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Subtle perfume of jasmine. I found this to be kind of delicate and vegetal without a pronounced mouthfeel. The dry pearls have a strong, grassy/vegetal aroma with a background aroma that- crazy as it sounds- almost reminded me of coffee or cocoa. I didn’t expect that. I’ll have to read other reviews to see if I’m the only one with this impression.

In comparison, when I take in the aroma of Teavana’s jasmine pearls, I don’t get that background aroma at all, and get a sharper aroma that is both “green” and jasminy. The jasmine scent is of a different quality as well- as if a different type of jasmine were used or maybe a different scenting method.

Both teas are fine- I enjoy them greatly. It was important for me to try Teavivre;s after trying Teavana’s because I felt I might get a more authentic jasmine dragon pearl. When I think of Teavana I think of cloyingly sweet teas, and I wondered if they might make the jasmine scent stronger in keeping with this reputation. I would definitely say Teavana’s jasmine scent is stronger than Teavivre’s jasmine.

Which do I like most? I’d drink either, but I like Teavivre’s subtle flavor and aroma better, I think.

I liked this tea so much that it kicked me off into trying loose leaf. Now I have a large stash of loose leaf teas, yet I still like the flavor blend in Zen tea so much that I decided to make my own blend at Adagio to see if I could make it better. I ended up with what I call Meditation Bliss. It isn’t exactly the same, but I think it’s what this tea would be if it were fresher and higher quality. I love lemon grass and find Zen’s combination of lemongrass and spearmint definitely refreshing. Even their bottled version is good, although it is sweeeet.

I still like Zen well enough and am currently making iced tea out of it with their supersized teabags. It’s really the only bagged tea I buy, and it’s a rare purchase.

(This is the GRADE 1).

I found this tea to be somewhat bitter. I steeped it only three minutes at just under boiling temperature. Its not a “bad” bitterness, though. It has a nice aroma that seems slightly perfumed, and a subtly smooth mouthfeel. Drinking from a black mug (since my white one broke!) brings out the dark reddish undertones in the liquid- very pretty. For me, this is a tea I might drink as a morning pick-me-up, perhaps because of the slight bitterness. It’s not one of my favorite teas, but definitely not one I’d want to discard. I need to drink it more in order to appreciate its qualities.

This is some hardcore “chai” (I use the term loosely – is there even any tea in it?) It reminds me of a spice bag for slow-cooking some cut of meat over the holidays. Very strong aroma- perfect for wintry evenings and cool spring days. Its definitely more cinnamon-y than anything else. I like it with vanilla almond milk and, sometimes, some type of sweetener. Since its got such a strong mélange of flavors, I don’t mind adding agave nectar, as its flavor doesn’t ruin the chai (I use rock sugar if I don’t want to taste the sweetener itself). I’m not the biggest fan of chai, and would put this in the “go big or go home” category. Nothing timid about this stuff.

This didn’t work for me at all. It’s certainly interesting- I like interesting mixes. But this one…. The aromas don’t mingle well, to my nose. I taste bitterness but smell sweetness. Perhaps strawberry and ginger are too odd a pairing for me.

This is my first white tea so I didn’t know what to expect. I didn’t read the instructions so my first cup had about 2 cups of water and one tsp of tea. The tea was a pretty, pale yellow with a light, slightly vegetal flavor and woodsy aroma. But I wasn’t sure what I was tasting. It’s definitely relaxing and smooth. I added a little stevia, which brought out the floral undertones in the taste. Now, according to the instructions I looked at here, I didn’t have enough leaves, so I made another mug, this time stronger.

This time I can really taste the “greenness”, and as the tea cooled, there was more of a floral undertone to the aroma. I liked the tea stronger but you know what? I like it better weaker.

I love the aroma as this tea steeps. It smells fresh and earthy, like walking through a forest after a rain. The flavor is also earthy, but my tea vocabulary is too lacking to describe the tea well- I’ll leave the description to more experienced members. The tea’s aroma is so prominent that it is a true part of the drinking experience- I love it.

OK, so Mountain Rose Herbs sells this as a bulk herb rather than as a tea, so the smallest amount I could buy was 4 oz. That’s A LOT of lemongrass! Luckily, it makes a superb tea with multiple infusions. The smell of this herb is wonderful. Just a light, bright, sunny aroma that makes me smile. The aroma of the brewing tea is just as inviting. The lemon aroma is more subtle than the grassy, more vegetal aroma surrounding it, but it’s there, and makes me think of sunny Spring and Summer days. I love to mix this with mint for a lovely blended tea.

I leave it to you to determine the temperature of the water and how long to steep it. I’ve steeped it for 2-3 minutes using boiling water (very enjoyable), and I’ve steeped it using very hot water from my thermos and letting it steep for 3 – 5 minutes- very enjoyable as well. I have yet to sweeten it with anything. This is definitely a favorite for me, both alone and in blends.

I still have that cold/virus/bronchitis thing that’s hit the nation, and for the past week I’ve been coughing like crazy. I had ordered TeaLuxe’s Throat Tender the week before, thinking I wouldn’t need it by the time it arrived, but here I am, still hacking away. I brewed a cup of this spicy, flavorful tea tonight in the hope that my tender throat would feel better.

Honestly, I’m not sure what I expected. I was curious about the ingredients- especially the slippery elm, which I thought it would make the tea velvety. I think Dragonwell green tea is more velvety than this. I had to add sweetener because the flavor was strong and a bit too bitter for me. With the sweetener it was palatable and, like chai, comforting in the way it warmed me up.

The tea is very pretty, as you can see in the photo, and the liquid is an attractive reddish-amber. I’m not sure this will help my throat, but taking this “cure” isn’t a chore by any means.