since this is a rather weak cup I don’t think I’ll go for a third steeping on this set of leaves. Maybe next time. If I change my mind I’ll do a second note rather than add to this one further.

I think the most important thing here is not to get the water too hot…I’ve only just started drinking this again after temporarily running out of filters and it’s quite pleasant, but it does seem to get bitter faster with close-to-boiling water rather than cooler fare.

Bought at au bon pain to accompany a snack. Unimpressive overall. Could be a tad sweeter and there’s a bit of bitterness to it. That said, the peach and black tea flavors do blend well once you get past the bitter. I hope I just got a meh bottle, as it seems promising. VERY important to shake first and possibly a bit during drinking too.

Mmm. One of my favorite bagged teas — you have to treat it quite harshly before it gets bitter. When I ran out of tea filters with no backup teapot I turned to this tea to get me through until I can get more. :)

Meh.

Although the aroma does have a nice hint of chocolate and oranges, it really tastes nothing like it. I’m surprised that orange doesn’t even come out much in the tea itself, even after a long steep time. Maybe I shouldn’t use the boiling water — however, every other rooibos tea I treat that way, and it tastes just fine. It’s also rather weak. Out of the flavor that is there, this is overpoweringly…hm. “earthy” is what I’m tempted to say as I’ve heard that described for rooibos before. I usually go for the sweeter rooibos brews so maybe that’s why I’m displeased with this, but it really tastes nothing like chocolate or oranges. Just smells a little like it.

note: I did find it tasted better with two teabags per cup instead of one. Still not the chocolate and oranges I had hoped for (and am usually pleased by with the Republic of Tea) but nicer.

This smells exactly like milk Pocky. Well, it might be closer to honey-and-milk Pocky, as it’s got a sweet scent to it. It’s very densely curled so I’m trying it with a bit less than a teaspoon to start, since the sample is enough for at least 2 cups if not 3. Steeping in a paper filter (my last tea-making device went kaput after I didn’t clean it good enough and it grew nasty slime mold) for about 4 minutes, I had to run get my timer so it’s definitely not exact. water temperature between 195-205 (someday I will get a thermometer).

Result…not bad, once I let it steep long enough. (I tasted it at about 4 minutes and it was too mild — 4:30 and it was GREAT.) It tastes a little more toasty than sweet when brewed, but I’ve learned that with other teas — overpowering sweet aromas often lead to pleasantly sweet brews. This wasn’t overpoweringly sweet-smelling in the slightest so I’m not surprised to see the sweetness go all subtle. I can definitely see where the milk name comes from but the flavor overall reminds me of toast — as in, bread. This would make a great breakfast tea! It has a lovely flavor. I wasn’t impressed at my first tasting but letting it steep longer did the trick. I think I may need a little more of this after I finish my sample… :)

I think this tea must have been destiny. I won the first Sanctuary T trivia contest and decided that I had mostly enough tea leaves on hand, so I bought tea ware primarily. (I brewed this with the help of my oh-so-cute wooden sandtimer!) But this was the one tea I made the exception for, and I’m so glad I did. The flavor is a little hard to describe — if I could be completely fanciful I’d describe it as “genmaicha’s big sister”. It has a similar warm and toasty feel with a slight sharpness similar to green tea. I’m not a big green tea fan, and it’s not too strong here. The flavor reminds me of genmaicha, but a bit richer and deeper, and not quite as rice-y. For me, this is perfect. I think in addition to the food suggestions above (fried + basil/garlic) that this one would also go well with some slightly spicy foods, and probably smoky as well. I think it’ll be a great drink when I try out my Smoky Black T-Dust.

Okay, I definitely need more of this. It’s warm but light, not too heavy for a summer tea that I can drink hot. I want to know what could replace this. If anyone has any ideas for substitutes, or blends I can make at home, PLEASE let me know!! I really want more of this as I don’t think my 4oz will be enough for a lifetime.

Finished my sample yesterday. I ended up drinking it just to get rid of it rather than because I liked it. It’s not bad, it’s certainly drinkable, but it’s not to my tastes either. I’ve got myself a lovely new tin of the CTC Irish Breakfast and I will be sticking with that! mmm.

It’s a nice sour blend. It’s got a hint of apple but i tasted the hibiscus and cranberry much more. It has an almost layered taste, where the tea has a fruity taste first and then the sour after. It’s very interesting and I’ll need another cup before I decide whether or not I like this but as of right now I don’t plan to re-order. I do intend to finish my sample though.

Got a packet of this and expected it to be as old and flavorless as the other “free” teas left by the previous tenant of my apartment. Luckily, it wasn’t at all! It’s quite tasty and a good black tea. Something about it made it summer-y tasting to me. I’m going to search out this tea company and order some more, it’s really a great cup of flavored black tea. (Unfortunately, as I drank it yesterday, I don’t remember the exact flavors I picked out — just that it was good!)

While this definitely has promise, I greatly dislike the style of Celestial Seasonings’ samplers. Their multi-teabag packaging means that if you don’t finish the tea fast, it goes stale. That’s the only reason I can think of that this tea didn’t give me any kind of good results at all. It’s vaguely acid-y, hibiscus-y hot water, and although I didn’t use boiling water to steep, I didn’t exactly wait for it to cool off either.

