Fusion Teas

I got just enough of this to make a large pot from TeaEqualsBliss. Thanks! It makes a nice after dinner cup with a bit of sugar and a splash of almond milk. If you’re like me, you could add a drop of cream liquor as well. ;)

I can’t say it particularly reminds me of gingersnap cookies, but I did eat a gingersnap cookie with me tea so perhaps the tea was just pale in comparison to the real thing. It does have a luscious buttery smell. The rooibos is smooth and sweet.

So I’ve been having issues with my fridge recently, it’s not nearly cold enough. It was set to 5 when I moved in and had been fine up until recently, when stuff started going bad way too fast. So I turned it to 7 and made my nightly cold brew. I woke up and… it was a tea slushy. What the heck, fridge! It goes up 2 more coldness settings, I shudder to think what they’d do to my tea. So I have it at 6 now… I feel kind of like Goldilocks. In any case, I was really worried that it might have messed with the flavor of the tea, since the leaves were a bit frosty around the edges and I wasn’t sure when it started to freeze up.

Well the flavor is a bit tamer than I would have expected for a 14 hour steep, but I’ll chalk that up to the giant chunks of tea-ice. I really like berry teas and this blend has a pretty unique combination: blueberry and pomegranate are front and center, complimented by a lovely sencha base. I am not familiar with goji berry so I’m honestly not sure if I’m tasting it. There were some pretty large berries in there so I’m guessing they did impart some flavor, I just can’t pick it out from the blueberry/pomegranate. But that’s one of my favorite flavor combinations so I am not going to complain! This is really an excellent iced tea, really refreshing and very natural-tasting.

I want to thank the whole team at Fusion Teas for this sample!

This tea has a very strong cinnamon flavor, of which I like very much. The taste is real cinnamon, not an artificial one. There is plenty of spice, even a little touch of cloves or pumpkin. Its very smooth, with not much bitterness detected.

This tea takes milk really well! In fact, I highly recommend adding a little milk, of which creates terrific Chai tasting beverage. It also, reminds me of a freshly made Dulce De Leche Cheesecake. Very yummy!

OVERSTEEPED IN A TRAVEL MUG FOR 2 HOURS MODE!

I’m at the in-laws working on wedding invites at 7am. I’m not sure why so early. Technically, I’m already married, but it was one of those immigration “you need to get married in 90 days” things, so wasn’t any time to plan anything – so a party 6 months later, wooot!

I needed a mate to keep me going, and scooping tea at 6am I knew I’d make some accidents, I did knock over my canister of mate, uggg. I put this in my libre tea glass (that I think I got to stop leaking) and just left the leaves in.

Overall, pretty good tea that held up flavor for an hour and a half of roasted, raspberry yummyness. I just hit the 2 hour mark on the dredges and it’s now on the bitter, dirty grassy side.

Lesson learned: drink up tea in less than 2 hours. Or remove tea leaves.

I’ve lost count on what number this tea is from my Fusion tea order.. hmmm I believe it is #5!

DRY: Cocoa liquoury and waves of raspberry. The dry tea looks interestingly patterned with green and dark brown. Random hunks of almond.

OBSERVATION: Very similar ingredients to “Cocoa Mate” but this tea has green mate, raspberry bits and leaves. Appears to have quite a bit of green mate.

STEEPED: Dark amber. Mmm smells like raspberry mixed with something earthy.

TASTE: Refreshingly sweet raspberry at first sip. Background of smooth light chocolateyness and slight earhty roasted mate taste. No bitterness or tart.

WHO’D LIKE THIS TEA: Fruity tea lovers, mate drinkers – new and seasoned.

COMMENTS: Unfortunately I only got a few sips hot, then the rest of my tea cooled more than my liking. My 5 month old teenagery rabbit threw a destructive spaz to get my attention, so I had to deal with him. When I resumed my cup I guzzled it down in record speed – very good mate! I find this surprisingly sweet and refreshing, unlike the other roastedy/robust/nutty Fusion Mates I tried.

