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I sent this off to Dexter3657 without ever having tried it myself. I figured it was chai and so she might like to give it a try. However, I put this off for a while and her review simply made me push it off even more but I decided I must buckle down and try it before I officially pass judgement. Although, tbh, reading the description and the ingredients, I find myself questioning why I ever bought this to begin with. I am not huge on pu’erh nor chai and I typically overlook anything with licorice. So there isn’t high hopes here.

Alright so after my first sip, I am getting the pu’erh which is earthy but not as “dirt-like” as others I have tried. And there is a hint of berry. I don’t get chai and thankfully no licorice. As I continue to sip, I might detect some spices but they really are hidden well. Also there is no mango. I added some milk and that sort of (not really) brought out the spices but it really bumped up the pu’erh. Honestly, this is not a bad cup but it definitely does not live up to its namesake. To the swap box with the rest and I think this cup is getting poured. I am at the point in my tea journey where I realize there is just not enough time to waste it with cups that aren’t for you.

I realized that I still had some CaesarsTeas that I have not tried. I decided to use this opportunity to give them a taste.

This is one that was recommended by the saleslady, and if I recall correctly it was one of the many free teas. Though it is not a bad tea in any way, I am glad it is not one I paid for because ultimately it is not all that amazing or particularly memorable. The black tea, as with all over CaesarsTea is smooth and combined with the orange, this is sort of reminiscent of Orange Pekoe tea. The flavors are natural tasting but fairly weak. I am not going to pour this cup out but I think this might be added to the swap box because though it is good, it is not something I would reach for when I have so many more delicious teas in my stash.

This is yet another tea from Roswell Strange. I am actually really surprised it is a white tea. In fact, I took a sip and searched up the tea and when I saw “Ontario Ice Wine White”, I looked up the company because I was so sure this was a green tea. Then when I saw the page was edited by Roswell Strange I accepted that this is a white tea that simply is pretending to be a green.

Why was I so sure it was a green tea? Because I found it to be almost buttery. Actually, come to think of it, I have had buttery whites before. Plus this is not nearly as vegetal as many greens I have had.

Oh well. Now that I got that off my chest, I suppose I should mention my thoughts on the taste given this is a TASTING note. I will say that being from Ontario, I have had Ontario Ice Wine before and this is not Ontario Ice Wine. It lacks the fruitiness that is associated with that particular drink. However, it is a fairly pleasant cup nonetheless. As previously mentioned, it is impressively buttery. Tastewise, it is simple and a little nondescript but if someone held a gun to my head I would say it is somewhere between fruity and nutty. Does that make sense? I hope so because in the scenario of someone holding a gun to my head, I would be shot if it does not. Anyways, I am having a difficult time really describing what it is I am tasting (in case you have not noticed that on your own) but I will say that I would not mind drinking this again. Would I stock it in my stash? No. Would I ask for it in a swap? Probably not. Can I get through the fairly large sample I was sent? Yep. So thank you Roswell Strange for this unique cup!

Now that my stomach is alright, it is back to regular tasty teas! And since Roswell Strange decided to use one of my favorites to tie up our tasting notes, I decided to make her help me jump ahead in our competition. How you might ask? I am drinking the teas she sent me! Unfortunately most of the teas she has sent in past swaps are already gone but this is from our most recent swap so I have not gotten around to it yet.

When it came to prepping this tea, or any of Frank’s teas, I was lost at what to do so I just did what I typically do with his teas. I boiled the water and then set it aside for a few minutes just to cool slightly. Then I steeped about 1.5 tsps for 2 minutes. The end result is a pretty tasty cup. The typical 52 tea black tea base is the start to the sip but that transitions to a lovely banana flavor which sweetens to a hint of butterscotch as my sip draws to a close. Really it is quite good. Also, I let the water cool a little longer than I usually did and that error turned out to improve the cup as the base is a little less predominant in this cup than in the other 52 teas I have had. I will have to try using the lower temp for other blends I have and see if the black base mellows in those as well or if it is this tea.

Anyways, would I buy the 2 oz package of this blend? No, probably not. Mostly because I am finding more and more that Frank’s blacks all taste quite similar to me with slightly different aftertastes. However, would I turn down a cup if it were offered? Definitely not! So, thank you Roswell Strange for sending this my way. I am sure getting through what you sent definitely won’t be a problem.

This is probably the oldest tea in my stash. As in it is a few years old and tbh, it was improperly stored for sure. And yet, it still remains a tasty cup of tea! Sure the flavor may not be as bold as it once was but it is still present in every cup I make.

