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Best of the 3 pomegranate/green combinations. This fruity green tea is complex, and nicely balanced. The green taste is definitely prominent, but not overpowering because of the pomegranate and rose petals. It’s almost like there’s a strong green beginning that finishes rosey, and the pomegranate is the transition. It smells sweet in the sachet, and in the cup, when steeped; plus, I can drink it late after a workout because its decaffeinated.

NICE herbal refreshment after returning from a martial arts immersion weekend, and about all I can take! First ingredient is hibiscus, but with no detectable hibiscus note, my guess is that it’s mostly for color. I can taste the rosehips (lovely), the citrus zest, and the mint notes. The cup has gotten cold as I’ve been catching up on the computer—and it’s also pleasant iced—but I think the raspberry was more discernible when it was still hot. I think I can also taste the apples. While this bag was saved with my usual one in, one on the side maneuver from a cup on the go, I would buy this tea, or attempt to blend it myself.

My 2nd foray into the “Romance Teas” sampler, I think this one might be a dud. It has the wonderful taste of rooibos, and that’s about it. I did not taste a lavender note, and I may barely smell one. Admittedly, lavender can be very subtle and I may be biased since when I cook with lavender or make my own loose tea recipes, I am very heavy-handed. Also, I was multi-tasking when I made the cup and I may have flubbed steeping it, so I’ll eat my words if it turns out better the next time. But for now, meh.

An old, reliable favorite. One bag does well in a 20 oz cup, because hibiscus (also the key ingredient in jamaica/sorrel/bissap) is so strong. It will also stain, so watch out! Had it on the go from Starbucks, and did my usual one bag in, one bag on the side maneuver to save one for later. The advantage to drinking Passion, versus steeping loose hibiscus, is that in addition to not having to rinse it for dirt and loose pieces, Passion is a bit sweeter than hibiscus straight up, which can be a little tart. Whereas I prefer sugar in my hibiscus brews, I like a bit of honey with my Passion. I also really like how that last clause wrote itself just now.

Beautiful. I love rose petals and black tea (also pu-erh tea, but that’s a different review) as a home concoction, and this very closely approximates what I would do on my own—except I like my mix a little rosier. It is also very close to Rose de Chine from Le Palais des Thés, which first bore my love for tasting rose and black notes simultaneously. A nominal note: it’s called “Gypsy Rose” in this “Romance Teas” sampler.

Absolutely killer. A bit of a sourpuss, I love lemon flavored foods (desserts!) and beverages, including teas. This one had a very strong lemon note with all the magic of green tea, but without being so strong as to eclipse the citrus (probably thanks to white tea rounding out the bunch). While I can’t say I found much of a jasmine note going on here, I did find that the sachet did great in my huge mug, twice steeped.

The second of the Zawadi chai teas, as strong as the first with a more pronounced clove note here, though cloves are not listed in the ingredients so it must be the allspice. It’s a little disappointing that the description on the box is exactly the same, but this doesn’t change the power and taste of the brew. So far Zawadi is 2 for 2, in my estimation. I gave this one a slightly higher rating for its allspicyness.

So this is likely intended as a substitute for alcohol or cider, and I had it at a Christmas party tonight. I found it to be very sweet, and rather than smelling or tasting like jasmine, it reminded me so much of white grape that I turned the bottle around to look at the ingredients, only to find filtered water, organic white tea, and sugarcane. As a gimmick, or substitute for dessert wine, I suppose it was fine, but as a tea, it just seemed like the typical corporate, mass-produced, oversweetened stuff you get in a bottle.

Tried this tea for the first time on the go today while Christmas shopping, and found it to be very pleasant. I could taste the cinnamon and orange and it paired very well with cream. When ordering tea to go I usually get the large size if it comes with two bags, and I’ll steep one, and save the other. I found that this tea did well with one bag in a 20 oz cup. I can’t say that I really thought of Big Red when drinking it; now reading other reviews, I understand the comparison, and it may ruin it for me!

Today I noticed the French on the packaging actually reads that it has “a suspicion [un soupçon] of fresh apricots and vanilla from Tahiti,” and that is exactly how I would describe my experience with this tea: I suspect that there are fresh apricots, because I think I can smell them, but I have no evidence based on the taste. It always seemed to brew weak, so finally I tried it with two teabags, and it’s just a weak tea that basically tastes like fruit water. I’ll probably stick it in the back of the cabinet and also just try it again when it gets warm as an iced tea.