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Another tea that I had to try from my local store! The smell is very overwhelming in the store and I was actually a bit afraid of this when I got it home. Before this and the Acai Mateini I had very bad experiences with mate teas. In fact, I hated them. But these two teas really have turned things around for me. I love that they are both tart teas with fruit back up flavors. This is my kind of flavor.
I must say that this would probably blend very well with the Acai Mateini that I mentioned before. I love mate now and noticed that I enjoy the “up” it gives me much more than coffee; which I have never really cared for. This is very tart, but I love tart flavors so this one is a keeper! This would probably be excelent iced. I do appreciate also that it is very sweet tasting w/o having to add extra sugar. I think that this would be the perfect thing for me to keep to remind myself of summer during the upcoming dreadful, dry and wet winter.

I just got this one tonight! It was a surprise visit to the local store from my awesome husband. This one was something I would have never had picked for myself. But we once again had the friendly salesman and he said that it was one of his favorites.
The liquor is very light on this and the leaves are very beautiful after brewed. I added about 1/2 tsp more than suggested which I think helped boost the flavor. There is very little nut flavor even though I was expecting more. The orange really stand out and reminds me of some kind of Christmas treat. I can’t quite put my finger on what specifically though. There is an underlying warmth in this blend that screams to be mixed with that amazing chai/chai blend. Maybe once I procure some it will be the first thing I try! I actually really enjoy this blend and highly suggest trying it just to get something that I have never tasted in another tea.

I feel that I must write another note for this one. I actually tried this one again but I added about 4 oz more water than I did the first time. This, for me anyways, really helped this not be so overpowering. With this more diluted tea I actually really enjoyed it! This has changed from a tea that I was putting on the back burner to something I’m going to use up quite quickly. Lovely when you get the steep time/amount/temperature correct.

This is yet another tea that I picked up the other day. I must preface this in saying that this has to be my 2nd favorite mate to date. Just like white tea, I haven’t exactly had a great experience in the past with mate teas. In the store this smelled amazing! I must emphasize that I bought it simply because it looked stunning and the strong tartness was something that bowled me over.
This tea smells far more tart than it turns out. It’s quite fun! I really loved this and at some point I’ll have to blend this with some other teas. The only thing about this that is a bit different than I expected is that the description mentions mint. I have tried this for different steep times but I’ve still never achieved any “mint.” Overall this has been a fun tea and I really like it for a mid-day pick me up. It is also my favorite out of the new teas that I purchased.
edit I must add that even though I love this tea there has been a major disappointment. I really enjoy re-steeping teas, mostly because the cost is pretty high for some of these. But this tea absolutely does not re-steep well. It looses everything that makes it really great in the 1st steep. This puts a huge damper on if I’ll purchase it in the future.

So yesterday while I was with my lovely sister we stopped by Teavana (how could I resist?). Since she’s pregnant we decided to check out some herbal/rooibos teas for her. This was one that she picked out and instantly decided to give me half of her purchase! :O The Teavana worker was kind enough to split it in half and was very helpful. Someone else in the store piped up that the entire mixture is edible. And lo and behold, it is! I had a few nibbles of just the mix and it was tasty, but not worth the price for just snacking.
Holy cow this is chocolaty! I wasn’t expecting it at all, but this is super tasty for a chocolate tea. This tea has surprised me because it is not something I would have ever have purchased for myself. I love this because the flavor is chocolate, not chocolate oil, not chocolate nibs of weird whatever but real chocolate. I’m not getting any of the supposed “spicy-ness” that was described. This is why it’ll loose a few points for me, but overall this is something I’ll be wishing I had more of during the upcoming winter!
This tea is one that I really wonder how the temperature and steep time might change the flavor.

