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Catspring sent me a free single teabag of this blend to try with the rest of my order.

It’s very smooth. At first, it tastes very similar to any nondescript bagged green tea, with a tiny little twinge of pleasant sourness in the aftertaste. The longer I let it steep though, the more it started to remind me of raspberry leaf. It has the same sort of mouthfeel.

What makes this blend special though is the soothing experience of drinking it. There’s something about yaupon that just feels healthy and right. Maybe it’s the way the liquor holds the water temp— yaupon infusions seem to stay warmer longer than regular tea— or maybe it’s the mildness of the flavor.

Unflavored green teas are not my thing personally, so I much prefer Catspring’s Marfa Dark Roast and Lost Maples Medium Roast yaupon options, but this was definitely not bad.

Has a broth-y mouthfeel to it. This one is heavy on the fennel and ginger, with the peppermint giving it a little bit of a green, cooling edge in the aftertaste. I do wish I were getting more of the dandelion and rosemary.

Tried in teabag form— will try the loose leaf form later.
I quite like this so far. The best part is the scents the liquor gives off. It’s more floral than Catspring’s Marfa dark roast blend, and I do get a faint note of maple/ caramel as well. It’s a nice balance of toasty and green, kind of like an oolong, but nowhere near as high maintenance to steep. I left the bag in the water for ages and it didn’t oversteep at all.
Notes of toasted bread, grass, and hay in the sip. Not smoky or tannic at all.
Yum!

I really wish they sold this one in grocery stores… but alas. I’ve been meaning to try it for a long time now, and since I’m on a bit of a “coffee alternative” kick with yaupon and mate in the mornings and caffeine-free herbal alternatives like dandelion and chicory in the afternoons, I finally gritted my teeth and paid the $6 Amazon wants for a single box of it. My grocery store sells other CS blends for like $2 or $3 a box. T-T
The dry teabag smelled very strongly of cinnamon and not much else. However, the SECOND the hot water hit it, the liquor released a very strong roasted barley scent, in addition to the cinnamon. The scent was very faintly reminiscent of coffee, but it really reminds me more of Cinnamon Toast Crunch cereal, minus the sugary component.
Once I sipped, I tasted the anise, barley, chicory, and cinnamon. Didn’t get much in the way of carob or allspice.
Overall, this tea tastes like biscotti. I see what CS was going for here, and it’s a very pleasant, warming, roast-y cuppa, but it doesn’t taste like coffee and doesn’t satisfy the 2:00 PM coffee urge the way that Teeccino’s Dandelion Dark Roast does.
Still, I’m not mad at it. I’ll definitely enjoy the rest of the box and maybe even consider re-stocking it, if I can continue to get it online.

Morning cup of joy! I’m really liking this stuff. I made it stronger this time by adding more leaf, and I was able to unlock a more full-bodied nutty, woodsy, slightly smokey, roast-y, totally delicious flavor profile. It re-steeped nicely too.
I actually also went onto the Catspring Tea website and ordered more of this Marfa blend, as well as some of their Lost Maples medium roast.

Did not have high hopes for this one. Another boring plain Ceylon? Thanks, Sips By…
But this is actually really nice! It’s flavorful and hearty, but doesn’t have the icky astringency that Ceylon teas usually have. And I’m getting a note of… ginger? Whatever it is, I’m liking it a lot.

Back on the mate train… we’ll see how long this lasts. Haha.
This blend’s good because the black tea takes the edge off of the smokey note in the mate and amplifies the caffeine content of the brew, which is exactly what this wretched coffee addict wants in a breakfast tea. I really appreciate the non-jittery aspect of mate— I just wish I liked the flavor more. The black tea definitely makes this one drinkable for me.

Just an OK black tea. Nothing special about the flavor. Tastes about the same as PG Tips. I made this as a builder’s tea, with 1% dairy milk. Maybe I need to experiment more with trying it plain and perhaps decreasing steep time and water temp a little. The packaging recommends 4 minutes at 208 degrees Fahrenheit.

The ingredients list on this one is so smart! Oat flower, licorice root, chamomile, lavender, lime (linden) flower, Valerian root, green Rama tulsi. One of the nicest-tasting and most effective bedtime blends I’ve ever tried (and I have tried many!). It’s slightly sweet without being cloying and has a nice, bready mouthfeel. Doesn’t taste like candied soggy hay, which many chamomile- and- licorice- based herbal blends run the risk of, IMHO. I didn’t get much of the lavender or Valerian, which is OK with me, as those can be overpowering too if not balanced correctly.
I was already pretty tired when I drank this, but I was out like a light within 15 minutes of finishing this cup. Pretty good for a bagged grocery store tea!

Notes of amaretto, vanilla, cherry. Coconut leaves a slight oil film on the top of the liquor.
Base is likely a ceylon— a good quality one.
Very smooth and well-balanced. Nice dessert tea, good with a splash of milk and a little white cane sugar.