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The daughter of one of my dear friends has started a tea business. Lucy (my friend) and Mama France were talking one day (we’re all in the same quilt guild), and the topic came up. Next thing I know, a package of samples arrived in the mail. Oh, yes, that was a Good Mail Day.

I’m not sure which company is her actual tea source, but this tea by Arbor Teas is identical in look and ingredients, so rather than add another tea and company, I’m noting it as this.

The dry blend smells so very strongly, that I was a bit let down when I sniffed my cup. There’s not really any similarity between the two. The scent of the brew is very weak.

But the taste!! If you love fruit teas, and strong, thick fruit teas, this is one for you. The strongest flavors are hibiscus and black currant, with tart cranberries to follow. Kids and juice drinkers would appreciate this tea. And I’m thinking that it wouldn’t be bad iced with a splash of rum.

From the smell of the bag, I expected to taste a lot more of the bergamot than I am…it’s very light, almost a footnote compared to the rooibos. I think that non-fans of Earl Gray blends would enjoy this version. Very nicely done.

Another tea that I’m almost out of, and one that I’ll be buying again. I’m not usually a Lipton’s fan, but they’ve been coming out with some good teas here lately. This one is great.

There’s peach, a good peach flavor, and another tropical-esque fruit flavor which I’m assuming is the mangosteen. Having never eaten mangosteen before, I’ve no idea how authentic it is. There’s not a strong green tea taste (it’s there, just not prominent), but that’s okay with me.

This has berries in it? Are you sure? Smells like vanilla cookies to me…tastes like cookies. Perhaps there’s a hint of apple…no, not really. Just vanilla cookie goodness.

I won’t pretend that I’m a knowledgeable tea drinker. I couldn’t tell you the differences in the flavor profile of an Assam versus a Ceylon versus a Darjeeling. Someday I hope to be able to tell you that, and also be able to tell you the differences in how different varietals of tea taste. But for now, you’ll just have to deal with my ignorance of such things.

And, in all my ignorance, I think this is perhaps the best, plain, straight-up black tea I’ve had to date. It’s rich, thick, and slightly sweet. It has the perfect astringency.
And, if you like good ol’ Southern-style sweet tea, there’s nothing I’ve found yet that makes a better pitcher.

World Market has several exclusive teas with Zhena’s and with Republic of Tea. Luckily, I’m only an hour away from one. And, yes, Cotton, I do drive there and back just to get tea.

I was hoping for more of a dreamsicle taste, but I think I like this light flavor better than I would if it were stronger tasting. The vanilla is a bit more powerful than the orange, but both are light and enhance the Indian tea rather than mask it.

Whenever I go to Louisville, I stay with my hetero-life partner’s parents. Mom and Diddy Murphy are great…but Mom Murphy always waits to do her major grocery shopping until we come (third floor condo = wait for the packmules to visit before buying more than 3 bags full).

It’s okay, though, because they thoughtfully leave me in the tea aisle every time. I’ve found all kinds of new brands/varieties that I can’t find here; this is one of them.

The strongest taste is honey. If I hadn’t known better, I would have thought I’d put honey in to sweeten it. There’s some ginseng, yup, and a bit of mandarin oranges, but it’s mostly honey that I taste. I don’t like my tea sweetened at all, so it’s not one of my favorites. And if it oversteeps any at all, blech.

A gift from my work-husband this past May! Well, he’s no longer my work-husband since he moved to northern Ky for another job. But he was a good one. At 5am, he walked into the cafeteria where I was making brownies for 600 people, took one look at my face, and immediately walked back out. He came back in 20 minutes with three different boxes of Lipton tea. I’ll never be able to train someone that well again.

When I first tried it, I didn’t like it at all (which is why this is the only one I have left out of the three). I was expecting sweeter, creamier, a dessert tea. The caramel taste is very dark, almost as though the caramel was cooked for too long. This makes the tea very earthy, and to me, it tastes more like the mushroom truffle than a dessert truffle. It’s still good, so long as you like savory and are expecting it. Avoid using boiling water and overbrewing: this one gets bitter fast.