8 Tasting Notes
So upon smelling this, I’m detecting blueberry and buttery popcorn. Similar to if you’ve ever combined blueberry and popcorn jellybeans in your mouth as a kid to make the blueberry muffin flavor. It’s kind of weird and artificial, but smells enough like a baked muffin to make it appetizing. Steeps to a very gorgeous reddish color too.
Oh, hibiscus, why do you have to ruin so many teas that are better off without you?! The first thing I taste is the tart, almost sour flavor of the hibiscus. Definitely overpowers any lingering buttery notes, which are there in the aftertaste but only after you’re overwhelmed by how SOUR this tea is. And last time I checked, blueberry muffins are not predominantly sour. I don’t really taste a strong blueberry presence either. Overall, it’s not a BAD tea. But it could be so, so much better without the hibiscus. Can’t say I’d ever be compelled to buy this.
Flavors: Blueberry, Butter, Popcorn, Sour, Tart
Preparation
So I’m not a huge fan of peach herbals because they mostly just rely on apple pieces for the entirety of the blend (I’m looking at you, Peach Bellini from Adagio…)
So I was pleasantly surprised that this actually has some leaves in it. According to the ingredients, it contains sweet blackberry leaves. There’s also a ton of apples, but hey, I guess I should have expected that. Looks like the smell comes straight from the “natural” and “artificial” flavoring, versus what’s actually in the tea, because this smells EXACTLY like peach gummy rings.
When brewing, the color comes out to a pale brownish/orangeish hue. Still smelling like peach candy. I can attest to the fact that the flavor matches the smell 100%. There’s a slight tartness as well, which adds more depth to the flavor, and I can detect some herbal notes from the blackberry leaves.
Overall, this is a pleasant tea but I would ONLY recommend if you like the way peach gummy rings taste. Because this is basically peach rings in tea form. You’ll be severely disappointed if you’re looking for a natural peach flavor…this is definitely an artificial one.
But hey, I’m not complaining. I love me some peach rings.
Flavors: Artificial, Candy, Peach, Tart
Preparation
Hmm…. so from looking at it, it looks mostly like peppermint tea, with some cute snowflakes and some chocolate pieces.
After steeping for 5 minutes, this is really quite strong. I’m tasting peppermint, a slight bitter aftertaste, and not much chocolate. I took a look at the tea satchet, and realized not much of the chocolate had actually melted…so I used the side of the spoon to squeeeeeze all that chocolate goodness into the tea cup. My next sip tasted a lot sweeter, and much more chocolatey. A huge improvement.
Problem with this tea is that it’s a bit tricky…you don’t want to oversteep it because the peppermint will get bitter, but if you don’t steep it long enough, the chocolate won’t melt. If you’re using a tea satchet, I recommend squeezing the chocolate out separately after brewing. If you’re using loose leaf, you could try to pick out the chocolate pieces, melt them, and put it in the tea. Although that’s a lot of effort for one cup of “nothing special” tea.
Flavors: Chocolate, Earth, Peppermint
Preparation
So like others have mentioned, this tea smells like some sort of berry cough syrup. But that’s not necessarily a BAD thing—I actually enjoyed the smell as a kid. There’s also a creamy note, probably from the white chocolate.
When steeping, it turns a light brownish color. There’s a noticeable oil slick on the top of the tea, probably from the chocolate melting, that looks a bit unappetizing. My first sip was underwhelming—it tasted GOOD, but lacked flavor. So I let it steep for another 5 minutes, and tried it again. I definitely can taste the “raspberry cream” part of this tea. It’s still pretty light and muted, though. Reminds me a bit of Strawberry Rhubarb Parfait, without the rhubarb of course.
If you like a strong, bold flavor in your tea, a satchet of this won’t be enough. If I had this in loose form, I would have doubled the amount of tea. Because after steeping for 10 minutes, it’s still pretty blah.
Not really excited to try this again unless I get another sample. Strawberry Rhubarb Parfait is a better choice, IMO.
Flavors: Cream, Raspberry
Preparation
For anyone interested, the ingredients are: Cocoa beans, apple, sugar, sugar sprinkles, chocolate chips, pink peppers, and natural flavoring. The first whiff of the dry tea smelled exactly like a cup of mocha…then after I kept smelling it, I picked up a funky scent I can’t put my finger on—almost a perfumey kind, like an old lotion or soap product that went off? Can’t find another way to put it.
When steeping, the richness of the cocoa / coffee combo really comes out, and it starts smelling amazing. The tea brews to a pale, murky brown.
This tea is slightly sweet, but I added a bit of sugar to it anyway. It’s actually quite tasty—definitely detecting both chocolate and coffee notes, with a hint of cream, and thankfully the apple doesn’t add any unpleasant sourness to the tea. I’m not really detecting a strong fruitiness to it either. Might even work with a dash of milk. The flavor is a bit muted though, so I definitely recommend brewing this one for 7-10 minutes.
Overall, I’m actually digging this one. Looking forward to when they list it on the website—I might buy a few ounces to curb my sugary snack cravings!
Flavors: Cocoa, Coffee, Cream, Mocha
Preparation
First of all, wow. This is a strong, “wake-me-up” kind of peppermint tea. You can feel it in your sinuses, and definitely sense a cooling sensation on your tongue. It would punch the cold out of me, if I had one. Be careful with steeping this one too long.
Flavors: Peppermint