Random Send Message

Free sample I got with an order.
A decent nothing special black tea. Not bitter or astringent but not weak either.

Not something I would go out of my way to get, but something I wouldn’t mind drinking.

I have to admit, I am a massive junkie when it comes to the flavors of orange and cinnamon. Seriously, I love them with a passion. So, when I heard of this tea, I assumed that it would be a number one favorite.

That said, something here is not right. I could kind of smell the orange and cinnamon but they weren’t very strong. Something else was, however. Something that seemed wrong.

No difference when brewed. That something else, something wrong flavor was quite dominant. I couldn’t taste the tea at all, which is sad as it could really use a base for the flavors to stand on, not that the flavor it had was worth the effort.

I’m going to try again tomorrow. See if its just me today. I really badly want to like this. Could I have a bad batch?

This is my second session with this tea and I’m still not sure how to rate it.

The smell of the dried leaves is amazing. Brewed not as much, though still not bad. The flavor is also not bad, but also isn’t anything that makes me think, “ooohh, I want some more of that”.

I’ve never been a fan of greens. Its quite possible it may be the reason why I don’t love this.

Warning, Earl Gray is not usually my thing, but I received a free sample of this so thought I would give it a try.

First off, I got distracted this morning and ended up over steeping this about an extra 3 minutes. It is a little overly strong, but not bitter, which is a plus.

As for flavors, not much I can say. Its bergamot. Not only powerful like in some, but its a flavor I’m pretty sensitive to, and since I don’t like it . . .
I can’t really taste any other flavors or smell any other aromas.

I’m not going to rate this tea as I knew going in that I was unlikely to like it.

Try number 2.

Aroma from the packet was all lemon drops.

Made sure the water in my kettle was fresh and made sure it never went above 170 and shortened the brewing time to 2.5 minutes.

The skunk was still there while brewing. However, the shorter brewing time may have helped as the skunk seems to have stayed with the leaves instead of being in the cup.

The lemon is more noticeable now. That’s about it though. Nothing floral. Can’t even taste the tea.

Not impressed.

I was out running around with a friend and she wanted to hit Starbucks. Guess its been a while since the only teas they had last time I was there was Tazo.

I got this tea for something warm and spicy and hopefully not too bad. I was surprised as it was enjoyable.

Chai can be a bit of a hit or miss with me. While I enjoy clove, it too easily dominates, and I despise it when clove dominates. I could barely taste the clove in here. I adore cinnamon, but I couldn’t taste any in here at all.

The flavor I could taste is difficult for me to nail down. Possibly the cardamom. I’ve never had it in anything where it wasn’t dominated by another flavor. If this is indeed what I was tasting, I do enjoy the flavor.

I didn’t realize until looking this up that this is a black/rooibos blend. I normally have trouble with rooibos since it always have a medicinal flavor to it However, this tea, as well as another, I do not get that flavor from the rooibos.

Anyway, if I ever end up going back to Starbucks wanting something hot to drink, I will likely get it again. But its not something I would go out of my way for.

So, I revisited this tea. Instead of steeping in water, I did so in hot plain unsweetened almond milk for 4-5 minutes (made it quite strong). Then added a little SF Vanilla syrup.

Wow, this is actually really good now.

I decided to get a sampler of this because I wanted to try something just different and I needed to add a couple extra bucks to the order.

When I opened the packet, the first thought through my head was, oh, this was a mistake.
While it was brewing I could kind of maybe understand how some people might say that this is kinda similar to coffee. Not a lot, but there might be a wee itty bit of a similarity.

And then it finished brewing. I sit here smelling it, thinking, oh I do not want to taste this. But I will. I paid for it, I will give it a chance.

With my first sip, I am surprised. This tastes a lot better than I expected from the smell of it dry or the smell while it was brewing. The aroma improves as it cools.

I really have no clue as to how to describe this flavor or how to rate it. So I’m not. :)

This feels like its trying to be so much that it ends up being nothing.
I don’t notice the floral elements in either aroma or taste. I could smell the coconut on opening the packet, but the taste is lost in the tea.

Maybe the vanilla and almonds still stand out a little, but its not very much. I’m starting to suspect that I’m not a big fan of vanilla in teas.

Overall not a bad tea. I’m sure others would like it, but its not really my thing.

I’ve had this one a few times and its always been a bit too bitter for my tastes.
The first time I assumed I had brewed it too hot and too long so I dropped both the temp and time. While not as bad, its still too bitter for my liking.

I was hoping for a bit of a pick me up this morning. If this doesn’t improve as it continues to cool, I’ll just make a cup of Lady Gray instead.

Wish I wasn’t out of Caribe.