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I think I killed this tea. I am a tea murderer. I remember it tasting pretty good and resembling cotton candy quite a bit. Sitting around for a year in a container that used to house rosemary (could have sworn I got all the rosemary scent out, but apparently not) did not do it any justice. It didn’t really taste like much for most of the cup, but as it cooled I got a lot more of that cotton candy taste from it. I’m taking away two lessons from this; 1 treat my tea better and 2 I really do prefer the black 52teas cold.

The first cup was over steeped slightly and a touch bitter. Second steep was successful. It tastes a little grassy and it is smooth, but is it far from amazing. Actually, I find it kinda boring.

I got this as a sample (looks like a generous amount that will brew 3-4 cups) and would never have thought to order this on my own. I hate hibiscus and avoid teas with it like the plague, BUT I couldn’t even spot it in the mix and can only detect a slight tang that goes well with the apple flavor. Just enough to give the apples a natural tartness without over tanging it into oblivion. Well played Simpson & Vail!

The dry tea smells amazing and full of spices. I can spot lemongrass and dried orange and can only pick out clove by scent. The lemongrass comes out at the end of my cup when it cools. The apple doesn’t rule the pie despite the name, but it is in there. So far I like it! We’ll see if it grows on me more as I work through this sample!

I got this as a sample in a trade with someone, but it has been tucked away for a while and I have forgotten who gave it to me. Thank you who ever you are!
I steeped this for four minutes in boiling water and think that over did it. The first sip was really smooth and vanilla-y, but a few sips into it and it started tasting bitter. If I take a break and come back to it, the first sip is fine and additional sips are bitter. Strange. I’ll have to try it again sometime and adjust my brewing technique.

I told myself no more purchases from 52Teas. At least not until I go through some of the 10 or so bags of it in my cupboard that I’m already working on, which will take a while now that it’s winter and I’m not likely to cold brew the blacks the way I prefer them. THEN I saw this tea and I had to have it. I’m a sucker for tiramisu and it’s an oolong which means I’d likely brew it hot and drink it this winter. Must be the 50% Italian in me as well as one of my three gateway loose leaf teas being a discontinued and longed for rooibos tiramisu.

Anyways, I opened the bag and was greeted with a super strong alcohol scent along with chocolate and creamy coffee. The smell was amazing and delicious. Once brewed, the marshmallow root comes out as creaminess, the chocolate and coffee merge and the alcohol scent fades into the background with the oolong as an aftertaste. It works really well together and I’m guessing I have already gone through half the bag. I have gotten two good steeps out of each serving with a third steep being a little weaker, but letting more of the oolong flavor take center stage.

Now I have to figure out how much I love it. One more bag worth? Two more bags worth? Do I not overdo it and hope for a reblend in the future? I’m spending way too much brain power agonizing over it. It’s a good life.

I love spicy chocolate, but this tea just isn’t hitting the spot for me today. I guess I need to be in the right mood for cardamon even tho it is a favorite spice of mine. There is a little bit of kick with the chili which I like, but doesn’t leave my mouth burning. I’ll have to try it again on a “I have not been up all night with a sick kid-o who has the scream of a ring wraith and wanted a second dinner at 1am” kinda morning. sigh I like those mornings.

I love that some of Nina’s teas are available on Amazon! What that means is that I can put it on my wish list and people who are wanting to get me a gift can look and see what I’d like. THEN the tea magically arrives in my mailbox just like it did yesterday! Yay me! This tea is just as good as the sample I so enjoyed and I’m on my third steeping with remarkable flavor.

I loved this tea and was disappointing to see it discontinued. Luckily I went into Teavana after they had bagged the remaining stock up into give away with purchase gifts. The girl working the counter (who is by far the most awesome non pushy chill “teaologist” I have ever encountered at a Teavana) was kind enough to give me the the few remaining bags which I have been hoarding ever since. I adore lemongrass and this tea has always been good to me… until now. It is summer so I have been cold brewing teas. This is the first time I have had this tea cold brewed and it either changes the flavors to a sharper more lemon/citrusy bite OR my stash is past it’s peak. I have hot brewed it and then iced it and it was good that way, but it is really not doing it for me this way. I’m not sure if I was subliminally put off by the looks of the rehydrated for a few days after being dehyrated for a few years slice of citrus, but I swear it looked like a grey slice of preserved lung.

I’ll have to review this tea again next time I hot brew it because cold really isn’t doing it justice.

I haven’t quite gotten the hang of this tea yet. I have tried it hot and cold brewed now and either way it still has this uneven edge to the taste that turns me off just a little. I love chocolate and orange, and I get that in every sip, but it just doesn’t balance out as well as other chocorange teas I have had. I bought a pound of it during Ovation’s closing sale, so I’ll have plenty of it around for a while to try brewing different ways in the hopes of a better cup.

Cold brewed in the fridge for a few days with a touch of sugar turns this tea into the most mouthwatering juicy tasting honey dew drink ever! It really is weird how dead on the taste is without actually being fresh squeezed fruit. I can’t taste the rooibos at all.