Brian Send Message

See full review at: http://uncouthpalate.com/private-reserve-matcha-a23-red-leaf-tea/

This was my first experience with matcha and overall I give it a not bad. It seems like an affable intro to the matcha world and makes me want to keep exploring.

The smell of the dry mix is very, very intense, dominated by ginger spiciness — it just explodes from the bag.

The flavor packs a punch like you’d expect from a quality ginger beer (made from real ginger) — sharp, spicy, burning goodness. The liquorice provides a subtle sweetness that hits the back of the throat and lingers after the spicy ginger subsides a touch.

Overall, it’s not too sweet and the body is a bit thin. Not bad but not something I would want to drink again.

http://uncouthpalate.com/ginger-liquorice-herbal-tea-harney-sons/

OMG TEA IS SO AWESOME! I THOUGHT GIVING UP SUGARY JUNKY SODAS WAS GONNA SUCK! BUT TEAVANA MAKES GETTING HEALTHY EASY! I’M GONNA DRINK 10 CUPS OF THIS EVERYDAY FOR MAXIMUM HEALTHS!

THE WHITE TEA MAKES ME FEEL SO HEALTHY AND THE GERMAN SUGAR IS SO UNREFINED AND HEALTHIER FOR YOU!

IT TASTES A LOT BETTER IF YOU MAKE IT IN AN AUTHENTIC TEAVANA CAST IRON TEAPOT!

This is the sample with the sugar. But really… omg this is so sweet. I mean it tastes awesome- it’s fruit + sugar coated fruit + sugar + a pinch of tea. This would be great to freeze into popsicles.

I don’t usually buy flavored teas but happened to purchase this on a whim (also this is my first tea from 52 Teas). I love oatmeal raisin cookies and I’m sure the cookie image sold me :)

There are about a teaspoon’s worth of oats and 7 raisins mixed with the tea in my bag. This is clearly just eye candy and doesn’t contribute any flavor.

The aroma straight from the bag is pretty intense. The main thing I smell is grapes?? (and I don’t mean raisin… I mean grape- like artificial grape) and vanilla/cream- maybe a hint of cinnamon. Sweet smelling. It smells like what I would imagine a cheap vanilla-ish or cookie candle would smell like.

The brewed tea looses much of that strong aroma- the grape is still there but it’s subtle as is those vanilla notes. The dominant aroma here is black tea.

Taste: definitely not oatmeal raisin cookie and NOTHING like I was expecting based on the dry leaf aroma. Mainly malty black tea (is the base an assam?). There really isn’t much flavoring that I’m picking up on. After adding milk and sugar, whatever flavorings are in there are a bit more pronounced.

Overall I’m not too impressed.

Adding the milk and sugar bring the tea somewhat closer to a real cookie. Who doesn’t love sugar?? :) But I don’t like the idea that I need to add something to improve it.

Then again… maybe I’m not being fair. Oatmeal raisin cookies DO have sugar in them and they are perfect with a nice glass of milk.

It’s not that it’s not enjoyable… it’s just not anywhere near what I was hoping to experience. Where’s the cookie?!? But as I said, I’m not a flavored tea kind of guy so your experience could vary… and perhaps my expectations are too high… and maybe I’m being a little too harsh.

Although I wouldn’t purchase this blend again, I’m not sworn off on trying anything from 52 Teas in the future. The price is right: $9 for 2oz of tea shipped, not bad to just try something fun out and risk not loving it.

Maannn this stuff is good. I’m not into flavored teas but this stuff hits the spot on a cold fall/winter day.

Yes, it tastes like cinnamon hearts. If you want to taste black tea then drink unflavored black tea.

I love the spice and I love, love, love the sweet clove.

Taste is pretty mellow- not a ton going on- I feel like I don’t have to think about the taste much (unlike say a Yunnan black).

Good but not mind blowing. It’s $19 for 100g and worth a try just because it’s a Japanese black and it’s from Mellow Monk. I dig them.

MM recommends steeping for 2-3 minutes, then 1 minute for the next two steeps. I found the 2/3 steeps to be a bit light for my tastes at only 1 minute. But then again, this is a different kind of black so the experience is meant to be different.

I need to spend some more time with this but I probably won’t be buying it again.

This is a good, everyday, great value green tea. It’s not super fancy or high grade. At only $10 for 100 grams, there’s no reason not to buy it ;)

They don’t call it their table wine of green teas for nothing.