Danielle

So I brewed this up and loved it … but it is a LITTLE weak. The black tea base isn’t the strongest, but the flavor is great. Nice and warm, slightly brown sugary, and very appropriate for the autumn months. I find this is a much more satisfying cup when I mix a bit of straight assam tea in there to amp up the base. Sometimes I’ll drink it plain, but I do prefer it stronger.

No notes yet.

This is the first of the teas I’ve ordered from Mellow Monk, and I’m extremely pleased! :) The tea base itself is great and smooth, and the nuttiness of the toasted rice make this a nice tea suitable for any time of day! Can’t wait to try more teas by them.

This is a delightfully strong blend of Assam and Yunnan teas. There is a slightly smoky kick to it that I thoroughly enjoy, and it lacks bitterness (in comparison to other Assam/Yunnan blends I’ve tried.) A bit too hearty to act as a breakfast tea for me, but I enjoyed sipping on it after a good lunch. :D

I went to the House of Tea looking to pick up a few new things, and out of the corner of my eye I spotted this tin with a somewhat intriguing name. I asked the woman working to pull it down, and decided to buy just an ounce after smelling (and noticing the price tag.) I brewed it at 180 degrees, and the cup was a very clear & light golden green. The flavor was delicate, nutty, and sweet. Extremely light, but delicious. I normally prefer super strong hearty black teas, but this was a green tea that completely charmed me.

Utterly delicious. This is my first time having a really nice plain Assam. There was no bitterness. It almost tasted milky in a way. It was nutty, medium-bodied, malty, and very refreshing. The color of the brew was also deep and very pretty to look at. A new favorite breakfast tea!

I love this tea. It’s not overly fruity, which is something I’ve run into often when trying to find a good apple cinnamon tea. I run into ones pumped up with hibiscus or a crapload of cloying artificial flavoring. This tastes like TEA, and has a pleasant aftertaste and aroma of apple & cinnamon. With the addition of some raw butterbean honey it has knocked other contenders out of the way for my #1 breakfast tea spot. The honey really highlighted the apple, but did so gently. I brought it work in a thermos and it made my desk’s area smell delightful. :)

I ordered 2 ounces of this blend the other day (after drinking some at my boyfriend’s house.) I then drank those two ounces within a week. Cacao Mint became my breakfast, afternoon, and after-dinner tea. I normally hate tea with any sort of strong chocolate note. I’ve already ordered a bit more!

The mint is delightfully cool & refreshing. The chocolate is smooth and delicate. Unfortunately, the tea base itself is weak. I could never steep this a second time without it being completely watery and weak. I tried and the color was just off, and it tasted like hot water with a little bit of mint and no cocoa. I was rather disappointed by that, but would just add fresh tea and drink some more. That’s PROBABLY why I went through 2 ounces so quickly.

I’m sensitive to wheat/gluten, and this tea gives me my chocolate-mint fix … seeing as I’ve been so deprived of my favorite Thin Mint cookies these past few years! :D

This was unusual….. I received an online backorder of Amandine Rose from the Teavana website, an order I had placed as soon as the new teas were released. I had gotten what was previously in my cabinet from a retail store (god, what a nightmare that was) and found that it was IDENTICAL in every which way to Almond Biscotti. I opened up the baggies to add to the existing tin, and paused. I smelled ROSE, I smelled something floral. Something not Almond Biscotti.

I peered into the bags and poured the new Amandine Rose into an empty tin. It had pieces of candied violet. It had little bits of cinnamon. It had things that were different than what I was told. I was told, repeatedly, that Almond Biscotti and Amandine Rose were exactly the same. What I bought in the store was supposedly “legit” but now I am certain they were short on Amandine Rose and just poured Almond Biscotti into the tin and labeled it revamped. Teavana’s stance on sales ethics wouldn’t surprise me on that one. They’re not at all the same.

This tea is lovely. The floral flavor is very subtle, and the almond isn’t as prominent as Almond Biscotti. It is a darker black tea and gets bitter easily if oversteeped. The rose scent is noticeable from the dry leaves, but brewed it fades into the almond and cinnamon. Nothing is cloying, nothing is overpowering. It is a delicately flavored tea, and I am enjoying the REAL Amandine Rose.

Out of the bag this smells like … bubblegum. It wasn’t what I expected, but I figured, hell, I’ll try it! I brewed it up and still got the heavy bubblegum scent. I took a sip and thought, “It’s like bubblegum, Flintstones vitamins, and rooibos had a baby.”

The fruity flavors tasted artificial and somewhat medicinal (like Flintstones vitamins & cherry Benadryl syrup.) I got no hint of the florals because the other notes overpowered them. I’ve loved everything I’ve gotten from NM Tea Co. thusfar, but this tea was just … not at all for me. :’(

This smells like orange juice! Super sweet citrus. I sniffed it once and knew drinking this straight would NOT go well — I love citrus in moderation, but this blend would have been too much for me! I mixed it with some floral Tie Guan Yin and … sigh it was perfect.

The tea carried a nice fresh orange flavor into the vegetal qualities of the Tie Guan Yin. Almost candyish, but not quite! The aroma was subtly sweet and not overly cloying or artificial.

Lovely tea for me to mix into my other oolongs when I need a little bit of a pick-me-up, but certainly not for me to drink straight. I’m certain my citrus-loving friends would enjoy this one unaltered though!

This is a wonderful green chai! I brewed some up last night and was surprised by the almond flavor. It is a strong note in this blend, and it plays well with the spices. I’m not really accustomed to drinking green chais (I prefer mine strong and dark) but this was enjoyable! Light on the tongue with a good snap of spice at the end. I added some raw honey which really highlighted the almond flavors. Good for cool nights where you don’t want the heartiness of a black chai, but want a good spicy blend.

