74 Tasting Notes

Let me confess to being past my sixtieth birthday. In my more adventurous youth I did things I haven’t done in a long time—and I’m not speaking of sex. I’m prefacing my review thusly, so you understand I’m working from memory here. The taste of this tea reminds me strongly of the taste of…smoking weed. There seems to be a deep, burnt flavor to it, amid all the greenness of the green tea and the mint leaves. I cannot discern more than a hint of the lemon which is supposed to be in this. But really, every time I have made this tea, the flavor takes me back to my twenties and smoking weed—doesn’t get you high, just tastes like it.

Flavors: Burnt, Cannabis, Grass, Herbaceous, Lemongrass, Mint

Preparation
205 °F / 96 °C 8 min or more 5 tsp 58 OZ / 1715 ML

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57

Today August 26, 2016 was the 96th anniversary of the day American women got the vote. I chose to celebrate by making my first pot of this RoT Downton Abbey tea, which features a picture of Penelope Wilton as Isobel Crawley and Dame Maggie Smith as Lady Violet, the Dowager Countess. Their two characters were both such strong women that it seemed fitting to me to make this today’s pot of tea. None of my other teas even have that remote a connection, so why not? At least these two characters date from around the time of the suffragettes, and Mrs. Crawley was a big advocate of rights for others, decades before such things were popular.
The label says these two characters “…do not agree on much when they have their afternoon tea—but they would agree on this delightful caffeine-free blend. Fragrant garden herbs such as ginger, orange bergamot mint and lemon thyme add depth and sweetness to a pleasant conversation.” Oddly, although the strongest flavor of this blend is anise, due to two ingredients (anise hyssop and anise seeds)—neither of those are mentioned! This is a disservice, both to those who love anise and to those who feel the opposite.
Truly, anise is the predominating flavor in this tea, and one should know in advance whether to stock up on this tea, or avoid it. I fall into the latter camp, but even so can value the occasional anise tea for soothing a sore throat.
I will have to try this one again, as this pot is cold now, and am nowhere near the kitchen to try to describe it hot.
My other quibble is that three ingredients are not available for inclusion here at Steepster (orange bergamot mint, lemon thyme, and anise hyssop), nor was there a box to click for it being Certified Gluten-Free.

Flavors: Anise

Preparation
200 °F / 93 °C 7 min, 30 sec 6 tsp 50 OZ / 1478 ML

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79

The first time I had this (about a year ago), I hadn’t particularly liked it, but I think that was because I sweetened it then, and found it a little bit too much like drinking a pastry. I found I enjoyed this this time, when unsweetened (though I suspect the opposite may hold true for a number of tea drinkers).
Got 2 bags of this, so brewed them together. For those who may not know, when Brits use the word “pudding” it can also be used to mean “dessert”, not just the soft, custard-like stuff served in bowls. I believe that’s how the word is meant here: as a “dessert” tea.
It certainly has a near-sweetness to it, even without sugar or other sweeteners. I felt like I was tasting pastry, even with none present. It seems to have a nuttiness, as well. I liked it—maybe as a fall tea, to enjoy watching the pretty leaves outside the window, or at campside.

Flavors: Brown Sugar, Butter, Caramel, Cookie, Dried Fruit, Graham Cracker, Nuts, Nutty, Pastries, Round

Preparation
200 °F / 93 °C 5 min, 0 sec 2 tsp 20 OZ / 591 ML

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80

I just had a personal taste test comparing this to CS Lemon Zinger. Whoa—while this tea may be named “I Love Lemon”, I’m afraid it can’t hold a candle to Celestial Seasonings’ “Lemon Zinger”. I still like this, but it’s just not as intensely lemony. I gave this a “90” my first rating here, but after having experienced the Lemon Zinger, I downgraded this to an “80”. Still like this, would still recommend it, but with the proviso it’s for those who prefer less acidity, less intensity.

Preparation
Boiling 5 min, 15 sec 1 tsp 10 OZ / 295 ML

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90

I do love lemon, and I love it in my black tea. Just rating this as itself, I like it a lot. It’s got an intensity I enjoy. There’s a nice depth to the flavor. I note others have whined about the hibiscus, but I don’t know what they’re talking about. This is a nice lemony tea. When I don’t have any fresh lemon to add to my cup of black tea, I simply use a bag or two of this thrown into the pot—problem solved. It’s also excellent in a blend of mixed teas. This is better than Bigelow’s “I Love Lemon” tea, which is nowhere near as lemony as this is. It’s even good unsweetened.

Flavors: Lemon, Lemon Zest

Preparation
Boiling 5 min, 0 sec 1 tsp 10 OZ / 295 ML

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56

Picked this tea up about a year ago in NY. I have not seen it here in the midwest. I didn’t add sweetener, as the fragrance of the fruit and chamomile was so sweet, I decided it wasn’t really needed. This is a very mild tea, even after a long steep time. The scent tends toward the pineapple, yet the taste is more the chamomile. Did not really notice any licorice notes, as perceived by another reviewer. However, there’s a slight aftertaste of bubble gum, which I did not care for. There’s a little rawness at the back of my throat, but I think I may have a mild allergy to plants in the chamomile family. All in all still a decent herbal tea, good for relaxing on a summer’s night, or for adding to blends of other teas.

