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This one smelled so good…just like some kind of delicious pastry! Unfortunately, the cinnamon is really overwhelming the other flavors for me. I get a little bit of nuttiness and maybe a hint of honey, but mostly just cinnamon. I will try a shorter steep time with the rest of my sample and see if that mutes the cinnamon enough to let some of the other flavors shine through. Thanks for the sample, VariaTEA!

Coffee and tea in the same cup? This was such an interesting concept, I had to try it! It had a delicious coffee aroma and steeped up to wonderful deep brown color. But I found it to be so bitter, I couldn’t even finish my cup. Maybe it would have been drinkable with sugar, but I really try to avoid sweetening my tea.

This could be a great choice for someone who loves coffee or who is trying to make the transition from coffee to tea. It just didn’t work out for me. But thanks to VariaTEA for sending it to me…I always enjoy trying new tea, even when I don’t end up liking it!

Mmm, this is a nice comfort tea for a cold winter night! Spiced, but not too spicy and a nice creamy vanilla flavor smoothing things out. Thanks to VariaTEA for the sample!

This almost smells more like hot chocolate than tea…a truly rich, decadent chocolate scent! Unfortunately, the flavor doesn’t live up to the aroma. The chocolate and hazelnut were there, but muted. I think I need to try a longer steep time on this one next time. Thanks to The Cookie Lady for the sample!

Although I haven’t been a fan of Teavana’s newer Chai teas, I still really enjoy several of their older blends, including this one. I got a free sample with my recent order and although it’s sweetened with rock sugar and I typically prefer my tea unsweetened, I am enjoying it anyway. It’s spicy but not too spicy, good without milk, and has just enough caffeine to be a good afternoon pick-me-up. Keep the free samples coming, Teavana!

This is a strong, full-bodied breakfast tea with a nice cocoa flavor. Black, it’s a bit too astringent for my tastes, but it mellows nicely with a splash of milk. Overall, I enjoyed my sample, but I wouldn’t re-purchase; I prefer the Irish Breakfast blend from the same company.

Despite the name, I don’t get a lot of spice with this tea. Instead, it has a creamy, nutty flavor with citrus notes and just a hint of warm spice in the aftertaste. I enjoyed my sample, but I don’t think I’d re-purchase.

Of all the new teas Stacy has come out with recently, this is the one I was most excited to try. The dry leaf is beautiful with slightly rolled dark oolong leaves, freeze-dried raspberries, and lots of big chunks of cashew. It has a strong fruity, nutty scent. Steeped, I get a nice buttery texture with a very natural sweet raspberry flavor. I don’t taste the cashew as much as I was hoping to, but I love the raspberry/oolong combination! I also love how well this re-steeps. The raspberry flavor is milder, but still present, and the floral oolong base starts to come through a little more. All in all, a lovely treat!

I love a good salted caramel mocha, but I wasn’t sure how well the flavor would translate to tea. This was a pleasant surprise! It smells like rich, buttery toffee and you can see bits of toffee and big grains of sea salt mixed in with the tea leaves. It brews up to a warm golden brown color with lots of big, bold flavor. I was worried it would be too salty, but the salt actually just makes that gooey caramel flavor pop. Drinking it straight today and enjoying it that way, but I bet this would be even better as a tea latte. Here’s hoping David’s does a good Boxing Day sale this year, because my 1oz sample is going to be long gone by Christmas!

Another delicious dessert tea! (I’m building my arsenal in hopes that I’ll have the willpower to reach for a cup of tea instead of another cookie this holiday season.) The Cookie Lady sent me a sample of this one in our recent swap and I’m so glad she did! It has a fantastic smooth, buttery texture (it’s almost reminding me of an oolong, actually) and an intense hazelnut flavor. It’s not super cookie-like, but the flavor is so nice that I don’t mind that.