Bethany

Just kind of bland. I’ve never had the original Sleepytime (I’m more of a Tension Tamer girl, myself), so I don’t know how this compares. The vanilla is very subtle; more of a creamy aftertaste than anything else.

Stomach’s a bit upset this morning, so I’m toning this down with some Coffeemate Sweet Italian Creme creamer, which is just about the only thing I’ll put in my tea anymore. So goood.

Er, I liked this more before. This is the last of my sample, and I probably won’t reorder. This is veering a little too much into cherry cough syrup territory, and I can’t taste the sencha much.

Such a delicious flavored black tea. As I said in my last tasting note for this, I like whatever SpecialTeas uses as a black base better than whatever Adagio uses (Ceylon, I think?). This tastes and smells like freeze-dried strawberries, with a sweet hint of cream. My sample’s all gone, so I might order more.

Still a fan. Great for a chilly Saturday morning with the snow coming down. I’ve been using 4 pearls in my 32 oz. Bodum Assam teapot, and it’s pretty dark, but I might try five or six next time.

Rapidly climbing up the ranks. I love that this smells like coconut, tastes more like orchid, and then has an aftertaste of coconut. It’s so soothing.

Can taste the smokiness, which is good. Not so much the fruit or fresh-baked bread. Trying to use up SpecialTeas samples to justify more purchases.

Really does taste like a lemon cookie or cake, complete with frosting. So creamy!

Still yummy.

I like this one a lot. I had it a restaurant a few months ago and have been wanting to get some of my own ever since. This is a slightly grassy, mostly sweet oolong with a bright orchid taste and a hint of coconut. It smells more like coconut than it tastes, which is fine by me. I love the taste of orchid and violet in teas, and I love coconut, so this is tasty.

Bar none the best Earl Grey I’ve ever had. This has become one of my all-time favorite teas. It’s perfectly sweet and smooth and creamy. The vanilla doesn’t overpower the bergamot or vice versa. Just great. I really want to try SpecialTeas’ newest Earl Grey blend, which is getting rave reviews.

I’ve never had a currant, but this is very cranberry-ish to me. The previous reviewer was right; this gets bitter very quickly and easily, so I always keep a watchful eye on it.

Needed this after a long day..

This is the first Mighty Leaf tea I really loved, and it’s still delicious. The green tea is nice and smooth and light, and the unidentifiable tropical flavors linger in the background with a nice sweetness. There’s something in this that makes it almost taste lightly carbonated to me – I have no clue what it is, and I could be losing my mind, but it makes it all the better.

Yuck. The black tea used in this totally ruins it. It’s abrasive and somewhat bitter, and the vanilla is only present in the aftertaste. I didn’t even get the pretty vanilla smell that everyone else has commented on.

It’s interesting to see how wide the variation is in reviews on this. I received a free sample bag with my Mighty Leaf order, but I’ve had this before. It was on my to-drink list for a long, long time, since it gets such rave reviews on tea blogs and ML’s website. I just don’t get it. It’s not as creamy as I always think it will be, the orange isn’t terribly pronounced – in fact, very little is pronounced in terms of flavor. To me, it just tastes like a decent black tea mixed with some muddled flavoring. The aftertaste is very orange, but that’s all I can really distinguish.

It’s still a good tea. It just doesn’t deliver on its promise.

Hm. This one’s interesting. It brews very, very dark, with a burnt orange tint to it. The flavor at the forefront is the spice, mainly the ginger and peppercorns. Then you get a hint of coconut, and finally a hint of cocoa, followed by a lot of spiciness. I’m not huge on spicy, and this may be a bit too spicy for me. Hm.

This is a sweet, yummy white tea with very little grassiness. I’m not really feeling the comparisons to Silver Needle; Silver Needle to me has a much more buttery, round taste, and is a lot smoother. Still, I like this, though I’m not huge on white tea (except for SN, of course).

Mmm. I love coconut, and this has a great coconut flavor. It’s not fake and sweet; it’s real. This also has a great toasty note.

Meh. Maybe my tastebuds are able to withstand more spice since the spring, when I last drank this. I have a rooibos chai coming from Mighty Leaf today that’s supposed to be spicier; I’ll be curious to see how they compare. As is, this is too weak for me.

Tummy is bothering me, so I wanted something soothing and light. Does the trick.

This tastes WAY more caramelly today, and I have no clue why. But it’s an upgrade.

Oh, you know.

I found Herb + Ginger at a local hipster craft fair over the summer. They’re online-only and they brew exclusively herbal teas, so I tasted a few before settling on Bollywood Star for a purchase. Man, is this good. This has become a staple evening and late morning tea for me – it’s extraordinarily refreshing from the ginger, cardamom, and licorice, and leaves a nice tickle in the back of the throat. I’m a sucker for licorice teas, and this has just enough without being overpowering.

I’m nearly done with my 3.5oz tin, so I’ll be reordering from their website soon. I might also order the Frosty Almond, which I tried at the fair and really liked.