Lisbet

The tea in my cup is actually a much brighter orange than that of the picture. It’s almost pumpkin colored, and I only steeped this 3 minutes (recommended is 2-3 minutes)

This tea is definitely definitely herbal- distinctly lacking in sweetness. I actually find it tastes very strongly of ginseng, and not at all like jasmine or rooibos. I suppose I can taste the lavender and chamomile too, but no orange either. I’d like this a whole lot more if the citrus and jasmine were more prominent, or the jasmine for that matter.

As it stands, it really does taste like chinese medicinal tea, like something I might have received in the past from an acupuncturist. It’s not too different from when I turn to Traditional Medicinals’ or Yogi Teas’ blends.

As for the effect, I haven’t tried this while really tense yet so I’m not sure if it would relax me per se. Drinking it right now, I do feel pretty mellow.. maybe even a bit drowsy. But I think I was in that state beforehand as well.

So I got this here in Japan as something different to drink when I wanted no caffeine at night. It’s hard being a caffeine-free girl in Japan, and I’ve essentially given up. I can either drink way overpriced coffee, or I can drink caffeinated coffee. I can drink delicious but caffeine filled teas, or miss out on savoring beverages that make me swoon. But I try to do what I can.

So, this tea is one I chronically oversteep. It recommends a 3-5 minute steeping time at full boil, and I tend to just leave the tea bag in my cup, letting the brew become a bit bitter. It doesn’t bother me, but I could avoid bitterness by removing it promptly.

As for vigor, I had no idea this was supposed to give me vigor until right now- I didn’t know the word Hatsuratsu. But I don’t think it’s done much on that account.

As far as taste, this is a very Japanese herbal tea, meaning it isn’t gunked up with all of the sweetners and ornaments we like in our herb teas. (No, they save that for desserts over here.) Instead, it tastes like herb. Like a kind of generic green grass, but definitely not grassy in the way green tea is. This is like the tea equivalent of chewing a leaf of romaine lettuce. It’s actually rather pleasant(ly neutral).

I thought safflower was always sweet in teas, so I am surprised.

This is plain rooibos tea in a bag. Yep. That’s it. I don’t think I’d ever buy this one in the U.S., but I find myself craving rooibos while in Japan, as a departure from green tea (which is amazing, but I can’t drink it after 5pm or I don’t sleep). Muji has a 10 tea bag for 294yen pack, which isn’t bad for Japan rooibos pricing.

You know, considering most flavored rooibos just tastes like rooibos to me anyway, this is just fine. Rooibos even tastes healthy to me. I can actually use these tea bags to make an entire cold pitcher too. Numnumnum.

No notes yet.

So I’m living in Japan for a year for research, and this is the first tea I review in a while? Well, truth be told I’ve been awfully stressed, and as my U.S. stockpile of herbal teas is on its way across the ocean to me veryyy slowly, I’ve had to make do with things like chamomile. U.S. Liz is not a big chamomile fan.

However, Japan Liz is a big Muji (Full name = Mujirushi Ryouhin) fan. I love that store, and as I live almost across the street from one, I visit fairly often.

This tea brews into a gorgeous golden cup. No matter how I manipulate the brewing times, I just don’t taste the orange though. It’s much better if I treat this as a straight chamomile. I can see the orange pieces in the tea bags, but they just don’t stand out. At least chamomile actually works to relax me. If I can get myself to a better tea shop soon I probably won’t bother to re-purchase this bad-boy.

So, I’m living in Japan these days and therefore my drinking this is probably doubly odd. But after my millionth cup of green tea, I found myself craving some earl grey. And, I reasoned to myself, there was no real reason to hold out to find a shop that sold it here. The original point of earl grey was to flavor black tea that wasn’t so fresh, in order to make it drinkable. So I allowed myself to pick up some tea at the grocery store. For variety, I decided to try Lady Grey rather than the standard earl grey.

So this has less of a bergamot bite to it, is less peppery than good earl grey. It’s slightly sweet from the safflower leaves in it, and mild. I actually quite like it, and I’m sure in a blind taste test I’d be fooled by this and prove that my preference for higher end earl grey /lady greys is unnecessary.

