Kelly Peeples Send Message

A pleasant, bold black tea with a mild astringent quality. I wouldn’t go out of the way for it, but if it’s available it’s worth a try. I like their logo, “So Nice to Come Home To!” I am a sucker for good marketing and packaging.

Look at that description. Doesn’t that look inviting? Vanilla, apple, cinnamon: it sure sounds delicious. And clearly, other people think it is. Not me. I used to think I hated Rooibos until I realized that all the Rooibos I’d ever tasted came from Tazo. They add licorice root which gives it this nasty, artificially-sweetened bite which I detest. Are you getting the picture here? This tea made me weep with sorrow. I left it in the breakroom at work and hopefully it is treating its new owner better.

The box for this tea kept beckoning me at the store and I finally relented. It was SO worth it. Wonderful cherry fragrance, tastes natural and sweet. The green tea is subtle here and the rooibos adds a mellow character. Tempted to get this in loose form next time, but not sure since the bags are so convenient and easy to obtain.

You know, when I first tried this, it was my favorite tea in the world. It smelled so intriguing and sexy. I recently got a bag of this which had too much Lapsang in it, and it put me off the blend, even after they sent me a correctly-mixed replacement bag. (Adagio really is awesome.) I will have to leave this one alone for a while.

This is pleasant, but not quite as much as H&S’ Tower of London, where the honey flavor is robust and inviting. This is a little quieter. Light Assam crispness to it. Nice morning cup, and I might give this sample another go sometime, but probably won’t reorder.

This one is good. It has a pleasant, hay-like smell in the pouch, and brews up nice and stout. It’s somewhat powdery, so unless your mesh is extra fine, it will leave some little bits of tea in your cup, if it matters to you.

When up against the other black teas I tried, this one tasted metallic. It must be because of the decaffeination process. I did not have regular PG Tips to compare it to, so I’m not sure.

In trying out a variety of standard black tea blends, I bought a large container of loose Tetley at my local Indian foods store. (I will not lie, I bought it primarily because the container reminds me of the TARDIS, a replica of which sits on my tea shelf.) It was the only loose tea I tried that came in a “nugget” form—like Grape Nuts—and it had ABSOLUTELY no flavor at all! I tried steeping more of it, steeping it longer, drinking it black and with milk, and I just couldn’t squeeze any flavor out of it. The only reason I gave it points at all is that it did not have an unpleasant smell or taste, as some of the other teas did.

This tea is quietly lovely, which is fitting for time spent among books. I never know which Adagio blends I’ll keep going back to, even if I love them at first, but this has become a comfort blend I will have to buy again soon because it is almost gone. Soft pu-erh with warm, clean assam and the barest hint of sweetness.

Recently I decided to test out a bunch of different standard black teas. Among the ones I tried, flavors ranged among sour, malty, fermented, bitter, metallic, just meh, and one that had absolutely no flavor at all. Builder’s rose above them all and came out as my hands down favorite. Clean, flavorful, as strong as you make it, and totally soothing. It’s been a tough week for me and this cuppa is exactly what I need right now.