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Let me start by saying I’m not sure this is the right listing for this. I know it’s Yunomi and I know it’s Genmaicha. That’s all I know. Anyway, I guess I never reviewed this, even though I’ve been drinking it for a month and a half now.

I really can’t give distinct brewing parameters on this one because I brewed it with 5g for 1.5 minutes in 16 oz of water, and it was way too weak, so I stuffed about another two scoops of tea in and brewed it for another 45 seconds and it was much better.

Taste is… wonderful. I’ve been drinking this for awhile now so I can’t give you my first thoughts on it but my ongoing thoughs are that it is a nice balance between green tea vegetal and brown rice toasty. Just the perfect combination. It tastes like a green tea rice cake, If I would have to label the flavor. There is definite seaweed flavor to this, but that fine with me because I love seaweed. I would make seaweed salads if I knew where to get it! I’m also getting, as I said, that roasted flavor that tastes a bit like toasted bread. That’s pretty much the extent of this tea – seaweed and toast. It sounds like it would be disgusting but I adore it. For me, this is a great tea. I will recommend it however, knowing that many others might not go for it like I do. And that’s fine. To each their own.

But I love it. :)

SAMPLE SIPDOWN!

Hey Guys! I recently did a review on the wonderful Whispering Pines “Cocoa Amore”. Well when I bought that, they sent me a sample of this! It was only enough for two sessions, but I figured I’d review it while I had a bit left.

Ok, I brewed this a bit stronger than it said to. I used a full teaspoon and a half maybe for 16oz of water. Also, the cuppa I’ve got right now I lost track of and brewed a bit over the 5 minute recommended mark. But all that behind us, let’s get onto the tea.

Taste is… very robust, if that is the word I’m looking for. It’s very rich, with a strong black tea flavor, along with (let me try and suss this out here…) I think I’m getting a bit of Malt, Raisin and some Leather too. My palate is not nearly refined enough to pick out all the flavors, but there are a ton of different notes here. Ever so slight cacao flavor, but nowhere near like my Yunnan Golds have. It’s a very warm and inviting flavor, and I think this would be a good starter tea for people wanting to get into loose leaf. Even overbrewed like I made this cup it is still very lovely. This is my first cup of Aliaoshan that I recall actually having, so I think I will have to experiment more in this field. This was wonderful. Highly recommend.

Hello Steepster! It is 1:55 AM and I CAN’T SLEEP. So, in going with tradition of late night tea in an attempt to shut down the hyperbrain, we are trying one from the vaults tonight. Sleepytime Honey. I’m not sure if I’ve actually had any of this before, but the box was opened and there appeared to be several sachets missing from the package. So I guess I’ve tried this before. Anyway, I looked on the outside of the box and couldn’t find steeping instructions. I know they are there somewhere, maybe on the inside? But since I couldn’t find them, I winged it. Boiling water 16oz brewed for 6-7 minutes with one teabag. I say 6-7 minutes because I spent about a minute with the bag in looking for brewing parameters with no luck. Well, onto the taste.

Taste is… yup, that’s sleepytime all right. That signature spearmint/chamomile blend that pretty much every one of CS Sleepytimes have. I did put a single splenda in this because I don’t like the sleepytime plain. Never really have. The flavor isn’t strong enough for me without the added umph. So as for the honey in this, I really can’t taste anything like sweet honey, just the splenda. There’s maybe a bit of muskiness to it that is supposed to be the honey? The mint is dancing on my tongue, and I don’t know how that is supposed to help me sleep – it’s almost invigorating. If I stick my nose in the mug, I get a strong whiff of the honey flavoring, but it really isn’t translating to taste. It definitely smells like honey. Sadly, doesn’t taste it.

Overall, if you like the Celestial Seasonings Sleepytime line you will probably like this one too. The flavor is very similar to other teas in this line that I’ve had. However, if you are looking for a good strong honey flavor, look elsewhere. It ain’t here.

