Blue Raven Tea

We went from 86 to 50 degrees outside. Looks like it’s going to rain too. Yuck.

This is becoming my go-to on cold, grey days. It’s sweet and cinnamon-y and delicious.

The dry leaf doesn’t smell nearly as sweet or apple-y as you might expect from something named ‘Caramel Apple Explosion’ with big ole apple chunks in it. But it does have a nice spiced smell.

As soon as the hot water hit, though it’s instant apple, cinnamon, and a generic sweetness.

The tea itself brewed a really rich red-brown and had a nice creamy mouthfeel. The initial taste that hit me was the apple, followed by some cinnamon and sweetness then ended off on a milky note which I’m assuming is more or less the ‘caramel’ finish. I did notice this tea tasted best piping hot.

It doesn’t have a great second steep as most of the flavor comes out in the first cup and you just end up with a sadder version of the first.

Overall, really really yummy. Really really warming and perfect for icky days.

I was going to dive into a different tea this afternoon, but this one caught my attention on smell alone. It’s fruity and delicate and really just smells…happy! With the whole snow in the middle of April thing right now, I really appreciated this cup. This looks like it’s silver tips with blackberry leaves and tastes like spring I keep waiting for :)

How have I not rated this before?! I love this one! It is so perfectly sweet and delicious. Mixes well with soy for a great evening caffeine free treat. I actually forgot about this tea until tonight! going to The website to order more now!

Edit: I want to rate this closer to a 90, But my phone won’t agree with me!

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WOW! Just wow. I love all things banana and this did not fail to impress! It isn’t fake banana tasting and even has huge chunks of bananas in it! It is smooth and sweet and blends perfectly with the rooibos! Mmm Mmm Mmm… Even my non-tea-drinking boyfriend liked his taste! I only wish I had purchased more than 1oz (and now I’m on a “money diet” so I agreed to no more tea buying :( sniff sniff

Note: I add “Slender Soy” Vanilla soy milk to every tea I drink.

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De-hearted, with a splash of milk. A good soothing evening tisane.

I cut open a bag of Tetley Rooibos Vanilla Pear and dumped in in the IngenuiTea, added 1tsp of Blue Raven’s “I Heart Almonds” (minus the pink sugar hearts) and steeped in 16oz water. The pear, almond, and vanilla flavors blend together perfectly. This is a very nice decaf evening tea. I’m having it with headless gingerbread man (cookie swap reject)!

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removed sugarhearts before steeping, as per my norm

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Thanks Janefan for sending me some of this tea. I steeped it at 180F for 3 minutes, but think I need to play around with the parameters more because I didn’t taste much citrus, just mint. I think this would be good added to a plain or citrus green tea blend, as I couldn’t taste much tea. The mint was nice and light though, not in your face like a straight up peppermint tea. This was a nice relaxing after dinner cuppa.

a nice change of pace. The citrus/mint combo is refreshing, and it’s just the right bland of sweet but a bit “dry”

another tea I’ve “unblended” — removed the chunks of melon and apple from my spoonful. Rinsed the leaves with the boiling water 10-15 seconds to try to remove pumpkin/cream flavoring, then steeped 10 min, no additives. Result: weak rooibos with a hint of cream. Exactly what was to be expected I suppose… it actually leaves a creamy aftertaste/smooth texture on the tongue, which is weird!

I can’t wait for my Stash Red Fusion (loose!) to get here. I bought some stopgap bagged rooibos at Harris Teeter, got home and looked it up and realized it was the Twinings that I’d disliked only days before. facepalm I should have either shelled out for the pretty good but expensive Numi, or settled for the placid but unobjectionable Celestial Seasonings Madagascar Vanilla rooibos. haven’t made it back to the store to exchange it yet, so here I am unblending my rooibos blends in a sad attempt to get plain ol’ red tea. :-(

I guess I should call this “I unheart almonds,” because that’s what I did — removed the sugarhearts from my teaspoon (about 9) and steeped for 8 min to get a strong cup of rooibos with a gentle hint of almond. The natural sweetness of the rooibos, plus whatever residual sugar was left, is just sweet enough for me. Added a generous glug of 2% milk (a bit too generous, really) but it is now an enjoyable drink for me, whereas before it was FAR too sweet.

I brewed a cup of this and then topped it with frothed almond milk using my new Aerolatte Moo milk frother. Add a dash of chocolate cinnamon powder on top, and I have a fancy cafe drink.

The downside is I can’t really taste the mate under all that right now to give an accurate review.

more melony than pumpkiny, but does have sweet and creamy undertones. Can take a bit of milk and sugar, but I prefer to use have the amount of milk/sugar as I would in, say, a breakfast tea. Steeped 9 min (suggested 8-10).

I like the almond flavoring, but the sugar overpowers it. I think next time I’m going to pick most if not all of the sugar hearts out of my teaspoon before I brew it…

The red rooibos, dried mint, chocolate bits, dried apple, and possibly almond are clearly visible in this tea. It’s a pretty, festive blend with the red tea and green mint. The dry “tea” smells exactly like mint chocolate too!

I know from previous experience that this tea does taste just like it smells, when its hot. This time’s no different – mint upfront, chocolate in the middle, and a sweet (but not cloying) finish. I also remember though that it cools the apple, which is just generically “sweet” when hot, lets out it’s flavor. Mint chocolate is good, mint chocolate apple is not good. So, this blend is good if you drink it fast and hot!

Adding cream may complement the flavor, but will also cool the tea, and therefore may bring out the apple. I’m not risking it this time around.

Bought and brewed this for hubby who’s a coffee/mate/irish breakfast fan.

I’m not big on mate but I had a few sips and will take a shot at reviewing.

Taste is “roasty” like coffee (not woody like some mates). Tastes like chocolate and almond in coffee. Exactly what I expected based on the description. Hubby likes it. I would have to add sugar to counteract the slight (but appropriate) bitterness.

Overall a good blend for flavored mate drinkers/cafe mocha fans.

Dry leaves smell of indeterminate spice/sweetness, Big chunks of dried fruit and some flowers visible in the blend.

Brews red-orange, smells like apples and cream, with a hint of what I would call “pumpkin pie spice.”

It is very sweet, no need to add sugar! Also it has a definite creamy taste to me. Can’t tell why, but I like it. However there is a slightly astringent/bitter finish that seems a bit tannic (drys the mouth). What’s up with that? Maybe it’s the melon, which I’m tasting as it cools.

I’m not quite sure what to make of all this. Maybe it’s not a first thing in the morning tea, because my taste buds are confused. This tea went from feeling creamy to feeling thin in about 5 min. And it’s sweet and fruity yet dries out my mouth… I can’t rate it right now. Will try on another day.