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Mmmm, the smell of this dry tea is amazing, kind of like a really cinnamony oatmeal cookie. With almonds. Brewed, more of the apple comes out, and it starts to smell like apple pie in a cup. If you add milk and sugar, it actually tastes like apple pie in a cup. :) Without, it’s just a really lovely apple and cinnamon tisane with a smooth nutty/creamy finish.

Looking at the dry tea, I was surprised that the black tea was in the form of little nuggets, rather than rolled leaves like I’m used to. Upon further reading, I think this is probably due to CTC processing (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crush,Tear,Curl).

The scent of the dry tea is VERY spicy and rich. I think the most prominent note is cloves? Once brewed, the scent mellows out quite a bit. I don’t appreciate any chocolatey scents either dry or brewed, it’s all just spicy to me. Also, for a chai tea, the spice blend really says “Christmas!” to me, not “India!”.

The taste is enjoyable – I had this cup without any sweetener or milk and it was entirely drinkable that way. The black tea base is smooth with just a bit of astringency. I could swear there’s some sort of orange flavour in this tea, blending with cinnamon and cloves. I don’t really appreciate any of the chocolate or the chili, unfortunately.

I like this tea, but to me it tastes more like a “Christmas Blend” than a “Chocolate Chilli Chai”. Your mileage may vary. :)

This smells like vanilla and honey, definitely. On tasting, I get a rooibos-y flavour that I guess is the honeybush base, citrus, and a bit of honey. It’s nice, but it’s not like, rocking my world or anything. :) A good evening-but-not-bedtime sort of tea.

I’m not an expert in oolong, but this is a pleasant and enjoyable tea, good for at least 3 infusions. It has a slightly buttery mouthfeel, and hints of floral and sweetness. Clearly I have an inexperienced palate compared to some reviewers, lol. I like the long, twisty leaves and I like the fact that I’m supporting tea farmers in Kenya by buying from this company.

Not sure how I feel about this… it’s nice enough, but I don’t love it so much that I want to buy more. It’s fruity – I can definitely taste peach and papaya. I like the chunks of candied fruit; I don’t like the “artificial flavour”. I liked the mix of red and green rooibos as a base, though it was pretty overshadowed by the fruitiness of it all. Meh, decent as fruity rooibos blends go, but nothing to write home about.

All I taste when I drink this is the hibiscus. So, I guess if you like hibiscus but want some caffeine in your tea, maybe it would be a good option? It’s very tart and refreshing, but I was disappointed by how little I could taste of the pu’erh.

This is a lovely tea blend, with lots of creamy caramel flavours. I was surprised to read that it’s a cream earl grey blend, because I can barely taste the bergamot at all. The caramel and rooibos flavours are much stronger for me. I liked it a lot plain, and it was also delicious and dessert-y with a bit of sugar and milk. Yum.

I said I’d recommend this tea because I, personally, liked it. Obviously it’s something that not everybody would enjoy! It is VERY smoky. If you’re intrigued, get a small sample and give it a try!

The smell of the dry tea is just like a campfire and honestly, a bit off-putting. Brewing it definitely calms the smoke a bit, and the underlying black tea flavour is actually quite smooth. I’ve enjoyed it straight, but for some reason I always find myself wanting to blend this with other teas. I’ve mixed this with black and oolong tea to make a Russian Caravan type blend, which I definitely recommend if you’re looking for a more subtle smokiness. Today I’m drinking it mixed with the Cinnamon Rooibos Chai from David’s Tea, and I really like it. Something about the combination of spicy/smoky seems just right for a rainy fall afternoon. :)

I love ginger, and I liked this tea. I don’t get the “fishy” quality that other people have described. I mostly find the pu’erh tea to be kind of earthy? And the ginger sort of adds to that earthiness, plus bringing a bit of brightness and zip to it. I don’t taste the orange at all, but I wonder if it just adds a hint of something to the ginger. Overall I found it smooth and pleasant to drink without adding anything.