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I got this in the 5-samples-for-5-dollars deal. It was (maybe still is?) the highest rated tea on Steepster so I was excited to try it.

This tea smells toasty. Not as if the leaves have been toasted themselves, but as if they contain the toasty essence of bread-that-is-good-for-you. The first steeping had a creamy mouth feel. I wasn’t able to detect much sweetness, but I drink lots of artificially-flavored drinks so my poor taste buds are probably all dulled by that. The second steeping really does leave a cinnamony taste on the tongue! Quite interesting. I’m not sure how to rate it, but I definitely want to get some more.

I steeped this as instructed: in 16 oz of boiling water, then adding another 16 oz of cold water and putting it in the fridge until chilled. It tasted very strongly of black tea with 32 oz of water, and the amount of lemon flavoring was perfect – not too much. It’s so strong though that next time I’m going to add at least another 8 oz of water before chilling.

Very nice tea. It smells artificially fruity in the bag but, when brewed, the fruit flavors aren’t too strong. The combination of goji berry, pomegranate and orange is a pleasant one and though I’ve been casual with my brewing times, it’s difficult to make it too bitter. I received this as a gift but I may purchase it again when it runs out!

Several teas from Upton just arrived! I brewed this one in my new Finum filter.

Opening the bag, the smell reminds me of smoked paprika! My favorite spice. There are some pretty silver leaves sprinkled throughout the darker, smoked leaf base. Brewed, the smokiness isn’t as outrageously strong but it’s still nicely there and reminds me less of smoked meat than the dry leaves do. Which is good.

The liquor is a medium amber and tastes wonderful! The smoke taste lingers at the back of the throat and the maltiness of the Assam is perfect. Not too bitter and tastes almost milky, even with nothing added to it. I’m glad I ordered a whole 250 g bag instead of just a sample.

This is nicely decorated! Its dry leaf appearance reminds me of the Revontuli (Northern Lights) tea by Forsman, but the NK one smells more complex. It has bits of dried orange peel, cornflower, rose petals, safflower and a bright red flower. There is an intense, sweet floral scent with base notes of blueberry and something else, perhaps currants or strawberries.

It brews to a pretty medium amber color. It tastes “juicy” with a slight hint of bergamot. Easy to drink and good with milk. This would most likely make an excellent iced tea as well. The strongest flavors that come through are those of the orange peel and black tea. This isn’t one of my favorite black tea blends but it’s quite drinkable and I’m sure I’ll finish up what I have very soon!

Edit: I tried a second steep and it came out great. There was a minty lightness to the finish that wasn’t there before.

This is one of four teas I received for my birthday from Nordiska Kompaniet (http://www.nk.se/en/nk-stockholm/). They all came with really pretty tins; I’ll have to eventually get pictures of everything since NK doesn’t seem to have their teas listed on their website. Strangely, since they seem to market themselves as having a quality tea selection, there are no brewing instructions on any of the tea envelopes.

Dry, the tea looks beautiful with the pink rose petals, saffron and bits of candied papaya. After brewing for 2 minutes, there is a strong scent of rose. It tastes mostly like spiced orange flavored green tea, though there is a hint of vanilla at the end. This is an excellent flavored tea for the wintertime, and especially today, as it finally snowed last night!

Edit:
I just did a second infusion for the same amount of time and it came out great! The flavors seemed more balanced and there was less rose scent (which I’m not a huge fan of). The green tea and vanilla were both more prominent.

This a smooth, medium-bodied tea with a light sweetness in both the scent and flavor. It’s a bit toasty with a slight vegetal taste lingering on the tongue. This feels more like a spring tea rather than something to drink during the winter. It’s relaxing though, and I’m enjoying it quite a lot.