Raven

The smell as I poured it was like a warm, buttery potato.

It’s definitely unique! There’s nothing astringent, it has a wonderful honey sweetness, the potato taste comes with an overall “meal” taste to me (like it’s a nice big meal of potato and roasted veggies). Most of the chocolate notes hit at the end for me too, so it’s like dessert! There are so many tastes going on in it, but they come together in such a smooth, delicious way.

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The smell of the leaves is strong! Like a very juicy grapefruit with a very slight grassy, meadow-like scent. It’s a really powerful smell, so I have this guy separated off from my other tea in fear of him scenting the others.

Brewed, the grapefruit smell tones down a lot and more of the green comes out. It smells to me like a really smooth grapefruit bread might! On the first sip I kind of got that too – almost a baked good sort of taste, reminds me of a very green meadow, creamy and nicely sweet on its own with a light grapefruit aftertaste and tart.

There’s an excellent balance between the Dragonwell and the grapefruit flavor (I was initially a little wary it might be as full-on juice-like as the dry smell was). This feels like a really natural sort of drink – something you’d want by your side whenever you’re surrounded by expansive gardens and greenery.

The first real chai I ever had and still my favorite! My first taste was with the one-serving sample pack, which I only got to have half of. I knew I was going to have to order much, much more eventually. I’ve been preparing it in that way outlined by teaplz/takgoti every time, and I am extremely grateful to them for sharing that on here!

This one is much more mellow than all the other spiced teas/chai I’ve had. There’s no ginger or black pepper, so no strong spicy bite in it (not that I have anything against that!). Just a very smooth cinnamon-cardamom-cloves taste in with the blend of tea, which with the milk makes for something better than any milkshake or latte I’ve ever had. As for the scent, the cloves seem strongest – especially on the leaves. I love this one as a comforting, gently spiced drink.

Got a pack of this for Christmas – I’m 100% out of every other kind of chai I had, so I’ve been making this.

This one is definitely heavier on the black pepper than anything else I’ve tried. Not sure I’m a fan, but it’s interesting – the hard bite at the back of your throat after every drink. The peppery-ness combines with a smokey overall taste – possibly the roasted chicory? The cardamom is also a lot stronger than the cinnamon in this one, which isn’t really my style.

It’s nowhere near the quality of the other chai I’ve had, but it’s decent when there’s nothing else!

Got this one with Den’s Tea green tea sampler – it’s the first I’ve tried, because I was craving something roasty one morning.

So far it’s given me a really great and tasty five cups’ worth from the sample! With a tiny bit left over for an extra half cup.

This is one that smells a bit sweeter than it tastes. One thing I kept noticing about it is how full-bodied and nearly creamy it is – it’s really satisfying and filling, like a food (I might be associating that with the nutty flavor). I don’t really notice anything green about it, though it does remind me of the toasted rice in genmaicha. The nuttiness hits me most with the aftertaste, which isn’t too strong but lingers for a really good while afterwards.

I’ve been drinking out of the huuge sample of this that Pekko Teas sent for a while!

I’ve noticed that there’s starting to be more of the toasty scent on the leaves than the orange scent that was there when I first got it (hopefully not a sign that’s it going bad?), though I never really did notice the jasmine all that much. I might be looking for too much jasmine though, since the only other jasmine-scented tea I’ve had was /really/ strong (in the words of my boyfriend: like drinking the liquid from a Glade plug-in).

I love this one a daily kind of oolong! It’s a really cozy tea – a little floral, a little fruitish, but mostly a warm and crisp oolong with a perfect amount of aftertaste and a natural sweetness. I haven’t noticed any astringency in any of the cups I’ve had so far. Haven’t tried it iced yet, but I bet it’s going to be just as good.

Thank you so much for this very generous sample, Pekko Teas!

The caramel scent from the dry tea on this is really strong – I almost want to describe it as dark? It’s a delicious smell though!

I got this one as a free sample along with one of my try-me packs, which I’m very glad for! It seems like I’ve loved the randomly chosen free samples even more than many of those I selected myself. I didn’t notice any of the caramel chunks in my sample, but it doesn’t seem at all hindered by that.

When brewed, it tastes noticeably sweet (though I didn’t add anything to it) and caramel-y, but the black tea is at the front. I think a single word to describe this tea, for me, would be “comforting” – especially when combined with the warm, caramel smell that this fills the room with. It probably helps that my first taste of it was a shared pot between me, my mom and my younger sister. It has something that reminds me of mornings in general. I think I’ll save my last cup of it for one of the upcoming near-freezing mornings.

I don’t remember this one having such a graham cracker/roasted smell to it the first time I tried it, but it’s definitely apparent now. And it’s a really nice smell! The smell is sweeter as well, kind of candied. Maybe because I mushed up a few of the marshmallows in it. The brewed tea brings out more of the chocolate and black tea smells, pushing the graham cracker scent to the background.

But yumm does it taste nice – a slight sweetness, lightly chocolate, black tea still apparent and an aftertaste of toasty graham cracker. I can definitely see why it’s one of Della Terra Tea’s highest rated teas on here.