This one I was hesitant to order Cocoa Raspberry Mate, but did anyways because I love mate. One of my favorite mates is DavidsTea’s “Chocolate Rocket” which is a raspberry and chocolate mate. Comparing the two – DavidsTeas is much more nutty almond with tarty raspberry. Fusion Teas Cocoa Raspberry is on the addictive sweet refreshing raspberry side, with chocolate bringing up the rear. I feel I could own both teas since they seem different enough.

Very very good Fusion Teas! I think I might need another cup….

Sometimes I have trouble differentiating Earl Greys. There are just so many, and the basic ones blend together. I do love them though, but I prefer blends with a little something extra to make it stand out. But I’ve been looking for a good everyday, “plain” EG so I was pleased to get this as a sample from Fusion Teas.

This smells strongly bergamot-y in the bag, but it’s more subtle brewed. The citrus is complemented by some faint smoky and fruity notes, and the black base is just as strong if not stronger than these competing flavors. It’s a particularly smooth EG, good both with and without cream & sugar. This is a good evening earl, without some of the astringency or briskness in some blends.

Sip down!

Yes! Must sip down more teas! Oddly, my last small pot wasn’t very minty – just an little echo of mint end of sip.
You will be missed, mocha mint mate!

4th Fusion tea I purchased (just how many teas did I buy? You’ll find out once I stop reviewing them lol).

OBSERVATIONS: Looking at the ingredients list – this has the same ingredients as “Roasted Cocoa Mate” but with the addition to spearmint. Doh! I might of passed on this tea or “Roasted Cocoa Mate” if I noticed this at ordering.

DRY: Spearminty with a hint of roasted goodness. Lots of big slices of almond.

STEEPED: Dark, cloudy brew. Smell of robust roastedness with spearmint piercing through.

TASTE: Refreshing mintyness, with a background mix of chocolate flavors and some light roasted/toasty flavors from the mate/nuts/barley/rice. The mint flavor stays in the mouth after each sip. I do not notice any mocha/coffee flavors.

WHO’D DIG THIS TEA: Mate lovers, herbal mint tea folk who want a kick-in-the-face mate wakeup in the morning.

COMMENTS: I’d say the spearmint was a smart choice over peppermint because it added a different kind of mint than most mint-tea blends. The spearmint is pretty strong too and does a piercing hit of mint without adding any sludgyness oversteeped peppermint can do.

Comparing it to “Roasted Cocoa Mate” (from Fusion) – the addition of peppermint added a new dimension that the regular Cocoa mate was missing. However, I kind of wish the Cocoa mate had more chocolate flavor to set it apart more, or added more mocha to the Roasted Mocha Mint. However, Roasted Mocha Mint I can totally taste the same “roasted cocoa mate” base in the background once I got past the mint.

Comparing it to a similar tea I have, DavidsTea “Read my Lips” (black/peppermint/chocolate/sugarlips) Roasted Mocha Mint mate has no sweetness but the spearmint lingers in the mouth longer + a roasted flavor. “Read My lips” is more chocolatey and the black tea comes out.

I wish this had MOAR CHOCOLATE or some more mocha elements like it’s name says, but overall pretty decent. Fusion has delicious mate and I wish I could drink more of it a day but I limit myself to 1 cup of mate a day so I’m not climbing the walls.

Probably won’t buy more of this, but will enjoy each cup.

I just made this tea double strength with a couple rock sugar chunks and poured over a glass of ice. YUMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM!

/DROOL

Very good – sweet and peachy!

3rd of the Fusion Teas I ordered. Oddly, this is the only non-mate tea I got.
But wow.. Peach crunchies in this tea? Can I have a fruit snack bag of that? Me and my rabbit Benson can sit together and fight over it, like what we do with Trader Joe’s freeze dried strawberries and bananas.

DRY: OOOOOOOOH IT SMELLS LIKE PEACHY FRUIT PUNCH JUICE CONCENTRATE! (yes, it needed to be written in all caps). Looks like black tea with vibrant red and orange chunks.

