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…sigh…I don’t know. I tried this first unsweetened and iced. And it was just so tart. So very citrusy. Overpoweringly so, really. I like citrus and was hoping to find it refreshing, but it was just too much. So, the next time I tried it I added sugar, in an effort to curb that grapefuit flavor that made my whole face pucker. I rarely sweeten my teas (or tisanes), either hot or cold, but this helped. I added three generous teaspoons for the entire liter. Not enough to make it taste really sweet, just to tone down the tartness. I’d like to try to reduce the amount of sugar, but will have to experiment a bit. I now can taste more of a fresh orange flavor with strong grapefruit notes that don’t overwhelm. Not sure if I’d ever try it hot, maybe if I was sick and wanted to add honey to it, but honestly, I’ll just finish this off and probably not get it again. It is bracing, refreshing, and great if you love grapefruit (which I don’t).

While visiting my friends in Berlin recently, they introduced me to a tiny tea vendor in their old neighborhood of Prenzlauer Berg. Tee & Ton sells all kinds of tea and accessories like teapots and teasets (the “ton” is German for “clay”). There was so much to choose from, I almost couldn’t make a decision! But when my friends pointed out the marzipan tea, and I took a sniff, I knew I had to have it.

Fast forward to today’s morning cup of tea. Dry leaf aroma is one thing, but I was still not sure of the brewed flavor. I put in some milk, took a sip, and, well, this is awesome! Beautiful almond flavor for days! I’ve been looking for a decent almond-flavored black, and this delivered. Perfect balance of sweet almond that doesn’t overpower the taste of the black tea. It’s dessert-y enough without being cloying. I find that it doesn’t have that artificial flavor that’s so common with this kind of scented tea. I’m so happy with it I just might have to pester my friends to ship some more over to me when I run out of it!

Well, we are finally at the end, Bamboozled. I tried my best to convince David’s Tea not to discontinue you, to no avail. Bought a ton while I could and made it last longer than I expected. And now that summer is starting to wind down, I’ll drink the last of you, and raise my glass in honor of your unfailingly refreshing pineapple-y goodness. Bye-bye, Bamboozled! It was nice knowin’ ya!

Wow – I just love this stuff! I picked some up at the Tea and Coffee Festival earlier this year and finally got around to trying it. I’ve been drinking it all week and it is soooooo good. The honey notes are very strong, making this tea smell and taste almost sweet. Excellent plain or with milk, it’s so versatile. This is my first foray into Yunnan blacks and I’m sure it won’t be my last.

One of my weekend guests so generously shared her nasty cold with me, so I’m binge drinking the teas in my house in an attempt to feel better. In all fairness, I’ve had this tea before but just never managed to write a review. Now that I’m laid up with this horrible illness, I’ve got plenty of time! First time I had this tea was at the H&S tea room in Soho, and I ordered a pot of it on a whim. Such delicious fruitiness! I was happily surprised. I’m not really getting any apricot – just plums and cherries, but that’s just fine – it’s delightful. Kind of my idea of a perfect fruity black – almost sweet with lots of beautiful aroma. No need for sweetener nor milk, it’s just perfect on it’s own. And not at all medicinal, which is amazing considering how often flavors like this end up. Would I try this iced? Maybe, but it’s so good hot that I don’t feel compelled to change a thing. Maybe when the weather gets really warm. For now, it’s doing me a lot of good just as it is!

I’ve been cold brewing this for iced tea (the weather’s been really hot lately), and I think I have it down. Do not start with water that is already very cold, otherwise your brew will be very weak (the husband really likes it this way, but I want a little bit of a stronger brew). I would say to start with room temp filtered water, let it sit for an hour or two, and THEN stick it in the fridge. Overnight is OK, 24 hours is better. Best thing is, you absolutely will NOT have bitterness at all. Just a lovely, sweet, refreshing black iced tea that’s really enjoyable. I ended up using 5 tsps of the tea to make one liter. So good.

OK – second attempt with this tea and I did a couple of things differently: I slightly underleafed, and I promptly stopped the brewing process after 3 minutes exactly. It made quite the difference! This is still a strong, solid black tea that can handle (really is best with) full fat milks, but brewed this way there is not a trace of bitterness. There is still a slight tannic quality, but much less than when I tried it the first time. I still want to try this iced, and am very glad I could salvage it – I was afraid I had to ditch it since it’s so far past the “best by” date.

I was looking for a basic, hearty black tea this morning, and decided to tear this open. I know it’s not the fanciest tea in the world, but that’s fine with me, as long as it tastes good. I respected the brewing instructions and was glad I did because this is STRONG! Very tannic. I very rarely drink Irish Breakfasts, and this was (literally) an eye-opener. So. Awake. Now. Bordering on just starting to get bitter, so maybe slightly underleafing/less brew time for next time. I felt that the 1% milk I had would not stand up to it, so I used a drop of heavy cream (I know, so evil), and this tea can certainly stand up to it.

I was disappointed (in myself and the store I bought this from) to see that the “best by” date was long gone (June, 2014! Eep!), and the sad truth is that I bought it in August of 2014. Too distracted being a tourist on vacation to look at the date, which is so unlike me. Perhaps that is what is contributing to the very slight bitterness. I did drink this tea in the restaurant affiliated with this store, so I know it’s a strong tea, and I liked it then. Here’s the final kicker: I discovered a few months later that one of my local grocery stores carries this, so it’s not a big deal to get it.

Still, all that said, I enjoyed it and will continue to drink it. I will, of course, have to try it iced. I’ve got a good feeling about that. We’ll see!

Don’t pay attention to that first review of mine – must’ve been crazy when I typed it. I take it back. This is super juicy fruity strawberry deliciousness. I mean, Strawberry Quik??? What was I thinking? The only thing I still agree on is the score. I loved it then, and I still love it now. Such a wonderful strawberry black. Lupicia scores again!

It’s starting to get warm out, and I just couldn’t face a steamy hot beverage this morning, so a nice cold glass of iced matcha latte sounded like a good plan. Super easy to make, and the tiny clumps of powder ended up dissolving into the milk with no problem. Lightly sweet, creamy, nice matcha flavor, and quite satisfying, although I couldn’t detect any caramel notes. Not a lot of the mix comes in the bag, so I may end up going through this rather quickly.