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I forgot that I included a cup of this in my morning ‘brew five cups at a time’ ritual (yeah, I work from home, this is my life), and when I took a random sip I was like what is this delicious drink?! If that’s not a ringing endorsement I don’t know what is.

Art of Tea does delightful things with rooibos, and I think this is their best. Delicious and sweet, like a pear-flavored dessert without the calories. The sweetness can get a wee bit cloying if you let it cool too much, but hot this is a cup of wondrous caramelly pear goodness. Recommended!

I think I got the last packet of this, which I’ll use as an explanation for the slight flavor of dustiness. I’m used to white teas being subtle, but I could have done with more flavor in this blend overall. I brewed according to the parameters, and for the longest recommended steep time, but I’m still getting, at most, a sort of suggestion of spice and pear in the back of the sip rather than any appreciable taste. Oh well, at least white tea is good for you!

This is the first tulsi tea I’ve ever tasted, and it’s a delight! I’m not sure which flavors are coming from the tulsi itself or the added fruits and flavorings, but it’s a mystery I’m content to leave unsolved for now because the end result is so good. It’s a very green-tasting tea, very bright and light and fresh in my mouth and all that – it reminds me of the flavor of green yerba mate. I’m not really getting apple or pear (maybe a bit of pear), but it’s good enough overall that I feel okay about that.

Glad I decided to try this!

I buy this every once in awhile when I feel like I can’t deal with drinking straight pu-erh any longer, but having worked my way through two ounces now I can’t quite recall why I keep thinking it’s any better. Maybe because I usually have it with milk, and right now I’m just drinking it straight, so I’m getting hit full on with that dusty old flavor that some pu-erhs have. I’m not getting any strawberry at all from this cup, which is weird because you can easily see all kinds of pretty strawberry bits in the tea itself. Where did they go? Did the pu-erh eat them?

Also I’ve now had Lupicia’s Chocolate and Strawberry Pu-erh, which is basically what this tea wants to be in terms of yummy flavoring, but isn’t. Advice: if you want a sweeter flavored pu-erh, buy that instead of this, it is about eight times yummier and I think they even use a better quality base tea.

I pick this one up whenever I see it on sale – it’s a good caffeinated morning cup when I don’t feel up for the heavier flavor of a yerba mate. It’s also a nice perk-up if I’m getting sleepy too early in the evening (example: right now. why am I so tired??). I used to drink this back when it was just plain old Slim Life, and I can’t honestly say I taste much of a difference with the addition of the blueberry. It’s more tart in the way that blueberries are tart, but without really having the taste of the fruit itself, if that makes sense.

Yogi says steep for three minutes, but I find that a 2:45 steep cuts it off just when it’s about to sneak in some bitterness. Also god only knows if this actually helps with weight loss, but for what it’s worth I always take some along with me when I go to visit my grandparents because I know they’ll be plying me with baked goods. Because a cup of caffeinated tea is really going to counterbalance dessert with every meal. Don’t give me that look, it helps me sleep at night.

I must say this oolong doesn’t do a whole lot for me, which is a shame since I’ve adored their other flavored oolongs in the past. The plum flavor is definitely subtle to the point of being barely identifiable in the mix; mostly this just tastes like a nice quality oolong, something to drink with food when you’re not really primed to notice what you’re drinking. I’m not too mad since I got this for 30% off (I didn’t even know Lupicia did random sales like that…reason enough to make the trek to the Century City location), but if you’re there looking for a good fruity oolong I’d say go with Lupicia’s pineapple or melon oolong.

I just made two cups of this in a tall glass, and added a generous dash of vanilla soymilk to top it off. This was an A+ decision, as now I’m getting a much cookie-r taste than just taking it straight. Good enough to bump the rating up a few points. Yum!

This one is just as fiddly and delicate as Kusmi’s almond green, but worth it in the end I think! The dry leaves smell very sweet, and the scent sticks around once brewed, though it’s much lighter. It’s clear the leaves have simply been infused with the strawberry scent, as there are no visible bits of strawberry in the dry leaf. I would have liked some in there for sure, as it is this brews up with way more of a green tea with a whiff of strawberry than what I think of when I hear the phrase “strawberry green tea.”

I will say this is one of the few greens I’ve had good luck resteeping. In fact, my usual method with this tea is to brew and then strain into a bigger cup to catch the little leafy bits, then resteep and strain into the same cup. The lighter second steep cuts any astringency that might have snuck into the first.

This tea is nuts! The fruit pieces are huuuuge and plentiful, bigger than anything I’ve ever seen. Even the rooibos bits are longer than I’m used to seeing! Probably the most impressive roobios presentation I’ve ever experienced.

All that isn’t just for show, though – this is one of the tastiest roobios blends I’ve had. I sincerely regret only getting the sample size of this one, I’ve torn through it! The banana scent is strongest as you bring it up to drink, and it lingers subtly there on the palate. Just a real, true banana flavor, nothing artificial about it. The mango comes through a bit too, with the coconut being present but not overly assertive. The rooibos itself is clearly high-quality, and I don’t taste any of the woodiness that I’ve come up against in Fusion’s other rooibos teas, thank god. This would be an instant reorder if Fusion’s shipping costs were a bit more bearable.

Love it!

When I first got this one it reminded me pretty strongly of Teavana’s Matevana, but I’m starting to think that ultimately Matevana has a bit more to offer, a fuller taste than this one. Which isn’t to say this is bad – it’s a perfectly good mate, and the added flavors do a good job of calming the intensity of the roasted yerba mate. I don’t think I’ll be buying this one again though.