Numi Organic Tea
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I have one tea bag of this from many years ago. I’m good at finishing loose leaf in a reasonable amount of time, but sadly, my tea bags suffer some neglect. The main flavor here seems to be the anise, which, of course, I’m into. However, this is yet another blend that I would not call chai. It’s a pleasant licorice tea, but I’m missing the spice almost entirely. I don’t buy chai anymore because they all seem to be too heavy on one flavor, whether that’s clove, cinnamon, or licorice. It’s hard to find one that’s balanced.
I do not know. From Derk :)
I had quite big expectations, dry tea bag smelled nice, full of spices, mainly nutmeg.
Colour is copper with chocolate dust – so it is opaque. Anyway, aroma was quite weak, not much spicy as I have expected.
Taste? It was bland, was I steeping it for short time? But it was advised 4 minutes! Hmm, it was like some weak chai tea.
Anyway, it was quite nice and no funky notes, so it was not so bad.
Flavors: Chocolate, Nutmeg, Spicy
Preparation
I’ve quietly replenished this a couple of times in the past year or so without mentioning it, simply because it’s a good no-fuss, no-fail morning staple. One other review mentioned that Numi has blended it so well, nothing stands out significantly. That about captures it. Smooth, (very slightly) sweet caffeine.
Another lone tea bag from the kitchen clean-out. This was a sample stapled to a coupon that expired June 2014 so it has some age. The tea bag still smells potent. Let’s see.
Hello, glorious and deep veggie broth! How is there so much umami in this? Onion. The onion is most forward, the black pepper provides its warmth and tingling, and fennel and celery root provide the base. I can’t taste the dill but my experience with it in dried form is that it doesn’t keep its aroma or taste over a few years. Also can’t taste the decaf green tea or honeybush, nor the orange peel but I suspect it’s lending a little brightness to this savory blend.
This is actually really good and has much more depth and savoriness than veggie broth in a carton or even homemade. This would be great to sip on while sick, to cook rice in or as a fantastic substitute for soup broth. Its small size would save space in the pantry, too. Nevermind, it has been discontinued. I can understand why. shrugs
Flavors: Black Pepper, Celery, Fennel, Salt, Umami, Vegetable Broth
Preparation
So, derk was going to send me a few pu-erhs to try. This turned into a sampler box with a huge variety! Thank you!
The brewed tea has a very subtle smell, possibly the pu-erh.
Ooh, subtle pu-erh flavors and subtle cocoa flavor. Of course, I prefer a stronger cocoa flavor. looks at chocolate bar on his desk with 90% cocoa solids Still, I like how the flavors are in balance, and it’s pretty amazing for a bag of tea I could pick up in a grocery store. Mmm.
Flavors: Chocolate
Preparation
Thank you Derk!
I had seen Derk’s review on this and wanted to try it but I just couldn’t pull the trigger on buying a box of it on Amazon. I admit I didn’t have too high expectations but I was really hoping it was going to be decent. I know I like Numi’s toasted rice sencha so wondered if I’d like this one too.
This is good. I really like it. Nice cinnamon, nutmeg notes, some other spices. I don’t really get chocolate per se (maybe cocoa dust) but I haven’t really found a chocolate tea that tasted like chocolate lol. I taste it more in unflavored teas, to be honest.
I’ll get a box of the teabags for traveling. :D
Flavors: Cinnamon, Cocoa, Nutmeg, Spices
Preparation
I drove down to Minneapolis for the weekend. ON the way home today I stopped and got some tea. They had only a few varieties, and this looked like the best of the bunch.
The first half of the cup was nice. Nothing I needed to have again, but drinkable. The second half, however, was bitter. It wasn’t over-steeped, since I removed the tea bag right away. I think the flavor changed as the cup cooled.
- with milk and a spoonful of honey -
The taste of the tea is good, I don’t particularly like the after taste though. The smell of the tea is very bad and almost fishy. The long I drink it the less I can stand the smell of it. No one else in my family says it smells bad though.
