Camiah

Not a bad chamomile. It smells good both before and after steeping. I like chamomile, so I’m naturally predisposed to liking this. Most of the flavor I got was of chamomile, my palate must be too untested to pick up other flavors very easily. Or, they really aren’t very pronounced. I think I like the second interpretation better.

OK, so the flavors aren’t very pronounced. I think there is a definite sweet lingering effect after a drink, which could be good or bad, depending on how long you like your tea to stay with you.

The bottom line for me is that I’ll finish the box, it isn’t bad, but I think I prefer a plain jane chamomile. One that has no pretensions to be anything other than its gloriously florally-herbally self.

2nd steeping, for three minutes. A little more bitter than I would prefer. Maybe steep at 2 next time on a resteep?

Wonderful as always. Lovely as an after dinner relaxing tea. I really do like jasmine teas. I need to try some other ones though. Start refining my palate. Only steeped for one minute, didn’t pay attention to the instructions. Need to try it at two minutes sometime.

No notes yet.

Mmmmm, coffee. Yummy. The orange, the almond, the cocoa nibs, its like decaf heaven in a cup. I haven’t really had much coffee since I recently started drinking boat-loads of tea, so this was a nice throwback to something else I enjoy. The smell is very gently coffee-like, more like a whiff than a full on olfactory assault. The taste is less coffee-like, and more almond, I think. My lack of a palate is starting to show. And annoy me! Maybe one day it will show up and I’ll experience the “waves of flavor” and be able to identify things the way other very clever note-writers do.

Resteep at 2 minutes. Don’t bother. Not worth it.

No notes yet.

No notes yet.

Odd. I’m not sure about this one.

This is my first rose and first chun mee tea. I’m not sure what I think about it. I like it, with reservations. There is a bitterness, a sharpness of taste that I can’t decide if it is an effect of preparation or of the tea itself (I followed upton’s brew instructions). This is definitely a strong tea at the recommended preparation. This has a heavy floral note to it—don’t go into this one expecting hints of rose, since that isn’t what you’ll get. It sort of smacks you upside the head with rose. Rose isn’t bad, but so far, of the florals, I like the more delicate flavor of jasmine better.

I think 5 minutes might be too long a steep time. I think I’ll go shorter next time with a slightly cooler water temperature.

The scent of this right out of the bag was vaguely peachy, which is always lovely. This is my first straight up oolong. It had a nice, mild flavor, very pleasant.

I love pearl teas. They just look so nice and tidy, all rolled up in little tea-leaf balls. This is good stuff, my friends. The jasmine comes through, and its a nice, well-balanced (to me, at least) blend of jasmine and green tea. Neither one really overpowers the other. I do really like jasmine teas, so I am a bit biased in this. This is a good tea for relaxing and winding down at the end of the day. It whispers, more than it talks.

No notes yet.

2 minute steep. I’m thinking I like the one minute best. I like the mild green flavor. When I want a stronger green flavor, I like 3 minutes. 2 minutes just doesn’t quite do it in either direction.

The dry tea smells wonderful. It has a warm, spicy smell, with the cinnamon and cardamom really coming through, but not overpowering the nuttiness. The brewed tea itself is an excellent dessert tea. It smells like a spiced baked apple. It also rather tastes like it—the cinnamon mellows out, and apple is the dominant fruit note. It has a sort of dry mouth feel. The aftertaste is more fruity than spicy.

Still delicious after only a one minute steep. The obvious differences between a one minute and three minute steep—lighter color, flavor, and all around more delicate. I had it with a Fuyu persimmon this morning, which was an excellent choice. It really brought out the sweetness of the tea. Unsweetened, as always. Next time I’ll try a two minute steep, see which I like best.

This tea is beautiful. To start with, the dry mix is visually pleasing and the brewed tea is a beautiful purplish-red. It really needs to be consumed from one of my very fancy tea cups. The smell of both the dry tea and the brewed tea is wonderful as well. Very fruity, which I definitely appreciate. I like when tea hits all my senses.

So much for sight and smell, what about the one that really matters? Taste? Less tea-like than I imagined. Well, less green tea. Others are right, the green does get muted by the intensity of the fruit and hibiscus. You do get some hints of the green tea, but hints are really all you get. I’m drinking it hot and unsweetened right now. This would be amazing as an iced tea. I’ll definitely drink it again (and not just because I have a lot of it).

I am relatively new to really good loose leaf teas, and this was my first green tea from Teavana that I tried. This may well become my go-to green tea when I want a simple, unblended green tea. It is amazing. It has a clean taste, not overly grassy (its amazing what wonderful things proper steeping/temperature does for green tea!). and a smooth mouth feel.

I had it with a Petit Ecolier chocolate-and-biscuit cookie, I think I might choose a less-sweet treat to go along with it next time.