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So guess what. I decided to give this another try.

This time, I did it just as instructed. Correct leaf, correct time, and then let it cool.

And no dang sweetener

Hey, whaddya know? It’s much better!

Without the sweetener, the licorice flavor somehow is more subtle and palatable than with sweetener. It’s present, but it’s not disgusting. I actually even like (??) it. The spice is also noticeable, but it’s just the right amount.

But here’s the thing. I know this is supposed to taste like wine. And I get that. But it isn’t in the actual sip.

It’s at the roof of my mouth as an aftertaste.

No joke. After I sip it, and after I wait a few moments, I get a sharp but pleasing flavor sticking to the roof of my mouth that tastes remarkably like, well, alcohol!

So yeah, I’m glad I gave this another shot. It’s much better than I had originally thought, and it is a far superior flavor without my go-to sweetener.

Well, my huge order for the month showed up today and, Surprise Surprise, this is the first tea I reached for! We’ve established that I am keen on trying all the earl grey I can, so when I saw this one, I had to get a few pouches!

Ok, so smell in the pouch… well, it’s very sweet. You can smell the sweetness just in the pouch! However, there’s something very strange about it. The combination of flavors – the bergamot, the sprinkles, the vanilla – it all combines to what I swear smells like licorice! I have no idea why, but all those elements combined, that’s what it smells of.

Upon tasting it without sweetener, I’m happy to say it doesn’t translate into the flavor. Instead, you get a subtle sweetness, combined with the usual floral flavor of the earl grey. It isn’t bitter at all, which is a plus. However, you all know I love my sweets, so here we go Splenda!

So, here’s the thing. When you add sweetener, on the first cup, you do get that licorice combination. But, despite the fact that I hate licorice, it is perfectly pleasing. It’s like… the essence of licorice, without the full pungent flavor. It’s really really pleasant! It does taste like a cupcake, and I love it!

However, with subsequent steepings (I’m on my third now), the licorice/cupcake disappears and it just turns into a simple earl grey. The floral sticks around, as does the vanilla, leaving a nice earl grey cream flavor that I love so much! It’s soft and smooth, and thankfully, the bergamot doesn’t overpower the vanilla and vice versa. Just a lovely cuppa!

So I can heartily recommend this. Don’t be turned off by my “licorice” commentary. I am pretty sure there is no actual licorice in it, and the flavor, as I said, lacks any sign of the pungant-ness that I hate about licorice. Instead, it’s just pure cupcake sweetness all around, which turns into a gentle cup of earl grey cream as you steep it out.

Good stuff. Can recommend.

SIPDOWN!

Ok, so, here’s the thing. This tea grew on me since my initial review. It grew on me hard. So much that I found myself craving it for weeks before I would finally give in and have a session.

Then it came down to this. Just enough for one last session. Knowing full well that I can’t just order more of this at will, I saved it for a special occasion. I didn’t know what special occasion it was, but I have been longing for this for two months now but never allowed myself to indulge.

Well, guess what. It is January 15th, 2020 – My personal hero and namesake’s 50th birthday. (That’s right, Shane McMahon turns 50 today). So guess what. It’s getting drunk!

It’s everything I remembered it being, and more. I know that when I first wrote the review, I commented on a strong raisin flavor. Well, I’m happy to say, that by now, the odd raisin flavor has been replaced by the flavor of Vanilla, Cream, and a touch of Caramel. It really tastes like birthday cake. The sprinkles, sadly, seem to have long disappeared from the mix, but it doesn’t matter – they only affect the first steeping anyway. I am drinking this in honor of Shane, celebrating his birthday, but still sad that I know this will be the last of this until June.

Perhaps some of you can suggest a good replacement Birthday Cake tea for me? It’s an odd tea flavor, I know, but the harder and harder my blood sugar gets to manage (yes, I’ve been having problems lately) the harder I go for the dessert teas for my sweets fix. So hit me up in the comments and let me know where I can find something similar. I’d appreciate it greatly. THANKS IN ADVANCE!

I just wanted to try something quick, dirty, and new. Well, I have no idea how long this stuff has been in my cupboard, but I don’t think I’ve ever actually had any.

So, I put the water through the keurig (the box claims you make it with boiling water, so IDEK) and brew bag for 3 minutes.