STEEPED: Very fruity. This is one of the most fruitiest teas I’ve smelled. Steeps into a nice dark brown/red hue tea.

TASTE: Peaches and strawberry with nice light black tea in the background. Not tart or bitter. Peach flavour slightly comes out more than the strawberry. Peach after taste. Refreshing despite drinking this tea hot and unsweetened.

WHO’D LIKE THIS TEA: Fruity tea people. All of them. I know some who dislike black tea – try this tea and you’ll like it as the black tea is very light. Iced tea lovers would also love this tea.

OBSERVATIONS: The tea package says 3-4 minutes, however confusingly online it says 4-5 minutes. I followed the package and went with 3 and a half minutes. I think the short steep time turns up the tea magic so the black tea wasn’t overpowering the fruit.

COMMENTS: I found myself freaking guzzling this tea piping hot without taking my time to enjoy my first cup of it so I can review it. It could be the combination of having my first cup of tea of the day really late (2pm) or it being amazing, but leaning on the latter. I love that it just tastes light and fruity – strong fruity without being sweet.
I have a similar tea I love: DavidsTea “Southern Belle” (black/peach/yogurt) but this one blows it out of the water for stronger peach flavor and lighter black tea taste. Red Vineyard is very straight up peach tea without adding other stuff (ie hibiscus or rosehips) that would take away from the peachyness or make it tart.

This would make a killer ice tea – I’d drink this cold unsweetened over that crystal light crap I drink. I will buy more once I’ve finished this tea – and hopefully me and my rabbit won’t go trying to pick out those peach crunchies.

Great job Fusion Teas! Red Vineyard will become a staple in my tea collection.

I was very worried for how this tea would taste. In the bag and while steeping, it has a sickeningly sweet smell. I knew if it tasted like that, I wouldn’t be able to drink. Fortunately, it doesn’t taste like it smells. Unfortunately, it has a rather simple taste. This tea just seemed to have a general sweet taste to me. I would never get “toffee” from this on my own. It’s good enough if you just want something sweet, but you’ll be disappointed if you expect it to live up to the name.

Yummy!

I am sipping this warm at the moment, but I think I may have to brew some of this for some iced tea. As it cools it becomes more and more refreshing.

This is really good. I love the lime in this, it is tart, but there is a sweetness to the overall cup as well. The Ceylon is a mellower tea, smooth and satisfying but not what I’d call overly powerful. This isn’t the kind of tea with which to start the day, but, I didn’t expect it to be, either. It really is very well flavored – a nice amount of lime, but not so much that it overwhelms the palate or the tea. A hint of pineapple, and most of all, a deliciously smooth Ceylon base.

Second tea for me to review from Fusion Teas – Roasted Cocoa mate. For this tea I tried a longer steep at 7 minutes.

DRY: Looking good, chocolate chips, hunks of almonds, marigold flowers. Smells like roasted mate and chocolate.

STEEPED: Brown, cloudy from the melted chocolate I’m guessing. Smells like something roasted and chocolate lol.

TASTE: The roasted mate comes out – with roasted and nutty bits really coming out (probably from the toasted rice/etc). A spike of chocolatey liquor flavor at the end.

WHO’D DIG THIS TEA: Coffee drinkers converting to tea. Mate drinkers. Nuts in tea people.

COMMENTS: Comparing to Fusion Tea’s “Good Morning Mate” this one isn’t as coffee like, but keeps that roasted elements making it a small bridge to coffee drinkers. I’d say it is not as robust and well rounded as “Good Morning Mate” – more simple of a tea with a hit of chocolate. Roasted Chocolate doesn’t have that woodsyness “Good Morning” has – Roasted Chocolate is lighter.
For me, it’s a little too nutty for my tastes. I’d also say theres not enough chocolate but YOU CAN NEVER HAVE TOO MUCH CHOCOLATE (but will probably never get to that level of tea tasting like hot chocolate). I feel its missing something, but maybe it’s my “I love complex crazy tea blends” side saying that.

