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I can already tell that the 50g bag isn’t going to be enough for me! The temperature dropped all of a sudden today while I was inside the library doing research. The thought of a pot of this tea sustained me on the way home! I steeped it too long (7 minutes) with no ill effects – I just adore this tea!

Honestly, I wasn’t expecting to like this. I thought I didn’t care for lemon in tea, and darjeeling isn’t my absolute favorite (I like black teas with some heft – delicacy is lost on me!)

The aroma of the tea is a bit medicinal – the lemon is sharp! Without additions it tastes mostly of lemon, with the caramel falling behind. I think this tea is better with milk, which rounds out the sharpness of the lemon. The caramel tastes like vanilla to me, which isn’t a bad thing. The tea has a bit of a soapy or perfumey taste, which I personally really enjoy.

As I was drinking it, the tea seemed familiar. I couldn’t think what it reminded me of, and then I remembered – Lady Grey! I ran right out and bought a box of Twinings Lady Grey, which I have been enjoying ever since. If you like Lady Grey teas I think you would like this, although I have to admit I prefer the sharper taste of the Lady Grey to this tea. I don’t think I’m going to buy anymore, but I’m very happy that it led me back to one of my favorites!

I had high hopes for this tea, as it’s so highly rated on Steepster. Unfortunately, I’ve had a lot of Harney flavored black teas lately, and I’ve determined that I don’t love the base they seem to use in some of them. I’ve tried Paris twice now, and while I don’t think it’s a bad tea, it just doesn’t have anything that keeps my interest.

The flavors are very light overall. The first cup I tried with milk, which didn’t do much for the flavor (it was overwhelmed) so I tried the second cup plain. Without the sweetness of the milk the fruit took on a dusty, stale quality. It’s just not for me I think. I think what I wanted was something a bit more floral, like Marco Polo (which is like this tea, but so much better – if only it wasn’t so pricey!)

Still, not a bad tea, just not the one for me. I can definitely see why it has fans!

I threw this in with my David’s order, as it contained all my favorite things – namely cinnamon and peppercorns. I love cinnamon, and I love the bite of peppercorns. I failed to notice that this was a green, so I was slightly disappointed when it arrived. I like the option of milk in spicy teas, but I don’t put milk in green tea.

I’ve had it twice now. The first time I let it go 6 minutes and it was probably a bit oversteeped. The second, at 4.5 minutes, was just right. The tea is strongly cinnamon – that is certainly the strongest element! With no sugar, the tea has a bit of a dry, bitter edge (I think that’s the peppercorns.) It disappears with sugar. This tea lacks the natural sweetness of some cinnamon teas (Harney’s hot cinnamon spice, for example.) I don’t taste the tea at all. The base could have been anything, because all I get is cinnamon!

This tea is just ok for me. I loooove cinnamon, and I think I expected something more like the Harney tea. I do like that it has less caffeine than black tea. I took it with me to class today, where it kept me awake through a friday, but I was still able to nap later.

On the other hand, if you want to drink more green tea this might be a way to start! I’m not a huge green fan, mostly because I like strong flavors, and this one satisfies me. A great valentine’s tea, very pretty to look at, and it’s different from all the chocolate flavors.

I must be in a Valentine’s day mood – when I saw this at World Market I had to pick it up! This is an exclusive tea to World Market, so a little hard to find, but I recommend it!

The tea bags smell of chocolate, and as usual they have a puny amount of tea in them, so I used 2 bags for one large cup. The bags smell nicely of both chocolate and cherry. While steeping the cherry scent comes out sharply. I got worried – it was a bit like Robitussin! I steeped 4 minutes and then tried the tea. It’s mostly cherry when drunk plain. I added milk and sugar, because I do that with all dessert teas. I think the milk was the missing note – adding that, I suddenly tasted cherry cordials – even the cream centers! I love them, but I don’t buy them because I have a problem with eating all of them. So I’m glad to find a tea that answers that craving!

I like that the tea base is a black tea, rather than the rooibos in many chocolate teas. It’s not distinctive, but I can taste it in the backdrop. I absolutely love this tea, and I might have to go back for another tin before it disappears!

