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The dry leaf of this tea has a really pleasant aroma that really evokes dates and orange marmalade jam for me. Steeped, I lose the citrus in the aroma and get a very strong grape scent. I get strong grape notes on the sip as well, which are reminding me of the “Tea and Scones” tea (one I really enjoyed). At the back of the sip the orange starts to pop, and I taste a very subtle hint of ginger in the aftertaste. As the tea cools, the flavors start to meld a bit more… I’m getting more “raisin bread” than “date cake” with orange glaze, but I really like the malty raisiny/grape notes with the sharp citrus undertones.

I enjoy coldbrew Silver Needle, so that’s how I prepared this. It’s really enjoyable; I get a sweet red berries flavor during the sip, but at the end of the sip and in the aftertaste it turns to a tangy cranberry (probably the most notable I’ve tasted cranberry in a tea). The Silver Needle itself tastes of hay, honey, and pollen; the floral notes go nicely with the soft berry tones. It’s very thirst-quenching and refreshing!

I think I’ve been craving turmeric lately… I made a Mango Golden Milk smoothie for breakfast and also brewed this tea for my work thermos.

I get the “autumn” vibes from the aroma… it’s a little earthy, a little smokey, and very mapley. The flavor is a pleasant mix of those things. The turmeric is present, but there isn’t so much that the tea is peppery/spicy. It leans more toward the sweet side, due to the maple. The green tea base adds some dry grassiness and subtle smokiness which is smoothed nicely under the sweet maple. I’m not getting any of the apple, though.

A pleasant morning cuppa, that works for the cold and rainy winter we are having despite the autumn flavors.

I’ve been drinking this iced. I first prepared it coldbrew, but oddly enough, tasted more of a cucumber and melon leaning towards green mango rather than peach. Steeped hot and then iced, the green tea base is coming through fairly strongly with a grassy and vegetal flavor, though I do taste a soft peaches and cream flavor that is most apparent toward the end of the sip and aftertaste. I’m not getting the nutmeg at all. It’s quite refreshing as an iced tea, but I wish the flavors were stronger against the base.

I have been seriously craving rose-flavored black tea, but that is yet another casualty of my high-sipdowns-low-orders over the last several years, so I don’t have one in my cupboard anymore. Then I found this packet, and was over the moon.

It is perfect. The base is malty and slightly coppery with hints of smoke, and an almost syrupy floral rose sweetness. The strawberry is sweet and somewhat candylike and blends seamlessly into the rose; it really pops in flavor at the back of the throat toward the end of the sip. It is lovely and satisfies my craving perfectly.

I made this as a warm, straight cup the other night, and was just not into it… the rooibos came off very strongly, and veered slightly in that medicinal direction I don’t care for. I wasn’t really getting the pumpkin and spices, though there was something a little savory about it. So I decided to take the “latte” in the tea name literally, and prepared it that way yesterday. Wowzah! A complete 180! This tea is fantastic with a bit of warm sweet vanilla almond milk added. I could clearly taste the warm and sweet cinnamon, which was so smooth and lovely, the rooibos/honeybush base had mellowed into sweet honeyed and nutty notes, and the chicory seemed to elevate a nuttiness in the brew. The creaminess added a lot, too. This is definitely how I’ll be finishing off this tea.

My beloved Twinings of London “Buttermint” was not at the store the last time I went, so I grabbed this instead. It didn’t really hold a candle to “Buttermint” (obviously, no creamy vanilla flavor) but just as a warm mint tea… meh. I can drink it (it’s mint!) but I wouldn’t call it a favorite… it was a bit muddled when I was hoping to taste more distinct spearmint notes… the peppermint was a bit dominant and also just a bit dish-raggy compared to bright Pacific Northwest peppermint.

But I have been going gangbusters on this as a coldbrew. I decided to bust out some New Year’s cleaning on my place this morning, and have been gulping this as ice cold refreshment to keep me hydrated. Somehow it has a more fresh and menthol crisp taste as a coldbrew, and I also taste the spearmint notes better that way, too.

So while it just doesn’t hit that “evening cup of peppermint curled up on the couch” appeal I was hoping for, I will definitely quickly go through this box making iced tea.

I’ve been feeling a bit bleh today (that oh-so-fun migraine/menstrual cramp double whammy) and have been sipping on this between naps. Prepared warm with no additions.

The tea has a strong and pleasant orange aroma… it reminds me of a mandarin orange flavored green tea from TeaSource I enjoyed coldbrewing. There is a subtle hint of cinnamon in the aroma, as well.

The flavor is predominantly orange as well; it is a bright and pithy flavor lacking the weird artificial orange notes I often taste in orange teas. It’s like a mellow orange spice tea, with a subtle touch of spice rather than a massive dumping of clove often found in orange spice flavor profiles, though I wouldn’t have minded if the cinnamon and nutmeg were a bit stronger. The green tea base is pretty mild beneath the pithy citrus, but I can detect a mild grassiness and a very slight green bean note. I find it very hard to detect the apple, though; as the tea cools a sweeter fruit note that I can see as apple pops out slightly, but this is presenting mainly as an orange tea for me.

It’s a pleasant warm tea, but I think I like it even better after its gone cold.

I made this as a cold brew. The tea is strongly mango… I’m surprised I’m hardly tasting any lemon, given how many lemony ingredients are in the blend and how strongly the dry leaf aroma smelled of lemon, but that mango is just really taking front and center in the cold brew steep. It’s a very juicy and refreshing mango note, veering toward the greener side. I get some lemony citrus notes in the aftertaste, particularly a more herbaceous and grassy citrus flavor from the green rooibos and lemongrass. It’s an easy thirst-quencher iced tea.

This is a lovely combination of blackberries and Earl Grey, two flavors Anne does very well. The blackberry is very sweet and juicy, and is the most dominant flavor while the cup is still quite warm; as it cools, the begamot pops more and leaves a nice citrusy aftertaste. I enjoy making smoothies using iced Earl Grey and mixed frozen berries, and the flavor profile here reminds me of that. The citrus and berry combo is very complementary.