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Here’s Hoping traveling teabox – Round 3

I thought I would like this a lot more than I am as I tend to really enjoy rooibos blends with almond in them. This one is only ok. It just doesn’t seem almond enough for me and there’s almost something sour about it. I added a bit of sweetener, but that didn’t really help. Maybe it’s the cherry notes? I don’t know – something about it, though. Just not for me.

Here’s Hoping traveling teabox – Round 3

Oh my goodness, the scent of this wafting up from the bag when I opened it was out of this world! Seriously, unexpected. The tea itself is really nice, a bit sweet on its own, but I added just a dash anyway. The green tea is smooth and light. I think I may keep the rest of this! I had never heard of the brand, but apparently they are a small tea company out of Raleigh, NC.

Here’s Hoping traveling teabox – Round 3

I love actual cherries but I’m not usually a fan of cherry flavored things. This manages to be nice without reminding me of cough syrup. It’s ever so slightly tart, but the green tea base is smooth and unoffensive. I added a bit of sweetener which brought out the cherry a bit more. I’m not sure this is one I’d stock, but it was a good surprise!

Here’s Hoping traveling teabox – Round 3

The instructions call for 2 tsp per 8oz which a bit high, but I followed it best I could and used 3tsp for my 12oz mug.

Unsweetened, it tastes vaguely fruity, but I can’t really place the fruit. The green tea isn’t bitter and it’s slightly smooth. Sweetened, I’m getting apricot and pineapple. It’s quite pleasant, but it reminds me of a lot of other tropical fruity greens on the market.

Here’s Hoping traveling teabox – Round 3

I’ve been really into earl grey creams lately, so I figured since this was in the box, I would give it a whirl. It’s not bad, but it doesn’t rank up there with the Argo Earl Grey Creme, which is my current favorite, though I do have some of the Zen’s version on the way to me which has been touted as the best. We’ll see. Not bad, just not memorable.

2 tsp + sweetener

Ahhh Tazo Passion, when you want something thirst quenching after sitting in a hot car running errands. Perfection. I just finished a box but I have another on backup when they went on sale at the grocery store a few months ago. I think I just guzzled through 32oz in 20 minutes. I added a touch of sweetener but I usually enjoy this without, even with the tartness.

Obviously, I take this iced.
1 bag per 16oz of boiling water and then into a pitcher and in the fridge.

So I’m not going crazy! I brought the empty (!) tin home with me today.

“A jubilant blend of black tea, oolong, jasmine, green tea and hints of peach”

Well that totally explains the hints of peach.

I enjoyed this, but I wish they would have removed the black tea all together because whatever they used in this wasn’t my favorite. I wouldn’t repurchase but it was nice to have convenient sachets when I was extra lazy at work and it was a gift so I really can’t complain. Also (keep in mind I like black teas weak), I managed to get 3 steepings out of these suckers! That’s not too shabby.

Sipdown!

I’m not sure whether to add this to my cupboard or not since I only “bought” 4 – hooray Starbucks Rewards! Anyway, I put 1 in a pyrex measuring cup since I’m super fancy like that and let it steep for just over 3 minutes. It’s cool, don’t get me wrong, but it wasn’t as exciting as I was expecting (although, I watched a few blooms on youtube so I don’t know why I was expecting some magical event).

The taste unsweetened is pleasant enough, very faintly peach, and a nice smooth white base. With sweetener, the peach pops a bit more.

I don’t know who on earth has the funds to buy this regularly. It’s yummy, but there are quite a number of peach teas on the market which are just as good. As the sales associate at my local Teavana was preparing this for me and trying to figure out how to get to 1oz (the manager on duty said she would accept up to 1.4 depending on the size of the blooms – that was quite nice – of course I wound up with 1.1), another customer walked in and said, “that smells nice” and promptly bought $48 worth. Who does that?!

I may “rebuy” with another Starbucks Reward or if this went on super mega sale, but otherwise, it’s not really special enough for me to pay full price.

(Note: I have not yet resteeped this one, we’ll see how that fares)

EDIT
I got 4 steeps total, pretty decent.

I had snagged this from the Great Canadian Tea Box (2nd round) and finished off the last of it tonight. I actually didn’t have quite enough leaf for my 16oz mug, so I added a bit of the Davidstea Pistachio Cream which worked like a charm (I hope they bring that one back)! Anyway, I sweeten this, so I don’t get any kind of green tea taste, really, which is fine with me.

I don’t think I need both the Davidstea and this version in my cupboard at the same time. When I finish the Davidstea and it isn’t available, I’d easily replace it with this (plus green tea > mulberry leaves).

Sipdown!

Sipdown (easy since it was my only bag).

I’m not sure how I feel about this one. I had it at work 2 days ago (work has been crazy lately hence my sporadic tasting notes). I don’t actually like Black Forest Cake as a cake, so I put off trying this tea, but it’s not that bad. Sweetened, it’s ok (slightly chocolatey and ever so slightly cherry-ish but not smack in your face cherry). I wouldn’t buy it but I probably wouldn’t turn down a cup.