Kristin

Ok, so this is kinda weird. Up’d the amount of tea to 3 tsp per 11 oz. It’s no longer watery but I like it less. With more tea leaves, the spiciness is more present and the butterscotch flavor is more of a background flavor. It’s still good though. It reminds me of Celestial Seasonings Sugar Cookie.

This tea is more typical of a rooibos than the Butternut Toffee Rooibos or Carrot Cake Rooibos (with those two, I wouldn’t have known there was any rooibos in them). This tea is definitely a rooibos, but yet it is still tasty. And, it’s probably one of the only strawberry/fruit rooibos teas I’ve had that actually tastes like the fruit. Most seem to taste like cough syrup. This one luckily does not have that cough syrup flavor. I definitely taste the strawberry.

It’s not my favorite and I’ll defininely finish the sample, but I’m not sure I’d order it again.

I rarely buy flavored black teas because I feel like the black tea overwhelms the flavoring (and often a cheap black tea is used as the base and it’s too bitter). This tea is really really good, though. I love all things maple so I couldn’t resist trying this one.

The smell in the bag is maple-pecan and no scent of the black tea at all. Once brewed, I can taste the black tea but it doesn’t overwhelm and is not bitter. And, oh boy, is the maple flavor present!

3 for 3 with Fava teas!

Brewed 2 tsp to 8 oz for 4 min.

This tea is delicious. Fava Tea is 2 for 2!

The tea in the bag is gorgeous: giant chunks of carrot, shredded coconut, whole raisins, cloves, and cardamom pods. The tea in the bag smells like carrot cake. It brews up to a light orange color.

Once brewed, guess what it tastes like? Carrot cake! or maybe it’s a giant carrot muffin. I love it.

I really didn’t think this was going to taste like carrot cake when I ordered it. I expected to be disappointed, but it’s really tasty. It’s actually a nice mid-morning tea since it has that carrot muffin quality to it.

Nom! This tea is pretty awesome. I had no idea what I was going to get with this one. I didn’t know what the butternut referred to. I love butternut squash and I love buttery tasting nuts so I figured I couldn’t go wrong. Apparently, there is actually a nut called ‘butternut’ and it is similar to a walnut. That’s what this tea has in it.

This tea has giant chunks of nuts that look like chestnuts (but are actually the butternuts), whole cardamom pods, and lots of other things I couldn’t identify. There isn’t an ingredients list, so I guess I’ll just have to quit analyzing it and enjoy it. It smells amazing in the package. Sweet and heavenly and butterscotchy.

The one thing that must be in this tea is green rooibos instead of red. There are some green leaves in the mix and when it is brewed it is an orangy-yellow color (which I’ve never seen with red rooibos). And the taste!! The taste is like those Brach’s butterscotch candies. ❤ It smells like that too. I can just catch a taste of spice in the background.

I do think I needed more tea leaves and will try that next time. I used 2 tsp to 11 oz. Could probably use 3 tsp.

2nd steeping tastes pretty much exactly like the first. There is a tiny bit of peachy flavor in the background.

Update – I forgot to mention this. Last night I learned that I should not drink this at 8pm. Barely slept last night.

When I tried this tea last night at bookgroup, it was brewed with some flowering tea so I wasn’t exactly sure of its flavors. Today I am brewing it all alone. The brewed smell is kind of like a buttery sauteed spinach. Maybe there is a slight bite to it from Ginseng. Maybe if I try hard enough to find it. The flavor is light and not grassy. There is a slight vegetal flavor, perhaps artichoke? I think I added enough tea leaves. It’s very hard to describe but I am really digging it.

Washed the leaves with boiling water for 10 seconds. Brewed 3g to my little 8 oz celadon brewing mug for 2 min. This is the first steeping. The leaves didn’t entirely open on the first brewing.

One of my bookgroup cohorts went to China recently and the only thing she brought back was tea. She brought a bag of Oolong to share with the group. And, she sent me home with a bunch of it in a ziploc bag (woot!). Sadly, I don’t know much else about this tea. It was in a white vacuum sealed bag with Chinese writing. My friend said it was a medium grade Oolong. The leaves were all balled up tight and were shaped like chocolate chips. I don’t think it was a Ginsing Oolong, but it definitely looks like one. Here is a pic:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/snowboardbunny/4624434242/sizes/o/

Does anyone know if the tea could be a regular oolong and look like that?

