Tina S.

A lovely tea, and an excellent caffeinated version of a watermelon flavour. On its own I certainly would love this, and I can see it being an amazing iced tea. I got two steeps out of this one. The first steep was lovely, and full of flavour, with the watermelon being the dominate but undernotes of the tea. Second steep was much lighter, but still enjoyable. There was little tea flavour, but still much fruit. I didn’t try a third.

The way I drank this was a contrast and compare to my previously reviewed Luscious Watermelon from Davids. As a single tea, I prefer the one from David’s. The flavour is slightly more watermelon and has more of a body to it. However since it is an herbal, it doesn’t rebrew nearly as well as this one. Those who like more of a tea flavour would definitely prefer this one, as well.

Note, first steep at 2 minutes, second steep at 3.

I’ve been in the mood for this one for a while, and since my friend gave me a watermelon tea, I had to try this one first in order to do a fair comparison. I pulled the cannister from the back of my cupboard and nervously opened it up. I hadn’t touched it for months through the winter so I was afraid of how well it would have lasted. Thankfully it smelled just as amazing as ever and so I blissfully brewed up some summer tea.

I love how this one tastes. It has that light sugary flavour of watermelon. You can tell there is a flavour, and sweetness, but trying to pin down what exactly you’re tasting is nigh on impossible, just like the fruit itself. I’m hopeful that this one is coming back this summer, because I don’t have as much left as I thought I had!

All of these lovely teas I got from The Green Tea House are from a friend who lives in the local area of the store. She offered to grab me some I was interested in when she sent me a couple of her favourites, so of course I excitedly chose some. Because I’ve had mostly bad experiences with pu’erh, I thought this was a great time to try one from a place that I wouldn’t normally have access to, and that seemed to have good ingredients.

As a pu’erh, this is probably a decent starter tea to try it. I say that because I didn’t notice until after I brewed it, but it’s half green leaves. Because of this I didn’t notice much of any of the usual pu’erh characteristics, good or bad. There was a bit more earthiness and body to the tea than there would have been if it was purely green, but I definitely felt like this fits more into a green family.

Tastewise there are raspberry notes, most definitely, however they seem fairly generic, even once the cup is cold and drank as an iced. Overall it isn’t a bad tea, but there was nothing about it to make it stand out for me, either.

Had this with my cereal. Nom, what a great morning cup. Sadly, it is now all gone.

This tea is definitely a winner. The smell after brewing is solidly caramel. And not that cheap fake stuff either. This smells like that english toffee that you bite into and it drips all over your chin in the best and messiest way ever. (Sssh, Aisling, I already know what you’re going to say so nyah :P )

First sips definitely had a nice caramel flavour, with some backhint of chai like spices. The tea was a little light on flavour for me, so I added some sugar to see what that’d do to the tea. And wow, there was the flavour that I’d been looking for. Caramel and spice notes and just a slight underhint of apple and damn is this tea a winner. Maybe a little out of season since it feels like the middle of summer outside right now despite it being March, but mmmm I do love it!

Edited to add: They call this a black but it really is a rooibos with black added. There is no way I’d call this a black tea.

I had this one as a go-to-work cup this morning, and since I felt like crap I let myself sweeten it with a full teaspoon of sugar for a change. Dang but did that bring out the raspberry flavour. I loved every sip of this cup this time and was sad when the well became dry. Bumping the rating a bit because of it :D

Why do I not hate this tea? It is full of hibiscus and brews up bright reddish pink but I love it! Pink Flamingo, your lemon and awesome additions just make me love your uniqueness in my collection. I didn’t realize how much I had missed you until the weather warmed up and I wanted something like this on ice. Definitely glad I can keep some for a while longer. And that there is at least one thing I like in the spring collection.

I knew going in with this one that it would be an offshot for me to like it. It was almost a tea-dare for me to try it.

And yeah, I got burnt lemon ass. No, I don’t mean lemongrass. Dry and brewed the smell almost turned my stomach and now . . . not so much.

