Zhena's Gypsy Tea

The licorice in this really takes away from the chai thing they have going. Also, there isn’t very much caramel. I was hoping to love this as much as I do Fireside Chai, another rooibos chai from the same company. This isn’t the same.

Long ago, I bought a huge amount of this as loose-leaf. I had just gotten into loose-leaf, and was awed by low per-unit pricing. Anyway, I’ve still got like a quarter pound of it sitting around, because, as it turns out, I don’t feel the need to have rose tea every day.

This tea is…a very, very, rosey tea. It doesn’t work for me as a general drinking hot tea, because the tea flavor is secondary to the rose flavor. That said, it makes a wonderful base for a sweet milk tea with boba, and is a perennial crowd-pleaser iced. As it’s getting warmer, I’ve been keeping a bottle of it on hand for social teatime. It’s pretty perfect as a sugary treat for warm afternoons, sitting outside and enjoying a book. I won’t be sad if I ever manage to sipdown my piles and piles of Gypsy Rose, but it’s a respectable flowery tea, when I’m in the mood.

Good tea with nice coconut notes. I add steamed milk, a dash of cinnamon and nutmeg to it and yum. With coconut milk its awesome. I like mine super spicy and this tea seems a little weak to me so sometimes I double the bags.

Great tea. Got a couple of good steeps in this one. Had it straight and I was pleased with subtlety of the different notes. I love that the taste of the black tea really shines through.

Green tea is mot my favorite kind, I prefer blacks and chais, but this one is SO nice. Soothing, not strong but perfect flavour. This reminded me to get more of it. Brings me good memories and have always calmed me down.

I really love Cost Plus World Market’s coffee (the pumpkin seasonal one is divine!), so when I first got into loose leaf tea and saw they had a bunch of jars of tea, I figured I couldn’t go wrong with any of their offerings. Ultimately, I grabbed this Coconut Chai. I haven’t quite hit the best by date on it yet, but I’m getting close, it’s been so many years and I’m still trying to finish it off, I dislike it that much. It is a really weak chai. The base of the tea even looks weak in the cup, and there is just something that tastes sort of… chalky or barky about it. It just doesn’t have a nice, smooth blend of spices like other chais I’ve been spoiled by, and for a coconut chai, it doesn’t even have coconut in it! The coconut notes are only imparted through flavoring. Would adding some coconut flakes have been too much to ask for in a coconut chai blend? There is a mild spiciness to the cup, but the whole thing is just underwhelming. In order to finish it off, I’ve mainly been massively overleafing the brew and making it by the quart iced, and then adding a bit of vanilla almond milk and coconut milk creamer to actually give it some coconut flavor. It’s still not the most exciting chai latte, but it is tasty enough to drink (the coconut creamer is a definite improvement!)

For a store bought tea this one is pretty darn good. Soothing and crisp & refreshing. I saw someone mention stevia on a previous note but I can’t find that as a listed ingredient and I sure don’t taste it. If you love peppermint tea, another good one to try is Casablanca Twist from Adagio.

Very spicy (ginger), lots of citrusy lemon and lemon grass. For once, I enjoyed the licorice root in it. It was licoricy, spicy, Earthy, and sweet but not sickly sweet and metallic. This is a great herbal, but far from unique.