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So experimenting with 1 tsp versus 2 tsp. I would have to say that if I were having a problem with my sinuses, I would definitely go with 2 tsps, but for just a lovely cup, 1 tsp is much smoother and tasty. 2 tsp is so strong that it has a medicinal taste that using less tea changes into yummy. Bumping up my rating.

The smell of the raw tea is amazing. The directions say one heaping tsp/cup with a steeping time of 5-10 minutes with boiling water. I’m going for the max steeping time because even with a heaping tsp, it doesn’t look like much. Maybe my heaping is not adagio’s heaping. Who knows.

First infusion: The smell is more floral than citrus. That must be the hibiscus. The first taste is tart but is balanced by a sweetness that complements the tart. Very well balanced. This has the distinction of being the very first loose leaf tea that I don’t need to add anything to or experiment with. Definitely going on my will need more of list. The only thing that could make this better would be just a hint of spice. Maybe I should try blending this with the spiced apple chai.

Second infusion: Very little color to the tea, but the smell has more of a citrus smell. Not a lot of taste, though. I guess this is a one infusion preparation.

This tea smells delicious as soon as you open the pouch. I used the instructions — 2 heaping tsp of tea/cup, boiling water, and five minutes of steeping time.

First infusion: This tasted very astringent and tart, with an appleness toward the end. After the second swallow, I added a tsp of honey. And the apple taste went away completely. What was left was very tea and slightly bitter. So I added some milk, and then the apple taste back and the tea was delicious. Very weird. My daughter liked it more than I did I think.

Second infusion: This didn’t need any additions. There was some tea and spice taste, but it only really came through with a lot of slurping.

I think from now on, I’m going to reach for milk instead of honey if the tea needs something to make it more tasty. Definitely going to do some experimentation to find out if there is some way to drink this without anything. It smells so good, surely there is some way to drink this without an addition.

So at first sniff, the dry tea smells like vanilla coffee. My daughter thinks it smells chocolaty. I was very ambivalent. I brewed it using the directions: 1tsp of tea/cup, boiling water, five minutes of steeping time.

The first smell was gorgeously vanilla and something else that my husband said smelled like a cookie. The first taste was kind of like licking a piece of wood that smelled like vanilla. My husband also agrees. Once I added a teaspoon of honey, the tea became drinkable, but the smell of the vanilla went away. There was this vaguely coffee taste with a woody finish. I never imagined that anything could taste woody, but this definitely has a woody taste (and not oak or pine my friends).

With honey, it isn’t bad, and I will probably finish it unless I decide to see if anyone wants to swap me anything else, but unless I find a better way of using it, like putting it in a cookie, this will be last rooiboss vanilla I drink.

Maybe I just need to try a different rooiboss, any suggestions?

The smell of the unbrewed tea is just fabuous. I followed the directions on the bag — 1 tsp of tea, boiling water, steep for three minutes.

First infusion: very astringent. I can see why people use this as a substitute for coffee. I had to add honey before I could take more than a few sips. Once I did that, suddenly the orange notes started to appear. Wow, that is just yummy and good.

Second infusion: I made the mistake of adding honey before tasting. Again with boiling water and steeping for three minutes. Mmmm, just on the too much side of sweet. It is still astringent, but not like the first infusion. I really need to try the second infusion without honey.

I definitely like this. I’m going to do some experiments with steeping time to see if I can get something that I feel comfortable drinking without honey, but this is pretty good as is.

There is nothing cooler than this gadget for me right now. At least until I get the bigger size. I’m just too used to drinking a pot of tea (my fave pot holds three cups), especially at tea times. Getting a big mug all at once is enjoyable, but I think it might become frustrating at meal times.

I just want to stick my head in the bag. Lovely fresh smell. I love the ziplock bag with the color coding on the outside. I am following their directions for this first cup. I’m also using the ingenuitea, which is almost exactly one cup, but I will probably be doing multiple infusions, just to get an idea of how long this lovely stuff lasts.

So, first infusion, boiling water, steeping approximately five minutes, 2 tsps of peppermint tea per cup, and we have an almost over flowing soup mug. That smells delicious. BTW, there is never going to ever be anything cooler than the ingenutiTEA. At least until I find the next afforadable gadget. The color is just right, a mossy brown, and the smell is just divine. Taste is strong. Very strong to begin with. My sinuses are thankful, but for a minutes I thought I was going to have to get the honey pot, but then it settled. Very smooth but strong.

Second infusion, same tea, boiling water: Color is much lighter. The smell is a little sweeter. Not a lot of taste.

I need to try this with just one teaspoon of tea.

I had exactly two tea bags left of both the cinnamon apple and the chamomile. So I decided to brew all four bags together. Will be drinking them while working on the next project, so, ya know

First cup: Lovely color and delightful smell. Smells like a dessert. The first taste is not very desserty, but there is a tartness there that I like.

Second cup: Less smelly, but the taste is more fruity. I can also, just barely taste the chamomile. Still rather tart on the back end of the swallow. Very tasty.

Third cup: Very little smell, but the taste is very tart with something more of apple than was in the other two cups. What I thought might be the chamomile is gone.

While this is really nice, I don’t think that cinnamon apple herbal tea is my cuppa. It does make me want to try the spiced apple chai I have coming from adagio.com.

Brewing with cinnamon apple, see next tasting note.

The flower is very pretty. The color, even after seven minutes is very light. I tried shewhoreads’s suggestion and followed the directions at the link she gave me on a comment to an earlier tasting note involving raspberry green tea. After navigating that sentence, I think it might be cool enough to sip.

First cup: Smells very pretty. The tea tastes very floral and sweet, but still need to cool. After taking the flower out, I can see the tea has a very light yellow green color. Still smells pretty, and I can really taste the jasmine. There is some astringency that might be tea behind it but it tastes kind of like hot jasmine water.

Second cup: Still smells pretty. Definitely more of a traditional tea taste in this one. First thing you taste is jasmine, then as you swallow, I’m guessing the green tea kicks in. Just not sure if it supposed to be this weak. It still tastes mostly like hot water.

Third cup: Still smells pretty, but with less jasmine taste. If that is what green tea tastes like, why do so many people like it? This is not the same tea note under the raspberry green tea from celestial seasonings. In fact, this is pretty much unpalatable. It leaves my mouth kind of dry from the astringent nature of the tea. I knew this flowering tea was most likely old since I recieved a huge amount with the flowering tea set that I ordered from woot.com, but this is just kind of ridiculous.

No more green tea experiments until I can find something that is like real green tea. Or at least not something that I don’t know when it was prepared.