No rating because I feel it’s dishonest. I got this tea as a surprise in my new apartment — the old tenants left a drawer full of tea. Mostly herbal. Luckily, not all the packages were already open like this one, so I have high hopes for the rest! :)

I got a box of this as a gift and oh god it’s so terrible. I can barely manage to finish a cup in one go. I find it makes a decent base for chai if you have loose spices, but on its own, it’s much too harsh and bitter and just terrible. I finally finished the last cup of it today but I plan on never, ever touching this again. When I drank it today, I immediately realized why I’d tried to avoid it for so long. It tasted like the water was just too metallic— there is really not much of the characteristic “black tea” taste here, at all.

I did find it was a little better lukewarm than hot, but that’s not a sign of good tea, to me. This might make a decent iced but I don’t care to find out. The points here are that it is, eventually, drinkable, and that it’s not totally gross. Also that it might make decent iced tea. But really…other than that? It has absolutely nothing going for it.

I finished my sample today and went to go check out the sizing options for buying more — and it’s out of stock until July! I’m devastated. I know it’s totally normal and acceptable, but oh man do I want more of this tea. It makes such a great break from the black and oolong teas that I usually drink, and provides a low-caffeine drink that’s not a fruity herbal like my usual alternatives are. I’ll keep waiting for this to get back in stock so I can get my genmaicha fix!

I’ve been so busy lately that in between my super-caffeinated cups of mate/black blend and (gasp!) heavily-sugared coffee I’ve been needing something to relax that just tastes good and doesn’t compound upon my already chemically-enhanced state of awakeitude. Peppermint tea in teabags? Heaven. Perfect heaven. So easy, so quick, so delicious. Most importantly, so hard to screw up. I’ve never noticed a difference pouring the water at boiling and pouring later. It’s actually not too bad cold-brew either — yes, there have been times where I forgot to turn my kettle on entirely. (oops.) Luckily, that wasn’t recent.

Anyways, since I’ve been drinking this a lot again, figured I’d sing its praises a little more. Twinings has kept it simple and it works so, so well.

Definitely need to get this one again. My sample is nearly done, only one cup left after I finish the one I’m slowly savoring. It’s got an almost nutty taste — very unlike most green teas because of the addition of popped rice and popcorn. But totally good, and great for someone like me who doesn’t really like green tea all that much. Like most green teas, it doesn’t take too well to hot temperatures, but if treated properly it’s wonderful.

An excellent tea that I wish hadn’t been discontinued! I’ve got a stock of it that I’m holding onto and slowly drinking. It’s a tea that goes great with savory and spicy foods. It can be a bit odd to drink on its own, but trust me — try it with some spicy chips and salsa, and it will absolutely win you over. It’s a little smoky and savory. The leaves are very full, too, I use less than a teaspoon per cup because they expand so much. Absolutely worth it though, so if you can find it, then try it!

I’ve actually had this several times the past two days, just been too busy to log it properly!

I dislike plain mate, so I blend it with Earl Grey usually. I’m out of my proper Earl Grey Creme that I prefer, so I’m using a blend that Teavana recommended, their regular Earl Grey with their Vanilla Honeybush. It’s not as good, but it makes a decent cup of caffeinated tea. I think I prefer the roasted with this black tea, though.

Mate isn’t really what I look for when I drink it, but I find that it’s good to blend with other strongly-flavored teas and then it doesn’t hurt it at all. I have a strawberry lemonade herbal tea that goes much better with this green mate than the green mate does with this Earl Grey. I think the green would probably match up well with an oolong tea—I’ll have to try that next time. Just make sure you use hot (nearly boiling) water so you can extract the most caffeine!

Oops — steeped this one a bit too long this time. It wasn’t good. It wasn’t terrible, but wasn’t good. It steeps to perfection quickly, but that also means it oversteeps quickly! Be careful!

Tried this again with cooler water, and I’m still not a fan. It’s just got too much ceylon in it to really be an Irish Breakfast to me. I’d accept it as an English Breakfast maybe, but it’s just not making me too happy. I’ll finish my sample but I don’t plan on getting more. I think it’d probably suit other people just fine, but for me…not doing it at all.

Took the last of this tea with a bit of my Formosa Nut Oolong tea and it was fabulous. I’ve got to order more ASAP, it’s a strong blend, but it’s nice and versatile. I bet it’d take fruit flavors well, too.

Excellent. It’s not necessarily any better or worse than other peppermint I’ve had, but it is pure peppermint leaves, and not any kind of blend or anything. A great herbal tea for anytime, really — I like it both hot and iced.

Really liked this one. It’s pretty complex and nice, not really sweet but still a dessert-y tea. Very good to find a dessert tea that’s not covered in fruit! I blended the last of this with my Simple is Beautiful Mt. Kilimanjaro Blue (a blueberry rooibos with yogurt bits) since I didn’t have quite enough for a full cup.

I’m not sure if I’m going to buy this one again mostly because I’d like to move away from Teavana and get sample teas from other company, rather than having to buy a minimum of 2 ounces. But this one is almost worth going back for, and the fact that it’s such a complex blend means I may return anyways.