This is Almond Biscotti “tweaked” and renamed. It is good, exactly the same as Almond Biscotti (I heard from someone that they’re using a higher quality tea base & fresher ingredients), but don’t buy thinking you’ll be getting a brand new blend of tea! I brewed the two side by side in exactly the same way and I tasted no difference whatsoever.

Definitely a good, medium-bodied dessert tea!

I received a tin of this tea while suffering from a pretty painful migraine. I was worried that the rosiness would exacerbate my symptoms (as perfumed things tend to do) but brewed up a teapot of it anyway! It was so fragrant … my kitty sauntered across the house to inspect the new smell!

The aroma is lovely. Soft, not TOO perfumey, but considerably more sweet rosey in fragrance than Upton’s Rose Congou. The tea is medium-bodied and quite gentle, and the rose oil/petals compliment it well. Thankfully, the warmth and smoothness of it actually aided in some migraine relief (as well as the caffiene, I assume.)

As a lover of rose teas, this was quite enjoyable. I recommend it to anyone who loves perfumey rose scents & flavors, as well as a sweeter cup of tea. :)

Brewed a bit of this in my cast iron. I put this and a floral Tie Guan Yin in there, and I find that the two rarely conflict flavor-wise. It is a light green liquor and the flavor of cherry is sweet enough to merit no additional honey/sugar. It is always refreshing and light.

So glad this tea wasn’t discontinued to make room for their new blends!!! If they got rid of Almond Biscotti I don’t know what I’d do (… I would probably spend a small fortune stockpiling the stuff.)

Today I decided to try something new! I love this tea on its own, it is nutty, fragrant, sweet, and hearty. I added a bit of cream, a drop of vanilla extract, a touch of meadowfoam honey, and stirred. Holy cow. It paired perfectly with the batch of Italian wedding cookies we had sitting on our counter! Mixing it with cream made this blend utterly decadent!

This is the last time I’ll be logging this tea. I found a wee bit I had stashed away after the discontinuation. :( I opened the container and was hit with the lovely perfumey scent of the candied rose, and couldn’t help but sigh. This is my absolute favorite tea, and I’ve yet to find a good replacement for it. I’ve even been considering buying a rose tea and trying to supplement it with my own candied flowers.

The scent after brewing it just as sweet, but not as powerful as it was when dry. The tea itself is quite sweet on it’s own, but I love adding a touch of lavender-infused honey to amp it up a bit. It is a delicate rose flavor that compliments the black tea well.

It isn’t a complex tea, or anything super special. It was definitely one of my favorites, though, and it’s discontinuation adds to the bitterness I feel towards Teavana’s fruit-takeover. I seriously feel like they’re purposefully getting rid of the non-fruity teas sometimes.

I got 1oz because I wasn’t sure if I’d enjoy this tea — I’ve got a love-hate relationship with jasmine. I tend to find it bitter, astringent, too perfumey, etc. I’m just getting over a chest cold and my sense of taste & smell has JUST returned, so I decided to try this blend with a fairly open mind and clean palette. The jasmine is gentle and not at all bitter or harsh, and it leads into a more mellow & soft vanilla flavor on a fine base of black & green tea. I sweetened it with raw echinacea honey and am drinking it from a small teacup which cools it down perfectly. The small amount in the cup doesn’t have an overwhelming jasmine aroma before you sip, as I found my heftier mug did.

It certainly has enough jasmine to please the people I know who are floral-fanatics, but it is gentle enough for people who AREN’T jasmine-connoisseurs to enjoy. :D

No notes yet.

Started my day with a little bit of Matevana! I had just run out of Teavana’s “My Morning Mate” and was left with no other mate blends in my cupboard. Having woken up about 3 hours earlier than planned … I definitely needed a bit of a boost. This just doesn’t satisfy me as much as some of their newer mate blends do. It seems like the flavor is a bit … watered down, even though I had JUST ordered and opened the package. It was still pretty tasty with the addition of some raw honey, but I didn’t find it as satisfying as I used to. Got the job done but wasn’t as flavorful as I recall it being. Maybe I got a bad batch, or maybe I’m just used to different mate blends now.

This is one of my favorite oolongs. It has a delightfully complex floral and light flavor, and a sort of “green” aftertaste. Brewed it in my beloved Dusk Moon tetsubin set. This oolong always makes a highly enjoyable cup of tea.

Today I decided to make a sort-of chai latte with this. I don’t own a milk steamer and I find that steamed milk will sometimes give me a stomachache, so I improvised! I brewed some of the Kama Sutra Chai and added the last of my meadowfoam raw honey (which has a taste of marshmallows — goes VERY well with this tea) and let that sit while I prepared milk. I poured some 2% milk and added to it a few drops of vanilla extract. I put it in a lidded container and shook it until it was rather foamy. I then added the tea, stirred thoroughly, and had a perfect little easy “latte” to enjoy. I think it would work BEAUTIFULLY with almond milk or vanilla soy as well!

This is exactly what you would expect … a delightfully refreshing lavender tisane. I drink it often before bed, and tend to mix it with chamomile or mint. Lovely cup color, and tastes quite fresh.

I actually love this tea. I enjoy Earl Grey, but this is a softer version of it. The bergamot isn’t overpowering and the vanilla is a delightful accent to the flavor of the ceylon and green teas. I drink it with a local autumnal wildflower honey and sometimes mix it with Upton’s Rose Congou.