Interestingly, I think this tea would be perfect for my dad. He likes those simple flavored coffee things and lighter roasts. For tea, he likes earl grey (all thanks to Captain Picard).

I probably won’t get more of this tea and gift to my dad or trades. This tea might also mix well with other tea (heh, mate spike my chocolate black teas for a kick). It’s not bad – Fusion has a great quality mate that’s for sure.

ick! It’s already hot and it’s not even 9am! I’m so tired of this hot weather!

Still feeling sick in the mornings with a icky throat, so I don’t want to try new teas. I needed a coffee like perk this morning and went wtih Good Morning Mate:

Strong steeping of Good Morning Mate poured over ice, soymilk and agave syrup

The cloves in this is really coming out more so than it tasted hot. UGGGG! I enjoy this tea hot once in awhile, but I can’t finish this in its iced tea form. I did wake up drinking this – not sure from the mate or the blast of cloves!

I recently did an order with Fusion Teas and this was the free sample they gave me. BTW, great mate tea selection for fusion teas – I just realized I miss some other mates I should of ordered after looking at the site again. The free sample was awesome and they chose well with a mate (I’m on a mate kick). I decided to try and review this tea first as I figure it was the one I would like the least (ugg rooibos) and would go well with my cinnamon oatmeal breakfast.

DRY: Woodsy, roastedy… coffee? When I scooped it into my steeper, I saw the rooibos and got worried – I’m not a big rooibos fan. But hey, free tea!

STEEPED: Brown. Smells more woodsy, like camping or a lumber yard (lol). Reminds me like coffee again, but not that bitter sludgyness smell from coffee. I did a 5 minute steep and couldn’t go any longer because I don’t have the patience for it.

TASTE: Roasted mate that is very earthy with hints of cinnamon – almost caramelly (from the coconut maybe but no coconut taste). Little bit of cocoa flavour, but fairly subtle. The rooibos hits me at the end adding a coffee-like woodsyness. No bitterness.

WHO WOULD LIKE THIS TEA: Coffee drinkers (switch to tea now). Mate drinkers and black tea drinkers wanting to venture into mate territory (don’t be scared!). Peeps who love a robust cup of tea.

COMMENTS: Robust – thats the best word to describe this tea. With the 5 minute steep I probably didn’t get it as strong as I could to bring out more flavors, but it was still full of flavor and light enough to be enjoyed by a tea drinker.
I’m not a coffee drinker – I drink it rarely and only for a pick me up when I’m out and the tea selection is crappy bagged crap. I gotta say this is the BEST “tea for coffee drinkers” tea I’ve tried. I’ve only sampled these teas in store and never bought them because it would taste too oversteepy bitter and strong elements of tea, with a coffeeness to it making me wish I was dead or could water it down with soymilk and sugar. Good Morning Mate still keeps a good tea flavor but has elements of coffee.

Overall surprised how good this was. Unless this tea grows on me, I don’t think I’d order more – however I would recommend this tea to others and will use it to try and convert my coffee drinking friends and family.

Thanx fusion teas for the sample! I can’t wait to try more.

I usually am kinda iffy when it comes to Chocolate Flavored Teas.
Sometimes, they just feel like they are trying too hard to be chocolate-y.
This one I very much like.
It tastes a bit more Mocha-like to me.
A very lovely tea that leaves you feeling like you just had a decadent dessert.

The dry notes smells lightly of peach, not as much as I was hopeing for, I’m getting another scent from it, strong- kind of fruity, not sure what it is.
Once steeped the scent of peach comes through a bit more, but I’m still mostly getting the other scent from it. Upon drinking it I discover NO peach flavour :( and the taste of which I smell, and I definetly do not like it.

Trying this again today, using a lower temperature and a shorter brew time (200°F / 2 minutes), and it made all the difference in the world with this Earl Grey tea. This tastes so much better!

