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Yum. At a friends place and we pulled it out of the cupboard because I thought that tea would be a good idea. It’s fairly astringent, and we’ve both added sugar. I’d add milky stuff but they don’t have anything in the fridge.

Pending cost, this is a tea I’d buy.

This tea smells so strongly of cinnamon and spices, it’s almost ridiculous. I think I was attracted to it because it reminds me of Silk Road Golden Phoenix, but I don’t like it as much. Possibly due to the inclusion of hibiscus and apple, which makes the tea a little tart. This time I rinsed it for 5 seconds, then steeped for 3 minutes. I had to add 1 tsp of honey to tone down the tartness. I think that if it weren’t for the hibiscus, this would actually be a new favourite tea.

I’d be happy sitting here sniffing the tea all day, but I’m actually trying to drink it. I think it’s another tea that will get finished, but instead of getting this one again I’ll place an (expensive!) order at Silk Road and get more Golden Phoenix.

This one smells better than it tastes. Chocolatey and sweet, I don’t really get a lot of strawberry from it. The rooibos flavour is fairly prominent, and there’s a bit of a floral note that I guess is from the rose.

Drunk with milk and a tiny bit of honey I don’t love it, but it is a nice cup of hot desserty stuff. I will definitely drink the 50g I have, but won’t repurchase.

I’m feeling better, so I went out tea shopping today with the goal of finding some non-caffeinated tisanes to drink in the evening.

This one? Yum. Dry, this tea is intensely citrus with a delicate floral note from the lavender, and barely any sage that I can tell. The smell is amazing. I’d totally buy candles or a shampoo that smelled like this.

Steeped, the citrus comes out even more. I can distinguish that the floral scent is lavender. I still can’t tell that there’s sage, but it’s not surprising since my nose is still a little stuffed up. Drinking it, I don’t need to add honey. The flavour isn’t the same as the smell – it’s much more delicate – but it doesn’t taste bad compared to the smell like so many fruity or herbal teas can do. The lavender comes out in the back of my throat, and it’s predominantly the citrus and lavender that I taste. Of course, I’m sipping this alongside my chocolate Earl Grey cake, so YMMV.

I’m actually really pleased with this one. It’s a nice fruity evening tisane that doesn’t have any hibiscus overpowering it. I’ll probably try it with honey even though it doesn’t need it, and I think it’d be pretty good iced as well. Something to try when it gets a little warmer out.

Oh yeah. When I got it home I dumped it out onto a clean cutting board and chopped up all the gigantic pieces. Now it measures much easier! 1 tbsp in 16oz water.

(10 second wash, 1 minute steep) Are green oolongs supposed to taste like seaweed? That’s what I smell, and that’s my initial impression of the taste. But there’s so much more going on with the seaweed taste that I can’t say I don’t like it. It’s smooth, it’s not bitter at all. It’s reminiscent of a grassy green tea drunk with a side of miso soup, but the mouth feel isn’t nearly as delicate. Overall, this is a REALLY interesting tea, but I can’t rate it till I taste more oolongs for comparison. (Edit. Wakame, or spinach. That green, almost salty smell with a hint of astringency. But it doesn’t taste like spinach. IDK. Tea is weird.)

From teacentre.ca in Courtenay, BC.

This Earl Grey is almost too much for me to drink straight. The flavour almost overwhelms.

Occasionally I drink it hot, with lots of cream or milk and a little honey. In the summer I cold steep it overnight and drink it iced. My favourite use for it is actually in an Earl Grey Chocolate Cake. (http://www.shutterbean.com/2012/chocolate-earl-grey-cake/) The floral flavour comes through, and it’s an amazing flavour with the chocolate. Love. I probably won’t purchase this tea again (My mom got me 250g, and I’m not even half way through!), but it is something to consider if you like really floral Earl Greys, or you want to bake with it.

(I’ve also added it to a French macaron recipe, filled with a honey custard. Amazing.)

(I’m eating the cake right now. OM NOM NOM. I added a giant spoonful of cocoa powder because I like my chocolate.)

Got this one from a friend. The last cup I made I liked (it was Before Steepster), but I don’t know what I did that made it better! This cup is just… ugh. The licorice is a true licorice stick flavour, the spice are nice, but I am not loving the ridiculous one-note, lingering sweetness. I added 1/4 tsp of honey to try to tone it down a bit (works with stevia!), but this is another cup that’s going down the drain tonight.

Well, the tea smells great in the bag. I’m pretty sure I got this one over the summer to ice, but I don’t think I was that impressed with it, because there’s still quite a bit left! I used the super cool random tea chooser thing (found a link in the forums!) and it suggested that I drink this one. So I’m trying it again.

It smells of apples and spice, and that weird cherry flavour you get from cherry blasters (yeah, IDK). I’ve had to add a fair bit of sugar to it as it’s really quite tart, and basically tastes like hibiscus when plain. After adding a lot (Well, for me. 1.5 tsp of honey to 8 oz of tea. Yikes!) of honey to it, it tastes like sweet hibiscus tea with a hint of apple and spice. I agree with other reviewers that say the aftertaste is kind of perfume-y and floral. Not really getting cherries out of this.

Definitely won’t be repurchasing, and I might not actually make it through the rest of the bag. (As I’m sipping, I’m not even going to get through the cup. Maybe more dilute and thinned with lemonade it’d be good, but I can’t be bothered.)

I can smell!

Definitely gingery, but not in a POW or burning way. It’s delicate and earthy.

Drinking this today with just a splash of almond milk. This tea doesn’t actually need sweetener, YAY!

This tea smells amazing – like delicious cinnamon apple crumble or cake baking in the oven.

I had 64g of this tea, and this is the first cup I’ve made that actually has tasted good. Honestly, it’s pretty delicious made this way, tasting like baked goods and oats. I used over 1 tbsp of the nuts and apples in an 8 oz cup, and added some almond milk and honey. Since I only got 4 or 5 cups of tea out of 64g, and this is the only cup that has impressed me, I’m not ever going to buy this one again. The cost is extremely prohibitive, and the outcome just isn’t always worth it. It’s too bad because it smells SO good.