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It smells very minty, with only a hint of chocolate, which I find a bit discouraging. The mint smells like spearmint, which is encouraging.

It tastes strongly of spearmint, with sadly a small note of chocolate at the end of the sip. I am a fan of chocolate. This is a good Moroccan mint, but without much chocolate flavor, it disappoints me. Next time I’ll try it mixed with Chocolate Stout from TeaSource.

It smells toasty, a bit rosy, and delicious!

If they don’t serve this at the Japanese Garden in Portland, it’s a shame. I ordered a box of this based on the concept alone, and I’m glad I did! I love genmaicha, and I love roses. They go great together here. I don’t remember a genmaicha tasting quite this toasty, but I’m definitely a fan.

Contemplate the tranquility of a nice garden while sipping this tea. Mmm.

Nice, bright peppermint with a grassy note. I don’t know if I’ve had peppermint leaves from the Northwest before. It’s a very pleasant taste, much nicer than peppermint starlight candy or minty toothpaste. Heck, I don’t even use minty toothpaste any more. Bleh.

I remember my favorite tea with peppermint was an herbal from Peet’s, from when they made their own teas, called Xiao’s Blend. It had chamomile and peppermint. Oh hey, they still sell it online, interesting. By the pound?! Is it made by Mighty Leaf? So many questions. Would probably be easy enough to approximate with bulk chamomile and peppermint leaves.

Anyway, got off track there. This tea is good. I’ve now tried each type from my Steven Smith sampler, time to make an order to stock the tea shelf at the office.

It’s very pretty in the bag with all the flowers! It smells like chamomile. It tastes a little sweet, with the lemon myrtle standing out a bit above the chamomile. It’s a bit floral too, with a little minty note.

I’ve been going through my Steven Smith sampler at work one tea at a time. I know it’s a bit silly to drink this as a “wake up” tea in the morning… but it is very tasty.

This reminds me of English breakfast, but reinvented. I’m getting used to that concept from Steven Smith.

I taste caramel, black tea, and note of blackstrap molasses and raisins. It’s also a bit sweet. I’m sure this would go fine British style with milk, but it’s great as-is.

I recommend having this magical tea served to you by a silkie in the English countryside before going about your day learning spells from an ancient magus. But however you prefer is probably fine too.

I poured the water slowly and at a distance from the hot water tap at work, to cool it down enough for green tea.

This is a nice, smooth tea. It’s very vegetal, with a strong asparagus note. Good job, Steven Smith.

The water from the water cooler hot tap at work is pretty close to boiling.

This smells nice, subtle bergamot.

The balance is great with this one. The bergamot is present but not overpowering, and there’s a creamy mouthfeel. I’ll bet it would make a great London fog too.

Excellent timing, 52 teas! For my 42nd tasting note, I will honor Douglas Adams. He loved tea and wrote some instructions for Americans new to London, to brew a good pot of earl grey. And he wrote about the number 42 in the Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy books. I’ve heard a lot about this tea from Sara, and my sampler just arrived today!

The leaf smells sweetly of coconut and bergamot.

Brewed, it smells very mild. The coconut and bergamot flavors have a nice, civilized balance going on. I don’t have a lot more to say about it, but it’s very pleasant and tasty. That mug of tea went down very quickly. I want to look up how to make a proper London Fog and try it that way next time.

The scent of the bag is very mild.

Oh wow! It’s like fruitcake but good! :)

This has cinnamon and orange in it, but it’s not that cinnamon-orange combo. I can taste a lot of spices, nicely balanced, including vanilla, marzipan, cookie, and malt. I’m sure there are others, but it’s a well-attended party of spices in there. I’m glad to be invited.

It’s not overpowering, just the right balance.

I started a new job in a very small office. There’s no kitchen. The bathrooms are shared for the entire floor of the office complex. There is a water cooler with instant hot water. I plan to bring in a thermometer to measure the temperature.

Since this is one of my favorite bagged teas, I brought it in for the convenience factor. I may have to get some Steven Smith teas too. Does anyone have any other bagged recommendations? I’m not keen to bring a gravity infuser that I’d have to carry out along with a key to the restroom just to clean it out. There’s no refrigerator here either.

The main flavor note for me is “visiting in Japan in 2007, being driven around Kyuushuu.” It also tastes roasted and woody and twiggy. There’s a light caramel note too, just a little sweet.