Michelle Szetela

Nice subtle aroma of chocolate marshmallow, and a few notes of cherry, too. Nicely rounded, held up very well with milk (in my case, half-and-half) and sugar; very smooth! Not too sweet; a small amount of sugar did the trick to bring out some of the subtleties of the sweetness in the tea. Good dessert tea.

What a great tea! Brewed mine for about six minutes, added milk and sugar, and was a warm, well-rounded, cup of tea without any bitter aftertaste. Light cinnamon aroma, slightly nutty; didn’t smell the carrots but definitely had a flavor of carrot cake. Not a heavy flavor, though, and not overtly sweet.

Has a wonderfully deep, rich, classic cacao aroma, unsweetened pure chocolate that smells like cocoa nibs (not surprising). Without milk or sugar it had a clean, chocolate flavor, but unsweetened, and with a bit of a bitter aftertaste. With half-and-half and sugar, the residual bitterness disappeared, yet the tea retained its pure chocolate aroma and flavor.

I steeped mine for 5 minutes using boiling water (their 0.5 ounce sample was for two servings), but I think in the future I would use a little bit more tea for two cups (granted, I use larger mugs for my day-to-day tea) and steep for another minute or two, but no longer.

One of my new favorites!

I love Earl Grey; it’s my favorite blend. I also enjoy it when blended with lavender or vanilla / creme notes. I enjoyed this blend as well; I steeped mine for 5 minutes, and in the future would add 2 teaspoons per 8-ounce serving. Really nice Earl Grey and cream aroma; held up well with milk and sugar.

I could see how the flavor combination might not appeal to everyone, and I was a bit hesitant myself at first, but it’s an interesting combination, one I hadn’t thought would work well – especially with the addition of milk and sugar. The lime is subtle, and builds: The more you drink, the more lime you can taste. The coconut and chocolate are in fairly equal parts, both complemented and made a bit stronger by the addition of milk and sugar. (The lime remains the most subtle of the flavors.) The aroma is equal parts lime and coconut, with the chocolate being the most subtle of the three. An interesting tea!

A lovely aroma of milk chocolate and subtle notes of mint, this tea reminds me of The NecessiTeas’ Peppermint Pattie tea. Adding milk and sugar brings out the chocolate and slight hints of mint, but in the future I would use more than 1 tsp. per 8 oz. serving, and perhaps steep for a bit longer as well; it needed to be a bit stronger and had tasted a bit weak when I tried it.

One of my new favorites: Smells delicious, like a peppermint pattie. Liked it even better when I added half and half and sugar to it; brought out really creamy milky chocolate notes and a lovely subtle minty aroma.

Smelled really nice – lovely blueberry aroma. Not much of a blueberry flavor that I could determine, but there was a mild sweetness that countered the green tea. Loved the aroma!

This might be the first green tea I’ve tried that I like. A really, really nice, sweet strawberry aroma, and a mellow strawberry flavor that overrides the bitterness of the green tea. (Also tried with honey powder, but didn’t affect the sweetness.)

Subtle spearmint and peppermint notes lent clean, minty notes, while the licorice was the stronger flavor and aroma. Sugar/honey not needed.

I wasn’t expecting to like this tea too much; the loose leaf blend smelled spicy in a way that made me cautious – it smelled almost sharp. However, the anise comes out well once brewed, and there is little initial sharpness, just a pleasant, smooth licorice flavor (and a slight anise aroma as well).

The more I drank the more I could ascertain the pepper, which was subtle and a nice contrast. Not my favorite tea, and I’m not sure I’d order it again (not a big fan of spicy tea), but a pleasant surprise.

Smells like sweet dried fruit (there are dried cranberries in the tea); smells lovely. Brewed mine for about 5-6 minutes, added milk and sugar, and couldn’t taste much cranberry, but could still smell what smelled more like general dried fruit (an aroma I like) than cranberry specifically. Very nice and warming.

Nice mellow tea with hints of cinnamon flavor and an aroma that includes cardamon (slightly chai-like). Not too terribly sharply flavored (I brewed my small pot on the high end of the recommended steeping time), but has nice subtle flavor for those who don’t like powerfully strongly flavored tea.

Good holiday tea; nicely rounded flavor and aroma with hints of cinnamon being predominant, although some secondary hints of vanilla and almonds coming through, also. Very nice with milk and sugar.

Ginger was the stronger flavor and aroma, with tangerine being the secondary flavor and aroma (although the loose leaf had a lovely floral, tangerine aroma). The ginger was sharp, and I’m not sure I’d drink this in the evening if I wanted to relax, but definitely a good morning tea.

What a beautifully warm tea! Nice cinnamon aroma and flavor, enhanced by adding milk/half-and-half and sugar. Well-rounded, smooth, relaxing tea with a good moderately strong flavor – not overpowering, but not weak and therefore lost if adding said milk and sugar.

Lovely light tea; the ginger dominates the aroma in both the loose leaf and brewed form, but the lime can definitely be smelled and tasted. The ginger is sharp, but the lime adds a really nice balance that builds up the more you drink it. Would consider adding a teaspoon of honey to my cup but it’s not necessary.

Loose leaf blend smelled strongly of turmeric – sharp and pungent – with elements of ginger; the brewed version was very sharp (it’s possible I added too much tea before to my pot). Tasted in equal parts turmeric and ginger, good for clearing out the sinuses. While it was a good quality tea (one I’d drink if I had a cold), it wasn’t quite to my liking because if the strength of its sharpness.

Nice slightly tart and slight sweet tea. Very bright and flavorful, first tasting of plum with the strength of cinnamon building with each sip. Lovely plummy aroma.

Pleasantly surprised by this very interesting tea blend. Works well with or without honey; smells pepperminty in loose leaf form, but more subtle and nuanced when brewed with hints of lemon, and equal parts peppermint and sage, when brewed.

These flavors don’t clash as I had been expecting: The initial flavor was peppermint, but secondary flavor of sage that slowly builds up. Very pleasing light sage aroma, too, almost like an herb garden.

At first I was wary of this tea: It smelled like wet chocolate, which is not exactly an appealing aroma, and previous chocolate teas I had tried made me cautious that this, too, would taste dusty. However, it turned out to be wonderful! Lovely milk chocolate flavor which was accentuated by milk (I used half-and-half) and sugar. Very smooth and well-rounded.

Good solid tea with slightly tart cherry hints. I steeped mine for five minutes (two minutes longer than Adagio’s suggestion) and added milk and sugar and was pleased with the outcome. Gentle but definitely present cherry aroma that was both a bit sweet and tart, which was a nice surprise.

Good solid tea with berry hints. I steeped mine for five minutes (two minutes longer than Adagio’s suggestion) and added milk and sugar and was pleased with the outcome. Gentle but definitely present blackberry aroma and taste was simply very nice.

Surprisingly excellent tea, with nutty (and almost chocolate) overtones, lovely rounded flavor that’s slightly sweet and therefore doesn’t require much (if any) additional sugar. Holds up beautifully with milk, which brings out more subtle chestnut notes. I steeped mine for five minutes (two minutes longer than Adagio’s suggestion).

An excellent holiday tea, and a new favorite.