Well, here I am finally reviewing this. I had put myself on the “To be notified” list for this one because it just sounded so yummy. I was infinitely intrigued by the concept of a chocolate cherry dessert tea. So, naturally, when the tea was reblended recently, I got myself a bag.

Smell in the bag is heavenly. You really get the cherry cordial tones from the bag alone! I had to wonder, would that translate to taste.

So I brewed this according to their instructions, for the most part – I used my Keurig for water which I think is supposed to be about 200F, and steeped 1.5 tsp for 3 min in 16 oz water.

Taste is… hmmm. It isn’t nearly as sweet tasting plain as the bag smells. I am getting some definite cocoa notes, along with cherry notes, but it is closer to cacao and bing cherry than milk chocolate cordial cherry. I drank the first cup plain. It isn’t really bad, so to speak, just not what I was expecting. The resteep, I added a single splenda to it. Ahhh, there is the cordial cherry! With the addition of a bit of sweetness, I am now getting a strong milk chocolate and sweet cherry flavor. I don’t know why I always need that extra sweetness to be satisfied. Maybe it’s my diabeetus craving sugar. But I must say, I enjoy this tea much more with a touch of sweetener. I did try a third steep for 7 mins but it didn’t work out the best. Guess this really is a two steep tea. Overall, a delicious tea with sweetener that really isn’t that bad plain either. I think I will hold onto this one for a bit, as I have other dessert teas I can alternate this with. But if I’m ever in the need for a chocolate covered cherry pick me up, I know where to turn!

Hello! I’m back (for the time being). I’ve been really busy lately, because we are redecorating/deep cleaning my apartment. So I haven’t really had time for tea. This morning I decided to try something I haven’t tried before, so this fit the bill.
I’ve never had a “Grey’s Teacake” before, so I really don’t know what to go by. Basically, I’m going in blind here.

180F/3min 2tsp/16oz

Taste is… wow that is surprisingly good. So good in fact that I forgot to add my usual Single Splenda that I add to 52 teas. It’s tasty enough without any sweetener. I’m getting the coconut, but it isn’t overpowering. I’m also tasting a roasted flavor, and I guess that’s the Kukicha. It’s a really balanced tea all on it’s own. I’m actually afraid to add sweetener because it may make the coconut too sweet. This is a good one. I heartily recommend this as it is a good combination of roasted flavor and mild coconut. Oh, and usually, I don’t like coconut in tea, but this one is really good even with the coconut. All in all, a great tea, and a great start to the day.

Welp, my Better Tea Club came two weeks early. They said it was because the shipping date is normally the 21st even though I tried to have it set up for the 6th. OOPS. Guess I will have to be canceling that. Anyway, this was actually a tea I was excited for. So here goes
Western brew: 7min, 212F, 2 tsp, 12oz.
Taste plain is… bland. You can taste the spice but it isn’t too prominent. So I latte-ed it. Two splendas, plus Almond milk. Taste now is… MMMMM. What an improvement. The sweetness really brings out the spices. I don’t get an overpowering cinnamon so that’s a plus. I’m getting cloves and cardamom. And the natural vanilla is shining through as well. I also taste… raisins? That’s a bit weird but it is there. I am very pleasantly surprised with this tea. Adagio hasn’t been impressing me lately, so to find one so satisfying is a nice change. I heartily recommend this one. Very tasty.

Welp, I’m back in the monthly “Better Tea Club”. I really want to branch out into other, actual better tea clubs. But, until then, here we are. This tea is part of the March box. I figured I’d brew it up to see just how bad it is. For the record, it smells like vanilla body spray in the package, so my hopes are not too high for this one.
Brewed Western Style, 1.5 tsp, 16 oz, 3 min, 212 f.