Flavors: Pineapple

Preparation
195 °F / 90 °C 7 min, 30 sec 5 tsp 42 OZ / 1242 ML

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80

I love lemon and sugar in my black tea; it’s how I was brought up to drink it , in the Russian style. Since I don’t always have access to pieces of fresh lemon when I make tea, I keep this on hand as a worthwhile substitute. I add a bag or two of this with my 2 to 6 bags of regular tea, and it’s nearly as good as having some fresh lemon. I also add it to other herbal teas, as an all-purpose great ‘mixer’ with other teas of any kind.
So here I am trying it all by itself. I like it! I like it a lot. It’s got a great, fresh true lemon flavor. I even like it unsweetened, it’s that good. So do I recommend this? Yes, highly!

Flavors: Lemon, Lemon Zest, Lemongrass

Preparation
190 °F / 87 °C 7 min, 0 sec 1 tsp 11 OZ / 325 ML

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53

Bought this in winter because it seemed like a good therapeutic tea to keep on hand during cold season. Fortunately, I never needed it for medicinal purposes. As the anise/licorice flavor was so prominent, I used it a bag at a time in combination with other teas, to soften its flavor profile I don’t know which ingredient soothes the throat the most, but that effect still takes place, even blended as one bag of this with five bags of other teas in one pot.

NOW—the part I never even noticed until before I drank the last bag by itself, so I could review it here: The WARNINGS!! Dunno about you, but I am so used to drinking herbal teas and blends that I forget that all the different plants which make up herbal teas HAVE DIFFERENT EFFECTS ON THE HUMAN BODY. Especially now that I’m getting older and taking daily meds, I have to start paying attention and READ THE HERBAL TEA BOX BEFORE I BUY IT, IN CASE I SHOULDN’T BLEND IT WITH MY MEDS.
This is the entire paragraph at the bottom underneath the “Supplement Facts” box:
CONSULT YOUR HEALTHCARE PRACTITIONER prior to use: if you have low potassium levels, if you have rheumatoid arthritis, an auto-immune disorder or a progressive systemic disease such as tuberculosis, leukosis, collagenous, multiple sclerosis, AIDS or HIV infections; if you are taking immunosuppressants, diuretics, corticosteroids, cardiac glycosides such as digoxin, or potassium-depleting agents, or if you are PREGNANT OR BREASTFEEDING.
DO NOT USE this product if you have high blood pressure, heart disease, or impaired kidney or liver function; if you are allergic to plants in the daisy (Asteraceae) family like chamomile or plants in the parsley (Apiaceae) family such as fennel. NOT RECOMMENDED FOR USE WITH CHILDREN UNDER 12 YEARS OF AGE.”

So there you have it—a reminder from me to READ EVERY HERBAL TEA BOX FOR WARNINGS, such as these. Even ones you’ve been drinking for ages—just in case. Fortunately for me, having one bag blended with others over a three month period, the 16 bags didn’t seem to do me any harm, even though I have high blood pressure and should not have been drinking this tea.

Flavors: Anise, Cinnamon, Lemon, Lemongrass, Licorice

Preparation
195 °F / 90 °C 5 min, 15 sec 1 tsp 12 OZ / 354 ML

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57

This is a very mild tea. I used too much water for one pyramid, but it was still tasty. I find Ceylon tea to be awfully mild; this being decaffeinated meant it was even weaker-tasting. However, I get bothered by caffeine, especially heading into evening, so when I want a nighttime cuppa, I go for the decaf. Mainly I used these teabags to blend with others, like Constant Comment (both reg and decaf), other orange or orange/spice combos.

Flavors: Orange, Orange Zest

Preparation
185 °F / 85 °C 5 min, 30 sec 1 tsp 13 OZ / 384 ML

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78

Bought a great little sample box of 10 teabags at Gene’s Sausages (important, since this is an excellent deli, and I don’t want to forget where I found this). Made 5 bags in one coffee carafe full of water. Can’t have too much caffeine, so did not brew as long or strong as I might have, especially having read other reviews of it being strong . Even kind of weakly brewed, this has an assertive presence, which I like in my black teas. Sometime when I haven’t been plagued by muscle cramps, I’ll have a cup made more strongly, since taste-wise I do prefer that, and can tell this will suit very nicely.

Preparation
195 °F / 90 °C 5 min, 15 sec 5 tsp 50 OZ / 1478 ML

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Seems to me there’s a thin line between true discernment and pretentious twaddle. I’ll write what teas work for me, why I like them or not. I’m not the connoisseur some folks here are, but I think you will get a fair assessment of whatever tea I write about.

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