10 Tasting Notes

62

I purchased this tea because I am looking for a substitute for my genuine love for Mexican Hot Chocolate. I love the combination of bittersweet chocolate mixed with the canela, cloves and other spices in a good Mexican Hot Chocolate. But, when I am in the middle of a workday, I don’t have access to my chocolate melter and frother, and so I am Mexican Hot Chocolate-deprived.

This tea actually did a nice job of filling that need for me. I drank it straight—without adding any milk or sugar. I think it would have worked even better with a bit of both. The chocolate bits come through subtly, but distinctly, and there is a nice balance of the other herbs. I don’t know much about Pu-Erh tea in general, but I was pleased that I didn’t get any of the astringency that I dislike when I steep many black teas for longer than a minute. All in all a pleasant cup of tea.

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33

I was rather surprised by this tea. Upon opening the bag it came in, the scent was very strong (and honestly, it smelled more like a Yankee Candle smell than a tea smell). But, surprisingly, when I brewed it up, I found it unexpectedly light in flavor. To be honest, I didn’t get much apple or cinnamon flavor at all; the strongest flavor I got was the almonds. I think I ought to try it again, because I still have trouble believing that a tea that has this strong a scent could have so little flavor. So, consider this review a first draft! :-)

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69

I was actually pleasantly surprised by this tea. I received it in a tasting pack from Della Terra Teas. I find that most tropical fruit flavored teas are overwhelmed by the fruit flavors, leaving room for nothing but tea (and making me feel like I am drinking some sort of chemical concotion that was developed in a mad scientists laboratory). But this tea had a nice light scent, and the flavors of the pineapple and mango just came through to brighten the cup without overwhelming it. I was pleasantly surprised.

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30

I don’t drink coffee (a childhood mishap with a General Mills Vanilla Instant Coffee mix and overcrowded porta-potties at a New Year’s Day parade took care of that option a long time ago), but often will find myself in a Starbucks with a friend. This is really the only tea I will drink here, and to be honest, it is more like paying rent for the seats than it is paying for a drink.

I find that this tea has almost no flavor whatsoever. I tend to like smooth, but strong black teas, and I often add sweetener and milk. If I drink this straight, it really doesn’t taste like much beyond “HOT,” and if I add milk and sugar, that is all that I can taste.

After reading the other tasting notes, I think I should make an effort to steep this tea a bit longer from now on. However, I tend to avoid steeping my teas for very long because I don’t like the bitterness/astringency that comes out of them over a long steep. And this tea is simply not strong enough to leave me with any flavor in the amount of time I spend to steep it.

Preparation
1 min, 15 sec
Asleep

Hi, magerber. Did you try Awake or Awake English breakfast? Judging only from the bagged tea (hides head in shame), they are not at all the same. So if you didn’t find the nuances others have written about, maybe you had the new English Breakfast version? Awake English Breakfast has no flavor or nuances, IMO.

magerber

You know, I didn’t know there was an Awake English Breakfast. As far as I know, this tea is only available in tea bags at Starbucks (does anyone else remember when they used to have loose leaf teas there…alas, no more!), and I have always been told that the Awake tea that they sell in the stores is the “closest” thing to English Breakfast that they have. I will say that if the English Breakfast version is new then I am sure I am referring to the unencumbered Awake…and if you think the new EB version has no flavor or nuances in comparison with the original, then I shudder to think what the EB version must taste like. :-)

Chizakura

Allow me to clarify, Awake Tea and Awake Tea English Breakfast are actually the same. It’s simply re-packaging so it’s easier for newer customer to understand that Awake tea is a type of English Breakfast.

There’s the old Awake tea in the flat bag sachets, and those are definitely less flavorful than the Full-leaf versions, the latter being the type served in store.

One thing though, is there’s a difference between the version we serve in store, and the in the tins for customers to purchase. Although I’m unaware of the difference, I know there is some sort because one day at work when we ran out of China Green Tips tea to serve to customers, I asked the manager if we could just rip open one of the tins and serve from there, and she told me we couldn’t because they were different.

And here I thought it was just my imagination that Awake tea tastes different (much much better) at home than it did in store…

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55
drank Original Blend by Red Rose
10 tasting notes

After reading these reviews, it is nice to hear that this tea is available in Canada, as I purchased mine from South Africa (I live in the U.S).

This tea was recommended to me by a British friend, who told me that you could let it steep as long as you want it and it never gets bitter/astringent/tannic. And she is right. It is pretty standard “black-tea” flavored; reminiscent of Liptons. Nothing special, but none of the tannic element that I dislike so much in oversteeped tea.

I find it is a really good tea for keeping in my desk at work. I don’t really have the time to make myself a good cup of tea, but this does the trick when I need a nice warm cup in the afternoon.

It is prett

Preparation
2 min, 0 sec

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3

I love Peet’s Irish Breakfast tea, and stop at the store almost every morning for a cuppa. Unfortunately, here in Southern California, it seems that it is easy for people to confuse Irish and Scottish, because I periodically get served this tea, which I DO not like at all.

I have read many reviews of the tea, and can appreciate the flavor descriptors that everyone uses, but honestly, to me, this tea somehow tastes just like fish!

Preparation
1 min, 30 sec

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67

This is a nice, sweet smelling tea. I will drink it at night when my normal caffeine laden breakfast blends just won’t do. I like it with sweetener and a milk (type) product (depends on whether I have lactose free milk in the fridge, or if I have to go with soy).

I have been serving it to my kids since they were about 7 and 9, and they love it as much as they love hot chocolate (I fill the mug 1/2 with tea, and 1/2 with milk and then add a sweetener).

It is not TOO cloying—I don’t like most fruity or other flavored teas—this allows you to sweeten it up or down based on your own personal taste.

Preparation
4 min, 30 sec

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100

Oh my goodness, this tea is delicious. I regularly drink Irish Breakfast tea, and this is a match for that tea in terms of strength, but has a sort of chocolately taste to it underneath that is just delicious.

Preparation
1 min, 30 sec

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100

I love this tea. I am not normally a fruity tea drinker—I like what my mom calls “tea-flavored” tea. But this particular blend is just a fantastic balance. I will sometimes sweeten it, sometimes not, depending on my mood.

Preparation
4 min, 0 sec

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100

I love this tea. I drink it every morning. I do not like tannins, so I only let it steep in the pot for about a minute, but it is still nice and strong. I drink it with sweetener and soy milk (unflavored/unsweetened) since I am lactose-intolerant.

Preparation
185 °F / 85 °C 1 min, 30 sec

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