Taste plain is… well it isn’t the worst thing I ever tasted. It’s definitely vanilla, and definitely black tea base. It isn’t sweet or anything, just a basic vanilla black tea. I’m going to try and add a Single Splenda. Oh geez, maybe I should have only done half a splenda. It’s syrupy sweet super vanilla now. I mean, I don’t know what is better/worse. Either way, I really can’t recommend this. It’s not well done. The vanilla is just too artificial. Sorry, Adagio, this is a miss for me.

Finally, a review for something other than 52teas! LOL! Anyway, I re-upped my Better Tea Club for this month, and this was one of the featured teas. Visually, the tea kinda reminds me a bit of gunpowder green, while the smell is definitely potent in bag.
Brewed 3 min/170 F/4 g/16 oz
Taste is. Hmmm I’m not sure if it is crossover from the almond milk I was just drinking prior but this one is very mild and sweet. I’m getting notes of peas and green beans, but also a bit of hay, and I swear a hint of meat. Not sure about that meat bit, it’s a rather faint meat flavor, sort of like beef broth? Chicken broth maybe? Not sure. Really wish I hadn’t had a whole cup of almond milk prior (I needed to down some meds) because it is skewing my palate. Swishing it around my mouth to cleanse it a bit, I think that meat flavor I’m getting is closer to chicken broth. Does that mean it qualifies as umami? I have never fully been able to grasp the concept of savory or umami other than people saying “Chicken broth”. If that is the case, then yes this tea qualifies as savory. I dunno. The more I drink this the more I like it. It’s grown on me over the course of just one cup. I certainly like it better than some other oolongs I have had (I am beginning to think I really just don’t like dancong) but it isn’t quite as good as my Milk Oolong from Mandala. I supposed it’s worth a solid B, and a recommendation from me. I guess if you like green oolongs give this a shot. There are much worse teas out there.

Yet another 52teas blend. I’ve really been ordering from them pretty often, at least twice a month, and it shows. Their thing about once a tea runs out, you can’t get it anymore is basically making me feel like I MUST order from them instead of my other sites because those other sites the tea is much more available. It’s kind of annoying actually. I am just waiting for a time when I don’t feel compelled to have a 52teas order so I can actually order some high end tea from YS. Now that the early spring stuff is coming out the desire for a YS order is only increasing. Oh well. Maybe next month.
Anyway, this tea smells worrisome in the package. It smells almost like licorice which I HATE in tea. So I was hesitant to brew this one up. But in the end I did anyway.
Western Style, 2 min, 170 F, 1 tsp, 12 oz
The taste is… Well thankfully it doesn’t taste like licorice. I’m definitely getting that green tea vegetal flavor, but there is also a distinct nuttiness to it as well. I didn’t put sweetener in this one as I felt it would ruin it. I’ve never had chestnuts or pralines before so I can’t tell you if the flavor is that or not. But I’m totally getting nuts. It’s somewhat of an odd combination and kinda reminds me of if you put nuts in salad. I like it, but at the same time, I don’t. It’s not bad tea at all, it’s just not my favorite flavor profile. Which is weird because I love nuts. I love nutty coffee. I am just not sure I like nutty tea is all.

Wow, I didn’t realize I hadn’t reviewed this yet. I’ve had this since Christmas. This one smells lovely in bag, but I was concerned with the large number of apple pieces in it. I haven’t had much luck with Adagio’s Fruit Tisanes in the past, so I fear this won’t be much better.
Brewed Western style, 2 heaping teaspoons for 12 oz, 6 minutes at 212 F.
Taste plain is ok. It suffers much like the usual fruit blends that it isn’t too nice on its own.
Added a Single Splenda, and the taste greatly improves. The sweetness makes the flavors pop, and even brings out a bit of spiciness. I’m getting Apple, Rose Hips, Berry Blend, Hibi, and a lovely underlying spice mixture that very much improves the fruitiness of the tisane. This one is actually not too bad. It’s not my favorite, but I would drink this again. I suppose I can recommend it. But only if you add sweetener to it. It’s just MEH on its own.