mrawlins2

I made this tea with rock sugar and milk. It wasn’t quite right so I added a little bit of honey and it was perfect. I think the milk just overpowers the rock sugar too much, I’m used to “traditional” English tea that is pretty sweet.

Okay, I’m trying this again. This time I added honey and just a tad of milk. Much, much better. I think last time I just used too much milk and the rock sugar wasn’t sweet enough to balance out the spice. I am adjusting my rating to reflect this… I’m sure glad I have this since I am running out of some of my other fave teas.

I tried this tea plain…it was good but very strong on the spice. That is a good thing, though, since it is a chai, maybe it will hold up to milk. So I tried it with rock sugar and milk, but I was slightly underwhelmed.

This tea is pretty good for a plain black tea. I do think it is better as an iced tea though. It is slightly bitter when hot.

Time for bed – I am taking a certification test tomorrow, but all the mate and black tea I have had today I feel slightly wired…which is strange because I usually drink coffee all day and don’t have trouble sleeping.. oh well, made this with 2 teabags for 2 cups of water with 6 pieces of rock sugar. (why do I count the pieces of rock sugar??)

Second infusion…still very good. After tonight I will only have enough for 2 more cups….sigh. I have a lot of other teas, but I am not too fond of them. Guess it is time for shopping!!!

I think I like this better with rock sugar and without milk. Has a very dessert like smell which I love.

I found this tea in the back of the tea/coffee drawer so I thought I would give it a try. The liquid is a very light honey color, almost clear. I used rock sugar in this, initial flavor was very smooth with a slightly earthy aftertaste. I’m not sure if this would be good to infuse multiple times as the taste is really light to begin with.

Third infusion and still pretty strong. Might try a fourth….

It is possible that the second infusion really tastes better than the first? Or is it because I left out the milk and just added rock sugar? Either way, very satisfying.

Drinking this today with rock sugar and a bit of skim milk. After today I will only have about one more infusion series left….sigh, I will be so sad to see it go. It will be nice to be able to justify ordering a new tea…or a few.

I must have gotten the steep time and temperature just right….tastes better today than last time. I’ve raised the rating slightly to reflect.

I usually blend this tea with MateVana, but recently realized I prefer MateVana alone…which made me think that I would enjoy this alone also. My mom gave me some rock sugar, so I will try this with rock sugar and a bit of skim milk.

The dry smell of the tea reminds me of a dessert and it looks pretty neat. Unfortunately, after steeping, I smell almonds and black tea, the sweetness is gone. The tea tastes pretty good, definately has a strong almond taste which I like. I had never used rock sugar before, but I like that it adds sweetness, just not typical sugar sweetness. I believe I added a bit too much milk to my oversized mug… I will try the next infusion plain…..

I’ve had this tea for awhile, but usually blend it so I thought I would try it by itself in an attempt to decide whether I like mate or not. I love the way this tea smells – light chocolate and almonds. The smell during steeping was even better. The tea is a light honey color and it has a very nice taste, I can definately taste a light chocolate. Maybe I do like mate….

After reading some of the other comments, I think I know why I like this so much. It reminds me of coffee…and I am definately a coffee addict.

Made this tea again tonight hoping for the experience I had with it yesterday. Unfortunately, I did not enjoy it as much, I think I let it steep too long. I didn’t exactly time it, just let it sit until it looked “right.” I have lowered my rating on this tea. Maybe it will fare better next time around.

Before steeping, the initial smell of the tea concerns me. There seems to be a lack of bergamot….ingredients say “bergamot flavoring” rather than bergamot oil. There is a definite citrus scent, though I am not sure how that will taste in combination with the bergamot.

The tea was a very dark color when brewed and had a strong citrus, almost lemon, smell. I may have let it steep too long, after reading other reviews I was afraid that it would taste weak if only steeped for 2 minutes. It really didn’t taste like a typical Earl Grey which is a problem for me. I think I would enjoy this tea with added milk and sweetener, but I do not enjoy it plain. Unfortunately, I could not distinguish the bergamot.

The initial smell of this tea is quite nice (before steeping). It makes me wonder if I could find a bergamot scented candle… The strength of the flavor was milder than expected based on the strength of the initial scent, but that isn’t a bad thing. I like the fact that this tea only needs to steep for about 2 minutes, most of the teas I drink have wait times of 5-7 minutes. This is one of the few black teas that I did not need to add milk or sweetener. After drinking, my mouth felt slightly tingly, which was interesting. I will definitely have this tea again, in fact, I think I will have another cup now.

This tea is very light and has a slight mint taste, not too overwhelming. It is great with sugar, but does not hold up to milk. The valerian root is helpful for relaxation and is nice to drink before bed.

Honestly, I was turned off by the inital look of the tea which reminded me of dried mud. I gave the tea a try, but it tastes like dirty water rather than tea.