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This is a profoundly foul tea…when dry it smells almost tolerable – floral and a little artificial – but when it brewed up it was horrific. It smelled fruity, yes, but fruity in a way that spoke of almost-rotten peaches left forgotten in a corner of the pantry…

I made it through one sip of the stuff and chucked it straight into the sink. I’m not making another cup; I’m just done with this mess. :/

On second taste, there’s just something rather unpleasant about this tea. I’m not sure exactly why, but I think the complexity of the flavour just doesn’t mesh all that well with the matcha base.

I’ve a sample bag of caramel matcha that’s just calling my name…so I think I’m just going to set this one aside (maybe for the TTB that’ll show up here in a while).

…and I’m still tasting that weird banana flavour. Bleh.

I’m a fan of the RLT flavoured matcha mixes, so this was the second one I’ve tried (the first was the vanilla matcha).

8oz cold organic milk (2%), about 1.5c crushed ice cubes, 1/2 tsp matcha and about 2tsp raw sugar – toss it all in the bullet blender and run till it’s frothy.

This one also froths up to an impressive head of foam. Right out of the bag there’s an intense eggnog scent that I thought would get quite overpowering, but after blending it mellows out quite impressively.

Oddly enough I’m actually picking up a strange, almost-banana flavour at the end of each sip…it’s not an unpleasant taste, but I’m not sure if this is one I would restock.

My first sipdown since starting Steepster! :D

For this cup I basically just upended the remnants out of my jar, so I don’t think there was much oolong in it at all…it still smelled lovely and looked delightful (full of little spice bits and fruit nubs), but I’m curious to see how this will change the taste.

Since there was almost no tea in the strainer I went ahead and pushed the steep time up to 4 minutes. Added a little sugar and honey since it’s been that kind of morning and waited for the first sip to be ready.

Again it brewed up to a rich reddish hue. I’ve always noticed a bit of particulate matter floating at the top, but this cup is particularly bad…probably because it’s bottom of the barrel. No matter. :)

Still smells sweet, but the taste fell a little flat for me this time. I love the scent – the almost-sickly strawberry and crisp champagne – but there just isn’t the oomph there to really back it up.

Sadly I don’t think I’ll be re-stocking this one. Not a bad tea, but perhaps not the right tea for me.

1 tsp Irish breakfast, 1 tsp English breakfast, solid sprinkle of powdered clove. Steep 3 minutes and top off with a generous splash of V. Sattui Angelica (fortified dessert wine).

I’ve always been a fan of both English and Irish breakfast teas and combined their subtle differences complement one another very well. The Angelica is a nutty wine – fortified with brandy, I think – and the cloves were a last minute addition to attempt to spice it up a bit.

Overall I’m really pleased with this mix. It’s rich and rather dry on the beginning, opens up into some spice and sweetness and finishes with a lingering nutty note from the wine.

I’ll definitely have a go at this one again.

This is one of those teas that – even though I enjoy drinking it – I don’t actually steep as often as I probably should.

Dry this happens to have a scent that reminds me of day-old cut grass, with a little lingering toastiness from the bits of rice. It’s a smell that I absolutely adore and I’ll often take a whiff even when I’m planning to drink other things.

On the first steep there’s a crisp, almost kale-like taste that lingers comfortably. You can pick up the background and after-taste of rice that’s quite pleasant…but my deviant palate really wishes it was just a little sweeter.

Second steep is, naturally, a bit milder…but still pleasant.

This is the sort of tea I absent-mindedly drink while doing homework, papers or whatnot. I wish I could say that it made an impression, but I’m not likely to refill my jar when this one runs out; I have a feeling there are other green teas out there that would make me happier.

Got this as a sample in my latest order from RLT and I think I might be hooked. I should preface this with the statement that I’ve never been a milk-drinker – I find the stuff repugnant usually – so it was with great hesitation that I added 1/2tsp of the powder to some 2% organic and a few ice cubes in my blender.

I gave it a quick blend and a taste…although the vanilla is pleasant enough I was craving something sweeter since I’m out of ice cream, so I added about a teaspoon of sugar and reblended.

Perfection.

Well, almost. There’s something odd about the vanilla flavour that I can’t quite put my finger on, but I definitely enjoy the taste of the frothy, smooth deliciousness…someone else mentioned you could get it with a black tea base, so I may try that in the future.

I’m waiting until I’ve tried a few more of their matcha samples before I make a commitment, but this is definitely one that’s at the top of my list.

Dry this has a definite peachy aroma – as many others have noted it’s quite similar to Peach Tranquility (also by Teavana). I found it to have less of a saccharine quality in the tin, but my nose might’ve been ruined by Youthberry and the like. shrugs

After a slightly shorter steep than recommended it had an almost hay colour – which reminds me; I really need to get a proper glass mug instead of drinking it out of a repurposed beer stein – and retained a gentle peach and apple aroma.

When I first tasted it I was floored by how strongly honey seems to factor in as a flavour, despite not being on the labeled ingredients. The peach and fruit flavours (most notably a bit of pineapple) came out most readily when it was hot; as it cooled the honey and chamomile seem to push their way to the forefront along with a tiny bit of a bitter, astringent aftertaste.

While I will definitely be drinking more of this tea – I received 2oz as a gift – I’ll definitely be hurrying a little more to drink it while it’s still hot, as I find the flavours once cooled to be a little unpalatable.

Dry, this tea has a light sugary smell with hints of floral elements. The label says oolong, but I’ll admit I had to look a bit to find the small strips of tea – the herbal and fruit elements definitely predominate visually.

After a relatively quick steep (a little over 3min) the tea developed a bold rose smell with some faint hints of an unidentifiable fruity backdrop. This tea is definitely sweet all on it’s own, but I think the flavour is much improved with a touch of honey and a little sugar.

Flavour-wise this definitely has rose front-and-center with a faintly sour note behind and a mellow fruity aftertaste. It doesn’t strike the palate with any particular boldness, but I find it to be energizing – it’s a great tea to have on hand while doing homework or answering emails.

I’ve blended this one with Youthberry and other fruity Teavana teas – it blends very well with white, green and herbal teas, but no so well with red and black. Not sure if I prefer it alone or mixed, though…but it’s definitely one I’ll be keeping in my cabinet.

Dry, this tea has a beguiling honeyed vanilla scent that draws me in without any of the chemical notes I often pick up in Teavana blends. The honeybush is a delightful bottom note – rich and supple – and I could turn this tea into little potpourri sachets and be quite happy with it. :)

A 6 minute brew yielded a dark amber tea that smells most powerfully of honeybush with lighter vanilla accents. This tea is naturally sweet, but I did err on the side of indulgence and added a little sugar – yes, I’m one of those sort of people.

I find this tea to be very comforting – it has deep, almost roasted flavours that intermix with the vanilla seamlessly and spreads a brief warmth after drinking that’s reminiscent of light ginger notes. (and it tastes pretty good with Fritos…who knew?)

This is my go-to tea for homework, studying, coding…anything that requires focus and would be negatively affected by me snacking all over it. My only issue is that it’s a Teavana blend; I’ll need to look into finding alternative sources for this flavour/mix.