Anyway, it has a slightly vegetal taste (but not overwhelming) and has a light peachy flavor in the background. We did 2 steepings and both were great.

This is my last cup of this one. This tea is kind of funny to me. I loved it the first time I tried it, but liked it a little less with each cup. I can’t quite tell you why the love has dissipated but perhaps it is not all that interesting overall. It is very single-note. Coconut and that’s it. I love the Golden Moon Coconut Pouchong still and I think it is the complexity of the Pouchong that is keeping me entertained with that one. Anyway, this has been a good tea, but I don’t want to order it again. Dropping my rating based on love lost.

Wow. Such a mislabeled tea! I got this tea as a free sample in my TG order (a couple of months ago). It has been sitting in my tea drawer ever since. I’ve had such bad luck with fruit teas lately (especially ones named after seasons), that I’ve been afraid to try it. I shouldn’t have waited so long.

This tea is pretty yummy. When you open the package, it smells like caramel. When brewed it tastes like caramel and then when sugar is added it brings out a green apple flavor and tastes like a caramel apple. It brews up to a nice dark red-purple color.

The name of this tea had me imagining rose hips and hibiscus and other horrid things. Thankfully none of those flavors are in this tea, despite the fact that those ingredients are in the tea. While I wouldn’t go out of my way to order this tea, if I was ordering something else from TG, I’d definitely throw some of this in the order.

This tea should have been named caramel apple. Why did they name it Spring Fruit?!?!

2 tsp to 11 oz for 10 min, and it was a little weak. I’ll add 3 tsp (if I have that much left) next time.

I haven’t had this one in a while. The tin got pushed to the back of the drawer. It’s still yummy. :)

I made another cup of this tonight to try to decide how I felt about it. I wasn’t really digging it, so I gave it to my husband to try. I asked him, “does this taste like raspberry?”. He took a sip and said “yep”. 2 seconds later he said “bleah, blarg, like raspberry cough syrup; and not even good cough syrup at that”. I was really trying to make myself like this one because I had ordered too much of it, but he confirmed that I am just trying too hard. Might have to put this one in the giveaway pile. Downgrading my rating by a bunch.

Backlogging. Had this tea a few days ago. It’s ok. I wouldn’t say there is anything ridiculous about the amount of raspberry. I thought it was strong rooibos flavor with a little raspberry flavor. I was really looking forward to this tea too. Just ok.

Backlogging. I had this tea a couple of days ago and it’s pretty weak. I made one cup according to directions and then made another cup using 3x as much tea. Both cups were just watery. I didn’t finish either cup.

Backlogging. Drank this a couple of days ago. I made it much stronger – about 3.5 oz to an 11 oz mug. That is a lot of tea. I could still only taste the white tea. There is a hint of strawberry in the smell.

I contacted Teas Etc via twitter, and I got better instructions for brewing this tea (than what was on the package). Beth told me to brew this with 3 to 3.5 g per 8 oz cup. So, trying this again today. Turns out 3.5 g of tea was about exactly what I had left in my sample. That amount of tea wound up being at least 3 heaping tsp.

This is a completely different tea from the underbrewed batch I did on Monday. This one is a dark yellow and is full of a floral fruity flavor. A lot of people describe the fruitiness of this tea as plum, but I think it is peachy. I’d almost swear that I am drinking a peach oolong tea. There aren’t any flavorings added to this tea though… this is all coming from the leaves. It’s really lovely. I’d almost describe it as dense and fruity at the same time. I’d order more if I could afford it. Maybe it’ll have to go on my xmas wish list for next year.

I can’t wait to see what the second steeping is like. Other reviewers have said that the second steeping is even better.

I am thinking I didn’t use enough tea when brewing this one. The package suggested 1 tsp to 8 oz. I have a 12 oz mug so I used 1.5 tsp. But I am not getting much flavor out of this at all. It is very light. I am not getting fruity as others tasted – maybe there is the plum flavor way way back in the aftertaste. But on a good note, there is no bitterness at all and it’s very mellow. The smell is amazing. Nice mellow oolong smell.