Ahh! This smelled so, so good. Licorice-y and caramel-y, very sweet and dark. I could sit there and smell it all day.

Brewed up it smells even more delicious. It may be my mind playing with me because of seeing “pine-needle shaped,” but I even feel like I’m getting a pine-y taste. It’s like a combination of a woodsy and medicinal (which is in no way negative for me) feeling – it tastes like something that could have once been called an elixir. This is one of those where I actually whispered a little “wow” after the first sip. There’s a lot about the taste that I’m not experienced enough to name (though I know I love the full-bodied-ness of it) – I see a lot of other members mentioning malty, which I think is what’s making me think of medicinal things.

My amazement might come from never having had a non-flavored, high quality black before. But I love this! I am so glad Teavivre sent this sample along with my flavored sample pack, because this one really impresses me.

I’ve never been an especially big fan of Earl Grey, which is what this one seemed to resemble with the bergamot, but I still picked out this tea for one of my try-me packs. I gotta say, it may’ve been because it’s so pretty.

I remember not really liking the first cup of this I had, but I think I must have oversteeped/put too much leaf in it or something. Because this second cup is very delicious – the dry tea still smelled a bit overpowering, but the liquor ends up with that nice mild and dark orange-y tea scent. It’s very thirst-quenching to me, with the orange taste lending a refreshing note. It also has a nice, slight bite to it that increases as it cools down. And my Earl Grey-loving boyfriend seems to definitely be a fan of this one!

The smell of the dry leaves on this one was like a licorice-y butter to me, though the wet leaves had a much more darkly vegetal scent – I think this may be the greenest oolong I’ve tasted so far. I’m not sure I’m getting too much of the milk (I think I was expecting it to be really strong, since this was the flavored version), but it does have a really pleasant creamy-buttery taste. The cup is tasting better and better as I drink more of it (I think because I’m getting better accustomed to the greenness), and between sips there’s a long lasting pleasant aftertaste. After I let it cool down a bit more, I can taste more of the milk flavor in the aftertaste.

With the second and third steeps (at two and three minutes), all the flavors started coming out much stronger – more vegetal, but also way more milk taste and almost a kind of spiciness to it.

Last cup! So I’ll definitely have to make a note, as this is one of my favorites. It’s been my first guayusa and it makes me excited to try more.

I love having this one on mornings where I think I might need a little extra kick. It’s a really relaxing tea (the tangerine taste is fairly sweet to me, not as tangy), and the guayusa does always seem to give me more energy. The whole tea just seems like the perfect blend of a grassiness, citrus taste and a light creaminess. I put off the review for so long because I can never pinpoint what it is that makes me love it so much, and I still can’t quite name it. The smell is always amazing, and does actually reminds me greatly of a tangerine creamsicle! (though brewed it’s a bit less so) The tangerine taste is very juicy, and the creaminess to this one is light, making it really refreshing instead of too dessert-y.

I never did end up adding sugar to any of the cups I had, so I’ll have to remember to try it that way with my next order. I’m definitely going to try and keep this one in my permanent teas (as soon I’m allowed more money to spend on tea)! I even got a separate tin all ready for it, with labeling and stuff.

Another from my CS Fruit Tea sampler, since it’s 4am and I may as well!

Had it sitting steeping right next to another mug with the True Blueberry in it (for the boyfriend), and the two together made a very pleasant smell. I went ahead and added honey to this before tasting, since I was planning to just have it iced. But I miscalculated the size of my cups, so I now have half a mug of hot peach and a full glass of iced!

Another reviewer mentioned peach-flavored oatmeal – that is exactly what this tea hot reminds me of! It has something non-peachy in it that smells more like a baked good. Like others mentioned too, it’s definitely not tart. It doesn’t taste very much like peaches either though, to me. A lot like the blueberry one, this is really thick and syrup-y, and ends up reminding me of a peach syrup/jam. It tastes like something that would go well on pancakes. Like also happened with the blueberry, I’m finding it difficult to finish this one hot.

Iced though, it’s fairly nice. It’s diluted a bit and the whole tea is much lighter. For some reason it seemed to go a little melon-flavored on me when iced, in a not very pleasant way. It makes it somewhat sour, so I’m guessing that may be the hibiscus finally coming out.

This has been my favorite tea from Della Terra yet! After I burned through the try-me sized pack, I immediately had to go for another two ounces (and it helped that I’d won a coupon from them from one of their numerous, generous giveaways).

The smell is immediately comforting to me. “Mellow” is a really good descriptor – it’s juicy, floral and fruity (with two of my favorite fruits!), smelling almost like an exquisite candy. It’s excellent both hot and cold, sweetened and not. I’ve mostly been drinking it hot (where the creaminess seems most prominent for me), but when iced the mango and peach flavors really come out. It’s extremely refreshing and light that way, especially with a little honey added!

