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Ok. Lost my post 2 times now. Starting to go crazy. Here’s the gist:

I wandered into the grocery store looking for Tazo’s Rest, but couldn’t find it, so I settled for this despite previous negative experiences with Yogi teas. When selecting bedtime teas, I usually go with blends that contain valerian root, which this doesn’t have. Plus, I don’t even like rooibos, but here I am, tempted by the promise of caramel.

I gave it the full 10 minutes, as the packaging says to steep for 5-10. The tea brewed up to a dark ambery brown, like black tea, and reeked of chamomile. To be short, it doesn’t taste like vanilla or caramel. The main flavors I detect are chamomile, rooibos, nutmeg, and cinnamon. This is followed by that general “Yogi” herbal taste that I’ve noticed in everything I’ve tried by this particular brand.

As far as herbal effects go, I do feel a bit of a sleepy, comfortable feeling. I can’t tell if it’s the placebo effect or not, but I do feel more relaxed and ready to fall asleep. It’s not as strong as Yogi’s Bedtime (which contains valerian), but it still has an effect. Maybe I’ll steep two bags at once next time and see what happens.

My love for vanilla and chai spices overrides the fact that this is a rooibos tea. Also, it’s two in the morning and my friends wanted tea. I figured this would be a good choice since there’s no caffeine.

While it steeped, my brother commented that it smelled like Christmas. It certainly does, especially with the orange peel, clove, soft vanilla, and cinnamon. I served it sweetened with a splash of 1% milk, which added a very nice creaminess that blended with the vanilla. Still, the spices provide a bit of a bite at the end. They also cover up any sort of rooibos aftertaste. I honestly wouldn’t know this had rooibos in it if it wasn’t in the name and description. It’s more like if vanilla masala chai and Constant Comment had a baby.

I’d say this is another rooibos that passes in my book.

I found this in the clearance section of my grocery store and just couldn’t leave it there, even though my tea cabinet is delightfully stocked. I’m always curious about an Earl Grey I’ve never tried, and this one was 50% off!

This is my first tea from Whittard of Chelsea, and from the taste of it, it is a good first impression. The black tea base tastes more like Chinese black tea, though it’s a blend of Indian tea as well. It’s robust but not too bitter, and a tad astringent. A good morning tea.

The bergamot is nicely balanced. Not blaringly lemony, and not too strong to be the only flavor noticeable. It’s actually pretty smooth, and despite the strength of the tea, it’s soothing in a way. I should mention that I made this iced, but I’ve also had it hot and the experience was also very pleasant. Though I prefer the Greys I’ve had from Harney & Son’s, this will probably be my go-to if I just can’t wait for shipping!

I got this in a sampler set from Kaliskaa for my birthday! I’ve been curious about it for years, since Adagio first released their line of chai. However, their Thai Chai and Spiced Apple Chai drew me away until now.

In my sample, I made this both as hot and iced, since I’m still on a bit of an iced chai kick. As an iced chai, it was nice first thing in the morning. It’s like the chai equivalent of a mocha, except spicier.

The cinnamon and ginger come forward strongly against the chocolate. The actual chocolate flavor is much more present in the dry leaf’s scent than the actual tea. In the tea, it’s not entirely recognizable since there’s so much else going on. It tastes more like a gingerbread man that was left in the oven too long. Still, I really enjoy it. It’s not my favorite chai, but it’s still nice.

Wow, this is a dark-leaved oolong. I literally went “Ooh” when I opened the packet. The leaves are long and almost black. They’re flat, and smell very sweet. I haven’t had an oolong in a good while, so that distinct and familiar scent is very welcome.

I went with the pack’s instructions, using boiling water and a short time in the water. As it steeped, the scent became stronger and more pungent. I’m reminded of fruit, but at the same time, the forest. Something makes me think of honey and of trees. It’s hard to describe, and intriguing. It brews up to a light shade of brown.

When I taste it, something instantly reminds me of tree bark, sap, and grapefruit. It’s toasty, smooth, and calming… Yet strangely, I feel like I’m tasting… hops? It reminds me of a mild IPA! Is that weird? To think of beer when I’m tasting tea? Anyway, I’m really liking this. I think I’m going to put the rest of my sample on and spend my evening enjoying this unique oolong.

