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Finishing up the last of this one! It’s definitely a favorite, the dry leaf smells just like a Creamsicle. Of course they describe it with rather more sophistication – but yes, the tangerine and vanilla come through quite clearly, and the green tea takes the edge off the black a bit.

I like to steep this for 3 minutes at 180 degrees; anything more than that and the green starts to sharpen up too much for my liking. This does rather mellow the flavor, but makes for an overall pleasant cup. Brewed up the scent is lovely, with the black tea itself meeting the flavored elements for a more muted Creamsicle, as it were. The taste matches the scent, with the black base leading and flavors layered over like a thin frosting. The tangerine is usually much brighter, but I think that’s just the consequence of the tin’s end.

This was the last three teaspoons from the tin, so she’s not giving her best performance today, but I’ll wave goodbye fondly and hope to see Paris Breakfast back in my cupboard again soon!

Another from my swap with Cameron B! I’m always so excited to try Mariages Freres teas, they’re probably my favorite tea blender. I have plans to visit Paris next year and am excited to bring a basically empty suitcase and come back with it FULL OF TEA.

The dry leaf is lovely – twisty blacks and curled whites, lavender and rose petals. It smells strongly of lavender, which I’m beginning to embrace right now. Brewed up the liquor is paler than I expected, more like a well-steeped green than a black tea. This may be a function of how long I let it steep, as I don’t generally pass the three minute mark on black teas unless it’s a chai.

I’m drinking this on and off and liking it more as it cools. One of my favorite MF teas is their The des Impressionistes, which is a lavender cream green tea, so I can’t help but compare it to that one. Impressionistes definitely wins because the vanilla element gives the lavender a depth which I feel is lacking here. Still, this is tasty! Smooth and faintly floral. The rose doesn’t stand out, which I appreciate because a Fauchon experience made me leery of intense rose flavors.

The white really mellows the black base, so I didn’t get any astringency or anything. I’d be interested to try this heavily leafed and iced. Not one I’d buy probably, but I’m very happy to drink it and to have a little bit left for a few more cups!

Got this one in the mail today from Cameron B, my first ever Steepster swap! Huzzah!

The dry leaf has a lot of apple pieces, and leaves small enough that I went for a tea sac instead of a regular steeping basket. Smells like apple and vanilla, definitely more of an emphasis on the sweet than the cider.

Brewed up the taste is similar to the scent, and it’s nice and strongly flavored. Not quite the tartness of a green apple, but there’s an element of Golden Delicious which I really like, overlaid with a caramelly vanilla. The sweetness tames the apple sharpness very nicely.

I do miss the spicier elements of apple cider, there’s a hint of cinnamon here but it could be drummed up to really capture that autumn feeling. Still, I’m enjoying this cup pretty well. Sweet and tasty!

Man, I just could not for the life of me figure out how to party with this. I tried it on boiling and didn’t like the result, tried it on a lower temp and it was even worse. I think the culprit was the powdery stuff in the blend – it was like a very sharp, super sour green apple all ground up, maybe even with some lemon in there. Honestly one of the sourest things I’ve ever tasted, and not in a way that could be pleasurable. I tried to work around the powder the last time but it still made for a sour cup. I didn’t get the cider element at all, just sour lemon/green apple strong enough to even override the flavor of the nice-looking leaf.

Glad I only got 25 grams of this one. The final go was one of the few cups of tea that I’ve made that I’ve ended up pouring down the drain.

I just bought a sampler pack from this vendor on Etsy and this was one of the teas I was most eager to try! Upon uploading all the teas to Steepster and comparing what came up it’s clear that he sources from Bulk Barn in Canada. This actually is fine with me as I don’t live in Canada and Bulk Barn doesn’t sell online.

I’m very glad to have access to this tea! It has a very fresh chocolate flavor that blends quite well with the yerba mate. I like the choice of unroasted mate here, it adds a very pleasant sort of body to the tea, like milk chocolate instead of dark. There’s a pretty intense aroma as well – it sticks around even after the tea’s been drunk, my roommate noticed it when she came home and asked if I’d had something with licorice or anise. I don’t believe this tea contains either but I can see how she got that impression! It’s a very rich scent.

Overall a very good tea for the price, I’ll likely pick this one up again!

So obsessed with this tea. I’ve purchased a lot of tea recently so I’ve been really trying to spread out what I’m drinking, but I’ve had a big mug of this one pretty much every day. It’s a great tea for around 6 or 7 p.m. when my energy is flagging a bit – it gives me enough perk to take a nice evening walk.

Also I swear it helps me focus? I’ve had a lot of yerba mate in my time but something about this one really helps me zone in on things. Okay, honestly it mostly helps me zone in on this Winter Soldier fic I’m writing, so I’m wondering if I’ll just always associate BB Detox with thinking a lot about Sebastian Stan’s face. There are worse fates in this world. Anyway, any tea that helps my easily-distracted brain is A+ in my book.

The biggest surprise on the this one though is how much I love the flavor, given that I’m not and have never been a grapefruit person. I don’t even usually like citrus that much at all. The grapefruit taste is clearly identifiable but not very strong, which may be part of it. It’s just the perfect amount of flavor for me.

I’d originally tried a sample of this at the Kusmi store in NY and was surprised at how much I liked it then. So glad I decided to take the plunge and get a tin. Addicted enough for now that I already looked up pricing on the 8.8 ounce tins. We’ll see how I feel once I’m further through what I’ve got, but for now I’m calling this a big winner!

After a hideously extended tea buying hiatus I nearly tackled the UPS guy at the door when he came to deliver my Tealux order. WONDER! JOY! GLORY! TEEEEEEA!

Once I’d literally hugged the multitude of packets to my chest, I set to the lovely and soothing task of putting everything in tins and jars. Ah, the ritual. I picked up 11 different teas in 25 gram packets, just trying a bit of everything since I’d never ordered from Tealux before. I was especially excited about their pu-erh chais, so this is the first one I’m trying from the batch!

I’m surprised I don’t taste more caramel considering the pretty little round chunks of it I found in the mix. The spices are heavy but I’m not sure what’s standing out – the clove, maybe, and a bit of tingle from the ginger? It really has a great depth of flavor and is hitting the spot for me as I’ve been craving more savory flavors lately. Part of it must be the pu-erh, as I literally can’t remember the last time I had a cup of it. Could be far enough back that I actually forgot how it tastes (pitiful). It’s a much richer base than the black teas I’ve been used to, and I have to say I’m loving it. Must do a better job keeping up my pu-erh stock, clearly.

Might try it with vanilla soy milk later and see how that does it, but I’m definitely enjoying this!

The first sip of this literally prompted an “Ooh, hello baby” out loud from me – so delicious I apparently felt compelled to flirt with it. The delightfully complex, dessert-y floral taste really fills the mouth and lingers. I’m definitely getting the cotton candy notes. Very full-bodied for an oolong on this type.

Did thirty seconds for my first steep, looking forward to seeing how the flavor develops through successive steeps! It’s the first I’m trying of the Verdant $5 for 5 package I got in the mail yesterday, I’m definitely excited about the rest now.

You know that very particular smell of a cinnamon roll, that combination of hot caramelized cinnamon over freshly baked bread? That is exactly what this tea smells like, both in the bag and in the cup. The taste isn’t quite as strong as the smell, but definitely gets across that baked cinnamon taste. Towards the bottom of the cup a faint note of icing even comes into play – brilliant. This is a dessert tea that I’ll be reaching for at every hour of the day.