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Picked up a bag of this at HMart for when I get a hankering for genmaicha since I don’t tend to keep it in my stash. Maeda-en had such a great matcha for the price, I thought I’d try this. Meh. It’s OK. Not enough flavor of either the green tea or the toasted rice. And it takes a LOT of leaf: 1 tablespoon for 12 oz. Luckily it wasn’t very expensive, so no harm. Just a little disappointing. I’ll have to play with the steeping parameters to see if I can produce a better brew.

Another beautiful Ceylon from House of Tea in Toronto. The leaves are dark, twisty, gorgeous with no broken pieces. Sweet and bright, with lots of flavor, this has become one of my favorite Ceylons. I’ve been enjoying it as a breakfast tea with a little bit of evaporated milk, and with the addition of just a half teaspoon of sugar or so, it approximates the flavor of a Japanese milk tea surprisingly well. Bonus!

Ever since Lupicia stopped providing me with my Nuwara Eliya fix, I’ve been searching for a replacement. I got it into my head on a recent trip that I wasn’t leaving Europe without some Nuwara Eliya. I haven’t had this particular tea from Simon Levelt, but I have had other teas from there and they are good quality. Glad I snagged this one! It’s just what I’d been looking for. Bright, malty, citrus notes with a teeny bit of floral at the finish. Delightful.

Bought a bunch of this tea when I was in Toronto earlier this year – I just love a cream flavored tea. Truly cream scented, no vanilla to cheat that here. Perfect for when I want a black tea, don’t want straight black, but don’t want anything strongly flavored, either. I’ve been having it for breakfast a lot lately, but it’s also a wonderful blending tea. Mixed with coconut black, it’s coconut cream tea. Mixed with ginger peach, it’s a peaches-and-cream-with-a-little-spice tea. You get the idea. Not overpowering, very versatile, all around comforting and delicious.

If ever there was a replacement for David’s Caramel Shortbread, this is it! That being said, I found out that US tea drinkers can finally buy Caramel Shortbread for a limited time, so I jumped on that bandwagon fast!

Anyway, this tea is incredibly delicious. An herbal blend, so no caffeine. I added a little bit of amber sugar and milk and it totally destroyed my sweet tooth. The fudge isn’t that pronounced, but it’s a creamy, dreamy, custardy, sweet, mellow apple delight with just a touch of cocoa. Unfortunately, The Art of Tea NL is in the Netherlands, so I’ll just need to pester my Dutch friend to get it for me and bring it over when she visits. They do ship to the US, but the shipping fees are appalling! If you’re ever in Haarlem, they have the cutest shop – I could spend hours and hours there. They also sell coffee, spices, and chocolates. If you like dessert teas and have a caffeine issue (or just want to have something dessert-y after dinner) this is an excellent choice.

Way too floral for me, but at least that dies down after a steep or two. I wish I could get more of the sweeter notes that I expected, but at least the creamy, buttery finish comes through. I still think it’s an excellent tea that holds up over many steeps and has nice flavor development, it’s just not my favorite.

I’m going through these dragon balls slowly, since I know Bitterleaf is sold out of them. So good! Definitely honey notes, a bit of caramelized sugar, and a starchy, bread-like finish. It goes strong for many steeps – I got seven good ones (and a weak eighth because I always try to go too long to get as much as I can out of a tea that I can resteep). Thoroughly enjoyable, and comforting to have since I’m on the last bit of All Day Breakfast, which I will miss greatly.

OK, so I’m officially catching up on tea reviews, I guess. Picked this up at the Toronto Tea Festival (boy, was THAT whole weekend a blast!) and just started digging into it recently. The flavoring is a bit overpowering when you first open up the bag, kind of astringent with a super strong apple scent, but I think it makes the taste hold up well after brewing. Just don’t get your nose too close to the bag! Super fresh apple and green tea flavor, which makes a nice pairing. I manage to get 3 infusions (one minute each) out of this, which I think is amazing for a flavored green tea.

Had a pot of this last night after dinner, caffeine be damned. Rich chocolate, juicy raspberry, a great dessert black tea with a teaspoon of amber sugar (highly recommend that as well!) and some milk. Glorious.

A gift from my friends over in Europe – they are the best! Creamy, milky, caramel flavored black tea that is comforting and dessert-y, especially with milk. I shamelessly have it with breakfast often. Once the weather gets warm enough I may look for less rich fare, but this is a favorite, and such a treat as it comes from a small teashop in Berlin that doesn’t do online orders or ship (the proprietor doesn’t speak English at all, my German is nonexistent, and so I’d need my friends to translate!). Makes it that much more special.