Taste is… OOUCH that hibi! I noticed on the box that this had hibiscus in it, but one sip and I would have known anyway. That’s TART! Between the hibi and the berry, it’s up there on the tart factor. Time to add sweetener.

Ok, so somehow, sweetener makes it almost worse? How to explain. The Splenda cuts the tart, for sure. But once the overpowering tart is gone, there are… other flavors that emerge. Like something bitter. I’m not sure what it is, but there is a noticible bitterness to it once splenda is added. Ew. And the overall flavor isn’t very good. It’s, how should I say this, MUDDY. It’s almost like someone was blending flavors and scents together to get potpouri, but somehow ended up with compost? I’m not sure how to describe it. For some reason the word “Dishwater” is coming to mind, but I don’t know why. That’s just what my mind thinks when I sip on it. “MMMmmmm, Dishwater.”

However, all that said, I have had worse teas. By far this isn’t the worst think I’ve ever tasted. But it is not remotely good. It’s pretty bad actually. I don’t know how much of it is that the tea is outdated, and how much of it is “This tea is just awful” but I know I am absolutely throwing this back into the back of my cupboard, never to be drunk again.

Bad stuff guys. Just BAD.

Well, I ran out of the Earl Grey Creme, and the store I went to yesterday didn’t have the Teavana stuff, so here we are. It isn’t exactly what I wanted, but it will have to do for the time being.

I brewed up a cup of this yesterday but didn’t review it so I decided to do so today. Flavor without sweetener is a nice black tea base with a strong bergamot flavor. The citrus is powerful here and the flavor is bitter – but not “black tea” bitter. I’m pretty sure it’s the bergamot that is making it bitter.

Two splendas later and MMM much better. The sweetener gets rid of the bitterness while allowing the sweet citrus to shine through. It’s still far FAR harsher than my usual Earl Grey Creme (there’s no creamy vanilla to temper it), but I like it. It’s something new.

All in all, this is a decent tea. I love strong citrus tea, and this doesn’t let me down. I will likely keep exploring the various types of Earl Grey as I go along. I hope to try some Lady Grey, as well as possibly a Double Bergamot one. But, for now, this will do. There are better out there, but for grocery store tea? It’s pretty darn good. Recommended.

Well, while I’m ON here, let me tell all of yinz about the tea I’ve been sucking down for the past two months!

So, one of the teas I had reviewed before I left was “Earl Grey Moonlight” from Adagio. That was reasonably good, and alerted me to the fact that “Hey, maybe I do like Earl Grey”. Honestly, I don’t know why it didn’t strike me earlier, as I love citrus teas, but I have never put together the idea that “Earl Grey” meant “Citrus” so I never went for it earlier.

Fast forward to a shopping trip a couple of months ago, and I saw this available in sachet form on the shelf. I picked up a box, and when I got home, tried it.

Just. Wow.

A few words. First of all, I know there are likely better Earl Grey Cremes out there. I’m certain of it. But since this is the only one I’ve tried other than the Adagio (which was only “MEH”) I have little to go by. Between the two, this one is much better. Second, I have found that I like to intentionally over steep the tea, then add sweetener. I have tried to brew it normally, but it never satisfies. So, I go with a very strong flavor to start with, then mellow it with two packets of Splenda. Third, and I don’t know if this is acceptable or not, I can usually get more than one steep out of the sachet. Two is average, but I have done three before.

The bottom line of this tea is as follows. It’s smooth, creamy, and delicious. The bergamot is heavy, yes, but the creamy finish (along with my sweetener) evens it out. I’ve been drinking this on heavy rotation since I discovered it, and am down to the last bag on my second box. It’s one of my all-time favorites. Again, while I’m sure there are plenty of better options out there, if you know someone (or you are someone) who has never had an Earl Grey before and want to give it a shot? This stuff is easily acquired at the store for a good price. So to those sorts of people, I say try it. It’s a good starting point, and if you are anything like me, it will serve as a gateway to bigger and better things.

HELLO! Whaddya know, I’m back.

