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This tea is served in the cafeteria and med/surgery unit of Providence Alaska Medical Center in Anchorage. It’s some powerful stuff. I was warned that 3 minutes was too long, and I’m glad I tasted it around 1.5 minutes into the steeping. It’s… really red. And really fakey. It tastes ok, but the color and fakiness remind me of potpourri/candles/home decor from the 90’s. It’s better than some other apple cinnamon teas I’ve have, which are like taking a bite out of a Yankee candle, but it’s not that far off. Pretty much, I’d drink it if there was nothing else, but the fake stuff in there is a bit… disconcerting.

Providence Alaska Medical Center in Anchorage also serves this tea in their cafeteria and 4 North. I’m not exactly sure why it’s called ‘Hint of Mint,’ since it’s really minty. Really, really minty. You can smell it through the metallic sealed tea bag cover. It smells a bit skunky at first (perhaps that’s from the styrofoam cup it’s in….), but once it steeps, it becomes explicatively fragrant and Lamiaceous. After three minutes of steeping, it’s wonderfully strong and even the steam has a therapeutic peppermint quality to it. There isn’t an ingredient list on the tea bag, but it looks/tastes like there’s only peppermint there — and oh, what good peppermint it is. This is all I need for sore throat/stuffed sinus season. I usually take my minty teas with milk, but this doesn’t need it. It just needs a ceramic mug.

Providence Alaska Medical Center in Anchorage serves this tea in the cafeteria and the med/surg unit (4 North) also has it in their kitchen. It’s ok — especially during these cold fall evenings. It’s definitely drinkable, unlike some other green teas I’ve had. Light and pretty smooth, it’s just green tea, so I’m not sure why Rituals stuck the ‘Oriental’ in there. It would probably be better in a mug rather than the styrofoam cup I have right now.

Providence Alaska Medical Center in Anchorage serves this tea in their cafeteria and the adjoined Hickel House hostel. I know personally, since I have been there for the last two weeks. It’s a decent black tea that doesn’t really stand out too much — but it’s better than the coffee they serve. It’s like a weak Red Rose/Lipton blend. However, I’m glad they have it, since it’s been keeping me happy. It tastes better in ceramic mugs than styrofoam, but I’ll take what I can get (especially with milk instead of half and half).

Have I ever told anyone I hate hospitals? Well, I do (though PAMC is a very nice hospital).

It’s pretty much black tea with bits of cinnamon stick. Pretty easy, tasty, but you could totally make the same thing for less with a black tea bag and a stick of cinnamon bark. Seriously. It’s still good, though, especially if you want to make chai with a nice cinnamon undertone or if you have a cough/sore throat. My mum and sister like to get this, and I don’t mind having it ever so often.

So I’m sorry for getting all ethnocentric with this, but there is definitely a difference between American and Indian tastes when it comes to tea. Being half-Indian/half-Texan, it’s hard to describe the immense sadness that overcomes me when I experience the American tea culture. That being said, I know that American-biased tea drinkers won’t like this tea that much. In the end, though, it’s their loss, because this is a strong black tea that has a good depth and mellow flavor. Serving this tea with milk brings out its flavor that much more — and also makes it great for tea time, get-togethers, and as a drink with meals (I recommend cardamom cookies). The nice thing about this tea, too, is that it’s hard to overbrew it. It can be made light or dark depending on steep time, but it doesn’t get quite so tannin-y if you forget about for a while.

I’m ok with this tea, but get cravings for it. I like the black tea base, but the ginger/peach is a bit effervescent. The scent is wonderful, though, and that’s why I usually brew this. Personally, I like tea that has more body.

Went to the same restaurant. Had the same tea. Tastes the same. Good for finals week, though — warm and has some kind of taste to it.

I’ve had two cups with milk for studying tonight, since I’m between finals (both of which are horrible and terrible and all sorts of other superlatives). I’ll have at least two more before I finish studying. Tomorrow, I’ll take a cup to my molecular biology final to ease my terror of homologous replication.

I’ve been trying to dilute one cup of this down with milk all day. The natural cherry flavor is really strong and it’s difficult to taste much else except a very flat blackberry leaf note. I would have personally been happier without the cherry flavor — it’s a bit like medicine. Sugar does make it better, though.