The Tea Table

I’m still trying to figure out what I think of this tea, it is flavored will but something is off. I have had better Black Currant Tea’s and I think that they contained higher quality base teas. Whatever they use to flavor this tea though is pretty good, it doesn’t taste artificial to me which I prefer. I am sort of picky with fruity teas, I love fruit flavored black teas that don’t taste candy like. This tea does not taste candy like at all, I just wish the base tea’s were of a slightly higher quality.

This stuff smelled great, when it was brewed it didn’t live up to the smell. All in all it ended up tasting a like a decent orange pekoe but you could smell some blood orange before you drank it.

On a second try: I let this steep for 7.5 minutes, since the label says to steep for 5-10 min. I actually think this was a mistake because now I can’t taste anything but peppermint. Don’t get me wrong, I love peppermint, but if I want peppermint tea that’s what I’ll drink. This has lots of other ingredients and none of them are in evidence after this long a steep. There is probably one more large cup in the sample, and I will steep that one for less time to see if I can re-experience some of the other ingredients in the cup.

I got this as a sample from The Tea Table and am overall pleased: this is a very minty tisane, with a slightly warm aftertaste in the back of the mouth (I’m assuming this is from the ginger). The color in the cup is medium greenish-brown, and a smell kind of like plain peppermint tea (which I love) but with deeper notes that are hard to pinpoint: a little spice, a little almond, a little flower. You can’t taste the apple or rooibos at all; this is not a fruity tea. I always worry that tisanes with hibiscus or rosehips, which have lots of vitamin C, will have that really off-putting sour taste that you get in some of the “zinger” teas from Celestial Seasonings. But no trace of that here—maybe there just isn’t enough of either to produce the sourness. I like this, as I’m very fond of peppermint + anything, and this one really lets the mint shine. I bet this would be great iced!

I got this as a free sample with a Tea Table order, and I’m glad I didn’t pay for it. It’s rather nondescript as black teas go; I’ve had better black decaf at restaurants where all they have to offer me is a generic brand bag in a tea box they haven’t restocked in years. Brews up darkish brown but still translucent. Brewed smell is of run-of-the-mill black tea, slightly malty. Taste is lightly astringent, with the bitterness disappearing off the tongue quickly, and leaving…nothing. I’m smacking my lips trying to detect any other flavor left in my mouth after swallowing, but it literally tastes as though I just sipped plain hot water. Disappointing for someone like me, who likes the taste of actual camellia sinensis in its various colors, but can’t tolerate much caffeine. Guess I’ll go back to herbals for now.

I like this less in August than I did in June. Funny how the psychological profile of a tea will affect the drinker: if they sell it as a summery tea, I somehow don’t like it as much after summer jumps the shark and I am sick of hot weather.

That having been said, I still like this tea. The flowery and fruity aspects of it come out better with sugar (I used a handful of rock sugar—I LOOOOVE my rock sugar), but are still not as prominent in the tea as they were in the fragrance of the unbrewed leaves. The green base is good but not great. Very drinkable—but then my cupboard is full of drinkable teas. I am still trying to find the line defining what I find merely drinkable and what qualifies to be bought again. I think this tea is right on that line.

Next time I’m going to try it iced; I suspect it will either be great or awful, not in-between. That may help me decide if I want to buy it again!

WOW does this tea smell good in the bag. Summertime is right: fruit and a little flower scent. In the cup it’s a nice dark gold, and smells the same only slightly less fruit and more flower/tea. I am a little disappointed in the flavor though. Maybe I understeeped? (I hate to push my luck with greens; you get that bitter astringency if you oversteep.) It’s just kind of plain grassy green tea flavor, with a hint of the lemon and flower from before. Just a hint. I’m going to put some sugar in the next cup and see if that brings out the flavors. This is pretty drinkable as-is, but nothing special.

Made this as iced tea. Used about 15tsp to make 3cups and diluted to 3qts. Excellent tasting tea. Smooth taste with a nice spearmint after taste.

Made this as iced tea. 3cups of water with about 20 teaspoons of tea. Diluted to make 3qts of iced tea. Very good, naturally sweet. Cherry flavor is definitely there but not over powering. Definitely a staple in the iced tea department.

First try was unsweetened and was good but a little bitter. Second attempt added a little bit of splenda and it was much better. Nothing about it really stands out though.

My evening cuppa, curled up with a good book. I probably have about one cup left, but this is definitely something I will buy again from a different vendor once the tea cupboard calls for more vanilla rooibos (this currently requires drinking two small tins of something similar first, though….).

I have been cleaning out my tea cupboard, and this is one I found that I had less than an ounce left. Surprisingly, I do really like this one. I do have several that are of similar flavor and probably won’t need more for a while, but when I am in the market for a vanilla rooibos again, I hope I remember this one.

I know this is a variety from Metropolitan Tea. I have seen it offered many places. The vanilla is on the strong side. It does have almonds and maybe a light almond taste. I am thinking I like this one better than Red Rocks from The Tea Spot. I will have to try a few more for comparison. (I think I have 4 vanilla-ish varieties of rooibos in my stash….sounds like comparison time!)

Starting off the day with Dr. Oz and Margaret. Another Tea that fairyfly sent me in my Hoppitea basket. This is my second time trying a selection from the garden. It’s bright has that muscatel/nutty flavor that is characteristic to Darjeeling. Darjeeling alway reminds me of fall which is my favorite season. Very good

Not an expert on Chai, but this is one of the better ones I have tried. Neither the chocolate nor the spices are overwhelming, but it creates a complicated mix. I will buy it again. I like to take a travel mug of tea with me to work in the mornings, and some tea just don’t survive being the mug (I think it’s the lack of oxygen). This one survives just fine and still tastes good an hour later.

