Lauren

Okay, I love this. It’s strong, smooth, comforting, and tastes thick which is something I’ve never experienced in a tea before. This would definitely be good for multiple steeps, but I didn’t have time to try it before I left for class. It’s great with turbinado sugar and milk, although I may have added too much milk because this brews up super dark and I didn’t want it to be bitter. Might have masked the flavor a bit. But there’s no bitterness or astringency to be found. Overall a really great morning tea.

Super strong and super DARK when brewed. Like, stain your teapot and teeth dark. This reminds me very much of Tazo’s Chai, which I’ve only had from a teabag and found quite stale tasting. So, this is a similar flavor/aroma, except better. Stronger, more ceylon base peeking through, fresher spices, more pepper. The spice is definitely there, which I love, and is more warming and full-bodied than burn-your-mouth hot. Just a teaspoon per 8oz water is enough to unlock full flavor.

Gorgeous to look at, with the green & purple candy sprinkles, bright yellow sunflower petals, wiry black tea, spices, and pink hibiscus pieces.

This is also a very interesting blend. The ingredients list rooibos (though I don’t see any), apple, rosehip, and almond in addition to the black tea and chai spices. I can tell there’s going to be a lot going on here. However, pumpkin is mysteriously absent from the ingredients on the bag. Perhaps it’s in the “natural flavors.”

Steeped this on the stove in three parts water to one part milk, with 1.5tsp per cup and a heaping tsp of turbinado sugar.

This has a vegetal rich pumpkiny flavor and aroma that stands out against the warm spices. I don’t detect any rooibos or hibiscus. The pumpkin isn’t as pronounced as something like DavidsTea Pumpkin Chai, but I wasn’t really a fan of that so this is perfect for me. This doesn’t quite taste like a slice of pumpkin pie or anything, but it’s warm and flavorful and stands up to milk and sugar.

I’m having sneezing fits this evening, and the powdered spices in this blend are not helping! This chai is incredibly fragrant and obviously full of different spices: ginger, cardamom, cloves, definitely black pepper. I don’t detect any whole cardamom pods or cloves in the bag. It seems they’re all chopped instead of whole. It’s also quite sweet smelling. Once brewed, the spicy aroma still comes through, namely cloves.

I wasn’t impressed with the strength of the previous two teas I tried from Culinary Teas, so I brewed this double strength, upped the steep time, and used slightly cooler water to cut back on the astringency I found in their Assam base. I think that really made a difference in terms of strength, but this still leaves my mouth feeling dry. Seems I’m really sensitive to astringency lately.

Unsweetened, this tastes quite sharp with a hint of bitterness. Not something I would drink straight-up. Some added turbinado sugar (about a tsp) cuts the bitterness and really compliments the spice, but doesn’t enhance the white chocolate. There probably just aren’t enough of those mini chips to really make a difference. Milk makes this much smoother and creamier. I’ll try this next as a proper latte, simmered in milk and maybe with some honey.

A light, delicate, hint-of-gingerbread tea. Like other reviewers have said, I would love if this had some more sharp fresh ginger taste. Perhaps brewing this double strength would help. This doesn’t have much body and brews up very light, so I think it would be fantastic blended with a spiced black tea, just to add some punch.

Dry leaf aroma has hints of dried ginger with a dominant sweet caramel-y molasses smell. The brewed tea doesn’t smell as strong, but as it’s cooling I definitely get that molasses aroma coming through. Added milk and sugar reveals vanilla notes and a gingery aftertaste, but not any creaminess. I’ll have to give this one another go. I think it has potential to be a really nice dessert tea.

FInally, some new teas to try. I believe this is my first straight-up assam, but I’m impressed. The dry leaf aroma has slight cocoa notes in the background but smells mainly starchy, like potatoes? Along with the typical “black tea” aroma.
The brewed tea is a lighter orangey-red, fitting because it’s about medium strength. There’s a bit of astringency as it cools but no bitterness, just a smooth bright flavor. A bit of sugar really enhances the flavor but milk masks any sort of nuance, so I prefer this tea without it.
I re-steeped once and it was just about as flavorful as the first cup, but it’s now way too dry and astringent for me to enjoy, so I will have to try shorter steeps next time. Can’t wait to try the rest of my order from Culinary Teas!

