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YOU GUYS! The Vampyre Tea Company moved into the unit next to my office! Can you believe my good luck?! It was originally going to be a vegan cheesemaker, which I was excited about too, because cheese, but this takes the cake. So thrilled!

So, I recently met Stavros, the owner of the company. A cool name and a cool guy. I was instantly charmed. He came back to talk to my boss today and ended up giving me a bunch of really generous samples of his teas. It was like it was my birthday or Christmas or something! I will be reviewing them all, of course. This company needs more love here on Steepster.

My only reservations are that I’ve never tried passionflower tea for sleep before. It’s not listed as an ingredient on the website’s description, but it is on the tin for some reason. I know it’s a common ingredient, but I’m kind of hesitant. Or at least I was until I smelled the dry leaf! It smells like a sweet, fruity dessert! The fruitness reminds me a lot of osmanthus flowers, strawberry, and apricot. I suppose that’s the rose hips and apple pieces. I also want to mention that the bits of passionflower vine look cool mixed in with the dark decaf Ceylon, candy, and fruit. They’re pale, tight little corkscrews.

The tea steeps up to a cloudy tan with a trace amount of oil on top, probably from the toffee. Mmm, toffee, such a guilty pleasure of mine. As far as flavor goes, it’s a little on the mild side. I’m afraid I didn’t use enough leaf. I went with 2.5 tsp in a 10 oz mug. The flavor I am getting is very pleasant, though. The rosehips and apple are what stand out to me the most. There is a hint of cinnamon in the exhale, followed by a little tartness that I’m liking a lot. I can’t really taste the toffee, but again, I think I didn’t use big enough scoops. The website said to fill your infuser ball, so next time, I’ll try that. (I generally use a cup-shaped metal infuser.)

Will report back with the sleepiness factor later!