I am thrilled to get to try this tea because all the Gong Fu teas I’ve had from Teavivre have been fantastic. Just having this sample reminds me of all the black teas I need to reorder.

The leaves are indeed very fine. Practically none of them are broken, and they are all very narrow and pointed at the end. Each of them seem to be a different shade of chocolate brown and gold. It reminds me of a little bird’s nest as it sits in my infuser while I wait for the water to heat.

As they steep, the tea smells deliciously toasted and warm. It’s a very comforting scent. I’m somewhat reminded of cocoa and whole wheat bread. The flavor is even better. I’m getting notes of sweet potato, cocoa, caramel, and malt. I’m catching myself trying my best to drink it even though it’s too hot — it’s like I can’t stop myself.

This is the most perfect tea I could have on a wet, cool day here. It’s definitely going to be in my next Teavivre order.

Despite this chai not being exactly perfect, I’ve really developed a taste for it. I’m about halfway through my second tin now.

I still prefer it without milk, mostly because it isn’t really spicy enough to stand up against it. The flavor still doesn’t scream “chai” to me… it’s more like a cinnamon bun!

Since summer arrived, I’ve been making it into iced chai and taking it places. I tend to let it steep for a good long time with two bags plus one bag of Harney & Son’s Vanilla Comoro. I generally use only a few ounces of water to steep it in, then add sweetener and enough ice to fill a pint glass. Upping my rating!

A big thank you to Teavivre for allowing me to sample their teas again! I always love having the opportunity!

Now, I have had a chrysanthemum tea once, and that was several years ago. I know I enjoyed it, but I don’t remember much else. (Besides the fact that it was much lower quality than this one.)

The tea itself is beautiful. Delicate, pale flowers with green buds at their base, almost like little daisies. They smell sweet and sort of spiced. I’m instantly reminded of spring. They seem to have been dried very gently, as there is no trace of bruising or brown spots anywhere. Very interesting! As it steeps, the flowers fluff up and expand, making me wish for a glass teapot to prepare them in. It would be so lovely…

The tea brews up to a light shade of greenish yellow, as I expected. It smells a lot like fresh chrysanthemums, but also kinda like chamomile. But not exactly. It’s a little hard to describe. The flavor is light as well, and very clean tasting. It’s soothing and very floral, of course. The description mentions it being slightly bitter, but I’m not getting that. Perhaps I would if I added more flowers.

This would be a great tea to end a summer night with.

Oh no, rooibos. I try my best to avoid it, but this came in a sampler. I’m willing to give it a chance because I’ve had a few rooibos apple spice teas that I’ve really enjoyed. Also, I love spiced apple anything.

It smells heavenly. Delicious red apple with strong, sweet cinnamon. I’m instantly reminded of fall, winter, and frost. The blend is an herbal and rooibos tea from what I understand, which is interesting. It brews up to a very pretty shade of red.

As far as the taste goes, I can tell it’s a rooibos. It has that aftertaste I’ve become familiar with, but with the apple cider flavors, it works. They compliment each other pretty well. Unlike many apple spice teas I’ve tried before, the spices don’t completely dominate it. It’s heavier on the apple side, which is something I’m liking a lot.

This is another winner from Tea Forte. These guys make such flavorful blends!

Sorry about the absence, Steepster! My laptop’s video card overheated, so I’ve been more or less without a way to update. (Because I sure as hell don’t want to write these posts on a touch screen with no mobile app!)

Anyway, this was on sale and I’m out of darjeeling, so I went for it. It smells pretty good for what I paid, which was two bucks. The scent doesn’t remind me too much of actual darjeeling. More like the standard fodder we make into sweet tea here in the south. As for steeping, I went with the preparation that was recommended on the envelope. Two minutes seems like a pretty short time, but by the end of that second minute, it looked nice and dark. This leads me to wonder if I could get a second steep from each bag. Hmmm.

The flavor is pretty solid, but not as strong as I expected. It’s satisfying, but a bit mild and dull. Next time, I’ll probably go with a longer steep time. It’s also very astringent. As for muscatel, you can kinda taste it in the finish, but otherwise, this is pretty generic black tea. Oh well, it’ll taste good over ice.