Considering how much this cost me in Tokyo (I got the loose tea, so yes it does come in loose tea), it was the convenience of nabbing it at the grocery store alone that kept me from holding out. It’s not cheap here.

On this cool grey July day (yes, cool!) in Tokyo, I am enjoying this with my windows open, before I do yoga. It’s a great afternoon cup of tea, and makes me feel snuggly.

p.s. my canister is prettier in the one in the picture. Yay for Japan.

I really like this combination. I was just reading today about the weight loss benefits of oolong (helps to burn calories faster, according to the poster in a local shop, by increasing energy expenditure (EE)). I suppose this is why I typically was served oolong tea while practicing t’ai chi back in the day. But I digress.

I don’t tend to be that into the taste of ginseng, but it goes quite well with oolong actually. The result really, really reminds me of Tulsi (holy basil) tea, if you’ve ever had that. It’s herbal and a bit grassy, tasting predominantly of hay, or fresh straw. If this sounds off-putting, give it a shot, because I am enjoying this and finding it refreshing even on another abysmally hot Texas day. Woo, ginseng power!

I love silver needles and love jasmine, and this is just the cup of mellow I’ve been needing lately. The jasmine scenting is really well done, and doesn’t dominate the cup excessively; despite how muted white tea can be, I can still tell it’s here beneath the jasmine. The result is delicious; definitely a different caliber than the bagged jasmine tea I’ve been downing at local restaurants lately. This is the kind of jasmine tea I can see myself sipping in a shady tea shop, seated at a low tea table, relaxing as the cicadas hum outside. It’s really refreshing, as a good white tea ought to be, and the jasmine reminds me of a sultry hot summer day. I love this kind of tea in the warmer months; it makes a good iced tea too.

Don’t judge me, this is another free tea from my school’s health services, and tea help me, I like it. This means that I should probably seek out some peach tea that isn’t just sawdust. Mangosteen and peach are such similar tastes to me that it really doesn’t matter if there’s mangosteen in here. And quite frankly, I’m not kidding myself that I’m gaining any superfruit health benefits from this.

Lipton’s superfruit tea blends actually (almost all) look really tasty though. I can see buying a few of them and hiding them in the back of my cabinet where nobody will ever know. Except, I guess my husband would know. And he’d laugh.
This tastes better than the Republic of Tea bags have lately; those are too weak. Every so often one is super tasty and then they suck me in again… but I have this theory about bagged tea in general- the bag you try somewhere randomly, on a whim is delicious. So you buy a box. And then nothing that comes out of that box is ever as delicious as the teaser-bag you got. Since my Whole Foods often has random free tea bags out by the coffee, this happens to me a lot.
(But the employees like it when you return tea to the store because they get to divide up returned items like that. Or, that’s what a friend who works at WF told me.)

My university wellness center stocks this in their lounge area/waiting room. It’s a sweet kind of spicy and reminds me of essentially every lotion I’ve ever worn in the fall, and every candle I’ve ever gravitated towards in the fall. It’s a really sweet cinnamon chai- and I’m not a huge fan of sweet cinnamon. You could probably just steep cinnamon in a tea strainer and get a similar cuppa.

Still, free tea, right? Yeah, ho hum. It did help my throat feel a little less congested.

I’ve had this for as long as I’ve had the rooibos and black tea chais that came in this present from my mother, but been drinking it less because I didn’t think I wanted the stimulation of mate. Well, now that I have “donated” the black tea version to my department and am almost done the delicious rooibos chai I am turning my attention to this.

Aaaaaannnnd it’s pretty good, actually. I still don’t need the stimulation, but I enjoy the taste of this enough to drink it anyway. The cinnamon isn’t overblown in this version of their chai- and it actually does taste a bit like a chai I’ve had at an Indian restaurant near me. I’m digging the fennel and anise in this. And for those who don’t like mate, but DO like how it makes them zip, the mate is definitely taking a backseat to the spices here. I don’t know how common mate chais are, but this is a good one so worth giving this little startup tea company some business, I’m thinking.

Alas, drinking chai has failed to make it feel more like winter here in perpetually-hot Houston.

I think this one might be a bit too heavy on the “spicy cinnamon”, which is the first ingredient listed on my canister- even before the black tea. When I open this container I am immediately hit with a blast of the stuff- sadly, it didn’t make my allergies go away and reminded me of walking into a crafts store.