Ooooh, apparently if you make it a latte that’s when the spiced notes come out! Normally all I get is a lovely dark chocolate flavour, but tonight I used this to make a latte with vanilla soy. The result is a delicious cup with a bit of a tingle and all sorts of flavour. Delicious!

This was as lovely a coconut oolong as the one I have from Rishi, if not moreso. Mellow and flavourful and just . . . delightful. Yum.

I definitely love this one. I think it may almost be my favourite straight black. Had a nice big pot of it to nurse all afternoon. Mmmm.

Cold steep overnight last night (can you tell I’m looking forward to iced tea season already?) This is a tea that most definitely benefits from a long steep and being on ice. The peppercorn pop comes out and really accents the strawberry flavour. I’m actually kind of sad that this didn’t become permanent because it really is a lovely summer tea.

Wow it has been over a month since I had this? No wonder I have been craving it. Made a pot this morning and just revelled in how delightful the flavours are. This is a must- have in my cupboard.

How have I never reviewed this one? This was one of my favourite teas almost from the beginning, and was possibly my first green. The mango flavour here is true to the fruit, unlike some that add pineapple or other random citrus flavours. And even better, the tea and the fruit flavours combine into a lovely cup. This is the tea that taught me to appreciate a good sencha, and a more delicate cup to a black or herbal.

I had my doubts about this one, and between that and my fear of it, I left this one as my last 52teas tea to try from my order. I had no idea what to expect, and so it was with trepidation I sipped tonight.

My first sips were of a roasted flavour with a slight sweetness. Curious I added a dash of sugar, and there, in the aftertaste notes, was most definitely pancake. Pancakes cooked much more well done that I have the preference for, but definitely an identifiable pancake taste.

Not sure yet if I actually like the tea or not, but it does fulfill its name. I think I’ll need another pot or two to decide if I actually like it or not, though.

This tea did nothing for me when I was sick. It seemed flavourless, I was that ill. This tea when I’m healthy is anything but flavourless! If you like mint-like teas, especially ones with more of a juniper woodsy feel, this is a great tea. The only reason I’m not stocking up more on it is that I prefer Northern Lights just a little bit more.

Drank the last of this one from my collection today. I really enjoyed it when I first got it but the more I drank, the less and less I liked it. I hate when that happens with a tea! This time it just kept tasting more and more artificial with each cup. :(

Bumping the rating up on this one! I brewed it this morning and totally forgot the pot after I removed the leaves. When I finally got to it the tea was room temperature, but what a treat! At this temperature the orange was much more prominent, and there was a slight hint of cream as well. Now I can’t wait to try this one iced to see just how orange it becomes!

I cold brewed this one overnight for iced with some sugar added. The final result was a creamier version of the tea than when brewed hot, and one where there were definitely strong notes of the actual rooibos flavour. I prefer it hot, but if people like rooibos flavour then cold brew is definitely something to try.

Definitely passing on this one. I’ve now tried brewing it three times and none of them have brewed in a way that I got a cup I enjoyed. This one is up for trade if anyone is interested. It’s not a bad tea, just a bad tea for me.

Nope, I had hopes for this one but they didn’t come through. On the recommendation of a friend I brewed it shorter and I found that I liked it even less. Glad I didn’t get much of any of this collection. David’s, please let the summer collection be amazing. Please?

Drinking the last I have of this one tonight. And . . . it’s lacking something. I think I’m comparing it to Read My Lips and am wishing I was drinking that instead. This one isn’t bad, it just isn’t as good. I think it is on the online-only reserve list that came out recently, too, so I’m pretty sure this is where I will part ways with this one. Fare thee well, Mint Chocolate Rooibos.

Brewed a pot of this one up tonight, craving it. And yet . . something was lacking. I’m wondering if I let it get stale on me. I think I’ll use what I have left in the tub and get fresh next weekend when I’m in London. Buying more tea . . . such a hardship.

I never thought the day would happen when I wouldn’t want to sugar a latte but with this one I really don’t. It’s just so perfect as is. I’m going to be sad when the warm weather comes and I don’t crave this anymore.