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I haven’t reviewed much lately, been really busy and drinking down some favorites… not had much time to sit with a new tea this week, until tonight.

I got this as a part of a sample pack on a trip to Indy a few weeks ago… found this at a Homegoods store. It’s bad when there are so few tea purchase opportunities in the area that you make a special trip into a housewares store in the hopes of finding some tea. I grabbed the sampler tin of chais, and a raspberry mint that I haven’t yet tried.

I wasn’t sure which of the chais to try tonight. I thought I grabbed a caffeine free one, but oops.. Now upon a second look, it’s a black tea. Dry it smells sweet, nutty, and spicy. Steeped as a latte, I get sweet caramel chai goodness. I’m not really noticing the nut except maybe in the depth/richness of the cup, but some of that may be the black tea that I hadn’t realized I had chosen when picking this tea.

I actually think I liked this one better than their coconut version I tried awhile back that I thought I would love. Wonder how a second steep would do since I finished this cup so fast? I think I might have to try.. but after that, gotta turn to something w/o caffeine :)

Thinking that it would be nice to stumble on a full size tin of this sometime.. I might just snag it up. We’ll see if I feel the same way after I finish the other 3 tea bags.

I wasn’t sure what to expect from this one, other than I expected from others notes, and the description that I would enjoy it… I was right … & so was EvaGrimm… Thanks for the sample ! I haven’t been avoiding your samples by the way, just trying to save them for when Hubby is available too so he can join me in trying some of the ones he might be interested in.

Dry it smells of sweet vanilla. Steeped it is buttery, creamy vanilla, with just enough cakey flavor to round it out. I don’t get the chocolate and very little of the coconut, but it’s tasty without those being in the forefront.

I actually feel like this is very much like their Pineapple Upside Down, which I think is so good, but this is w/o the pineapple. Not sure which I like better, but have to admit I’ve been hoarding the little bit I have of the Pineapple one. I would be happy I think, to stock either one in my cupboard.

Hubby said this one’s ok… Translation: I like others better.
That’s ok… I like it… It’s dessert in a cup!

Looking for something black this morning, nothing unusual about that for me, and thought it might be nice to hunt out something new. I kept setting this one aside because it was an upopened sample and figure I needed to sip down a few more samples before I open a sealed one.. but this morning I caved. I wanted something new and with some spice, so this fit the bill.

Upon opening the package I get a sweet strange scent to the dry leaf, much like the smell from another pumpkin tea I have tried… thinking it must be how they add the pumpkin to tea.

Steeped I get the same sweet fragrance with a hint of spice. Not as spicy as I might have liked this morning, but an ok cup. I’m not sure yet about the pumpkin flavor in tea as so far it comes across a bit artificial to me… smells overly sweet and not a lot of true to pumpkin flavor. I think I may have underleafed this one a bit & would enjoy it more as a latte with a bit more kick… I will have to try it that way soon… and will rate it accordingly then.

I haven’t had many flavored chai’s yet, but have enjoyed a couple of interesting flavor combinations. Thanks MissB for sending this one my way.

Wow… what a long, crazy day! Snow, cold, too much paperwork, stress, kid who doesn’t want to do homework … UrgH!, making 2 food dishes to take to said kid’s Cub Scout meeting, Cub Scout meeting … along with Pinewood Derby (small wooden car race)… which my kiddo won, again! He won last year too. In a few weeks they will go to district and see how he does with a larger group of cars. Then home to get kiddo who is worked up and excited off to bed, more paperwork -put in an offer on a house.

Sigh… time for some tea!

This one is familiar and yummy…I needed something sweet and comforting tonight… I’ve especially grown to like that this is a rooibos, but has no woodsy flavor, caffeine free late night dessert like treat! This is soon to be a sad sipdown, only to mean I will finally be forced to place an order w/Simpson & Vail. I keep hoping they will do some random free shipping offer but I will likely meet the free shipping minimum w/little effort as I have several there I’d like to get more of and some I’d like to try anyway.

Thanks again MissB for such a generous sample of this one… I surely have enjoyed it, and enjoyed sharing it.

Last night I was looking for something w/o a caffeine base, but wanted something easy as we had had a long day. I had picked this up earlier in the week when Hubby and I made a trip out of town for a little shopping. Unfortunately, we weren’t near any tea shops, but we did make it into a HomeGoods so I checked out their tea section and found a stackable set of Zhena’s Chai teas and picked up a Zhena’s Raspberry mint as well. MissB had sent me some of the coconut chai recently, and although I hadn’t tried it before this trip, I had read the reviews and was expecting a good experience with their chais. Knowing I have little opportunity to pick up great teas locally, I grabbed at the chance.

Cinnamon and chocolate are not a favorite mix of mine if you are talking dessert. My mom makes a cake that is rich & chocolatey… I’ve had others versions of the same cake with the addition of cinnamon and I’d rather just pass on them. Somehow though, it seems to work for me in tea.

I found this blend to be rich and inviting as I had wanted for something warm when we came in from the cold. We have had a couple of nice days where you just need a jacket or a sweatshirt, but last night.. cold again, Ugh! The rich chocolate paired with the spice, although not overly so, of the chai made for a nice heartwarming cup… I can see why MissB has been a fan of chocolate chai as of lately. This was a nice blend of the two and with little to no caffeine (not sure if the cocoa they use has caffeine). Glad I picked this one up.

