135 Tasting Notes
Like drinking a spice cabinet. And where is the pumpkin? I can’t detect any pumpkin at all. I’m thinking maybe it’s because it was bullied into submission by all the weird spice flavors in the tea. Obviously not a fan. This was part of the pumpkin tea set of three offered by David’s last fall, and the last one I tried. That’s what I get for buying a set instead of individual teas, but it was so tempting and cute. Their Pumpkin Chai is near perfect for me when I want that kind of autumnal, pumpkin and spice flavor, so I guess I should stick to that tea in the future. Anyone want an 80g (minus three teaspoons, give or take) tin of this stuff? Please let me know. Otherwise, into the trash it goes.
Flavors: Celery, Spices
Preparation
Beautiful, sophisticated tea. This one is for when you want to focus on the tea itself, not distractedly sipping it while doing something else. I say this because the flavors are complex, and not obvious. Best enjoyed when you’re in a more contemplative mood. Dry leaf smells lightly sweet, earthy, vegetal. The vendor states this tea can be resteeped (three infusions total), so that is what I did. First infusion was a bit tannic, definitely tasted the peanut flavor, along with a spinachy note. Second infusion didn’t have a tannic bite at all, well-balanced between the nutty, sweet and vegetal notes. This was my favorite infusion. Third infusion was light and sweet, with more of the molasses coming out. I thoroughly enjoyed this tea, especially how different each infusion was.
Flavors: Molasses, Peanut, Spinach, Vegetal
Preparation
I got this one quite awhile ago from hapatite and am embarrassed that it’s taken me this long to get around to drinking it! I think it was anlina’s recent review that jogged my memory and made me make a note to try it asap, plus this year I’ve been making an effort to go through older teas on a regular basis. So, the tea: dry leaf aroma was barely there, maybe a slight sweet scent, so light I couldn’t really place it. Brewed aroma definitely had a chocolate scent, accompanied by something else…musty, maybe? As others have mentioned, it’s really light. Really, really light. Sometimes you want that, especially with an herbal, but with flavors like chocolate and banana, I want something far richer. I should really stick to black teas for dessert flavors. It definitely was sweet, as in it tastes like there is sweetener in there, which is fine for me as I love sweetness. No banana at all for me. So strange as other people had the opposite happen: definite banana note, but no chocolate. Overall, although nice, it’s not what I’m after today. Maybe in the warmer weather, or maybe iced. It’s OK, not great.
Flavors: Chocolate, Fruity
Preparation
I haven’t been drinking any new unflavored black teas for awhile, but what a nice way to get back into trying them! Dry leaf aroma was sweet and enticing. Brewed, the taste was smooth, light, sweet, with a definite fruitiness. I didn’t get the cocoa or caramel notes I read about in other reviews, but that’s OK. I really enjoyed this tea! Really drinkable, versatile, all around great black. I’ll be ordering more in the future, for sure.
Flavors: Fruity, Smooth, Sweet
Preparation
I’ve never had tea from this company before, so I’m excited to review something new. Black tea with chocolate and chestnuts? Sign me up! Dry leaf scent was sweet with a little alcohol pungency. I followed the directions from the tea company and brewed it for 5 minutes, which was the longest time recommended. The brew was a little cloudy. Brewed tea aroma was chocolate and nutty – enticing! The taste of sweet milk chocolate was so THERE, with a creaminess even without milk added. This was complemented by a subtler nuttiness and earthiness from the chestnut flavor. I enjoyed this tea immensely. And to make things even better, it can take a second infusion! I’ve never had a flavored black infuse a second time so well. The flavor was only very slightly diminished in the second steeping. Impressive! The only question now is regarding consistency. Since I’ll definitely be ordering more of this, I’ll be able to answer that soon. I was also really impressed with the turnaround time on my order – it was shipped the same afternoon that I ordered it and arrived just a couple of days later.
Flavors: Chestnut, Chocolate, Nutty, Sweet
Preparation
The endless cold that has been January has gotten into my very bones, and it feels like I can’t wear enough layers of clothing or turn the heat up high enough. So that means it’s the perfect time for this tea! It’s not a fancy brand, it’s a bagged tea, but it will get me through the rest of the hideous winter. With low fat milk (of course), it’s super creamy, the spices are perfect, well-balanced, and makes it taste almost like a baked good. Been drinking this for the past three winters, and when I couldn’t find it locally, I got online and ordered that stuff! That’s how much I love this tea. Truthfully, I haven’t tried any other eggnog flavored tea, so no comparison notes, but when I’m this contented, I’m not that motivated to try another.
Flavors: Cinnamon, Cream, Eggnog, Nutmeg
Preparation
Got this as a sample from American Tea Room. Lovely of them to include such a large sample. Unfortunately, I dislike rooibos intensely. Thought I’d give it a try anyway because chocolate. Although the dry leaf aroma and the brewed tea flavor had a nice, strong chocolate presence, it wasn’t enough to disguise the nasty rooibos. I think if it was a black tea base I would have loved it, but this rooibos is not for me.
Flavors: Chocolate, Rooibos, Vanilla
Preparation
Well, this was a sad sipdown! Had the last of it this morning, and said goodbye to Hello Sweetie. Normally, I don’t tend to post multiple reviews for the same tea, but this one was so special. Enjoyed every yummy banana-coconut-cream-pie drop. I don’t know what kind of magical blending mojo you’ve got, Stacy, but it’s a gift. I’m only sorry I didn’t order from Butiki sooner!
Preparation
Ordered a sample of this with my last Harney order and have been dying to try it. My chance finally came last night when I had it with a few ginger thins as my after-dinner sweet fix. Dry leaf smell was very strong, very marshmallow-y, which got me a little worried as I dislike vanilla teas that taste more like marshmallow than vanilla. Brewed, the scent tuned to – and I know this sounds crazy – vanilla pudding! In the end, the tea was really nice, very drinkable, but I was wishing for a bit more of a stronger vanilla flavor. That being said, I enjoyed it enough that I will definitely be ordering more, so I can have a nice dessert decaf tea to drink at night.