David’s sent this as a sample with my order. I love free samples! Sadly, however, I do not love this tea. I would never have ordered it because it contains two things I don’t like – licorice and almonds. But! It was free, so I had to try it. I had a hard time figuring out how much to actually use in my cup – the tea is about 50% sliced almonds, and they don’t fit in my teaspoon. I ended up adding extra because there was so much air in my scoops.

It’s sort of good/bad for me with the taste. On one hand, I can’t find any licorice at all, not even in the aroma. On the other hand? So. much. almond. If there are other flavors I can’t find them. I do smell something chocolatey, but I can’t taste it.

Without additions the taste is bitter almond. Again, to be fair I always think almonds are a bitter. I added a tiny bit of sweetener, which thankfully took away the bitterness. It was still almond though, but I drank the entire cup anyway! The tea coated my mouth and left a strange taste behind.

But I bet if I liked almonds this would be awesome. So if you like almonds? You should probably try this tea. Me, I’ll refrain from a rating, since I wouldn’t have bought this on my own, and it doesn’t fit my personal tastes!

Edited to add: and… an hour after drinking this I developed hives. I do not have food allergies (and certainly not to almonds – I drink 2 cups of almond milk a day!) I think it must be the goji berries… The internet (which is never wrong, right?) says they can cause hives in people with pollen allergies… which I have. I doubt I’ve ever had them before – good to know!

Third tea from David’s teas. They’ve all been hits so far, and this one continues the trend!

I’ve noticed that for me to enjoy a flavored tea, I must enjoy the underlying black tea. Some companies seem to use a bitter/low quality black in these blends, and I never enjoy them. Whatever David’s is using agrees with me – it tastes like tea, but it can handle the longer steeping time I think the other flavors need! I will certainly be ordering more of their flavored teas, as I have been quite disappointed in some other brands.

The dry leaves smell like a candle I have in my living room, which freaked me out and made me worry that the tea would be cloying. I steeped 5 minutes at boiling, and added my usual amount of milk and sugar (chocolate teas need creaminess to feel real to me!)

I’m not getting any rose to speak of, but the strawberry is there! I love fruit, but generally don’t like fruit teas (too tart) so I’m pleased at how true it feels. The chocolate comes across as more of a vanilla to me for some reason, but it is there. It’s lovely and light – I really enjoyed this cup, and wanted to immediately make another (but I’ve already promised “Read my lips” a go in my travel mug for rehearsal tonight… I love my mint teas when I sing!)

I’m interested in to try this again and see if I get a different mix depending on my scoops.

Broke into this tea after dinner, my reward for a long day (and a longer one coming tomorrow!) I bought this tea because, like a magpie, I am drawn to all things sparkly. That it was a cinnamon black tea (one of my favorites) was just a bonus! It’s gorgeous looking in the bag and it makes your tea sparkly – brilliant!

The dry leaf aroma is of cinnamon and vanilla. I was surprised by that, as I wasn’t expecting the vanilla to be strong. I steeped for 6 minutes (the bag recommends 4-7, a wide range!) I was hoping this would be a cinnamon where I could taste the black tea. I was not disappointed in that, and I am very pleased with the quality of the black tea (which is often lacking in these blends.) I was delighted to find the vanilla very present in the cup as well as the aroma. It evokes a baked good, but doesn’t exactly taste like one, if that makes sense. I added milk and sugar, and I liked it that way. I might try no milk next time for a change.

In comparing this to the cinnamon I reviewed yesterday (Upton’s cinnamon chai) I find this tea superior in every way. The cinnamon tastes true, not artificial, the black tea is good quality and not bitter, and the addition of vanilla gives it a lift that carries it up near the top of my list. It’s not fireball spicy, but it’s not that sort of tea. It does have enough cinnamon that I (a cinnamon fanatic) am very satisfied.

I love anything chocolate mint flavored, so when I was making my first order from David’s teas I had to try this one! The loose tea is adorable, with the chocolate chips and little candies. The smell is just like an Andes mint – quite minty! I steeped for 5 minutes at boiling, and then tested the tea plain.

Without additions there is a slightly bitter edge to the chocolate, and the mint comes across strongly. No real taste of the peppercorns. I’m actually surprised that the added bits don’t make it sweeter (I’m glad though, as I like to add my own.)