So I made yet another trip to the mall today…and of course was baited with tea! How can I say no when I did so well on my most recent test and have been trying to cheer myself up? The workers were much more helpful today. My sister and I got to smell almost every one of the new teas. Some that I thought I would have enjoyed in theory didn’t really spark my interest in the store. This one was something that I never thought I’d actually enjoy. But here I am, sipping away happily. I’m trying to make sure I go in that money trap with a plan. :p I like to try and figure out what I’d like before I ever show up or else they’re going to have my wallet!
I was surprised to see this tea because the photos I saw of it online had rose petals. The tea that I was sold did not. This wasn’t a huge deal for me because, quite frankly, I wouldn’t want any rose/flower taste in this blend. What I was happy to smell was coconut. It was a bit more on the chemical smelling side for sure. But man, this hits the spot for some reason. The chocolate is there but I think that I can tell that this is a flavored oil as opposed to chocolate nibs. The ingredient list says there’s chocolate but the flavor profile of chocolate oil is very different than the actual item; which is why I’m a bit suspicious. Either way, the flavors blend well together. The only complaint I think some people would have is that this is something that I would expect more in a black tea. Maybe it’s simply because the flavor completely overwhelms the oolong. If I didn’t know there was oolong in this I frankly wouldn’t have known.
Overall this was a very nice tasting blend that would be able to keep the strongest of my chocolate/sweet treat temptations at bay. Well played Teavana, well played…

My husband and I were out and decided that today would be the day that I got the tea-tumbler I had been eyeing for awhile. :) Along with this tea I also got a FREE 2o.z. of the six summits oolong (strawberry oolong). I’m pretty sure this free offer was because they are trying to get rid of the old stock.
This tea smells exactly like bubblegum. Not pink per say, but some brand I used to really enjoy. The brewed tea has very little of this in the actual liquor. It is a very dark tea when brewed and has a very interesting flavor. My initial sip didn’t taste like much, but after a few moments, BAM!!! Fruit mostly, not a lot of tea. I don’t know how well this tea would play with others because the flavor is very strong and has a lot of back flavoring of the different berry notes. I’m guessing that this tea would be much better iced than hot. So far I’d say that I enjoy this tea, but I’m not sure I would brew it on a regular basis. For some reason I think it would taste superb with oatmeal..

Hopefully this one tastes as good as it smells! This was a bit of a compulsive buy but I just was in such a slump this week. This tea when dry smells exactly like these graham crackers my dad would buy for me. They were over sized and were cut to look like different dinosaurs. They were my absolute favorites. I must say that for a Teavana tea, this one is pretty low key in terms of colorful additives. It has a few multi colored who knows what leaves and some almond slices, but mostly this tea is just black tea.
Oh my gosh. I don’t know about biscotti, but this is dead on gahram crackers!!! So, so tasty. I love the cinnamon in this. It is so subtle and I am confused as to the fact that it tastes so much like the granulated sugar on top of those crunchy devils! Very tasty and I hope this is one flavor that will stick around!

I must preface this with the fact that, I have been highly unsuccessful with white teas. I don’t really like them plain. Even this seemed like stepping out on an unstable branch! I must also say that yesterday’s experience at Teavana was much more pleasant. Except they need to teach their workers to LISTEN. If I say 2 o.z. I mean it. Not 4 o.z., not 3 o.z., not 2.5 o.z. Because I’m the customer, I’m paying, I’m kind and I’m right.
On to the tea! This has to be the “prettiest” tea I’ve ever had! Both the blend and the liquor have a kind of “pretty princess”-ness that I normally don’t indulge in. The liquor is a light pink color. The dry leaf has a very berry smell that seems to permeate my room when I open my canister. There is far more white tea in this blend than I expected. I’m guessing this would be amazing cold, but I’m opting for warm tea for now. This is so light on the palate. I love that about this tea. It’s not punching me in the face with strawberry, but it’s there and it’s beautiful.
The flavor of the first cup (last night) was very pleasant. It lacked the highly vegetal overtones of most of the white tea I’ve had; which made it much better for me! The flavor was light and not overly berry or overly tea flavored. I think it was quite nice. I don’t know if I’d purchase again because it had a higher price tag. This would be a great tea for sharing with a younger palate and would be fun for little tea parties with my pre-teen and teen siblings! I bet they’d love it.
I’m going to rate this later after I get another cup under my belt. :) 2 cups now from the same leaves and going pretty strong!
edit I’ve found the sweet spot on the time for this one! At 3 min the flavor of this changes drastically. The strawberry at lower times is nice, but at 3min it was fantastic and I think that I’ll steep at 3 min instead of the suggest 2 from now on!