This is also the first Kusmi tea I tried and probably the only one I would restock. It has a beautiful mix of spice which is perfectly balanced and toned down by a hint of apple sweetness. The green base makes the cup almost buttery while the mate adds a dash of roasty goodness. Definitely my favourite out of the 3 morning cups today. Unfortunately I only have one more bag left (although Kusmi is literally a block from my house so I doubt it would be too hard to restock if/when I wanted to do so).

This is the second cup I made to soothe my stomach this morning. Turns out all I really needed was breakfast but yet again, this is brewed so might as well enjoy it. Alas “enjoy” isn’t the word I would really use to describe this cup. This, like Le Digestif, tastes more like herbal medicine than a tasty cup of tea. Especially since I turned to tea in order to enjoy all the flavors I could not otherwise have since I am on a diet, this really is not something I would ever reach for when I have soo many other delightful treats in my stash. I suppose that is why this herb-y, mint-y tea is on my swap list.

So when I woke up this morning, my stomach felt really weird. I decided that meant I should stick to teas that would soothe my stomach. Consequently, I brewed this and North African Mint. Then I threw in a cup of Kusmi’s Boost for good measure (although I am not sure how soothing that would be although it sounded like it had potential :P). Anyways, while the teas brewed, I decided to have my breakfast and I ended up choosing iced cinnamon rolls. Probably not the best idea when your stomach is off. However, once I ate the 2 rolls, I felt better so turns out I was just hungry. I felt dumb. Haha.

Anyways, I made the tea so might as well drink it. This is not one I would usually reach for unless I needed it but drinking it now, it is not all together unpleasant. It is actually a very smooth cup. I always worry that herbals will be very over the top and bold with their flavors and yet they always seem to be more mellowed out than I anticipate. However, at the end of the day, this tastes more like natural medicine than a delightful drink, hence why it is not a typical choice.Also, the use of catnip in this still weirds me out. I think next time, rather than getting this, I will pick up some Super Ginger.

This tea came to me via Roswell Strange. I was not quite sure how to prep it but I recalled reading one of her tasting notes in which she cold brewed it and it sounded tasty. So, I used 2 out of 3 tsps I received and threw it into a 500 mL water bottle and let it cold brew for about 15 hours. I figured the last tsp I can hot brew and compare the two.

Anyways, as for this method, the end result is not bad. I was worried that this would get tart as I believe there is hibiscus in this but rather it is a pleasant drink. Actually, this might be one of my favorite cold brews to date (with the exception of the SBT I had earlier). This is sweet and very refreshing. The sip ends with just a mere hint of tart but I find that is really enhancing everything. Would I have guessed this was “Rum Cream” if I didn’t know? No, probably not. Although there is a smoothness that is most definitely reminiscent of cream. Tbh, given Roswell Strange’s tasting notes and my major dislike of sneaky hibiscus, I did not have high hopes for this blend but I think I hit the sweet spot because this is definitely very tasty. It is like fruit punch or vitamin water. If I had access, I would actually seriously consider buying this because I imagine it would become a staple as a cold brew in the summer months. Yay for delicious tea surprises and thank you Roswell Strange for sharing!

And now, at 5 am, I can go to bed happily knowing my swaps are all packed up and ready to be mailed and I am 4 tasting notes ahead of Roswell Strange in our tasting note competition :)

In addition to Banana Nut Bread, I decided to have a cup of this. Why? Well (1) I decided I wanted to end the night off with 465 tasting notes because that seemed like a nice number to stop at (and it puts me 4 tasting notes ahead of Roswell Strange :P). (2) It also goes very well with milk and thus I expected it to be a soothing cup for me for the hour. And finally (3) because when you smell Vanilla Comoro, you want to drink Vanilla Comoro (and I smelled this earlier when I grabbed some sachets for a swap).

On BF I grabbed a tin of 20 sachets and I am quickly realizing that probably was not enough. There are not many caffeine free options I turn to time after time but this, when steeped right and mixed with a splash of milk, is definitely something I could drink every night. It is so smooth, so creamy, and oh so delicious. This is like having a rich but delicate vanilla pastry or a high end french vanilla buttercream. MMMMmmmm….

It is almost 4 am and I am packaging up some teas to send to Istanbul! I think that is pretty cool. Also, I am using this time to enjoy a few more cups of tea before I turn it and drift away to lalaland.

I chose teas that go well with milk because when I was little and couldn’t sleep, my mother would give me a nice glass of warm milk. This is just the tastier, more grown up version of that :P

Anyways, this tea is growing on me. I don’t think I will restock once it is gone but this cup is creamy, smooth, nutty, and delicious. I finally see where the name comes from because this is truly banana nut bread in a cup. I guess the key is to steep it for like 15-20 minutes.