I think with some little candy hearts in here this could easily be re-branded as a Valentines Day “red hots” tea. As for me, I’m not particularly into it. The cinnamon is so strong that it overpowers the rest of the ingredients, so I don’t get any of the typical complexity of a good chai. I particularly am sad to be missing the taste of the orange peel.

Because of the heavy cinnamon I’m not quite sure what to do with the rest of this- dilute it by mixing it with another chai and risk ruining that chai? Bring it to my department and leave it by the hot water cooler (am thinking yes)? Making it into a bath tea and soaking in it? Cinnamon is stimulating and warming after all, and helps with muscle aches.

Er, maybe I’ll just bring it to my department. Unless someone out there wants to swap me some pu-ehr or nifty oolong blend for this. I know some of you really like strong cinnamon and the “red hots” tea blends out there.

I’m not trying to lose weight, but this sounded delicious so I was excited to try it. This one definitely is rocking the fruits at the expense of the tea taste. I’m getting that annoying tartness that berries and hibiscus (my arch-nemesis) bring, and that I so deeply hate. And then there’s the spearmint underneath it, making the whole thing a bit like berry gum.*
But, oddly I don’t hate the overall taste (just… some of it?) I simply don’t really care if I ever drink it again. I mean, if it melted my stomach chub into oblivion as I sipped that’d be one thing. But on the basis of flavor? Not a winner.
Sad to not find any pu-ehr or oolong in this at all. I think the hibiscus and mint stomped them into oblivion. I’ll have to have some pu-ehr later to make up for this one.

*Ha- I never read other reviews before posting my own and am amused to see that others got the “berry gum” thing from this too. Spearmint = gum.

Jim shared this one with me, as I’m currently on a pu-ehr kick. I can’t pretend that I have an amazing palette for pu-ehrs though; mostly they either taste properly rich and dark, or stale and light to me. This one is in the “deliciously rich” category. It’s cold and rainy here in Houston today, and this one really hits the spot. It’s definitely got more depth to it than some of the flavored pu-ehrs I’ve been drinking lately. When I hear people haven’t tried pu-ehr, I’m tempted to point them toward ones like this, that are just great teas without anything risky going on in them.
Yum yum. Cavey. (This is the 3rd steeping of this)

I love flavored pu-ehrs, but I keep going back and forth on this one. Slenderness aside, the dark musty taste of the pu-ehr is an interesting pairing with the tart sweetness of strawberry. I’m currently drinking this in a tea travel mug, so it’s getting the longest steeping of its life, and this is magnifying both tastes to an intensity that I’m not sure I find appealing. The pu-ehr in this blend also verges on tasting a bit darker than most I’ve tried.

I’ve decided that the strawberry in here tastes strongly like freeze-dried strawberries usually taste; have you ever tried those “Just Strawberries” in the plastic containers, sold at many grocery stores? Or, Trader Joe’s used to have freeze-dried strawberries. It’s a little tarter and less sweet than a fresh strawberry.

Pu-ehr is a relaxing taste to me in general, but the strawberry almost turns it into a dessert tea. I think I’d like to try this at a Teavana store, brewed freshly and fresh from the bin so I could really decide whether I think this combo works. I’d consider buying this one, as I got it in a swap.

I first tried this tea about 5 years ago, when living in Chicago. Now, my brother-in-law regularly brings it to Christmas gatherings because he knows I like it.
And I do like it- the almondy sweetness complements the sencha well. But today I am getting something soapy in here too. It’s strong enough that I am wondering if I somehow got soap on my cup rim. Or perfume.

Am trying to push past this to the delicious almond. I’m even having this with almond biscotti-like cookies. Could it be the orange blossom that can get perfumey?

As you may be able to tell, this one is very inconsistent for me. I wouldn’t pounce on the pouch every year in December if it always tasted perfumey/soapy.
All of this said, when this one’s good it’s absolutely wonderful- the perfect holiday dessert tea. So I still recommend it.

No notes yet.

I actually really like this one!
I’m not always the biggest fan of mate- I don’t think it tastes like coffee and tend not to appreciate blends that try to convince me that it does. I’ve been confused about the whole “mate latte” trend at coffee/tea houses.

