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The smell of the leaf was definitely peachy. As I was smelling the dry leaf I kept thinking – and I mean this as a compliment – that it reminded me of the smell of peach Jolly Ranchers. I don’t mean that the tea smelled like anything fake or candy-like, because I think peach Jolly Ranchers smell delicious. Both they and this tea were smack you in the face peachy, and that’s a great thing. It’s the kind of scent that makes me want to sit there and smell the leaf for a while, but I made myself make the tea. First world problems!

Full review and photos: https://tealover.net/2015/07/beleave-teas-peppy-peach/

I had been warned that I would be blown away when I opened the bag, so I purposefully did not unseal it until I was ready to brew it. Delicious aroma – mostly brown sugar, a little maple. I think I could have been happy just smelling it all day but I know you want to know about the flavor too.

The color of the leaf was dark, almost like a black tea so I knew that it would be very oxidized (my favorite). I love seeing safflowers in leaf; they add such a pretty touch. I honestly don’t know what they do flavor wise but remember, we eat with our eyes first and my eyes were really feasting on this. I picked the cup and saucer for the shoot based on the safflower color.

The color of the brewed tea was remarkable. It was a golden orange color that reminded me of sunsets over the ocean.
Full review and photos: https://tealover.net/2015/07/tea-leaf-co-brown-sugar/

When the tea was really hot it tasted sort of thin, but as it cooled it became more full bodied and absolutely decadent. I taste marshmallow – I guess that is the crème brûlée. It also has a lovely caramel vanilla flavor. It’s like drinking a dessert that would have had hundreds of calories in it. This isn’t a chocolate cupcake, it is a vanilla cupcake – maybe a vanilla cupcake with caramel icing! The finish is long lasting, sweet and decidedly caramel. I don’t taste almond at all so it must just be in there supporting the other flavors.
Full review and photos: https://tealover.net/2015/07/tea-temptations-cup-cake/

The mouthfeel on this brew was incredible – I have a Steepster friend who calls it “pudding mouth” and I don’t think it was until today that I fully understood what she meant. It’s not that the tea was thick because it wasn’t really thicker than any other tea, but it had a wonderful mouth-coating quality that made it seem extremely decadent. If you are a texture person, you will love this tea.

The flavor definitely conveys the description on Kat’s site, which says the tea is the “perfect blend to drink on a chill night in a hobbit hole.” While I was drinking it I found that I had a cozy feeling just because of the tea’s flavors. A bit of toffee, a bit of spice, wonderfully balanced with the black base. I was transported to a place where it was cold outside but I was cozy and warm inside, maybe watching snow fall outside a window. Comfort in a cup.
Full review and photos: https://tealover.net/2015/06/solstice-brews-hobbit-hearthwarmer/

The instructions said to brew the tea for three to five minutes, so I went for four. The flavor was lighter than I expected. Tasty and tropical, but I wasn’t smacked in the face by the flavor. It also had the tiniest bit of astringency on the finish but it wasn’t unpleasant.

It was very nice but not remarkable. Hot it was a tea that I could definitely finish but might or might not reorder it.

And then I iced it.

Full review and photos: https://tealover.net/2015/06/specialtea-teas-organic-caribbean-cooler/

I love this tea. The lime is balanced perfectly with the base and I have an awesome lime aftertaste in my mouth.

I brewed the tea at 175° for three minutes. I liked that the resulting tea was tinted pink. I don’t know why but I like my tea to have a little color, and white teas usually don’t have much. It was probably the hibiscus turning it pink. Sometimes I think that hibiscus adds too much tartness to blends, but in this case there was a tartness that I felt in the back of my palate, but it tasted more like a fresh raspberry sort of tart rather than just a hibiscus “tart for the sake of being tart” note.
Full review and tea porn: https://tealover.net/2015/06/do-you-tea-raspberry-rejuvenation/

Tin Roof’s Turkish Delight tea looks beautiful. Long twisty black leaves, whole pistachios, sliced almonds, cardamom pods, pink peppercorns. The dry leaf smells lightly spiced and exotic.
Full review and photos: https://tealover.net/2015/06/tin-roof-teas-turkish-delight/

The dry leaf smells strongly of caramel, and there are little squares of toffee mixed in. Naturally I had to eat one right away. Wouldn’t you? It was hard, which was nice so it didn’t get stuck to the surrounding leaves. The flavor was ooey gooey caramel, buttery and with a hint of coffee.
Brewed the coffee flavor fades away. The caramel is balanced really well with the base. I think I like this better than Kusmi’s Caramel, which has been my favorite until now. There is a slight buttery flavor but nothing that is too forward. It’s really just a big caramel hug in a cup, and I can’t get enough of it. This is one of those hidden gems and you should definitely check it out.
Regency themed photos and full review: http://tinyurl.com/oshsvn7

I always hate those long, drawn out posts that go on and on about the different steeps, so I’m going to make this fairly abbreviated and let the pictures speak for themselves.

I gave the pu an initial rinse and dumped it. Then the first steep was 30 seconds. This steep was super dark, a little bitter, notes of leather and tobacco. I decided to dump this one too and go with a shorter steep (15 seconds) this time. The second steep was delicious. Strong dark tea flavor, hints of leather but very pleasant and WHOA is it possible that I already have a tea buzz?

Full review and photos: https://tealover.net/2015/06/special-dark-ripe-puer-2006-mandala-tea/