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This is growing on me. I am mostly tasting raspberry today… and lemon and unripe berries?

I love this oolong. It’s the kind of oolong that reminds me of sitting in a Chinese restaurant drinking cup after cup of tea. I was worried what it was roasted and thought it would be smoky verging on bbq but it is not all. There might be a little smokiness in the background but it is not a big component. There is a bit of peach and jasmine flavors. There is no grassiness in the taste. The smell is a little smoky and a little vegetal. Really a nice oolong.

I’m gonna save the rest of this sample for stir-fry dinner later in the week (and I’ll pull out the chopsticks too).

I got this as a sample when I ordered some supplies from Upton. I think I will order more of this one.

This is my 2nd Design a Tea free sample. It’s alright. I tasted it without any sweetener and it had real soapiness to it that I think comes from the vanilla. After adding some agave nectar, the soapiness is reduced and the raspberry comes forward. The raspberry flavor is like a candy raspberry. The rooibos is barely noticable. Once I sweetened it, I liked it quite a bit. But, I did like 52teas Raspberry Cream Cheese Danish better.

I got two free samples in the mail today from Design a Tea. This is sample 1. It is a rooibos with maple and pecan flavoring. The rooibos has that woody flavor to it, but it is not overpowering. The flavoring is strong. If you like a ‘pow’ kind of flavoring then you might like this. The pecan seems to be the more predominant flavor. The maple is kind of a background sweetness. The maple is more of an Aunt Jemima “maple” rather than a Vermont maple. I am also picking up on a coffee-like flavor and some burned sugar flavor. I like the burned sugar aspect, but I don’t like the coffee flavor so much. I think that is coming from the pecan. The smell is distinctly coffee. All in all, I’d say give this one a try.

Note – you probably don’t need any sweetener at all in this (coming from someone who sweetens everything).

This tea is, um, interesting. I’ve not quite decided if I like it or not yet. It is not too terribly floral (although it definitely has a floral aspect) and it’s not overly fruity. There is something leafy tasting. Withholding judgment for now.

I don’t understand why tea makers always have to add florally things to fruit teas. Why can’t it just taste like mixed dried fruit? Would that be boring?

A white tea with a hint of vanilla in the background. The vanilla is very very subtle. The smell is a little grassy. The aftertaste is a bit sour. I thought I would like this one more. Glad it is only a sample size.

I was worried since there are rose petals in the tea, but those don’t seem to add any flavor and just look pretty in the mix.

I really really want to love this one. But so far it’s a little meh.

The smell of the bag is so nutty that I immediately put the kettle on when I smelled it.

Once brewed it tastes predominately of apple. The smell is nutty and slightly floral. The color is a beautiful pink from the beetroot.

It is a little weak. I used 2tsp to 11oz. Steeped 10 min. Will try again with more tea next time.

Made the tea this morning with less dry leaves (1.5 tsp to 11 oz). It is still bold, malty, and strong. But, I detect a small amount of bitterness in the background of the aftertaste that wasn’t apparent when I brewed it with 2 tsp. It is still very tasty and will definitely wake you up.

I stole the last bit of Mike’s sample of this tea this afternoon. It still tastes sour in the finish and quite frankly after drinking Simple Leaf’s Dawn and Mountain Malt, it’s just very plain.