But now I want someone who’s good at making lattes to make me one with this- because it’s just screaming for foamed milk.
My first cup I just had with water, but I’m trying it now with some steamed vanilla soy milk (I think I used too much and made it too weak- oops)
Anyway, vanilla and mint are a great combination, and while mate doesn’t have a stimulating affect on me, it’s pleasant enough in this blend that, well, I don’t mind that it’s there. Keeps this from being an (after dinner) dessert tea though- I don’t want to risk being stimulated right before bedtime.

I think all tea shops should stock this one to make me lattes with. Yumyum.

The description, which states that in many ways this could be a straight up pu’ehr, is totally spot-on. The flavoring is really subtle, and don’t let the elderberry scare you away if you’re a bit wary of berries in tea, as I am. The berry is certainly as mild as the other flavor components- yay, no kool-aid taste. This seems to be a decent pu’ehr, and the flavoring softens it a bit, and sweetens it too.

Second steeping is actually even less flavored and more straight pu’ehr.

I’m so into flavored pu-ehrs lately… open to anyone who wants to swap me one of these for just about anything.

My mom got me a groupon for this company’s tea sampler for Christmas. The address on the groupon was in a town very close to where my parents live, and so on the 27th or so we all popped on over there and tried to find it. To… no avail. Apparently the address on the groupon was the location of a farmer’s market where they occasionally sell their wares. Alas for us, it was 40 degrees and raining as we puttered around.

Fortunately, I was able to cash this groupon online, and if we’d read the groupon more carefully we’d all have probably realized that was the intent.

I ordered the chai sampler, the specifics of which are subject to change- and I imagine due to the volume of groupon holders, I ended up with Redbush chai instead of the “rooibos cacao chai” I’d been psyched about. Plus, my tins were maybe half full of tea.

But when I smelled this, all was forgiven. It’s really an exceptional chai. I haven’t had one that tastes this good with just a 5 minute water brew in a long time. I thought the Tea Gschwendner version was awesome, but this makes the top of my list. There are whole aniseeds in it for peet’s sake.

A seriously brilliant, warming, and spicy winter drink.

Whole Foods had all of the RoT holiday teas on super clearance today, so I nabbed a couple of tins. This one I had only tried once, and it’s actually good for a fruit tea. They managed not to get the awful taste of kool-aid or awful red fruit in the resultant brew despite it being a plum tea. I’m glad they held back; the tea itself looks about the same color as an oolong. I’d definitely call the spice blend “holiday” inspired as well. It winds up tasting a bit like holiday potpourri smells, without being cloying or perfumey.

Overall, I think they did this quite well, and though it’ll never be a favorite, it’s a pleasant cup.

TeaG’s signature Earl Grey- the most popular tea in their Chicago shop, they told us back when we lived in Chicagoland. I must admit it’s just about the perfect winter afternoon drink, and now that we live in Houston I’m missing the excuse to indulge in these. This is so smooth that the black tea doesn’t create that awful dry mouth astringency delivered by some black teas/earl greys. I’d actually say this is just about the perfect Earl Grey and I don’t think I’ve tasted a better one, even at Tea G’s Earl Grey tea tasting event in Chicago. Thankfully Tea G does mail-order on some of its items.

A nice splash of soy milk makes me happy.

Well, yeah…
I remembered hating this tea, but a bag of it came with my RoT catalog so I brewed it anyway. Yep, I still hate it. Like drinking a melted lollypop.
I can’t stand red fruit teas. They’re all the same kool-aid and lollypops. Why even bother to put green tea in this one, apart from the health benefits of it I guess?… Blegh. I had to laugh when I saw that this was the freebie of choice in the catalog. The only thing worse would have been one of the hibiscus teas.
I guess free is free though- I should have passed this one on to someone else.

I had strayed over to Yogi Teas for a while, but had gotten tired of the licorice in everything they offer. So with a recent bout of what may be acid reflux (not sure, but it runs in the family) I am trying to be very kind to my tummy.
This tastes pretty good actually- minty/herby. It actually seems to be working, and what’s more the sinus headache I had all day finally start to go away.
I have a few coupons for Traditional Medicinals (they’re in just about every magazine I read), so I think I’ll return to them next time I have an ailment.