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A box of these teabags were gifted to me from a coworker because she said it gave her heartburn. I love hibiscus, so needless to say, I’ve already almost used up the remaining teabags.

I drop three teabags in one liter of water and let it coldbrew overnight, no sweeteners. Makes an incredibly thirst-quenching brew that I go through quickly. Tastes like hibiscus, haters need not apply. The lemongrass is also quite distinct in flavor, though, adding a citrus sharpness that goes well with the fruity notes of the hibiscus. Definitely leans strongly into the herbaceous nature of lemongrass than a really pithy or bright lemon flavor. I don’t taste the licorice root at all, and suppose it is only there to provide some sweetness since few people can handle hibiscus at the levels I drink it. It definitely doesn’t have that particular “sticky-sweet” note of licorice root, though.

I have been enjoying working through my pouch of this. The steeped tea has a lovely aroma of sweet spices and vanilla. The medium-bodied black tea has notes of malt, wood, and autumn leaves, which go with the pumpkin spices nicely. The spices come forward in a nice medley… a sweet and somewhat woody cinnamon, clove, and nutmeg in particular. The whole cup has a sweet vanilla undertone.

It’s very good and I’ve been enjoying my bag, but I like Tea Chai Te’s Pumpkin Spice tea a bit better, which is very similar in body and flavor profile but a whole lot easier for me to get being in the States, so I’d likely restock that one instead.

I slipped on the floor at PetSmart today on a catfood run and managed to sprain both my right ankle and right wrist. Not recommended.

Only now realized I hadn’t written a note for this yet, and I’m on the last teabag. I have been looking for a good black licorice tasting herbal, but this isn’t that. That said, I do really like it… It’s strongly sweet licorice root which I know is a polarizing flavor, but I enjoy it. The spice is gentle and the sweetness is nice for an evening sweet fix. I’ll likely grab this again sometime as I like quick and easy herbal teabags in the evening.

I pulled this out the other day when I was having some bad digestive trouble, since a ginger/pu-erh combo seemed good for that. I like ginger, but I’m also a bit spice sensitive, and the level of ginger in this blend was waaaaaaaaaaay too strong for me. The ginger burned the whole way down, I couldn’t even taste the pu’erh. I dumped a bunch of honey into the cup and it still was too strong for me.

I’ve managed to finish off the package by making liter pitchers of iced tea, using about half the amount of leaf that I would normally use for that amount of brew, a few ample teaspoons of honey, and adding carbonation to give it more of a fizzy ginger soda feel.

The ginger here is just too strong for me and I won’t be getting this again. But I do think the strong ginger and pu’erh is a good choice for digestive troubles for those that can handle the heat of lots of ginger.

Woke up to snow falling like crazy. I’d blame the marmot, but traditionally my neck of the woods has always felt the brunt of winter toward the tail end of the season…

Brewed two pearls to 500ml water, steeped for three minutes. The pearls had only partially unraveled, so I’ll probably make another steep today at some point (which is highly unusual for me, I’m a one-and-done tea leaf user… sacriledge, I know).

The smell wafting off my cup strongly of cinnamon bark, a bit sweet-spice and a bit woody, with an undertone of maple syrup, butter, and brown sugar…. all wonderful things.

The tea is smooth, a bit malty/bready, with a touch of sweetness and a strong hit of cinnamon bark. There is almost a sort of fresh, pine wood sort of note that hits me during the sip, that is brisk and slightly citrusy… it’s a bit strange, but also quite enjoyable. The desserty flavors of cinnamon, maple, and butter linger on my tongue in the aftertaste, and I imagine they will start to pop more during the sip when I’ve finally had the patience to let my tea cool properly. I rarely have that kind of self-discipline and drink my cup at piping hot temperatures that normal people can’t tolerate.

Prepared as a coldbrew. The blackberry flavor is sweet and present, but not overpowering. The base tastes of a spring meadow covered in fresh green grass and wildflowers. Very refreshing! I always enjoy the blackberry flavor in a 52Teas blend.

I love the aroma coming off my cooling cup… a sweet and fudgy chocolate aroma, a hint of sweet vanilla, and I’m even getting a little graham on the nose, taking me into S’mores territory. And that’s what I get on the sip, too… sweet chocolate, a hint of cream, and a sort of graham/biscuit note from the base. Incredibly smooth! A delectable cup that would probably fare well as a latte but works fine as a plain hot cuppa.

I’m frozen through to the bone after shoveling 6+ inches of snow off the walk… hopefully my tea hasn’t cooled off too badly in the amount of time it took me clear out the masses of white stuff.

I love the smell of this. It’s pineapple, but there is this sort of soft floral note I’m picking up with the fruit aroma that just really works for me. The base has a brassy malt aroma with just a little smokiness peeking through.

I’m always a bit weary when a blend includes Lapsang Souchang, as it’s one of the few teas I just can’t do (the strong smokiness triggers my migraines). But I do like it when it is lightly and subtly added to blends, but it is a delicate line for me. This tea is just right. Just enough smokiness to give a sort of “almost burnt” breadiness to the malty base. The pineapple is noticable, but I could do with it even stronger, as it feels like the strong black base is overpowering the fruitiness a bit.

I feel a bit of warmth returning to my cheeks and fingers now. It’s very comforting to have a nice, strong cup of tea to sip on a cold morning like this!

I made a cup of this warm a few nights ago and it just didn’t really work for me. I absolutely love lavender, often at strengths that most others find “soapy,” but I was getting this kind of acrid/sour floral note from it that kind of ruined the cup. I was also getting a strong citrusy note, very lemongrass forward, with that sort of green/herbaceous taste to it. I will happily report that I am not a fan of chamomile, but wasn’t tasting any actual chamomile flavor in the cup.

I probably could’ve salvaged it with a bit of honey to smooth the bitterness in the florals, but I was lazy that evening and just made do. But I did decide to steep the remainder of the package coldbrew after that, and sipping on it now, it’s very nice! Very lavender forward, and I would not recommend it to anyone particular about that floral note, but I’m a fan. It doesn’t have that sourness in the coldbrew, instead it has a subtly minty briskness to the floral note. The lemongrass is still coming through strongly, though I think I’m also getting a bit more lemon peel tangy pithiness in the coldbrew as well.

Traditionally, I have never really liked a blueberry-flavored rooibos. Something about the particular flavor of blueberry combined with the natural notes of rooibos just always came out tasting like drinking pure cough syrup to me. And I do still get a bit of that note in both the aroma and the flavor, though it isn’t nearly so pronounced in this particular tea. The blueberry flavor leans pretty sweet and desserty, and the vanilla does a lot to smooth out the rougher medicinal edges of the flavor. The aftertaste is very pleasantly blueberry. I’m enjoying this a lot more than I would’ve ever expected given my history with blueberry-flavored rooibos in general.