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H&S sent me a sample of this in my last order. I don’t know what there is to say about it really. To me every manufacturer’s chamomile tastes the same, and this is no exception. But I’ve always thought chamomile was pretty lame, so maybe I’m not the best judge of it.

Sipdown. It took me a long time to get through this tin. I liked the flavor a lot at first, but it didn’t wear well and soon it got demoted to the shelf of so-so teas. If it was oversteeped at all it got bitter and too flowery, but even when made correctly the flowery-ness was a bit much. This probably sounds like a dumb complaint about a tea called “Chinese Flower” — it’s not like H&S was being sneaky about the ingredients here — but when I got a sample of the tea, the predominant flavors were actually lemon and orange, with just a hint of floweriness. Either the balance of flavors in the tin was actually different, or my tastebuds just picked up on different things after I’d had several cups.

I heard great things about this one, but pu’erh in general is not my thing and I think I’m still too much of a novice to get into this. The flavor was okay, but I really didn’t like the smell (which was strong, whether it was dry leaf, wet leaf, or the brew itself). I didn’t get rum from this either. Mainly I tasted the earthy/spicy notes I’ve found in most pu’erhs. Slightly disappointed because I adored Liquid Proust’s Nostalgia, but again, I think this is just not my genre of tea.

Sipdown. This is okay. It’s not a bad approach to the flavor, it’s just kind of on the weak side. I used 2 tsp per cup, and it still didn’t have the body or richness of H&S Soho or A Quarter to Tea’s Turtle Dove.

I thought 4 oz. of this would be plenty, but I am rapidly going through the tin. This has swiftly become my favorite Earl Grey. As long as I get the steeping right (5 minutes exactly) the bergamot notes are very bright and fresh, and the tea has a wonderful smoothness. This tea is a lot more persnickety than most of Harney & Sons’ offerings though — I oversteeped some cups by a few minutes, and while still drinkable, it really wrecked the balance of flavors. Definitely one to set a timer for.

This sort of got forgotten in the back of the cupboard, but I remembered it today and decided to brew some up and try whatever magical healing powers goji berries are supposed to have (I heard they were one of the trending health crazes, but I never heard what they’re supposed to actually DO). Anyway, powers aside, this is tasting really good. Nutty, buttery, and sweet.

So this is definitely the best tasting of the medicine teas, which explains why I ended up drinking it the most. I can’t tell that it’s had much effect on my cold, but it’s not really marketed as cold tea, more like just a general immune boost when you’re feeling run down. At least it’s been an easy way to get down hot fluids.

Meh, more general herbal flavor, not bad but not noticeably helpful either. I suppose it doesn’t help that all these teas are so old, oh well.

Pros: The taste here isn’t so cloying as the Throat Coat. It just has a general herbal medicine taste.

Cons: It’s pretty obvious that Throat Coat soothes throats, at least temporarily. I never noticed any effect from this one. Didn’t do anything for my congestion.

Blech, so sweet. Way too much licorice root in this tea, at least flavor-wise. I don’t know if licorice root has a medicinal value?. Of course no one is drinking this for the taste anyway. It definitely took some of the pain out of my sore throat.

It didn’t fend off my cold, but points for effective symptom relief.