t Leaf T

Oh wow, I could drink an entire bucket of this one, I think! Delicious! Love the spices, love the smell, etc etc. I don’t think I steeped it for long enough, as the taste was a little milder than what I was expecting, but overall, this is definitely a thumbs up. I love chais that feature cinnamon, especially when the are caffeine free so I can drink them right before bed!

I didn’t like this one as much as I thought I would – I think the addition of the lemongrass was what killed it. Which is sad, as I usually quite like lemongrass. I did like the string mint and lime flavour, though, and maybe this is what should have been concentrated on? I also didn’t add an milk to this one due to the hibiscus. This is still a good tea, but just be prepared for a bit of an unusual flavour for something with ‘Mojito’ as the name.

Yum! I generally don’t drink Assam blends as often as I do Darjeelings (because those are m precious), but I clearly have to try anything with ‘New Zealand’ in the name while I’m here, LOL. This definitely works as a wake up tea, and as with all of my plain blacks, I added milk.

Sleigh Ride is one of my beloved blends from DT, and I was curious to see if this one would be anything similar to it. I was sort of correct, LOL, as there’s a lot more going on in this one than in Sleigh Ride, so the taste was a bit weird – I find tea that have a bunch of flavour profiles don’t necessarily do them all well. I did enjoy my cup, though, and I do like that it’s caffeine free!

The organic peppermint from DT was a staple in m tea cupboard at home, so I am so glad to find a suitable replacement here in NZ. This one is a necessary brew when I have stomach troubles, so I’m happy to have this on hand. The smell is divine and there’s nothing extra added – as it should be

This definitely has more punch to it than your typical English breakfast tea, which I definitely liked… I do enjoy a strong cup :) Delish with a bit of milk and much appreciated on a chilly winter morning the other day!

I just ordered a crapton of samples from t leaf T, so my next few reviews will be from them, LOL.

I was hoping this one would be similar to Super Ginger from DT, and while the addition of the lemongrass and kawakawa (which I had never heard of until I tried this) does make a difference in the taste (no shocker there), I felt it works as a replacement. I don’t think I’d drink this one a lot, but it’s definitely good to have on hand when the ginger fix needs attention, haha

YES A DARJEELING MY LIFE IS COMPLETE.

…Sorry. I have just been missing my various bags of darjeeling at home, and I managed to wrangle a sample of this is Wellington last weekend and it is YUMMY. Will definitely be ordering more.

Hurrah, loose leaf tea from NZ! And whoa, what a start! This was DELICIOUS (thanks to the tea guide in the Wellington store for recommending it). Perfect with some milk and some treats. Looking forward to getting more of this one, since I just had a sample pack.

Best breakfast tea!! most recommended.

A deep red/purple color in the cup. Very berry, strawberry-esque flavor. Probably would be better as a soft drink or cocktail than as a tea.

This sencha green tea flavoured with rose blossoms has a hint of vanilla as the main flavour that I detect. Not sure where the “sakura cherries” taste comes in. (If you want a truly cherry flavoured tea on a black tea base I recommend Tea Total Wild Cherry). In saying that, this tea is pleasant, light and good with a little sweetener. As long as you don’t steep for too long (3 min max) it does not become bitter. Good to have on hand for when you’ve run out of milk and crave a hot drink.

What kind of kiss would this be, maybe a peck on the cheek? There’s also a hint of “pot pourri” in this tea, reminiscent of something I have tasted in Monk’s Blend. If you want a ginger flavoured tea maybe cut some slivers of fresh ginger root and add to your tea. That way it wouldn’t need the extra, unspecified ‘flavouring’. Not a lot of zing as you would expect from ginger. Overall, this tea is mild and drinkable but it’s not something I would stock up on.

Delicious. Get this for the peachy flavour, no bitter taste, probably even nicer iced.