I think this is my first Yerbe Mate tea… Whoo Hoo… Might need the energy today anyway… Gonna be a long one!

Chocolate sounded good this morning and I have been sleeping weird lately, so this looked like a blessing in my sample box. You know how you sleep all night and get up feeling like you just crawled into bed and don’t remember sleeping… Yeah, that… Ugh! I’ve done that for several days lately and most afternoons wish I could just catch a small nap, and I am not a nap taker.

Anyway, this is the first blend I’ve had that looks like a cocoa powder mess. I wasn’t sure how that would translate to the cup, and didn’t bother to smell it as I was afraid of the sneezing it may start.

Steeped I get a nice chocolate looking cup, a bit watery to the taste, but I think I might have under leafed a bit. Some of the cocoa settles as it sits, and I probably only notice this because I’m using a glass mug this morning. The combination of chocolate and cinnamon confuses me. In a chocolate cake dessert, forgo the cinnamon please, but in a tea so far I seem to be ok with it. This tastes of chocolate and cinnamon, and as it cools I almost lose some of the spice and get caramel… which I like as well.

The bottom of the cup is a bit murky and off putting w/all the cocoa left behind, but I simply left that to rinse out of my cup. I imagine this would be great as a latte… I have a bit left and might have to just try that. Thanks MissB for sending some of this my way!

Another green tea I tried over the weekend. This from a mystery stash from several moons ago… thanks Janelle!

I was in the mood for a green as I had already had my black tea of the morning and this one almost literally jumped out at me so I thought I’d give it a go.

Dry it smells of tart green apple. Steeped I get a buttery apple with a slight hint of some kind of cinnamon or spice?? Not sure if I’m tasting spice, but there is something beyond just apple in this cup for me. I think the mix of green and white teas go well here in making a buttery cup w/o being vegetal. I wish I could pick out what I’m tasting besides apple, but otherwise a pretty decent cup.

I had a cup of this on Friday afternoon when I was in the mood to try a green… they aren’t always my thing but I do get in the mood for one and eventually get through samples.

This one being coconut sounded like a good choice since I’m enjoying my teas w/coconut right now. Maybe it’s my longing for Spring/Summer that is pulling me towards the flavor… Seems a never ending winter this year!

Dry leaf, this one smells of sweet coconut. Steeped I get both green tea and coconut…. but with the green coming through just a bit too much for my liking. Must have been the day since it looks like I really enjoyed this the last time.

Snowing Again!! I thought it was supposed to be Spring!

I had this late last week and just now getting around to writing a note. I love coconut & spice in tea, so theoretically this should work for me… Thanks MissB for sending some my way to try.

I finally got around to trying this one. I sometimes have trouble getting myself to try teabags because I think I’ll save them and take them with me for easy tea on the go, but then I always forget them.. sigh.

This is the first tea bag I’ve seen that seems to turn itself into a bubble and float while it steeps. I was a bit annoyed at this at first, but decided it must be the way it’s made and let it go.

I found this tea to be an interesting blend. First sip I got all coconut with a touch of spice behind it.. Yum! The following sips were more of a blend of the flavors, although I had to think about coconut to notice it sometimes. I’m not used to having chai w/other flavors, so maybe it’s something to get used to for me. I like this one, not my favorite chai right now, but thinking it may grow on me some.

I’ve been wanting to get this in the fridge as a cold steep for some time, but somehow couldn’t muster the effort to do it. When it’s chilly out, I find I would rather have something warm in my hands to drink.. especially now that I found loose leaf teas late last year. Actually, this is one of my first attempts at cold steeping.

I do have cold juices in the fridge, and the occasional soda, but I don’t find that I make much tea in the winter months… and this winter just seems to linger on. I think that another reason I don’t often make iced tea in the winter is because I always add fresh spearmint from our garden in the summer and it just isn’t the same w/o it. Maybe I’ll have to dry some this year so I have plenty to add to teas next winter!

I cold steeped this one a few days ago in the fridge for the day and strained it in the evening. I took a bit out to try it myself and sent the rest with Hubby to work. Last night he came home and was asking if we had more of “that tea”. Of course, he was speaking of this one.

Cold steeped this one comes across as sweet, lemony, and refreshing… I added my normal touch of sugar to this one. Nothing acidic or tartness in this one. Just smooth and refreshing. This is my first try of bamboo tea, so I couldn’t pick that out. This would be a nice summertime drink.

I went online to Zen teas website to see what all they offer and see what the cost of this one was and it wasn’t currently on their website, although they did have one w/lemongrass and cranberry that sounded like it might be a nice summer blend. I am coming around to citrus in tea… Thanks to a few kind people sending samples my way!

I have another bamboo one to try cold steeped and we will see how that one turns out. Hubby is ready to explore the cold steeped blends on his days at work… So, I’m going to have to figure out a system to have them ready for him. He usually leaves when I’m still sleeping, so would need to have them ready for him to grab and go w/o straining them himself. I’m thinking I will steep them during the day and strain them in the evening after dinner. I will likely be shortly behind him in my interest in cold blends and will try what I send with him daily to get a taste for what we might want to order for larger batches this summer.