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Sometimes when I take the first few sips of a tea the flavors will hit harshly. A few sips in things seem to mellow and I’m left with a nice cup. That didn’t happen with this tea. I steeped it for 3m and every sip of the first 1/4 of the cup were bold and overwhelming. The rose dominated and was so overpowering that it was bitter. Once I put some milk in it all changed! The rose instantly mellowed and the cardamon came out. There is just the hint of it maybe thinking about pepper notes and then that fades. I like rose and I love cardamon, so this was an intriguing tea to try despite the fact that a lot of B&B’s black teas are a miss for me. I’d wager that with the addition of some sweetener this cup would make an amazing chai. I’ll have to try it on the next cup, but this one is almost done. Glad I took the gamble and added this to my order!

I was lured in by the name of this tea and design on the label a few years ago, but it has yet to win me over. I have a hard time with a lot of the almond flavoring French companies use. It’s more of a powdery floral high notes version of almond and is much different than the deep toasted flavor that a lot of American companies use. This cup is all high notes. I do get some spices in here along with the powdery (think the scent of baby powder) almond and at one point I got notes of gelatin vitamin capsules that vitamin E and D come in, which reminded me to take my vitamins for the day. Not a very flattering description of a tea! I’m going to try this tea a few more times before I give up.

I acquired a single tea bag of this along my travels and it’s been waiting for the day I put it in hot water ever since. The first sip was a little punchy, but subsequent sips were more mellow. There was a slight butteriness I was getting in the start of the sip and then the yuzu joins in and the finish is very grassy. I think the cooler it is getting the more the grass and tang comes back and the less butter I get. I’m feeling so-so about it. It was a nice experiment, but yuzu is really hit or miss for me and it’s missing this time.

According to my last entry for this tea, I’ve had it for at least 5 years aaaaaaand SIPDOWN! It feels like a slight cheat of a sipdown because I tossed half a serving of the crumbs at the bottom of the tin, but you can’t make a good cup out of that and that’s the story I’m sticking to.

This has been a solid tea to have in my cupboard and I have enjoyed it, but it doesn’t stand out enough in the sea of malty breakfast teas to buy more. I wouldn’t turn down a cup, but I wouldn’t go out of my way to source one either. In the malt I can find notes of light tobacco towards the end of the sip. It holds up well to the addition of cream to tone down tannins. It’s a decent tea.

Steeped a cup of this neglected tea this morning after I realized I’m out of Lupicia’s Cookie and saw they are sold out on their site. I swear I had backups…
Anyway… with a breakfast tea I expect bold flavors that stand up to the addition of milk. I tried that and had to sip half way through my cup to start picking up flavor that the milk diluted. I am getting a bit of candied orange and it reminds me of a lighter version of a Fauchon tea I love. I’m not crazy about this tea and wouldn’t order it again, but I’m enjoying this cup well enough.

It’s election day and I need something familiar and comforting to get me through the anxiety of the day. Since I can’t sleep through it, which would be my preference, I’ll caffeinate!

This tea is tasting like the same experience I had last time I had it. The fruity jam flavors have faded over time and I’m left with a cup of russian caravan. It’s still very nice, both warming and comforting, but has lost that magic I loved. Every 6 months or so I google AQ2T to see if Lauren has made a reappearance or come back tour and every time I’m out of luck, but likely won’t ever give up hope. I’m stubborn like that. It’s one of my better traits. ;)

I’m getting used to a new kettle and I’m not sure how I feel about it. I had the glass Breville kettle with variable temp settings and it was on the counter with a bar of hanging ceramic mugs behind it. I’ve had that set up for years, but the other morning I managed to tap the spout of the kettle into one of the mugs when picking it up and it broke off the lip of the kettle. Those kettles are not cheap! I decided to go for some random $35 kettle off Amazon that is mostly doing the trick, but I’m still mourning the loss of my Breville and wondering what to do with the base. It seems like a waste to trash it. I’ll get over it some day!

This smells intoxicatingly fruity in the bag! It looses a little bit of that punch when steeped. I added oat milk to my cup which made it a creamy strawberry dessert tea. Strawberry is the most present and identifiable flavor. It’s a mellow strawberry as opposed to some of the really bright and bold strawberry teas they have. I’m finding this to be a comforting cup this morning!

This might be one of the oldest teas in my cupboard at this point! I’ve had it a few times and wasn’t impressed. It tasted flat and alkaline beneath the fruit flavors. I couldn’t get back to sleep at 3am this morning and while cleaning the kitchen decided to dump the rest of the tea in a mason jar and cold steep a concentrate overnight. This morning I’m mixing it with oat milk and it’s delightful! It’s so interesting how finding the right preparation can make an otherwise unenjoyable tea! It’s bright and fruity… I’m getting a mango apricot flavor. The oak milk is making it sweet and creamy. It’s so bright and refreshing! I’m really glad I found a way to enjoy this tea, but it isn’t one I’d buy again knowing how little I’d turn to it over a 10 year period.

I’ve tried so hard to love this tea, but I just can’t. Been on a quest to find a replacement for an old teavana tea and ran across this. It’s just meh. I steeped a cup this morning and added some creamer in it. I recall that other tea becoming this delicious creamy mint chocolate cup, but this one was so disappointing that I dumped the cup. I’ve used it for feeding my kombucha scoby, but I’m dumping the rest of this tin. I’m tired of trying to find a good use for it and given it a first, second and fifth chance, but it’s no use.