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I ended up having this as a midmorning tea after sleeping in. I was surprised by how light the tea was after steeping for seven minutes. The smell was pleasant. There was hit of floral, and something underneath that I kind of recognized from drinking Cantaloupe Bai Mu Dan by 52teas.com.

The first couple of sips had that floral note, but eventually that note seemed to fall away. The tea cooled rather quickly, which I thought might bring some of the flavor back, but no, it didn’t. It still had that very light flavor I associate with white tea, which isn’t unpleasant, just very wasn’t very flavorful.

Any suggestions would be helpful if someone out there has a different way of brewing this than the instructions given by adagio.com.

I mixed this with some of 52teas.com’s ultimate citrus spice black tea. Very yummy.

Wow, the first sip is so smooth. There is just a hint of bitterness from the chocolate, I think. It could be I steeped it too long. However, the sweetness of the berries show up as the tea goes down, and the effect if very yummy. I am definitely going to have to try this with a bit of creamer.

Edited 3/27: Resteeped this this morning, and with some creamer and honey, it was kind of like eating really good cake. Can’t wait to try this again.

So I’m giving this a little bump in rating now that I have my favorite way to prepare. For the first infusion, I steeped it for four minutes, which really seemed to work. The coconut and cream kind of fall to the back, and you get this big roasted flavor from the almonds. Some creamer and honey kind of pulled that coconut flavor forward a bit on the end of the sip.

I managed to get a very nice second infusion by steeping for five minutes. The roasted taste of the almonds was quite so big, but again, a little creamer and honey really brought the coconut taste forward.

I think I’m going to take a little break from this for now to try some of those other blends I bought :D.

Still trying to get the steeping times right, but I think I almost have it :D Very yummy, especially with a bit of creamer.

Smelling the loose tea was confusing. It looks exactly like the earl grey bravo, but the smell is a bit off — not bad, just vanilla and cream I suppose. I haven’t really been exposed to cream tea until last night, and I don’t know if I like it much.

The first infusion had this strange smoothness to the taste that contrasted with the bitter citrus of the bergamot and made it POP. I couldn’t really taste vanilla or cream, but I could smell the vanilla. At first, I just thought the tea was more astringent than the earl grey bravo, but realized that it was the bergamot when my mouth didn’t get that funny dryness that astringent tea causes.

The second infusion wasn’t very flavorful. I only steeped it for four minutes, so I’ll have to try a longer steeping time. All in all, the second infusion was okay by the end. As it cooled I got a hint of citrus and vanilla.

All in all, it was okay. I wasn’t prepared for how big the bergamot was going to be in the first infusion, but I like bergamot, so it wasn’t a big deal. If I can find a proper steeping time for a second infusion, I could see this becoming a “sometime in the morning” tea to replace my usual earl grey if I need something different.

Wow, I couldn’t believe it when I realize that no one else has tried this. This blend was made by a good friend with excellent taste (feel free to speak up, if you want to) who also introduced me to steepster and loose tea.

When I opened the bag, the smell made my stomach growl. Sweet coconut with an almond undertone and something that just had to be the cream component. I’ve never had a cream flavored tea, so I didn’t know quite what to expect.

I steeped both infusions for five minutes, which might have been too long for the first infusion. The almond came across as kind of woody, sort of like the aftertaste of eating a large handful of roasted almonds. Not unpleasant but not a favorite. The coconut came through clear on each sip, and the tea itself wasn’t bitter, but it wasn’t as sweet as the loose tea had smelled.

For the second infusion, I added a tsp of honey just to see how it would turn out. I’m not sure if this tea isn’t up for a second infusion or not, but it completely masked the almond and made it almost too sweet. The coconut only came through in the aftertaste. Once the tea had come almost to room temperture, another taste seemed to develop, a blending of coconut and almond and was quite delicious.

I’m definitely going to have to experiment with this tea, especially with icing it I think. Once that second cup got to room temperature, it was kind of like another tea altogether.

If this is a rut, I really think I’m liking it. I actually fell asleep waiting for the water to boil because I forgot to turn the eye on :D. This did such a nice job of waking me up this morning.

After tonight’s cup, I’m upping my score to 100. This was a lovely addition to my dinner meal. I’m beginning to think that green or white tea will be my tea of choice at dinner from now on. There is just something about the way the cantaloupe starts the sip, then the white tea comes through as you swallow that is just mellow. Very relaxing.

I don’t think chais are a good morning thing for me. This was nice, but a little too rich once I put in creamer and honey. Definitely an evening tea.