Received my Twinings samples in the mail and since I’m running fairly low on loose leaf altogether and am almost completely out of my go-to morning teas, I gave this a try. I guess that’s life as an unemployed college student who’s just finished Christmas shopping for friends & family. Ah well. This tea kind of makes up for it!

A lot better than I expected from a bagged tea, but I see that’s a trend with Twinings. I definitely taste the almond, sweet with a bit of a floral note, and extremely fragrant. I don’t really taste any spice or much of the black tea base, just the almond. It’s getting a bit astringent as I reach the bottom of my cup, but I quite like it. Not bad at all.

I completely forgot about this while it was steeping and probably left it for about ten minutes. But it isn’t bitter at all! In fact, I don’t think it’s any stronger than a regular 3-4 minute steep. Interesting… But still drinkable.

Was craving a chocolate mint black tea this morning and have none in my stash, so I improvised. I could have made a peppermint hot chocolate again, I suppose, but I needed tea.
So I took two teaspoons of Bourbon Sunday Blend (vanilla black tea) from the Tea Table, threw in a Bigelow Mint Medley teabag, and added milk, turbinado sugar, and a tsp or two of mini chocolate chips from my baking cupboard. Makes a pleasantly sweet, minty, slightly chocolatey cup. Craving indulged.

This is super mellow. The cinnamon could definitely be stronger, in terms of both the dry leaf aroma and taste. However, it really smells of vanilla, and I’m even getting hints of cocoa. This is a rich black tea through and through, and the tea flavor is what really shines. I detect a tiiiny bit of bitterness & astringency, which becomes more apparent as I reach the bottom of my cup, but I actually find it quite pleasant.

Backlog—
I absolutely love this tea. I haven’t tried many straight black teas, and only a few English breakfasts, but this beats all of them out by far. It’s bold, malty, full-bodied, and gets you going in the morning. The dry leaf aroma is divine. Definitely stands up to milk & sugar, or maybe even cream if that’s what floats your boat. It’s perfect for washing down a big savory breakfast. I order the 3oz package & have never had trouble finishing off the bag.

Backlog—
Unlike other reviewers, I really enjoy/prefer this hot. Especially blended with Teavana’s Lemon Youkou. Iced fruit teas aren’t really my thing. I’d rather just have a glass of ice water.

This is super tart & I find it needs a lot of sweetener for me to enjoy it. But it definitely tastes like raspberry & has the tartness of lemon. I don’t really taste the mate because the fruit flavors are so prominent. But this is a really good fruit tea that could probably be blended with a green or white tea to add interesting flavor.
This blend is kind of sticky though! It would cling to the walls of the glass jar I kept it in. Very strange.

I love that the orange really comes through in this. Usually spiced citrus black teas can lose that tart, fruity taste. This has more than just an orange essence and aroma, though. As for spice, I really taste cloves in this instead of cinnamon. However, cloves go great with orange and it’s still very warming and spicy. The addition of milk doesn’t mask any flavors, and makes the black tea taste a bit more malty. Overall, a really pleasant cup & definitely something new for me.

The dry leaves smell rich and sweet, like toffee, butter, and salt. Steeped, most of the butteriness is lost and I cannot taste the salt at all. Mostly I taste burnt sugar, like the topping on creme brulee, and some creaminess. I don’t think I can take more than a cup of this at a time. I made two to fill my travel mug but the taste was too monotonous and boring after a while.

Backlog—
This tea is very minty, sweet, and creamy. More amped up than a plain peppermint black tea. I blended this with vanilla black tea and added milk, and it was heavenly! I’ll definitely reorder this during the holidays. And, I have to admit, I love seeing the cute little candy cane bits in the dry leaves :]

Backlog—
I definitely don’t taste, or smell, pumpkin in this. Which makes sense because the ingredients only specify “natural pumpkin spice flavor.” There’s really no hint of spice either, just a bland black tea with some kind of odd flavoring. Bleh.

Backlog —
Apple is a pretty mellow flavor, but it definitely comes out in this tea and isn’t buried at all. The spices really complement the juicy apple cider taste but it’s more of a standard cinnamon apple flavor than a chai. Still, it’s a refreshing change from a standard masala chai.
Definitely follow Adagio’s instructions and use 2tsp of tea per 8oz water. As a force of habit I take this with milk, but I’m sure it’s just as delicious straight up. Or maybe steeped in actual apple cider? With brown sugar? Hmm I might have to reorder a sample and try that out.

