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This was the first tea I tried from my Hackberry order. I opened the envelope and smelled it and it was all over after that. It smelled so deliciously plummy that I had to try it right away – and my husband did too. We both ended up resteeping the leaves, which is unusual for me – I usually don’t resteep at all. The leaf appeared to be of good quality: long and unbroken. No fannings here! There are some bits of red, those could be hibiscus but I did not really taste the hibiscus in the blend. The overriding flavors are definitely plum and currant. Anything else in the blend just enhances and supports those. It would be easy to say that this is the best plum tea I have ever had.
Photos: https://tealover.net/2015/05/hackberry-tea-red-velvet-a-la-mode-salted-caramel-corn-currant-plum/

I was really intrigued by this one since I haven’t seen many teas with this flavor profile and I am a sucker for anything salty/sweet. The leaf is really interesting. It has corn, popped corn, and corn nuts! I wasn’t sure about it when I popped it open and smelled it because it had a really strong smell, and the first couple of drinks had me still unsure. But as the cup progressed it reallly grew on me, and toward the end I was totally hooked. This is really good! I can taste the hint of salt at the end of the sip, and the caramel flavor is really smooth, buttery and rich.
Photos: https://tealover.net/2015/05/hackberry-tea-red-velvet-a-la-mode-salted-caramel-corn-currant-plum/

Where I live, red velvet is a chocolate cake with a bottle of red food coloring added and cream cheese frosting. When I saw the name of this tea I expected something chocolate flavored. If I had read the description on the website I would have known better, so that’s my fault. The goal of this tea is to taste like a raspberry trifle with whipped cream, and it really does! There are raspberries in the dry leaf, and the big thing on top in the photo is a candied lemon peel. I believe the green that is visible is the lemon myrtle. The main flavor is raspberry cream, but I definitely get the lemon too in the top of my mouth.
Photos: https://tealover.net/2015/05/hackberry-tea-red-velvet-a-la-mode-salted-caramel-corn-currant-plum/

OH MY. This was so good! The rooibos isn’t really obvious. I get a hint of cinnamon, a little clove, and the ginger is like the bow on top, wrapping it all together. My daughter was nearby and asked to taste it, and I didn’t think I would get it back from her. Her advice was to take a drink and then breathe out through my nose, and I tried that. Pure ginger bliss. It wasn’t overpowering, just deliciously fresh. I could see getting this one again.

Full review and photos on: https://tealover.net/2015/05/chi-whole-leaf-floral-herb-and-ginger-chai/

I mixed with filtered cold water and whisked it, although it was easy to mix up – a spoon would work fine, or whatever you have. The color of both the dry powder and the mixed drink is just amazing. This one is a mixture of hibiscus, rose and jasmine. Don’t worry hibby haters – I couldn’t really identify it here. I think it just added a little punch to the flavor. What I did get was a really refreshing drink that had some floral overtones. I liked it, and I am usually not a big fan of floral drinks. I added a litttle sweetener – no haters please

Photos and full review: https://tealover.net/2015/05/chi-whole-leaf-floral-herb-and-ginger-chai/

Another sad sipdown.

Sip down. This will be a reorder. I find myself craving it.

Sad sipdown.

I feel like I am drinking dessert, but not a dessert that is too sweet. Just comforting spice bread, maybe with a tiny smear of butter. So many times with flavored black teas, the base doesn’t stand up to the added flavors, but that is not the case with this tea. I still taste the tea. The front of the sip is cinnamon, and the aftertaste is where the raisin sneaks in. The almond is not heavy, but I can definitely identify it. It is blended in perfectly. I steeped mine for the recommended four minutes and have just the tiniest bit of astringency, so I might try slightly less next time. I’m really happy that I ordered this again!

Full review and pics at https://tealover.net/2015/05/american-tea-room-brioche/

The tea description on the DF site is flower petals, poppy, biscuit and almond paste. The packaging also says raspberry, violet, vanilla and cherry. I am getting definite raspberry, and a tiny bit of floral. Nothing that is overpowering. I have learned that I love any DF blend that mentions their “biscuit” flavor, and that’s biscuit in the sense of a European cookie – not an American biscuit. Any blend that has that flavor is going to have a bit of aftertaste that makes it like a dessert, even if it isn’t a sweet dessert tea. I have also learned that one thing DF does really well is a tea that has many different flavors versus the ones that are just one flavor and a base. Those are good too, but the ones that have a lot of things blended are just masterful. This is an example of that.

Full review and photos here:
https://tealover.net/2015/05/dammann-freres-coquelicot-gourmand/