The black tea base is rich and strong … the blend of Yunnan and Ceylon teas gives this a robust, full-bodied flavor with hints of spice in the background and I really like how that pairs with the bergamot tones. The bergamot is not quite as strong as in some Earl Grey blends, but, I wouldn’t call it light. Interestingly enough, with the lower temp and shorter steep time the bergamot is more pronounced than it was yesterday with the higher temperature and longer steep time.

This is an excellent Earl Grey.

This is one that I think I will try again tomorrow before offering a numeric rating. Today, it tastes pleasant enough, but I think I will do a little tweaking with the brewing parameters. On the package it suggests a slightly less than boiling temperature, and I steeped it at a full boil. I think I’ll go according to suggested brewing parameters tomorrow and see if I enjoy it more.

Today, though, it is pleasant enough – a deliciously robust black tea, and a soft bergamot note. I guess I find myself wanting a wee bit more bergamot here, and that’s why I want to try it the way they suggested it to see if I’m happier with the flavor. It’s ok now, but when I drink Earl Grey, I want fabulousness.

This is a pleasant enough sencha, but despite a very strong fruity smell (mainly pomegranate), the actual brew is very light on the fruit flavour. I was expecting a little more fruit, but it is still a pleasant sencha, just nothing special..

I was craving something ginger-y after thinking about Rishi’s Ginger Pu-erh, but I am currently in samples-only mode to try to clear out my ridiculous tea overflow. This is one of my samples from Fusion Teas, but I hadn’t tried it yet because I usually don’t like peach blends. However, I had a relatively pleasant experience with the Peach Fuzz Chai (even though it didn’t pack enough punch for me), so I decided to give this one a try. Plus having them so close together means it’s easier to compare and contrast!

There are big chunks of cinnamon bark and peaches in here, which right off the bat is a good sign. Steeped it smells divine, like fresh from the oven peach cobbler. There’s definitely a lot more going on here than the Peach Fuzz, which is funny because this isn’t even advertized as a chai-like blend. But cinnamon + ginger reads like a chai to me, and this is definitely a warming, comforting tea. The peach is delicious, juicy, and present consistently throughout the sip. Darjeeling was a good choice for the base: it doesn’t overpower the spices and peach but it also has enough oomph to make it taste like tea instead of mulled peach juice. Peach as a tea flavor is definitely growing on me!

I was on a Fusion Teas kick today! Slow day at the office so I just brought my box of samples with me. Did this one for my morning pick me up! The chocolate and mint blended with the mate was fabulous. Exactly like a mint chocolate bar.
I didn’t taste the coffee at all, which personally probably made me like it better but if you wanted a coffee flavoured tea, this one might not be the one.
Overall- delicious! I am very impressed with the Fusion Tea samples so far!!!

This was a surprise thrown in with my requested samples, and I am very grateful that Fusion Teas decided to include it! The dry smell was very strongly peach, overpoweringly so, and I was a little bit wary… Brewed the peach smell mellowed considerably, and the brew came out a deep brown.
For a mix that was about 95% black tea and only 5% fruit pieces and safflower, I didn’t even taste the black, in fact, I could have sworn I was drinking a peach herbal! No complaints from me, as I am not a huge black tea person, and I still got the caffeine boost along with a lovely peachy tea. Mild, light, and yummm. I think I shall try it cold brewed next!

My first tulsi, and definitely a good note to start on! I wanna say that the tea tastes like basil (being as its known as Holy Basil, I guess this makes sense), which sounds like it would taste weird but when blended came out delicious.
I was a little bit worried that the tropical fruit flavour was going to be IN YOUR FACE tropical, but that wasn’t the case at all. Instead it was a delightful and subtle fruity blend. As someone who has never actually tried a papaya, I can’t really say that it had a papaya taste, but it was definitely sweet and smooth and fruity. I was heartbroken when I reached the end of my cup, and was delighted when it stood up to a second steep well.
I feel like I’ve given a terrible description, but this tea can really be summed up in one word- YUUMMMMM!

Thank you to Fusion Teas for the samples! Stay tuned for the rest of my reviews :) They even came in beautifully labeled bags!