Michelle Szetela

A tea with an absolutely gorgeous aroma, it’s a bit on the sweet side. I would add cream (or unsweetened non-dairy creamer, which I had initially added, but which made it much too sweet) but would not add sugar. Layers of different flavors – just lovely!

What a nice-smelling tea: all toasty and nutty with tiny mini-marshmallows! I wish it were just a hair stronger; I added half-and-half and a dash of sugar to mine, and it had a slightly sweet, nutty flavor.

Such an interesting tea! I brewed it on the strong side, and added half and half and sugar, and thought it a really good-tasting tea. Good caramel aroma, tiny hints of salt that brought out the sweetness of the caramel. Really delicious!

Tried with a small amount of sugar – quite nice, lightly sweetened on its own, not a heavy tea.

Not my favorite tea – very light flavor, and very easily made bitter if over steeped; however, it smells WONDERFUL: nutty and almond-y and sweet, a little like marzipan, but a bit floral and herbal as well. Worked well for me with a half teaspoon of honey.

Tried this tea for the firs time this afternoon – amazing (although I will admit a certain bias and love towards anything strawberry)! Lovely rounded strawberry aroma (both loose tea leaves and once it’s brewed); slightly sweet finish, brought out well by the addition of half-and-half. I brewed mine a bit longer than the recommended 5-7 minutes, but the strawberry flavor was well-rounded, and was not diminished by having added my half-and-half; had a creamy, strawberry finish. Just lovely.

It’s possible I oversteeped this tea – I generally tend not to drink white tea; I thought this chai was really lovely but very slightly bitter. (Full disclosure: Aside from oversteeping it, I also mostly drink black teas that I would add milk and sugar to, so drinking tea without is not usual for me.)

This white ayurvedic chai has spicy, peppery overtones, and a bit of that pepper stays with you, yet a taste of sweetness that I attribute to cinnamon stayed on my tongue as I sipped. I added a tablespoon of honey for one cup, and not for the other; the hone did mute some of the bitterness, and I think some of the pepper as well.

It has a very pleasing aroma: slightly grassy, peppery, but slightly sweet – a really interesting combination, nothing inherently overpowering but blended well such that every time I smelled the tea, I detected a different bouquet.

Not usually a big fan of chamomile tea, but this blend had a lovely citrus aroma, spring-y and light. Tasted mostly of citrus, not terribly strong (at least in terms of chamomile flavor), but a nice light tea that I would prefer in the evenings. The aroma was especially pleasing.

I wasn’t sure at which temperature to heat the water, so I chose 200 degrees, and brewed it for 9 minutes. Next time I might try full on boiling water, but time-wise, 9 minutes seemed a good length.

An absolutely excellent tea: I brewed and steeped mine for four minutes, which is a minute longer than the recommendation, but it was very well-rounded. I couldn’t taste the notes of raisin and molasses as such, as they were quite subtle, but there was a depth to the tea, no bitter aftertaste that sometimes comes with black teas; there was a definite pleasing aftertaste that reminded me of raisins.

I brewed my small pot of lemon grass for 8 minutes; it steeped to a nice medium brown cup that smelled grassy and lemony. I added a teaspoon of honey (probably unnecessary, since I think it muted some of the lemon grass flavor). Lovely light grassy aroma.

Good bright fruity herbal tea. Had a nice light aroma of strawberries with overtones of lemon; not as much strawberry flavor as I would have liked, instead having a stronger lemon finish. Good with honey.

I’m not normally a fan of cranberries, but I enjoyed this tea much more than I thought I would, especially with the dried cranberries. The tea has a good cranberry aroma, with a hint of tartness and with the slight sweetness that comes with dried cranberries. It held up excellently with milk and sugar.

I like this tea; it’s nice and bright, springy, with a good lemon aroma that’s also slightly creamy. I brewed mine strong, and added half-and-half and sugar, and it was quite delicious.

What a great tea! I bought this in tea bag form, let it steep for longer than five minutes, added milk and sugar. Wonderful raspberry aroma and flavor, even with the milk and sugar. Just fantastic.

Gorgeous smelling tea! Very fresh strawberry aroma; good, strong, fresh strawberry flavor, too, although more a medium strength tea. Wish it were a bit stronger, would hold up better with milk. (And I would need to add milk, otherwise any accidental oversteeping would cause a bit of a bitter aftertaste for this tea.)

A good Earl Grey; even though it’s a rooibos, it holds up well with milk and sugar. I let mine steep about 10-15 minutes, and it was still well-rounded. Not the strongest bergamot aroma or flavor I’ve ever come across, but quite good.

Such an amazing tea! Strong lemon aroma when I opened the pouch before brewing; brewed mine longer than the recommended eight minutes (about 15 minutes), and it was fantastic. Strong but not bitter lemon flavor, and as odd as this might sound, held up very well with milk and sugar, still being able to taste a LOT of lemon. This is really excellent.

A very light tea, both in flavor and in strength. Slight vanilla aroma, not much of a vanilla flavor. Didn’t hold up too well with milk and sugar, even when I steeped it longer than eight minutes. Not a bad tea, but a bit lighter than I tend to prefer.

Nice maple aroma; good strong tea that held up well with my milk and sugar. Subtle maple undertones, but not a strong maple flavor. A good tea.

Good strawberry flavor, slightly tart, even better with a teaspoon of honey, which brings out some of the subtleties of the strawberry. Lovely deep red color.

Great tea for any time of day; a good black tea that I let steep for about 5 minutes, and add milk and sugar to; good strong flavor.

One of the better Earl Grey teas I’ve had; I let my steep a minute or so longer than the recommended steep time (I like my Earl Grey strong). Good all around aroma and flavor; the stronger it is the better it holds up with milk and sugar (the way I prefer my black teas). Don’t notice that the decaf detracts from the flavor at all.

First thing to notice: Nice aroma, notes of pumpkin, a bit of spice, and white chocolate in equal parts; very warming.

When brewed (5 minutes, boiling water), the white chocolate chips melt and make the tea a bit murky, but the flavor isn’t as heavy and oily as I thought it might be. (The NecessiTeas’ Tuxedo Strawberry, which also has chocolate chips and chocolate flavoring, is a bit heavier and slightly oily because of the chocolate.) Still has a nice warming aftertaste, not much sharp spice as one might find with other spiced teas / chai, but a nice smooth all-around subtle pumpkin spice flavor. Must add milk (full milk or half-and-half) and a bit of sugar to round out the tea.

When I opened the container, I first noticed just how gorgeous the tea smelled and looked: It smelled strongly of chocolate covered strawberries (my favorite flavor), complete with chocolate chips and small bits of strawberries. The aroma was just amazing.

The brewed tea itself was not as good as it smelled, though. It tasted a bit heavy and slightly greasy (because of the chocolate chips melting); it also looked and tasted slightly murky (for the same reason). It did hold up very well with milk and sugar, and I would not drink this tea without adding regular milk or half-and-half (adding 2% or skim milk would not be good). I could drink this tea a cup at a time, but not several cups in a row.