This tea is everything I was looking for in a rooibos. It’s thick and sweet and beautifully vanilla-y. The taste reminds me of something, but for the life of me, I can’t figure out what. It tastes like a really delicious cookie you never want to stop eating. I love this tea. Might have to try and figure out a way to order it. Thank you so much, SimplyJenW!

Haven’t had much tea this weekend… I was away so when I got back I decided that I wanted to try a new tea and this was it! Upon opening the package it smelled like Christmas to me. I remember one time making an ornament that was an orange and had little cloves stuck in it and then dusted with cinnamon, everyone brought in a different citrus fruit and the room smelled just like this, lots of citrus and cloves yum!

The first sip of this surprised me, I was not sure if I would like this because it sounded kind of boring… nothing to out there. But wow I really liked it, it was very sweet with hints of citrus and I can taste the bergamot as well. This is really good… I I sipped it down pretty quick. When this has cooled it all most tastes like thinned out citrus honey… it is that sweet! I think that this just might be on my re-buy list! Yummy!

Hmmm so this is one of my first serious teas… I am not to sure if I am meant for serious teas! I really enjoy strong fun flavors but anyways here goes this review.

The tea when I open it up smells like black tea… I don’t get very many notes off of it at all. It smells good but just like black tea. After the brewing time, the liquor was a very pale gold color, a lot lighter than I thought it would be espicially for a black tea. but it was pretty, the smell of the leaves still overall had just the simple black tea smell but a hint or two of florals notes.

The first sip I was expecting a lot since darjeeling is suppose to be the champagne of teas so I was a bit underwhelmed. To me it tasted like…. black tea. A bit sweet and it had a bit of astringency to it at the end. After it had cooled, I could taste the floral notes that were a bit sweet, almost fruity. The end of the taste would be a hint of nuttiness or fullness, but it was just a the tiniest bit of nuttiness. I really wanted a bit more nuttiness I think. Anyways it was a good tea just was not overwhelmed by how wonderful it was!

Still on the hunt for a good chocolate tea… This tea smells just like cocoa, with a hint of the woodsy rooibos. There are bits of cocoa bean and some really pretty yellow flower strands.

After the brew, the liquor is of course the nice deep red of a rooibos. It smells mainly like rooibos now, with a hint of chocolate. By the smell, I don’t think that this tea will solve the chocolate hunt.

The firs sip…mmmmm it is pretty creamy and almost minty, with a slight hint of chocolate at the end. The rooibos smells strong but doesn’t taste that strong at all which is the way I prefer it. After a few more sips yup there is a bit of chocolate but the main flavor for me is the end notes that is minty and leaves my mouth refreshed.

The description of this tea makes it sound beyond yummy. I made a cup today after classes and I didn’t taste cherry, cheesecake, caramel or any creamy aspect. Maybe my taste buds are broken since I seem unable to taste many of the notes others have tasted in teas. The black tea was quite robust and had a good, strong taste. There was also a sweetness (which I’ll assume is the cherries, cheesecake and caramel) that makes this quite drinkable without any additions. This is an okay cup of tea. I wish that the dessert flavors were stronger and more defined!

Hmmm,
not to sure what to think of this tea… when I first opened it, a strong strong scent of vanilla came out… I like my tea strong but it was almost to much or it smelled fake.. but it looked beautiful with slices of almond and the flower petals! On the second whiff you could smell the Rooibos or what I assume was the rooibus, woodsy kind of like you are walking into home depot where all the wood is :)

I brewed it and the woodsy scent came out more but it still was really really sweet smelling. I tasted it and thought that it would have had a stronger taste… it was curious. I let it cool a bit and then i was able to taste the vanilla and the rooibos. But it was still pretty weak compared to the smell. I may have to try this one again and let it steep longer! Towards the end I was kind of overwhelmed with the smell since it was so strong. It was ok but I don’t think I would purchase again.

This one smells like a york peppermint patty… Yummm! It has a very nice balance of mint and chocolate and smells a bit like vanilla. Brews up to a nice dark amber color.

The smell is still really nicely balanced with chocolate and mint and you can smell the black tea as well. The taste is smooth. I feel as if I can’t really distinguish any one flavor to be said but it just is really smooth and leaves a nice refreshed feeling in your mouth. I really like it!

Yummmmy smell… what a delicous smell, there is chocolate… who doesn’t like chocolate, and then you can smell the coconut, to me it also smells kind of buttery like some sort of nut…. anyways brewed it up and during the brew I could smell the black tea. It has a nice amber color.

Took a sip and decided that I was going to want a bit more fullness for the taste so I added just a bit of milk and a touch of sugar. This tasted really to me like black tea but it left the taste of coconut and maybe a hint of chocolate at the end. I really liked the aftertaste… to me it would be a good dessert tea because it left that sweetness in the mouth!

I loved the idea of this tea… I have been looking for a replacement for hot chocolate and sadly this is not it. I loved the smell of the tea in the bag.. it smelled sooo chocolaty and you could see the coconut bits but after brewing it, it was just ok…. I let it cool a bit and I could taste the chocolate a bit more but nothing to wow me with… The smell is still so divine though :) Maybe I will mix this with another chocolate tea and get that perfect chocolate tea!

Batrachoid sent this my way! Thanks so much!

This is pretty good. It’s a mellower floral green and when pipping hot better than when it cools. The floral flavor is better when hot, I mean…it leaves a bit of an aftertaste when cooler – but nothing I can’t deal with.