This is mango flavoured green tea with sunflower blossoms. I specifically wanted to make this iced, but got a bit overzealous with steeping it I think. Used 2 slightly heaped tablespoons tea for 1 litre of water. Steeping time at least 15 mins, steeped twice with more water before chilling overnight. It’s probably my own fault that it had become bitter, wanting to get as much flavour out as possible.

A blend of Ceylon and Darjeeling, this ‘morning tea’ is good to drink any time. It’s pleasantly fragrant, luscious and quite drinkable. Only bought this since there’s no assam in it (which so often is in ‘breakfast tea’ and reminds me too much of my supermarket teabag days). I think it’s the Darjeeling in here that’s the interesting taste. It has some vegetal characteristics, amongst other things. Give me more I’d say. T leaf T’s website is currently out of stock on this (you can still buy samples), so I’d say I’m not the only one who likes it.

Only suggestion is maybe they can give it a more interesting name.

Had this with milk & sugar.

Very interesting blend to say the least. Complex scents and flavours; I detect floral, perfume, incense, bergamot, a whole mixture like someone’s gone crazy adding this and that to the blend. Reminiscent of potpourri in a way. Hard to decide whether I like it, or whether it’s just too weird.

Bit of a nondescript vanilla rooibos. Hasn’t got the intense vanilla scent you sometimes get in flavoured looseleaf tea. I’ll admit I’ve never drank plain rooibos (only flavoured) so I don’t know if what I can predominantly taste is the rooibos or the ‘vanilla’. I would prefer t Leaf T’s red vanilla raspberry if I had to choose between the two. I have so many samples to get through, this one wasn’t a stand out for me.

Coffee drinkers would like this Chinese black tea. I found it a bit ashy and yes – having a kind of coffee aftertaste, not the kind of thing I’m looking for. Might try a shorter steeping time with the remainder of the sample.

This unobtrusive orange pekoe tea from Sri Lanka is smooth and very drinkable, I much prefer it to any assam tea. This would be good to have on hand when you’re busy and just want to mindlessly drink something hot and aren’t looking for something to tantalise the tastebuds. Got more than 1 steep out of it, so it’s economical. Contained quite a few bits of stem I see now (examining the wet tea leaf), but it was just average priced so it’s to be expected I suppose.

Miss 5 chose this for me to drink today. She was also intrigued with a tea by the name of ‘gunpowder’. Not sure exactly how to describe it – It definitely tastes like a green tea, but if it’s possible it partially leans towards tasting like an oolong.

The dry leaves didn’t exactly look like in the picture , not rolled up into grey-green pellets but close, there were also little sticks/stems in the mixture. The description said large leaves rolled up but when wet it was just cut pieces of large-ish leaves.

I recommend this tea but it’s not something I would stock up on. I’m not a huge fan of green tea anyhow but am trying as many tea samples as possible so had to give this a go.

I had been shunning tea with rose in it ever since my experience with the ghastly artificial rose flavoured tea I bought at the start of my tea sampling days.

But I have a newly-found love of Chinese black tea, and the ingredients promised only that and rose petals, so I gave it a chance. It lived up to the description on the packet and no nasty chemical ‘rose’ scent.

The rose petals added a very subtle flavour to the Chinese tea base. I desperately wanted to love this tea, rather than just like it. But the rose was just a little too delicate, like a beautiful flower hiding in the tall grass.

With the remaining sample I may try to either brew it for longer or use less water. This tea shows promise, maybe add a few more rose petals or buds.

I got a free tin of this (4 pyramid sachets) with my latest tea order. T’is the season so I brewed one right away. Reasonably spicy, and strong enough to fill a large infuser mug using 1 sachet (second brew much lighter). It’s quite nice. Since I don’t associate Christmas with “spice” in any way, it didn’t really conjure up any Christmas feelings, but I hadn’t expected it to. It may do for somebody else. I recommend this tea, although it doesn’t stand out in any way that makes me think ‘wow’.