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Appropriately named and quite pleasant, I had no trouble finishing off this sampler, but it’s not a tea I’d buy again. There was something in the blend that lingered after the sip was done, to which my palate mildly objected. I’m not entirely certain what it was, but there are so many blends out there—indeed, so many blends in my own stash—that I don’t feel compelled to overthink a reaction; I’m content to move on quickly and find the next blend I’ll want to keep stocked always.

A teaxperience in four acts:

Act I: Regular steep, hot water only. I was immediately disappointed. This is very clearly, for me, a blend that wants some sort of cream and sweetener.

Act II: Oat mylk steep. Too oaty. Slightly better than a plain-water steep, but not by much.

Act III: Pistachio mylk steep. Better than oat. Still not great.

Act IV: Almond mylk steep. I had high hopes for this one, so I was disappointed by how impressively mediocre it was. I did dump in a whole lot of sugar this time, which made it more palatable but also very anti-diabetic.

Almond mylk was by far the best, and really were I in a more generous mood I might even call it pretty good, but at this point I was honestly just engrumbled by the sheer effort I had to put into making this taste good. I am exceedingly lazy and have a lot of love for blends that taste good no matter what I do to them.

I should say something about the flavour and fragrance, I reckon: essentially, it’s not gingery enough for me.

I need to trust 52teas more than I do my own taste buds and preconceived notions. I saw “lemon,” I thought “tart,” and my nose did a crinkly thing of its own accord. I was not looking forward to this tea.

I’m so glad I ignored me and went for it anyway because I was too lazy to go hunting for a different tea packet. It’s divine! And I’ve got the very last packet of it in my cart right now, so please don’t rush to buy it.

The dry leaf blend is fragrant, but what’s really lovely is the wet mush that’s left in the strainer after steeping—it smells so good, like warm blueberry-lemon muffins just out of the oven. The biggest surprise is the sip: it’s smooth and mellow and bright and energising* and not – at – all – tart! There’s a little less berry in the flavour than in the fragrance, but that could be attributed to the way the ingredients landed after I shook the packet; I may throw a few dried blueberries into the next steep for a stronger berry presence.

52teas recommend having this iced, which is what I shall try next.

*Honestly this is something I always attribute to citrus, true or not. ¯\(ツ)/¯

This blend is remarkable because I like it—and I shouldn’t. I don’t like vanilla, and it features prominently here. I didn’t think that marshmallow had much of a fragrance of it’s own; it does! As soon as you open the packet, you can smell it. The brew is some of the smoothest black tea I’ve ever had: no bitterness, no harshness, no dryness or tickle at the back of the throat, nothing.

If you like vanilla and marshmallow and black tea, this is a really skilful blend and I think you’ll like it.

[Edit] Yes, I forgot about it and totally oversteeped it but it was fine.

This tea is fantastic. It’s the least fussy green I’ve ever steeped. The green is bright and light, not nutty, ricey, or vegetal. The lemongrass and bergamot both come through beautifully—if you like both lemongrass and Earl Grey, you’ll like this one. Don’t worry about letting this one accidentally cool, it’s delicious at almost any temperature (with perhaps the exception of lukewarm): I accidentally left it sitting too long and dumped it in a glass of ice—lovely. Sweetened or un, it doesn’t matter (by which I mean if you tend to like sweetened tea like I do but are trying to cut down, you’ll be happy with this unsweetened).

I keep trying not to drink it because I have so much older tea I need to get through and I keep ignoring everything and just drinking this. The only thing I don’t like is that each tea bag is individually wrapped in plastic; ugh.

It’s just plain rooibos. It has a very rooibos-y flavour. Definitely one of the best rooiboses I’ve ever rooibosed.

I honestly have no idea how I ended up with this tea. I mean, with shelves packed with tea, there’s no reason for me to have bought this. Bagged black tea? From Amazon?

¯\(ツ)/¯

Anyway. I’m not sure what to think about this. Each (standard shaped) teabag is wrapped individually in plastic, which made me a bit unhappy. On the other hand, there is no dissipation of the fragrance, likely due precisely to this wasteful and blatant absence of environmental awareness. It smells sooooo good.

But the quality of the blend is uneven. I’ve now had several cups and some have just the right amount of bergamot while others basically taste like a middling black tea. It’s a surprisingly nice tea, but it could use some quality control. When it’s there, the Earl Grey flavour is pleasant, but not very bold. It stood up well to a bit of sweetening, but I left the mylk out because I was afraid the flavour would disappear completely.

I feel a bit bad not recommending it, but there are much quality-er blends out there.

Mmmmm… flower juice. I have no idea why this is so good. I think I was right about staying away from pure chamomile and sticking to blends; it plays a supporting role here and is really pleasant. Some folks have reported not tasting lavender at all, while some have reported applesauce, chamomile, and lavender. I’m led to believe that either they’re still sorting out their formula or the batches are unbalanced because this? This is (lavender) flower juice. I admit to sweetening it slightly, and it’s lurvely.

Strong in caffeine but less so in flavour. Definitely bolder than most of their blends, but not particularly smooth, and the bitterness sneaks in quite quickly. S’not bad, but s’not PG Tips.

What it says on the tin. It’s perfectly pleasant, but honestly nothing special.