The smell of the leaves on this one reminds me especially of coconut rum. But on tasting it – much more toasty and pie-like. The rooibos is definitely apparent (and does remind me of graham crackers), but the added creaminess in this softens it well. The taste begins with a very sweet toastiness, then melts into a light coconut flavor with a slightly cool feeling. The coconut lingers for a while after each sip, which is really pleasant! As it cools, the rooibos seems to assert itself more and it begins to take on a vanilla-y smell.

This is probably my favorite blend with rooibos in it yet. It’s so lemony and creamy, with a really nice and cooling aftertaste. The lemon taste is a sweeter kind of lemon, not sour at all. I think it may be the honeybush in it that I’m liking – there’s just something about all the tastes that are blending together really well. It even seems to have a bit of toastiness to it, like a lemon-filled pastry. It’s smooth (and creamy) and very sweet on its own.

I’m really glad I was sent this as a free sample with one of my orders, since I’m not sure I’d have picked it on my own. But it’s quite delicious!

My first normal tea in a while!

The smell is smokey, sweet, kind of like chocolate. I initially get a muskiness as I drink, but it turns into something mineral and juicy, then a pleasant sweet smokiness in the back of my throat. The astringency seems to hit kind of randomly for me – I think this may actually be my first tea that has it/that I’ve tasted it in. I had no idea it was more of a physical sensation than a taste, but I looked it up just now to account for the sourness I kept feeling. It goes pretty well with the flavors in this!

On the second steep, it’s started to get the floralness to it that I saw mentioned in other reviews, and has much less bite. Definitely smoothing out by the third and fourth cups.

My last cup! For now, at least, as I’m absolutely ordering more soon.

I ended up with none of those pretty Helichrysum flowers left in the final cup, since I’d been purposefully putting lots in previous cups. Regardless, this cup smelled just as overwhelmingly delicious as all the others. The cantaloupe tastes so real and sweet (as a note, I still haven’t had this one with sugar), the creaminess is perfect and complimentary, it even feels /filling/ to me. I guess that may be the dessert/ice-creamness to it – it reminds me of something edible and, as someone else mentioned, very thirst-quenching. This is definitely my favorite melon-related tea!

Now that I’m on my next to last cup of this from the Try Me Pack, I may as well make a tasting note!

The smell on this one is absolutely luscious, in the way Mellow Mango Peach is – floral, fruity, sweet, but not cloying or artificial. And this one has the added smokey/woodsiness (and a slight fishiness) to it from the pu-erh! The feeling left in my mouth after having a sip of it is always cooling – like an all over floral sweetness. It’s also very beautiful, with the rose petals, fruit pieces and cute pearl candies. I’ve had it iced with a little sugar and it’s exceptionally lovely and refreshing that way, though having it hot seems to let me appreciate the pu-erh bits more. And as this was my first taste of pu-erh in any form, it makes me excited to explore more!

I love the mood on this one – introspective, scholarly. As I’m staying up all night awaiting the announcement of a literature prize, I do feel a little of both.

The smell of the dry leaves for this one was very sugary/sweet, but when brewed it mellowed out considerably. And became extremely delicious. It’s a really smooth caramel flavor, with both a light sweetness and creaminess to it. From the described flavors, I think I’m mostly getting the cedar and orange blossoms notes – the more crisp, autumnal side of it. I do notice it gets fairly bitter after it cools a bit.

The wet leaves after the first steeping started to smell more oolong-y – steeped this one the max of four times.

Whenever I get a new hobby or interest, my dad always likes to support me in it. Usually it comes in the form of things he digs out of the trash (destroyed books, moldy hats, broken antiques, etc), but he does do it out of love, and he’s pretty much my only family member who ever takes an interest in my interests. And this time, he bought me something! A fruit tea sampler pack from Celestial Seasonings, in honor of my newfound interest in tea.

The smell of this one immediately reminded me of blueberry pancakes. I wanted to try it most, because blueberries are my most favorite of berries and berry flavoring. I made this first cup hot, added a little sugar, let the teabags sit in for a bit over the suggested time. It ended up tasting quite a bit like a blueberry syrup or jam – really thick kind of flavor, with not much tartness to it (though it increases as it sits, it seems). I think it’s probably going to make a pretty decent iced tea.

EDIT: Went ahead and added ice to the half cup that was left, as the thickness of it was getting a bit too much. Fairly refreshing that way! Though the tartness that came in near the end is now more pronounced.

The smell of the dry leaves on this one wasn’t as strong as that on the Flowery Pineapple Oolong, so I was expecting a very subdued kind of flavored oolong. I was wrong though! The strawberry was there and immediate at the first sip – my first thought was calling it “robust.” The taste on it is a natural sort of strawberry, and the sweetness is ideal. I may be mistaking some of the oolong flavor with strawberry though (I haven’t yet had it unflavored), as the description of it mentions honeysuckle and natural sweetness! Absolutely going to be resteeping this one.

I think I’ll definitely be exploring the world of flavored oolongs through Butiki Teas – the flavors have never felt “fake” or overpowering, and they’ve been consistently delicious.