Backlog —
Adagio’s basic masala chai is good, but nothing super special, and nothing I haven’t tried before. I wasn’t sold on this upon first trying it, but brewing it double strength as a latte really improves it. The blend has TONS of cloves. I prefer more ginger and cardamom flavor in my chai though. If I’m going with a chai from Adagio, I’d rather have their spiced apple any day.

Backlog —
A very interesting blend of flavors. Has a pretty smoky taste with some strawberry brightness in the background. The milk chocolate flavor definitely comes through as well. The floral smell of rose petals is a bit overwhelming to me, but that’s not a flavor I’ve ever been fond of so YMMV. Sometimes the smell is fine, but other times I find it off-putting. It took a few cups for me to come around to this, but it’s not all bad I guess.

Backlog—
Pretty basic cinnamon flavor. I like my teas bold and spicy, so I did not find it overpowering at all. Great by itself and would be great for blending with other black teas, like chocolate, vanilla, or a chai.

This tastes & smells exactly like another chai I’ve had but cannot remember which! My best guess is Teavana’s Masala Chai, which appears to have been discontinued. I know I first tried it in December 2009 and reordered once. It may have bit the dust when their Taj Masala Chai was introduced. Anyway, I’d be willing to bet it’s the same exact blend.

The ginger and cardamom are the prominent flavors in this. It’s refreshing to try a chai that isn’t laced with enough cinnamon to clear your sinuses. It does taste a tiiiiny bit “peppery” despite lacking actual pepper. Brewed extra strong it’s got quite a kick and really stands up to adding milk.

This is my first Lapsang Souchong, a free sample I requested with my Tea Table order. I wanted to see what all the fuss was about. As a vegetarian, I haven’t had barbecue in yeeears, but I still love the smell of smoke & burning wood, despite it being associated with the smell of meat. That’s entirely what this tea smells like, both the dry leaves and the brewed tea. I brewed a heaping teaspoon in 8oz of water, without rinsing the leaves. Should I have rinsed? Who knows.

I tried it straight, and it was punchy & intense, a really savory tea. Maybe a bit too much smoke flavor for me. I added turbinado sugar, which really mellowed the flavor and added some nicely contrasting sweetness. Finally, I added a splash of milk, and I think I enjoy it most that way. You still get the smoky pine aroma but the taste is not overwhelming, mostly lingering in the back of the throat. I find myself enjoying this cup more as I drink. I’ll definitely try re-steeping the leaves.

It’s hard to rate this compared to all the other teas I’ve tried as it’s quite unlike anything I’ve had before. But, I think it’s a good quality tea and definitely worth trying.

Edit: I didn’t get to steep this again. I think I’m coming down with a cold, and this is definitely a tea you have to be in the mood for. =/

I’m pleasantly surprised at the strong vanilla flavor in this. I generally need a lot of vanilla in flavored things in order to taste it, so a little essence won’t do it for me. My taste buds suck. This has a bit of astringency, a spicy finish, and doesn’t need much sugar as it has a natural sweetness. Definitely a tea to enjoy slowly when you need a bit of comforting warmth.

It’s great to see coriander in this. I really think it helps that spiciness linger in the back of the throat.
Overall, this is my favorite chai I received from the Tea Table so far. This is one of the 3 free samples I selected, and the sample pack makes about 3 cups.

Okay, the dry leaves smell like candy. My sister and I decided on either Sour Patch Watermelons or Sour Punch Straws. Anyway, I couldn’t stop smelling them.

This was a sample included in my order. I’m not generally a fan of white teas. They’re usually too weak [if flavored] or vegetal [if unflavored] for me. But in the name of clearing out my stash, I decided to just brew the whole sample up (made two strong cups).

At first I primarily tasted the lemongrass and hibiscus. As it cooled, the watermelon became the primary flavor, which really popped after I added sugar. I suppose the other fruit flavors were there, but they all kind of converged into a syrupy, fruity flavored tea. If anything, I could only detect the apple and cherry, none of the berry, and especially not the pumpkin or carrot.

I’m not sure actually how much white tea was in this, as it was pretty undetectable to me. Overall, I don’t know what the primary flavor of this actually IS. It’s probably better iced as a sort of agua fresca. Overall, I didn’t dislike it, but I don’t care for it enough to buy some more, hence the lack of rating.