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I’m drawing down my supply of random individual bags so I can focus on the teas I’m more interested in, and this one is on the chopping block today. The description on the package sounds promising, with its blend of Assam, Keemun, Darjeeling, and Ceylon. And I can see bits of leaf in the bag larger than the typical dust and fannings size.

In execution however, it’s less than wonderful. The color is a medium clear brown, and the aroma is light. The taste without additives is really bland; I’m not getting any of the distinctive flavors that I’d usually associate with the individual components used in the blend, but rather a very watered down “tea” flavor. There are vague notes of malt and pepper, but they’re very vague. With cream and sugar it’s tastier, but only because of the cream and sugar and not because it’s bringing out any flavors previously hidden. Disappointing!

It’s been a stressful and busy day, but it’s almost never too crazy for tea – especially one as good as this. The subtle flavors which emerge in this one continue to amaze me. Today I had just a very light note of anise which I had not picked up on before. This tea is most definitely a journey!

Back for another try of the Assam, this time with cream and sugar, and steeped just a bit longer than previously. My, that is tasty! More maltiness is coming out now, and I can see that this tea’s strategy is to try to get you to dunk cookies into it. Unfortunately I don’t have any on hand at the moment, otherwise I’d have to oblige.

Just wanting a nice mellow evening time cup right now, and have this bag along with me, so now is its time in the spotlight. Although the packaging says it’s 100% mint, the smell on opening the pouch isn’t as fresh and minty as other pure mint bags I’ve tried, or even mint/green blends. It does steep to the typical medium-dark green/brown mint tisane color.

The aroma of the cup once steeped is subdued too, and though the mint is there, I’m also getting an element which is more generically “herbal” that I’m also not used to in typical mint teas. The taste is okay – not as cool mint as I prefer, though there is some natural sweetness lurking around which is pleasant. I’m continuing to taste a medicinal herb note which is not so much to my liking.

Wow, not having much luck with bagged teas this week! I’m looking forward to getting back to my normal stash tomorrow.

Another sample packet I picked up, however my first impression of the concept – marrying berry with Darjeeling – isn’t very hopeful. The smell of the bag is lightly berry-like and pleasant, but steeping brings out the telltale bright red of hibiscus, which tells me to get the sugar ready. I don’t mind the flavor of hibiscus if I know that’s what I’m getting, just need to be ready with sweetener, as I find it really too sour otherwise.

The flavor is indeed really tart, so I’ve added twice as much sugar as I normally would. And it’s still pretty sour. In its defense, it does do a good job of bringing together berry and hibiscus flavors, but I’m having a hard time distinguishing the tea angle, let along something as specific as Darjeeling.

Nice to try, but I won’t be angling for this one again anytime soon.

I approach decaf teas warily, after reading so many less than stellar reviews here of both black and green decafs. Sometimes I don’t want the caffeine though, so besides having a stash of rooibos on the side for such occasions, I’m also on the lookout for a green or black decaf that can win me over. I picked up this bag as a sample recently, so it’s time to give it a try.

The scent from this bag is moderately strong, and features a little bit more lemon than ginger. As it steeps I can see the quite small chunks of ginger floating around with the other ingredients in the bag, but am still getting only a light scent from the cup. In three minutes I’ve got a medium-hued yellow-green liquor. One sip tells me to put the bag back in for another minute, as there’s not a whole lot of flavor there yet.

I’m taking it out after four minutes to avoid bitterness from the green tea. I can’t call this one a super successful blend for my taste – I can get the lemongrass and a light background wash of ginger, along with just a bit of astringency from the green tea, but it’s not really working well together for me. It’s just a tad too medicinal tasting and does not offer the kind of rich flavor I’m looking for.

The last of the three varieties of Twinings “Voyage” in my hotel room. Excited to try it because all I can tell from the single serving pouch is that it has coconut in it. I can smell it from the bag, though none too strongly.

I have to admit to being disappointed in this one. The coconut is too mild and just plain flat tasting, and the black tea is rather harsh. Here on Steepster I can read a fuller description of the tea than is printed on the package and see that it is also supposed to feature vanilla and cocoa…as if! Didn’t get that at all.

When there’s Tea Frog’s Coconut White tea in the world, I won’t waste time messing about with this one.

Now this sounds pretty interesting – a mix of black and rooibos. Never seen that before! Then adding pineapple and hibiscus to the mix? Well, let’s see if it works. I gave it about four minutes and ended up with a medium orange-brown liquor with a noticeably fruity flavor. On first tasting, I definitely get the pineapple element layered over rooibos, with the black tea adding astringency that I don’t think would otherwise be there. I’m hesitant to cite the hibiscus – I can’t find it in the flavor or in the color – but overall I’m not really missing it.

I like flavored rooibos, but I usually choose it at times when I don’t want caffeine, so to have it blended with black tea seems a bit counterintuitive to me. Still, not a bad blend overall and I’m glad I got a chance to expand my blended tea horizons today.

I’m traveling this week and in a hotel that features some Twinings varieties I’m not familiar with, including this one. I had a quick cup of it this morning with sugar but no milk. It’s surprisingly tasty for a bagged chai, and has a nice balance of cinnamon and clove plus hints of cardamom and pepper. No real trace of an underlying tea character though. I don’t think I’d go out and buy it compared to fresh loose leaf chai, but I was happy to have it as an alternative to garden variety English Breakfast this morning.

Steeped it a longer than last time, and enjoying it more. The lemongrass is more prominent now, and so is a floral element I missed out on before. I’m surprised the rose hips aren’t making this more tart, but pleasantly surprised as I’m really liking the balance between sweet and sour in this one.