Karen M Send Message

One of my absolute favorites. I’m basically done with my second bag of this and will definitely order more soon. I really like the balance of the teas; there’s not too much of any one flavor. Very solid breakfast tea or afternoon tea or whenever tea.

I always start out liking this tea and then find it increasingly bitter and off-putting as I drink it. Adding sugar makes it more palatable but still not great. Some milk might help, but I don’t have any handy right now. It’s a shame, since it starts out so nice.

Almond-flavored things are generally pretty hit or miss with me. I love actual almonds, but sometimes I find the flavor overwhelming, especially in baked goods. Thankfully, this strikes a nice balance between the almond and the cream/vanilla/caramel flavors. It’s a very warm-seeming tea, not just in actual temperature but in its general impression, if that makes any sense. Like, it’s a cold cranky Monday (I hate the time change) and this is exactly the kind of comforting tea I want for that.

I’ve had this tea since around Christmas last year but somehow never got around to trying it. Looking at the ratings other people have given it made me nervous, but so far it’s okay. Not nearly as pumpkin flavored as I’d like, but it’s not bad. I do tend to steep black teas for 3 minutes or less because a lot of them can get too bitter for me, and that seemed to work for me. I’ll definitely try this one again; I think using more leaves and maybe adding a little milk or sugar would help the flavors come out more.

My first time trying this tea. I got it in a white tea sampler and I don’t think I would’ve picked it out on its own. The leaves smell weird, but in a way I’m having a hard time identifying. Like, I can make myself believe that it’s coconut and pineapple but they’re not my first guesses. Then again, I don’t really like coconut or pineapple any way but straight up, so I am already biased against this.

The tea itself doesn’t smell as strongly as the leaves. The taste is also not particularly strong. I think I could’ve stood to use a bit more tea (I made less than normal since the smell was making me think I wasn’t going to particularly enjoy it) because as it is it’s pretty weak. It’s not bad, but it’s not good either. It’s fine, but it’s going to be a while before I bother to make this again.

Edit: okay, it’s cooling down and tasting more coconut-y. I change my assessment from “fine” to “tolerable”.

Possibly my favorite of all the Zodiac series teas I’ve tried. It’s light, it’s deliciously fruity (one of the few teas where I definitely know what fruit flavor it is), it smells really good. It made me realize I like white tea and I need to drink more of it. Also one of the prettiest tins; when it’s empty, which it will be soon, I’ll keep it to store jewelry or something.

English Breakfast is the platonic ideal of teas. If I were going to go on a trip and could only take one tea with me, it’d be this one. It just tastes like tea. Nothing fancy, no extra flavors, just delicious tea. Irish Breakfast used to be my number one tea for introducing people to good tea, but once I tried this one it was my new favorite.

To me, this tea tastes like a gumball but with a little bit of zing to it. But in a good way! It’s a good tea when you want something with a bit of spice to it but aren’t feeling like a traditional chai.

I have a feeling this is one of the teas I’d like better if I did something different than what I normally do (boil water, steep for about three minutes, drink straight). I’ve come to terms with this not being as pumpkin-y as I want everything to be and now appreciate it as a nice chai variation but it’s a little bitter, especially as it cools. I should probably add some milk and sugar, because what chai doesn’t like milk and sugar? I also might like it more with cooler water or an even shorter steep time. Still, not a bad tea, just one who I haven’t been able to make live up to its full potential.

My sign! When I first drank this tea I wasn’t impressed. It didn’t seem to have any real flavor, it just tasted like generic tea. Then I let it sit on the shelf for a few months and then I tried it again. That’s when I realized that I drank so much coffee with hazelnut and vanilla creamer in grad school that those flavors just seemed like default morning beverage flavor. Now that I’ve given myself some time without drinking things with those flavors, I’m reminded how much I like those flavors and I can appreciate this tea a lot more. I like it a lot as a morning cup of tea, especially if you’re having something like a chocolate chip muffin or scone or other delicious breakfast pastry since I think hazelnut and vanilla go well with that kind of chocolatey dessert-for-breakfast kind of flavors.