Dinah Saur select Send Message

I have been drinking my bagged black teas with milk and sugar for as long as I can remember. Twining’s Darjeeling has always been one of my favorites.

Since I have been drinking tea more seriously lately, this is the first time I’ve had it in a while. The initial aroma is pleasantly sweet and malty. Unfortunately, when sipped plain, it is overly bitter. I am beginning to believe that it is just not as good as I remember.

After trying some plain, I added in my typical sugar and milk and it brought back some of my former feelings. However, I can now detect the undertone of tea that just isn’t quite the quality that I thought or hoped for.

I still will drink this tea, but probably not with the regularity I once did.

Second time around, I enjoyed this even more than the first! There was the same bright green, hay aroma and the astringency to mark the first few sips. But the astringency and associated bitterness slip into a smooth, almost sweet after taste that sits well on the tongue – mildly malty! That’s how I would describe the after taste after the first few sips.

After giving this another try, I am increasing my rating on it and planning on ordering more for the future.

This tea was brought over by a friend to try out. She enjoys it quite a lot, so I had to give it a shot!

The aroma of the dry leaf is a little overpowering, but not in a wholly unpleasant sort of way. I find that using the recommended amount of leaves and steeping time with Teavana teas leads to a very dull flavor, so I used more tea than they suggest and steeped a little longer as well. This did seem to prove me right once more and I could tell the full flavor of the tea was working its way into the liquor.

The bergamot was a little over-strong for my taste, but I am not a particular fan of bergamot, so this is very subjective. There are those who love the bergamot flavor, so this would be more up their alley. I did enjoy the creme undertones, however. It was nicely noted on the tin that there was no dairy involved in the creme (important for vegans and those who are lactose intolerant).

After trying a few sips plain, I added a small amount of sweetener and a little milk to bring out the creme flavor more fully.

Overall, I did enjoy this sweet, creamy Earl Grey. The sweetness of the bergamot and the blue cornflowers almost were too much for me, but they balanced with the creme and small amount of milk I added after the first.

I probably wouldn’t buy this for myself, but if someone gifted it to me, I would likely drink it somewhat regularly on a weekend morning.

This was yet another gift from a friend. It is definitely floral, but definitely requires a longer steep than suggested. I’ve noticed when in an actual Teavana, their teas all seem to be super crazy mild in the samples. I think it’s because they steep at their own instructions and it produces a lesser quality brew.

In any case, this is an alright jasmine green overall. The jasmine isn’t overpowering, but neither is the tea. It’s extremely mild and ideal for my afternoons in the office as I power through my final hours of the day. Gotta have that final caffeine boost to pull me through.

Final word on the matter… I probably wouldn’t think to recommend it to someone unless they said, “Well, I sure do like those Teavana teas and I’m looking for a green tea with jasmine. Any suggestions?”

This wasn’t quite what I was expecting. It does seem to have most of the flavors as described by Teavana, but I didn’t find it particularly enthralling. It was tasty, don’t get me wrong, but it did not have the same kind of fun flavor I’m used to in a Darjeeling. As the champagne of teas, I think this is more in the “sparkling wine” category. Still good, but if you’re having a real event, it just doesn’t quite live up.

My brother and I found this particular tea while travelling China. We first tried it in our hostel in Beijing where we shared some tea with one of the ladies running the hostel. We both found it to be delicious and made certain to get more information on it so we could track it down as we traveled further.

It was purchased in markets in early 2011, so was harvested 2010 (though harvest date and precise location is uncertain). Some was purchased in Kunming, and more in Menghai. In Kunming, it was found at a stand in an open-air market. In Menghai, in a tea shop near the bus station.

The aroma is lightly vegetal, very slightly hay-like, with a hint of sweetness. Overall, this is a mild tea. It is lightly earthy, with mild astringency with each sip. With a small amount of bitterness with each sip, but mostly the herbaceous sweet flavor of the tea, I absolutely adore this tea.

This tea was a gift from a friend. At the name, I was a bit concerned, as I rarely find myself enjoying teas with rose (the rose always seems too sweet and makes me think only of perfumes). The smell of the dry leaves was somewhat stronger than I was hoping. When brewed, the scent of (what I assume to be) almond extract was overly sweet and put me a bit out of my senses.

The flavor was somewhat more mild than the aroma, but still not to my taste. I haven’t a large amount of experience with Teavana teas quite yet, but so far it seems that many of them are flavored too strongly and too sweetly. It seems to frequently overwhelm the flavor of the tea itself and taste of other things entirely. I presume it is to bring the tea into the modern market that is so overwhelmed with strong, sweet drinks. I have a standard Darjeeling from Teavana to look forward to, so I hope to find that more natural and tasting of the tea itself.

I had this tea at a local cafe and the first thing I noticed with the powerful vanilla aroma of the tea. I first tasted the liquor plain fresh from the pot and found the vanilla flavor a bit overwhelming. I finished it with a very small portion of raw sugar and some non-fat milk to fill out the cup.

As for the tea itself, it was quite tasty in general. It is a nicely flavored tea, which is a bit of a compliment from myself (who is not disposed to care for flavored teas). The vanilla did quite overpower the flavor of the tea itself, so I cannot speak for the quality of the leaves. I should, however, have this tea again when in the mood for a sweet, full tea on a chill morning.

This tea is pretty much gross to me. It’s like drinking over sweetened fruit juice. I prefer Capri Sun to the Youthberry Wild Orange Blossom. I was unable to detect any tea flavor at all.

My personal theory is that Teavana claims this is their best seller just so they can get rid of their extra stock in the form of samples… Just a theory!

I have tasted a number of random pu-erh teas and this is one of my favorites to date. It was an added random sample mini tuo with an order from Life In Teacup, but I have been unable to identify just which tea it is. However, it was so tasty, I wanted to write up a little something.

Using a gaiwan and relatively recently boiling water, I gave this pu-erh its first new breath of life. And smelling the air wafting from it as I poured that first infusion, that’s exactly what it was. It’s very earthy and natural in scent. As I tasted it, I felt as if I was hiking the woods on a dewy spring morning. The sensation of tasting this particular pu-erh brings back happy memories.

Though it has a light bitterness to it, I was surprised at how light the flavor was on the first infusion compared to how darkly the liquor brewed. The bitterness has a hint of sweetness, like you would expect of a hoppy ale or porter.

At this point, all I can say is that I’m saving the wrapper and going to do all I can to identify this pu-erh so I can order myself a larger quantity!