Liz

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.

No notes yet.

This tea is AWESOME! Just in the tin, it smells like its exploding with warmth and cozyness. My mouth gets all tingly from the ginger and it tastes more of cloves than of cardamom. Cinnamon lingers on the tongue for a while. It really warms you up from the inside and is perfect for the long Finnish nights.

I still can’t decide if it like it more than the Upton Rooibos Chai. This one is much spicier and the Rooibos tastes somehow “fresher” than Upton’s, but the Upton version has a more balanced mix of flavors. Also I forget what Upton’s tasted like when I first bought it. I guess I’ll have to keep buying both, HOORAY! :D

After brewing this tea for a relatively short 3 mins, I really like it! I’ll have to see how it tastes after 4 and 5 mins, but brewing for 3 results in a soft, smooth Assam that is still toasty. It doesn’t have too much astringency and would probably go well with a little milk. I tried re-steeping the leaves for about 3 and half minutes and they still retain quite a bit of flavor. It would probably be best to do the first infusion for 3:30 and the second for 5:00.

This tea was really good! I just finished the bag today. I was quite surprised at the quality, as usually the pre-packaged teas you get from supermarkets aren’t that delicious. However, this one was very smooth and difficult to overbrew. Though the package didn’t specify which kinds of tea were included, it was a nice blend that went well with milk, but was even better plain. I’ll definitely buy this again.

After running out of my Twinings Vanilla black tea, I decided tea bags were too wasteful to use every day and I was sure there would be several better vanilla-flavored black teas that I needed to try. This tea is one of them! It has a much more natural vanilla flavor.

When brewed, it smells like warm caramel. I often drink vanilla teas with milk and a little sweetener, as that makes them taste like some dessert drink one would get from Starbucks. Plain, however, it’s also quite drinkable, though vanilla becomes more of a background note rather than the main flavor in the tea. I don’t know if this is my ultimate vanilla black tea, but it’s definitely a good one!

This tea is mediocre. It has an artificial berry/fruity scent. It’s difficult to taste any of the flavoring, but the tea base is pretty good tasting. It has a sharp, clean taste that isn’t too heavy. I’m not going to buy this again, as Upton has many flavored black teas that are way better.

This brews up to a beautiful deep mahogany-amber color. My roommate saw my glass and said “That’s how a tea should look!” It’s a good combination of malty Assam and tangy and floral Yunnan flavors. It’s not bitter at all and the taste lingers nicely on the tongue. It’s much more “clean” tasting than just a plain Assam.

Disclaimer: I just tried this tea today, and it’s from a sample packet that I received 4(!) years ago. Soooo here we go!

It has a nice Assamy scent when brewed, and is definitely a breakfast tea for those days when you don’t feel like getting out the door, as it will really make you wake up! There’s a bit of a vegetal taste that lingers on the tongue, and it’s great with a little milk added.

I’ll definitely buy more of this in the future to see if it’s even better when it’s not so old.

I bought this tea mostly because I thought the package looked cool. It smells mostly fruity and slightly malty, and the leaf is pretty with the cornflower and marigold bits. The taste isn’t interesting, and though it leaves a minty feeling on the tongue, there’s no strong mint flavor. I can’t taste the vanilla either, but there is a hint of blueberry at the back of the tongue. It’s not a horrible tea, but much more boring than I thought it would be.

This is only an alright chai tea. It tastes very strongly of cardamom so that it’s difficult to pick out the other flavors in the blend. It’s good with milk and sweetener, especially in the morning. I won’t buy it again as there are so many better “chais” out there, but I’m enjoying what I have left.

This smells exactly like hot apple cider that you can get at those pumpkin farms during autumn. Unfortunately, there’s not nearly as much taste as there is scent, but it’s enjoyable. Adding a bit of milk and sweetener brings out the apple and cinnamon flavors, enough that I’d buy another box for this winter.

Drinking between 5 and 10 cups of tea a day can get expensive. I decided I needed a cheap type of black tea that was still drinkable with and without milk for the mornings and early afternoons. I found this at City Gross in Stockholm and it seemed to fit the bill as a box of 100 bags was less than 16 kronor(~$2.40).

Plain, it tastes a bit bitter but I oversteeped it by a minute or two. It has a malty body and a slightly astringent finish. It would be good for a quick wake-up in the morning or the sort of mindless drinking one does while studying for several hours at a time. With milk and sweetener it’s nice, but I think I prefer it plain.

I’m surprised how good this tea is for such a dirt-cheap price. It’s certainly better than the big boxes of Lipton. I wouldn’t serve it to guests, but for days when my taste buds don’t feel like working too hard or I’m focused on something else, it does the job!

This isn’t very exciting, but is relaxing to drink. It has a smooth, slightly malty flavor with a tangy lemon finish. There’s a little bit of a metallic aftertaste when you drink it plain, but it’s quite good with honey.

This herbal blend is amazing! One of my favorite things to drink ever, and it’s not very common. It tastes quite “juicy” but not too sweet, and the hibiscus works well with the lemongrass and chamomile. There is a touch of mint, just enough to cool your mouth after you swallow the tea.

I’m not quite sure why, but this is one of my favorite teas. It’s not natural tasting at all, and has more of a toffee flavor and scent than vanilla, but it’s so drinkable by itself and with milk and sugar. I’m sad they’re discontinuing it in the US :( hopefully Twinings brings it back soon!

The best tea in the Voyage sampler box. It tastes good with and without milk, especially for a bagged chai.

No notes yet.

Smells strongly of lemon with a hint of bergamot. Plain, it tastes quite good! The flavors are well balanced and I can still taste the black tea, which isn’t too bitter. It’s sort of a semi-Earl Grey with lemon, which is good for those of us that don’t really love Earl Grey (me!). Adding milk and sweetener brings out some fruityness. I would be open to purchasing a whole box of this, though it would take a while to get through it.