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This tea tastes like rooibos and not much else. Where is my white chocolate goodness? Where is the minty freshness? Because it is certainly not in this cup.

If I try really hard I can very, VERY subtly detect mint but I don’t think it is worth the effort.

At least it is a pretty good quality rooibos.

Dry this does smell like cotton candy. Steeped this just tastes like slightly sweet black tea. This makes sense given that cotton candy is just spun sugar however I was expecting more sweetness than what I am getting. It’s not bad, it just is not something particularly special.

I tried Butterbeer at the Wizarding World of Harry Potter Theme Park and unfortunately, this is not butterbeer. This tastes more like Cream Soda mixed with black tea. However, the base for Butterbeer is often Cream Soda so I can see where this tea was going but fell a bit short. Not a bad tea, just not the butterbeer I was hoping for.

ETA: I added milk to this and frothed it to make it more like a latte and that brings this tea closer to Butterbeer but still not quite there. As a latte it has a bit more complex flavor as it is creamier and more buttery. Plus some butterscotch notes come through just a bit. I am still prominently getting Cream Soda and Black tea though.

ETA: Well my friend has found the key to making this taste like butterbeer. Milk and a handful of German Rock Sugar. Not the healthiest drink but Butterbeer is not the epitome of health either.

As per many suggestions, I steeped this at a lower temperature for only 2.5 minutes. It does wonders for the flavors. This tea smells and tastes delectably of blueberries! Yum!! However, I am not picking up on cream cheese flavors (although a bit it is creamy in texture). I am not complaining though because it is still a deliciously flavorful drink.

I would say it is similar to DAVIDs Blueberry Jam except less artificial tasting and with a stronger sweet blueberry flavor. In fact, I would say this flavor is probably what DAVIDs was aiming for as this has a more sweet blueberry jam (or perhaps even more like blueberry pie filling) taste while Blueberry Jam tastes more like juice.

Thank you MissB for sharing this with me. More and more I find that me and Teavana do not get along but occasionally I find a tea that is actually quite good. This is one of those teas. It is light and fruity and all around just a nice cup of tea. It is not over-the-top sweet like Teavana Herbals can be and there is no oil in sight. I don’t think this has converted me into a Teavana lover but it definitely is a nice reminder that they do have some delicious offerings. Thank you for sharing MissB, this was a very pleasant treat to share with a friend. Definitely a contrast to the bolder flavors of the Marshmallow Treat Genmaicha.

I have a friend who comes over every couple of weeks for study dates and tea tasting. I am always happy to share whether it be through swaps with the lovely people of steepster or just splitting a pot of tea with a friend. It is always so much fun to see what people think!

Well, today she decided she wanted to try green teas. I laid out all of the ones I had and she narrowed it down to 5 which I then narrowed down to 2 since I can make one in the gravity steeper and another in my timolino to have right after. Obviously, this was one of the two picks. First off, I enjoy this tea so I was more than happy to have it again. But mostly, she has never tried a Genmaicha before and so she was intrigued.

Anyways, I don’t know what I did today but this cup is exceptionally delicious! I am getting much more marshmallow flavor this time around so there is a perfect balance between the sweet/creamy marshmallow and the roasty-toasty rice. The last cup I had was great but a little more towards the genmaicha flavors, which I enjoy, so I was happy but now I see the true genius in this blend. The marshmallow provides an amazing compliment to the rice and makes for a smoother drink. My friend also seems to be enjoying her cup (although if she did not there would have been more for me so it is bittersweet :P). I think this was definitely a nice introduction to Genmaicha and an awesome first tea of the day.

Well I think this tea is growing on me because I found myself craving it tonight. However, now that I realized how much I enjoy this tea, I, of course, have no more of it. This is yet another sipdown and another tea for me to miss. No it is not in-your-face sweet or cake-y but it is still reminiscent of cake in a different way. This tea is like sipping on a creamy but delicate frosting – the kind you find thinly iced on cakes in high end bakeries as opposed to the inch-thick wall of pure sugar that gets put on grocery store cakes. Both are good in their own way but every so often it is nice to have just the hint of sweetness. Thanks again Courtney for sending me a sample :)

As per Sil’s suggestion, I tried this tea once again but let it steep for a long time (10 minutes). That helped to enhance the flavors a bit but unfortunately it is not the flavors I thought I would be tasting. The coconut is stronger now and there is a sweet, creamy flavor that is more akin to grocery store cream cheese flavored frosting than real homemade cream cheese icing. Not a bad tasting cup but also not the best. I will be finishing off the sample but I think that will be the end of mine and Coconut Cheesecake Honeybush’s relationship. I would far prefer to spend my money buying copious amounts of the amazing Strawberry Pie Honeybush.

Having remembered to pick up milk today, the second bag of Vanilla Comoro was calling my name and asking to be made into a latte. Honestly, just a touch of milk and this becomes a whole different drink. The taste finally reflects its delicious vanilla frosting-esque smell. It is creamy and sweet and velvety smooth. AMAZING! Thank you Cavocorax! Alas, this cup means I have used up both bags, making this a sipdown and me sad to see it go.

Today is cold, very cold. In the past, this would not be an issue but a side effect of losing 55 pounds is you tend to feel the cold weather just a little bit more. I tend to forget that so when I ventured out this afternoon with no gloves, no hat, and my fall coat I froze the whole way to the post office. That would have been fine if it had not been for that fact that when I gave them the parcel pick up card they told me they didn’t have my package and I would need to come back Monday. So back home I went, empty-handed and cold but excited to try the many teas I have received from many wonderful Steepsterites (Steepsters?).

Unfortunately, my tea tasting has not been fully successful, as you may have already read. Though some were great, others that I were so excited about turned out to be huge disappointments. So after the let down of Toasted Marshmallow and the horrid experience with Ice Cream Cake, I decided on this cold evening I would make myself comfort and turn to some favorites to make me happy.

So, while it snows outside, I have cozied up in bed, decked out in my Roots sweatpants and sweatshirt. Supernatural playing on my Netflix. Bag of baby carrots to snack on. And a timolino full of Sugar and Spice to sip.

This tea always hits the spot. I know many were not fans but to me this smells and taste just like a delicious spice cake. Just the right touch of cinnamon and cloves to compliment the sweetness of the apples and carrots. It never fails to be warming when the temperature outside may not be so kind. Definitely glad to have stocked up on this one.