672 Tasting Notes
Well, the name is pretty accurate, it tastes like blueberry jam. The flavor and base seemed a bit on the weak side, so note to self to use a little more tea next time. While I don’t think I’d go out of my way to get this, there’s nothing unpleasant about it either, I think it just comes down to how much of a blueberry jam fan you are.
Preparation
Many thanks to Ost for this! I’ve been curious about this one for awhile, almond and coconut sound like such a great combination :) The coconut here tastes very natural and nutty; the almond tastes like almond extract, but it is well-balanced here, so it’s not the major problem it was in, say, David’s Sweet Almond Green. While the base tea stays in the background, it is a nice smooth background and works well with the added flavors.
I’ve tried several teas that were advertised as almond cookie teas, but this one come the closest by far to actually tasting like an almond cookie. I’m a fan :)
Preparation
Many thanks to the wonderful and generous Ost! I was lucky enough to pick up some things from her awesome stash sale, and today the box arrived. I’m so excited to try all these new teas!
First up, Mrs. Patmore’s Pudding. Somehow I got it in my head that this was a fruity tea, but that is not the case. I guess if the pudding in question is vanilla or butterscotch pudding, this could be a pudding tea. The flavors are pretty mellow and kind of difficult to pick out. It would be nice if the vanilla and caramel notes were a bit stronger, but the tea does have this amazing creamy smoothness going for it, so overall, I’m really liking it. Good to have a few bagged teas on hand too, so I can steep on the road :)
Preparation
The coconut in this is pretty pleasant (though it’s more a Malibu rum coconut than a flaked coconut flavor) but it gets lost in the raspberry. I guess I should have tried one that was just plain coconut; at the time I was curious whether I could replicate David’s discontinued Fantasy Island, but this doesn’t taste like that at all.
This was my safe bet flavor of the five I picked out. I was thinking that whatever method Design a Tea was using to flavor the tea, a caramel vanilla would probably turn out drinkable. In a way, that logic kind of backfired. This cup is perfectly drinkable, but it does taste tame. The base in these teas is pretty mild, and while I can see that being a good thing in some instances — it doesn’t compete as much with the added flavors — caramel and vanilla are also such mild flavors that the combination becomes a bit flat. I can’t help being reminded of Je T’Aime from Nina’s Paris. That was also a caramel vanilla tea, but with such a punchy base that the tea itself took center stage and the caramel and vanilla came off as accents. Ah well, it’s pretty hard to compete with Je T’Aime. Overall this was pleasant enough, just not something I need to keep in the cupboard.
This seems to be one of David’s staple teas, but I never had a chance to get a sample till now. Dry, it smells deliciously of peach and tropical fruit, plus some hints of jasmine. I am pretty sensitive to jasmine, but fortunately this is not very strong, though there is just a tinge of chemical-ness in the flavor. David’s markets this under their white tea section, so I was a little surprised to see how much of the mix is actually green tea. By the look of the mix, I’d guess it’s 2/3 white, 1/3 green. But the green tea is what’s coming out most in the flavor.
I feel like this has almost exactly the same flavor profile as their Three Wishes tea. Three Wishes had some rose petals, but these didn’t come through much in the taste. The main difference was its black/green base instead of this white/green base, but both had strong peach, mango, and jasmine notes. I quite liked Three Wishes, but it was a challenge to steep; if you got the water just a little too hot or left it just slightly too long, the floral aspects would turn it into a nasty mess. Unfortunately, Buddha’s Blend seems like it would be much the same, or perhaps even MORE picky, what with the white base. So much as I love peach and mango, I don’t think I’ll be stocking this.
Preparation
Happily this turned out better than the last one. I’m not really getting chocolate, but the maple is there along with a pleasant nuttiness. If this was a blindfold test, I would say this is maple pecan tea — not what I was expecting, but maple pecan is an awesome flavor, so no complaints from me. This also tastes a lot more natural than the raspberry I got from Design a Tea.
Preparation
Definitely a unique flavor. The turmeric really comes through, and combines with the mango to make a lightly spicy tea. I don’t know that this is something I’d want to drink all the time, but it makes for an interesting change.