Yes, I know. It has been an ETERNITY since I have been on here. Sorry. I’ve been dealing with ish, and my life has been so hectic lately that I haven’t had the chance to really sit down and try any new teas. Well, that changed this month when I made a haul from YS and it arrived a few days ago. Funny thing, actually spending my tea budget for the month on TEA!! Anyway, this is the first one I am trying from my Spring 2019 bunch that I purchased. I’ve never had black bi luo before, so lets see how this is.

For starters, fresh out of the package this stuff smells DIVINE. There is a strong sweet smell to it. It smells like a dessert tea actually. I’m looking forward to tasting it.
Brewed Western. 3g/12oz/2:30min/190F

Taste is… wow, that stonefruit flavor is intense. Just bringing the tea up to my nose, I can smell the strong sweet/musky smell. I wasn’t expecting stonefruit, but it definitely has that character. I’m also getting a bit of cherry as well. It thankfully doesn’t seem to have that “Meat” flavor that I remember the Bi Luo Green that I tried had. I didn’t like that meaty flavor. This however, is very fruity and delish. There is a bit of tannin flavor in it, but as I was conservative in my brewing, it isn’t at all bitter.

MMmm… as I get further down into the cup, (and as it cools) I’m getting an ever so slight leather note to it. Not unpleasant, it’s just a bit more complex as it cools. Also, as it cools, that signature golden-black cacao flavor is shining through. By this point, the stonefruit flavor has faded, but the cherry flavor is still holding on, giving it a slight “cordial cherry” flavor.

All in all I would say this is definitely a keeper. It’s a wonderfully fruity tea that, as it cools, becomes a more traditional golden black flavored cup. There is still some available on YS (the Chinese site, not sure about the US site) so I would say if you like this sort of thing, pick some up. It’s very good.

Hey all. Sorry for the extended absence. My mood has been really down lately, and I haven’t bought new tea in awhile, so there hasn’t been anything new to review.

All that being said, when my parents went on vacation, they brought back four teabags. Two of this, and two chamomile from the same brand. Today, I am trying the peppermint.

Ok, For starters, I brewed this a minute more than it said. I like a good strong herbal, and I thought it might help. However, upon tasting the result, it was hella bitter. So I opted for a single stevia (I’m at the parents house, they don’t have splenda). It made it taste marginally better. It’s certainly minty – which it should be for supposedly containing nothing but peppermint leaf. Yup I can totally tell that is peppermint. It actually, with the stevia, tastes remarkably like one of those red and white peppermint candies that grandma used to horde. I can handle that. I like those.

Overall, I would say this is a decent peppermint tea. Taken straight, it is bitter, but with a touch of sweetener, it has a lovely peppermint candy flavor. Not bad at all.

Ok, so apparently I got more of this. I was browsing my tea drawer and found another pouch of this. I just wanted to post an update, I still really like this. I came up with an idea for a really good description of this. It’s like a Cinnabon, if instead of cinnamon, it is caramel. THAT is what this tastes like. It is mighty tasty. I would highly recommend this if it ever gets reblended. I know I’m gonna get more. I am pretty certain that this last pouch is all I have left. Boo.

Well, I wanted to try something new. And since I’m running out of new tea, I figured I’d try one of these sample packs that a certain Mad Tea Artist sent me!

Quick pre-brew notes: The package smells like berries. Very sweet berries. I’m getting a little bit of green smell too, but not much.

Since it was a sample package, there was no brewing perameters on the bag. So I tried to go for a happy medium between Green Tea and Green Rooibos. So Western Style, at 175F/3Min/16oz/however much the sample was.

For starters, the brewed smell is definitely green tea. It’s very noticibly that. Taste is— Wow that is different. I’m getting the berries, they are providing a bit of tart sweetness. The green tea/green rooibos however, is really not grassy at all. Actually, it’s kind of… meaty? Kinda like a Bi Luo Chun? Which is weird because I didn’t see any of that listed in the ingredients. Besides those two flavors, nothing else really jumps out at me, but it’s more because the tea is so balanced rather than it being bland.

As it cools, I’m getting some floral and fruity notes (besides the berries). It also tastes like there is a background bitterness that is trying to break through, but the rest of the flavor profile is keeping it in check. This was a surprisingly tasty tea. I didn’t think I’d like it this much, but now I am considering getting a pouch or two. Solid Rec, guys. Give this one a shot. It’s different, but in a good way.