Numi Organic Tea

Greenish-golden clear liquor; sweet, vaguely grassy aroma; mild, smooth, ever so slightly pungent flavor without being bitter; slightly sweet, vegetal finish. I expected to like this better than the Green Tips from Tazo, but I actually liked the Tazo better. In any case, both are a significant improvement on my first encounter with bagged greens (though that was probably more my fault than the tea’s)….

These are individually packaged tea bags (environmentally bad but soooo convenient!), and when I rip one open I get a very strong sent of cloves…a hit of cinnamon…maybe a bit of ginger. I give another sniff looking for the orange peel smell but I can’t say I really find it. There might be a slight citrus tang sort of rounding out the spicy smells, either from the orange or the dried lime. Overall, a very yummy smelling tea!

No instructions on the box, but thanks to the informative people on this site I now know that white teas should be brewed with cooler water. Unfortunately I don’t have a thermometer, so I guess with the water temperature based on the noise my kettle is making (that lull between the louder sighing noise and the full-on boil).

Steep for ~9 minutes (oops, got distracted making breakfast), and I expected it to be very bitter. Nope, no bitterness, just a delicate spicy-tea taste. I figure the delicacy of the taste is because this is white tea, not the stronger-tasting black I’m used to.

The liquid tea smells like cinnamon and cloves, though I like to think I can catch a note of orange in there, a slightly different zing to the scent. First sip is…hmm a little bland? I try the slurp, that brings out the spice taste a bit more, and there’s a tingle on the front of my tongue. No spicy burn in my throat though. And not much tea flavour (maybe because of the white again?). I sip a bit more, but my taste buds aren’t really getting the flavour much. I know you’re typically not supposed to add things to white tea because it drowns out the flavour but…in goes a little squirt of honey and a tiny dab of cream. I like the result, but it may be because it now tastes like a faintly spicy creamy-sweet hot drink of indeterminate composition. Oops.

Thankfully I have a whole box of this to experiment with. I think next time I’ll try either hotter water or an even longer steep, just to see if that brings out more taste. And be a purist and resist the urge to sweeten-cream everything I drink…

took this to work today and the flavor wasn’t as good… I didn’t think water quality would really influence this one since it is so think but the flavors are so mild them seem to be easily thrown out of balance.

I like it… but I feel like it is missing that pu-erhness. The mouth feel is actually what is throwing me off because it is so much more watery than the pu-erhs I have been sampling. After reading the box it makes a lot of sense though that it is not as heavy because there is rooibos in this.

The flavor is good… I actually really like it. But if you are looking for a PU-ERH experience this isn’t it.
But if you want a super yummy tea with a dash of tummy settling this is awesome.

Lapsang Souchong is smoke-dried over pinewood fires which gives it a very complex and full-bodied flavor. The experience is strikingly similar to smoking a quality pipe tobacco, both the aroma and taste. It begins on a spicy (peppery) note, moves to a honey-like sweetness and finishes with smoky undertones. This is by far the best tea I have had. If you like strong flavors, I highly recommend it.

Exactly what you’d expect from an Earl Grey. It’s got a but of an unusual…. smokiness? That’s not expected. The bergamont is not as strong as some Earl Grey’s I’ve had. I’d chose this any day over Twinings, but I prefer Mighty Leaf’s version.

Agreed, it’s complex.
It has a grassy flavor.
Not my favorite blend.

My awesome sr. cataloger handed a bag of this off to me to try. I feel distinctly meh about it. It tasted kind of odd for vanilla, it’s almost more chocolate-y. Thinking about chocolate helped it go down easier than not being able to place the flavor, but it was a particularly strange flavor. Probably wouldn’t buy a box of this. Or really try it again. That said, I finished the cup so it wasn’t outright bad. Just not inspired to come back to it.

A soft subtle Earl Grey. At least compared to previous Greys I’ve tried. The bergamot is almost an underlying scent. It’s there, you know it’s an Earl Grey, but it doesn’t over power you. I tend to like my Grey’s strong, may try a longer steeping time for my next cup.

Not my favourite tea, but it’s nice for a change. It’s good for an afternoon pick-up.

This tea is fine. I got a bunch of it free a year ago, and it really is a pretty tea. Taste wise it’s just ok. However this tea does make a really good gift for family members who maybe aren’t as helplessly addicted to tea as you are. They have a good gift set that comes with a clear tea pot and a few of these balls. Mom’s and aunts love these things, you’ll look like a good thoughtful kid.

I’ve tried all the bagged loose leaf Numi pu-erhs and was pretty disappointed, then I came across this chocolate bar brick. I have to say, for the affordable price this is a very decent pu-erh. Pretty mellow, easy drinking taste so it’s a good default pu-erh to have in your cupboard. And I love the chocolate bar presentation, very fun. Worth the price.

Not too grassy, not too sweet. Aroma matches the flavor well.

This wasn’t the newest tea bag ever, but it was still pretty good. The first steep that I had in for four minutes was very strong and sour, almost to the point where I should have added sugar but I really don’t need any more sugar than I already eat! But the second steep was so weak it barely had any flavor at all. Interesting.

Delicious when you want something fruity and tart.

I was in the mood for a black tea – also something vanilla. I remembered there was a tea like this in the Numi’s Collection (a box of 18 different flavored teas) so I tried it. Very very good! The black tea isn’t too strong and the vanilla compliments it well. I also kept pouring the water over this one tea bag because I just had the one! I was worried I would like the teas in this “sampler” so much that I would need to hunt down the flavors in their own boxes. This is one of them.

Nicely balanced blend of masala. Robust anise/cinnamon aroma with a nice cardamon taste. Hue was an orange red.
A little aside:
I decided to drink this for lunch, not having eaten anything since 6 a.m., after the second sip I got the jitters.

Pleasant! Didn’t let it steep long because of the hibiscus and rosehips, but there is a full bodied quality I feel in my mouth when I sip this that I don’t normally taste from flavored, fruity teas. And that makes me pleased. Maybe not what I expected, but still enjoyable.

A bit too sweet for my tastes, and if I had added sugar, it would be like liquid candy. I can taste a bit of the raspberry when I put my mind to it, but it strikes me as a bit tart, and more like a substitute, generic berry than anything specific. What darjeeling there is seems overwhelmed by the hibiscus and rosehips (which frankly, I think we should ban altogether from tea), but it works better for this tea than I have tasted in other berry blends. No bitter aftertaste, but leaves my mouth feeling dry the way I do when I drink pink lemonade..?! It is biting cold outside, so I’m just happy to have a warm mug and tummy.

I agree with all the other posters. This tea definitely has a subtle blend of spices (I feel that the cardamom is most prevalent) that is smooth on the palette. I prefer my chai much stronger, and if milk and sugar are added to this (I drank it without) i fear that the subtlety of the flavors will disappear. Nice blend, good for those who don’t usually drink chai.

I think the toasted rice is spot on, but it over powers the sencha. I reach for this when ever I need a snack.