Preparation
Last tea from the Numi sampler box. My cousin, a coffee drinker, snagged the Aged Earl Grey this morning and really liked it.
It’s been many years since I’ve had Dry Desert Lime. Obviously I wasn’t driven to seek it out again but it’s not too bad. Certainly a strange tisane. I’m not fond of the smell of the dry bag, which is a very pungent, kind of (not hot) spicy sun-scorched desert earth and citrus lime aroma. A little medicinal. Brewed up, the aroma and taste retain those notes but are smoothed out some. It’s quite lime-tart but less acidic than say, a cup of hibiscus. There’s also an interesting almost floral perfume scent that mingles lightly and faint zesty-pithy bitterness.
Really unique and evocative of Moroccan or Persian cuisine.
Addendum: gets bitter and acrid when cooled
Preparation
Pretty strong lemon myrtle taste. I often find yerba maté to be an unappealing flavor but here the unfavorable earthy, alkaloid-y notes were well masked. There’s green tea in this blend too but I’m not sure what its role is.
While drinking this, I enjoyed it but an hour later I’m finding myself on edge and annoyed with family talking which normally doesn’t bother me. This is an effect yerba maté has on me, whether due to the amount of caffeine and/or other chemicals I’m not sure. Nervous, aggressive energy that makes me want to wrestle and throw shit.
derk grumbles.
I’ve drunk yerba maté before powerlifting, felling trees and bike riding but no amount of physical activity ever seems to take off the edge.
+70 taste
-40 yerba maté induced annoyance and nervous energy
(Lotta buts here, too.)
Preparation
Does guayusa do the same thing, since it is a close cousin of mate?
It’s probably just a combination of mate’s caffeine, theobromine and theophylline and how your system reacts to that. I don’t seem to have that issue, thankfully. I don’t like it plain, but do like it in the right blends. I definitely like it roasted more than plain, and find the taste of guayusa better than mate.
lizwykys: I tried to throw down my aunt but she got scurred and said go find my cousin. She likes to wrestle, too, and it would be an epic battle because we’re both strong af.
Mastress Alita: I’ve never had guayusa. Maybe when you drink down we can do another little trade. I really like Guayakí Yerba Maté in those tall cans because they’re well flavored but not obnoxiously sweet. I resort to them as people do with Red Bulls etc, but rarely because of the effect. Traditionally prepared yerba maté in a gourd would probably turn my stomach.
@derk: As I recall, you like hibi. I have a blend of guayusa, hibiscus, lemongrass, and stevia that makes the best iced tea in the world. Cold brew in either water or lemonade for caffeinated fruit punch goodness. I’ll just send you some sometime if you want to try it. You won’t really taste the guayusa though, it tastes like hibi punch. But you would probably know if it wants to make you punch a baby.
I first had this tea last winter when I was suffering from a month-long bout of bronchitis. At that time, it was a very pleasant and soothing warm beverage and it just felt right to be drinking in colder San Francisco weather (50s F).
I had this White Rose tea again today, again winter but not sick so I feel like I can taste it better. It’s still pleasant enough but the rose is like walking by a Crabtree and Evelyn (perfume and soap store) but not stepping into the suffocating grandmotherly atmosphere. Very airy rose aroma translates into a nice enough taste. The rose does dominate over the white tea base, which just provides a light honeyed sweetness and some body. Overall not bad but that kind of rose isn’t my taste.
(There are a lot of buts in this review.)
Preparation
I love obnoxious rose… I’d probably like it. Though it does depend on the flavoring, I’ve certainly had ones I liked better than others.
I used to drink this a lot back in the day. Since then I’ve found that I prefer a good quality dried rosebud blended with my tea of choice.
Mastress Alita: it’s the typical ‘English Rose’ aroma and flavor so this might be up your alley if you’re looking for an easy brew. I appreciate a more cherry leaning rose taste.
