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Either my tastes have changed or the blend has changed (I read a review from a month ago that said this tea is purely African sourced now) but I don’t remember this tea being so blah.

I brewed it up pretty strong with 1.5 teaspoons for about 10-12 ounces of water. I did add milk and sugar, though not much of either, because I generally do with plain black teas. My palate isn’t discriminatory enough to cut out the bitterness I get from blacks without sugar at least.

Anyway back to this tea, I don’t get much tasting notes at all when I drink it. It causes a little bit of dryness at the back of my throat after I think it and there’s some slight malty flavour to it, but all in all it’s a very boring tea. Guess I’ll keep looking for an English Breakfast I like, one with a bit more character to it.

This brews up to a beautiful purple-red colour, and smells very fruity after brewing, though the hibiscus smell is strong. It is the first ingredient in this tea. I did make this with a tsp of sugar because I know that I will taste nothing but hibiscus otherwise.

I think what I taste most strongly is the yumberry, though I have not had this berry before and it is just a guess. The black currant is next and it almost has a cloying taste to it that lingers into the aftertaste. I can feel the taste even in the corners of my mouth it is a bit overwhelming. I’m not sure if I like this or not but next time I try it will be with half the sugar.

I can’t say I like this one very much, and it’s not even my typical dislike of cinnamon because the cinnamon is actually not too overwhelming in this. I can taste the apple as well as a hint of the chamomile, but the hibiscus adds a strong unnecessary sour note that just ruins the whole thing for me.

For me, the citrus notes come out and blend with the bergamot oil to create a very weak earl grey variant. I put more tea in my steeper than last time but the tea still did not have a very strong flavour. I’m not quite sure what it is that I am looking for more of but I think I need a bit or a lot more bergamot oil and perhaps a stronger tea base to enjoy this one.

I’ve been drinking through this tea for a while, almost done with the 2 oz that I bought. I do like it but because of the price tag on it, I won’t be buying it again, too much other stuff out there to try.

I put a bit over a teaspoon of tea and a bit over a teaspoon of sugar in as well as a splash of milk because I like my teas to be sweeter in the evenings. I don’t have the most sophisticated palate in the world, especially compared to the notables here on steepster, but I pick up a bit of brassyness and a slight mineral taste. Not too much, it’s still quite pleasant, but the flavour might be stronger without the sugar.

I do enjoy this tea, but it’s not the best I’ve ever had.

Brewed this one hot with no sugar added. Mostly tastes strongly of hibiscus with a few sweet notes of the strawberry towards the end of the sip with a little bit of a sweet and sour aftertaste. I think this tea would be much better with a little sugar so next cup (I have one left from my sample) I will add a teaspoon of sugar and see if the rating will go up.

This review is for the hot version, no sugar or other additives (which is unusual for me) and just after eating a real orange (because that definitely makes a difference to my taste buds).

First sip and all I taste is hibiscus. Perhaps a slight orange-y aftertaste but not much. I’m continuing to drink it as it cools down, but I’m still mostly getting a small amount of orange-y ‘feel’ to it that might well be wishful thinking, but mostly just hibiscus.

This is not a true tasting note of the pure hazelnut tea this time (although I do drink that also) because I went half and half with the adagio caramel tea also in this cup. I just love this blend with milk and sugar. It really goes well after my habitual cup of hot chocolate in the morning because coming down from the sweetness of the chocolate, I don’t like to change directly to a more traditional black tea because the difference between the two is too harsh and I end up tasting nothing but bitterness. Much better to step down slowly.

I am in love with this tea. It smells so nice, the hazelnut smell is quite strong, but not overpowering. The taste is nutty and (with milk and a bit of sugar added) very smooth. It’s got a bit of an edge to it without those additives. The caramel adds an additional sweet note and they blend together really well. The aftertaste is a tad bit bitter, but nothing too awful.

I think this is one of the better flavoured teas out there.

This is the first and only Yunnan tea that I have tried so far, and after drinking it for the last couple of months, I have to say that I like it quite a bit.

I don’t taste the peppery-ness that most people say is in this (and all?) Yunnan teas, but I also flavour with a bit of milk and sugar. This is a very earthy flavour with some maltyness and is deliciously smooth and not bitter at all despite steeping it past what I normally would (I forgot to hit the start button on the timer). I’ll steep the next steep longer. I also get hints of cocoa, more the cooler it gets, which I greatly enjoy.

So this is the tea that introduced me to loose black teas a few years ago when I first started drinking tea that didn’t come in a bag from the grocery store. It is still one of my favourites though I don’t buy it or drink it as much as I used to.

The scent has a hint of sweetness and the taste you can really taste the honey notes. I don’t taste the smokiness that so many of the other notes mention, but the maltiness and the stronger body than I usually drink is quite nice.

I love to watch the leaves unfurl while it is steeping and you can get at least 2 steeps out of a cup, though I usually stop at 2. I add a rounded teaspoon to 14 oz of water and it usually comes out quite well.