I’m going to reserve judgment on this one for now. I think I have enough of this sample to brew it again with 2 tsp. I’d love to know how much tea others used.

Would it be weird to add another 1/2 tsp to the second brewing?

Prepared in my Bodum Double Wall Glass mug and YoYo Stainless Steel Infuser.

BTW – I think this might be the most expensive tea I’ve ever tried. I would like to thank Teas Etc for generously sending me a sample.

Update – I can definitely taste more flavor as it cools and am realizing how happy this tea is making me while I drink it.

This tea, while probably tasting exactly like it says it does, isn’t one of my favorites. It’s meh. In the package, the dry leaves smell nutty and have a hint of vanilla, rum, and chocolate. Brewed, I am tasting a nuttiness, but the rooibos flavor is strong in this tea and it is getting that mocha flavor that I don’t particularly like. Someone else may love this tea, but it’s just not my thing.

This was a free sample that Teas Etc kindly included in my order.

2 tsp to 11 oz.

This tea is fantastic iced. Needs no sweetener (coming from someone who sweetens almost all teas).

Cold brewed. 1 Tbsp for each 16 oz water.

No Rooibos will ever live up to my expectations after that Coconut Custard Rooibos. Sigh. This tea is just ok for me. The smell of the dry leaves is a little cough syrupy which made me afraid to try it. The smell brewed is more like a cherry sucker from the bank. Taste-wise, I get a lot of Rooibos flavor. The cherry is a background flavor and the vanilla is subtle and just rounds out the tea. It is ‘creamy’ but I kind of want more cherry and vanilla.

As it cools, I am getting more of the cherry sucker from the bank flavor.

I am still loving this tea. It is SO strong and bold. Better be prepared for this one when it hits you. And, there is none of that earthy/peaty/manure smell in this tea. Thank god.

I added lots of sugar and some soy creamer to it this morning.

Good Morning or Good Night? Mint tea always feel like something I am supposed to drink before I go to bed. This one is supposed to be ‘invigorating’. Maybe by the end of the cup I’ll feel invigorated. That being said, it’s tasty. It is much milder than the Mint Fusion that I logged yesterday. I’ve always liked linden in my tea so I am not surprised that I like this one. I, thankfully, don’t taste the rosemary at all.

I could see this being great when I don’t feel well. I also think it might be really good as iced tea. I might try that with some of the rest of this sample.

I might just not be in the mood for this tea right now. I really want that Coconut Custard, but 11 am seems too early to be pulling out the dessert teas. I definitely like it though.

I drank a cup of this last night after dinner. Is this the best rooibos ever? It might be. This is so yummy. And, I only ordered 1 oz of this! :(

I was worried I wouldn’t like this because everytime I see coconut with tea, I think it is going to be like a pina colada. The thought of that makes my stomach turn. But, since I liked the Golden Moon Coconut Pouchong and everyone was giving this such good reviews, I had to try it.

This smells amazing. In the dry leaves, I smell coconut and some kind of liquor. When brewed, I taste coconut, vanilla, and a dash of cinnamon. It made me immediately think it was like a cookie in a cup. Then as I drank more, I started to get the ‘custard’. Sooo yummy. I was planning on making a cookie after tea (I have some frozen cookie dough balls in the freezer for emergencies), but after drinking the tea, I no longer even wanted the cookie. Great side effect.

If you are a rooibos drinker, run and order this.

~1.5 tsp to ~11 oz. I added the worlds smallest drop of agave nectar to this.

Oh man! I might love this. It tastes a lot like Sleepytime, but better. Much, much, better. The mint is standing tall in the front and the black tea is just a balancing component. I expected this to taste like black tea with some mint flavor, but instead it tastes like mint tea with a smidgen of black tea. I think I am going to be wishing for more than a sample of this one, especially once my husband finds it (he is the sleepytime tea drinker in our house).

Update – this has no bitterness or astringency. Also seems to be a nice pick-me-up rather than the calming effect of a night tea.

1.5 tsp to about 11 oz.