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Tea #18 from Traveling Tea Box C

Good, but not great sums this up pretty well.

They have a nice thick, smooth mouthfeel (The twelve year old boy in me totally just giggled at that), and they’re malty and just a little sweet. They’re not as cocoa-y or tobacco-y as thepuriTea’s or as robust as Teavivre’s even though I brewed them at about 5 pearls for 10 ounces, so I was a little underwhelmed.

I’d still definitely drink these if someone was giving them out.

Tea #17 from Traveling Tea Box C

To me this was an all around more artificial and less tasty version of Love Potion from Bluebird Tea Co. I would also prefer Adagio’s Valentine’s tea to this.

The chocolate has that same artificial twinge that Della Terra’s have, and the aftertaste is hard to explain, but when I eat cheap chocolate (Hershey’s bars for example) they give my mouth a waxy feeling that leaves me feeling and tasting like I ate crayons. That is what this does.

That sensation goes down as the tea cools. But convincing myself to take a sip after that initial feeling was hard.

As it cools, I can pick out the strawberry (very slight, and I can taste it in the back roof of my mouth, which was a strange sensation), and the rose adds a subtle sweetness.

I ended up dumping this because the crayon/waxy/candle feeling never quite got to a point where I wanted to keep going.

Tea #16 from Traveling Tea Box C

This was another DT that has an absoltely stunning scent and then turns out a little lackluster. And it was so pretty and sunshine-y and had my hopes up too.

Sigh.

Very, very peachy. And apricot-y. It reminds me of peachy-o’s and dried apricots in the same mouthful.

As it cools, the almond becomes more pronounced and I can actually identify it in there. Which is more than I can say about the tea itself, so that’s unfortunate.

I would have like to try this as a cold brew, but there was only enough tea in there for one 8 ounce cup.

Tea #15 from Traveling Tea Box C

This is just a really solid flavored black tea.

The currant flavor is primarily sweet with the expected black currant tang. It’s a very well-balanced flavor and used more as an enhancement than something to the smooth, rich base than something fighting for dominance. The tea and black currant flavor work together in perfect harmony through and through.

It’s a safe blend and there’s nothing terribly innovative or exciting, but just a well executed black currant tea. It would probably also be an excellent iced blend.

Tea #14 from Traveling Tea Box C

Another one I cold steeped.

I wasn’t really too fond of this, I thought the lemon flavor was well done, but the lime crossed into the candy/artificial land. It might even remind me a little of Kool Aid.

The other thing I noticed was that I tasted the green rooibos. Normally with cold steeped green rooibos and citrus, I can’t taste the rooibos (or at least not to a degree that it’s really rooibos-y in my brain).

I think I liked the Tahitian Limeade that came out before this better.

Tea #13 from Traveling Tea Box C

Every once in a while, I feel like Teavana just nails something. This is that something to me.

It’s definitely perfumey and very floral. The floral is more delicate tasting than rose, but still has that same immersive property. The sweetness from the fruit is a welcome counterpoint. There’s a little juiciness too, and I’m not sure if that’s the base poking through or also from the fruit.

If I didn’t look at the ingredient list, I would never have guess there was hibiscus or rose hips in here. They don’t impart any noticeable flavor, and with the short steep the cup wasn’t terribly rose-hued either.

This cup actually reminds me a lot of American Tea Rooms La Vie en Blanc, because it’s just so floral and envelops you in the experience of drinking it.

Tea #12 from Traveling Tea Box C

There’s definitely more going on here than a typical vanilla rooibos. I think the almond adds a kind of depth and richness. I don’t know that it really strongly comes across as almond, but it’s there. It’s also nice and naturally sweet, and would probably make a good latte.

The cinnamon adds a spiced note at the tail of sip, but other than that isn’t really present in the cup.

Neither flavor overcomes the rooibos, but it’s a smooth rooibos that doesn’t really have any landscaping chip notes to it.

Tea #11 from Traveling Tea Box C

I went a completely different direction with this cup, because I thought I might be disappointed with another dessert tea after the Maple & Pecan Oolong.

I was admittedly nervous to dry this, though. The smell is very very strongly bergamont and lavender (The kind of strong where I could smell it brewing from across the room, with a fan blowing the opposite way strong), which I feared would make for a too-floral, kind of soapy brew.

My fear was only kind of warranted. It is definitely a potent Earl Grey. The lavender is softer and not soapy, and it balances with bergamont.

But holy man this is a strong Earl Grey. And it’s definitely a bit overpowering for my don’t-drink-much-EG tastebuds.

I ended up adding milk and an eensy bit of sugar to take things down a couple tics, and it held up astoundingly well to that. The result was a really bright, identifiably lavender-floral cup of Earl Grey that I could drink all day with the add-ins.

Tea #10 from Traveling Tea Box C

Woo! Double digit tea box notes!

This tea has chilled in my cart every time I make a Butiki order I can’t afford and then scrap because of the aforementioned inability to afford it. It really just looks and sounds amazing.

Now that I’ve tasted it, I just can’t wrap my head around how much this tastes like maple and pecan. Everything tastes natural, there’s no artificial plastic tastes, or residual aftertastes that make me regret not making a latte, just exactly what it’s supposed to be.

This tea is naturally sweet (and not cloyingly so), so there was no need for sugar even if you were drinking it for dessert. It’s not super strongly flavored, which I really appreciate; it’s nice not to get clubbed with flavors once in a while. The maple and very subtle citrus notes are on my tongue first, followed by butteriness and what is very definitely pecan. The aftertaste leaves my mouth feeling like I just snacked on a handful of pecans.

Thank you for this blend, Stacy. Your blends make my tastebuds hum with happiness.

Tea #9 from Traveling Tea Box C

When I made my Georgia Tea Co. six or so months back, I avoided this one because a lot of cherry flavoring seems really medicinal (read: cherry cough drops).

When it showed up in the TTB, though I figured I’d give it a go. So I cold steeped some for about six hours.

I’m kinda glad I didn’t go too much longer. The cherry flavor isn’t medicine-like, but it’s definitely not a natural cherry, and is more like cherry lollipop cherry. It doesn’t need to be sweetened, and it’s an okay cold brew. I don’t think I’d want a pitcher of it any time soon, but 12 ounces was just fine.

I do want to note, though, that it has the same aftertaste that Teavana’s Sweet Cranberry Black has that makes me think of plastic and play-doh. So that was kind of a bummer.