LuckyMe: I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend this tea to beginners but I imagine with so much tasting experience, you’ve been able to find some high quality white tea and rose buds that fit your preferences. Happy sipping :)
I have a bag of plain rose petals I got on my Bay Area trip a few months ago from derk’s co-op stop, but I mainly use them to add to teas that just Aren’t Rose Enough. Also, I crush them an infuse them in cocoa to make rose-flavored hot chocolate. Mmmm.
I am so down with the rose and chocolate mix. That dark cocoa sweetness brings that haughty rose with a stiff upper lip down to my level.
Not too perfumey, pretty natural smelling jasmine but there’s something about the green tea base I don’t think works well with the jasmine. Maybe it’s too earthy and dark tasting. I think I like lighter, sweeter jasmine-scented greens. It seems like this tea has decent reviews so I’m just boiling it down to personal preference.
Preparation
It’s chamomile, it’s lemon myrtle. Surprise! The smell of the dry bag and brew seem to be about 1:1. The taste leans more chamomile with the lemon myrtle providing a fair amount of herbal-lemon excitement to keep it interesting. On the Chamomile Flavor Spectrum®, this tea is dead center floral, not earthy, not appley. The tea was smooth on the sip but surprisingly drying. Something that threw me for a whirl was an aftertaste of yellow peach. How in the hell?
Preparation
A nice, high quality straight rooibos more bold in flavor than others I’ve had. Sweet red rooibos taste with cedar, woody vanilla, minerals and not a hint of medicinal or tobacco flavors. A tad drying but nothing that would keep me from purchasing this again.
Preparation
Had with a splash of unsweetened almond milk which completely flattened all the spice except for some cinnamon and allspice. I basically chugged the muted brew, not because it tasted bad but because it went down so easily. Now it’s like the almond milk was never added and I can taste all the spices rising up from my throat. Still no rooibos taste, though. Never once have I tasted the rooibos. Goodbye Rooibos Chai. I’ll miss the way you smell.
Preparation
I really love the addition of allspice here. The bag smells strongly of that and clove with the cinnamon, cardamom, ginger and nutmeg lurking underneath, all very fresh. Not only can I smell all the spice ingredients, I can taste them, too, in about the order listed above. A very spicy and very warming cup. Buuut, I can’t taste the rooibos which I’m a little sad about. Its mellow quality is probably just a nice tame base for those fresh and flavorful spices.
Preparation
A good bagged tea strong enough to accompany a breakfast of homemade biscuits and gravy, eggs, avocado and spinach. Cuts through that heaviness while still shining in flavor. Mostly malty, a little woody, and a little sweet with a substantial citrus tinge.
Preparation
I had this mistakenly listed as English Breakfast. Discovered it recently and absolutely love it for your reasons listed above. Running out way too quickly.
Yeah, this is probably the most appealing bagged plain black tea I’ve had. I don’t put milk or sugar in my teas and don’t enjoy heavy, malty and tannic bagged blacks for that reason. This one’s light enough to enjoy without adornments but still very functional as a breakfast tea.
Hehe. I forgot to mention the biscuits were made from sourdough cultured with California air and the gravy was pork-free because my coworker is Muslim. But a good dash of Worcestershire sauce in the gravy and a hint of bacon in the perfectly ripe, creamy avocado made up for it. Some salty Irish cheddar went into the eggs. The spinach was served wilted with a pinch of salt. Hehehehe.
I’m always afraid of boxed, bags of Rooibos. It’s such a delicate flavor that ca easily be overwhelming and out of balance. This blend of Rooibos with traditional chai spices is actually pretty good. The flavors work well together, nothing dominates, everything is allowed it’s place in the palate.
Flavors: Rooibos, Spices
Preparation
This is a pretty nice mellow bagged chai. The spices aren’t so strong that I can’t taste the Assam black tea base. There’s nothing spicy-hot about this one. I can taste the Assam foremost, with the cinnamon and ginger providing some warm tastes and the fennel and cardamom giving a cool balance. Interestingly, there is a a moderate aftertaste and feel of orange zest, though there is none in the blend. Perhaps it’s from the tea leaf? It does leave a little bit of a rough texture on the tongue but otherwise I find this a respectable chai.