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What is it about some flavored green teas that just get this medicinal taste to them? I certainly have some flavored greens that I love, but they definitely seem tricky to get right.

I got four single steep packets of this tea with my Kati cup. I haven’t brewed it up in a while, but I don’t remember it tasting quite as strange before. Even just opening the packet I was hit by a strong aroma that didn’t really appeal to me, and the taste seems to match it pretty well. I don’t really get mango at all, but I think I’m getting peach; I don’t really taste much of the green tea. Over every thing is a slightly medicinal flavor, like its mentholated. I feel like this one would be good if I was sick! I think the medicinal flavor might actually be part of the peach. Overall it’s not too bad, but it’s not something I’ll be craving.

Now this is a powerfully chocolatey chocolate tea. I am such a big fan of this tea, being a huge lover of chocolate and almonds. This tea never fails to bring comments from the people around me about it’s aroma when I brew it. Just now, someone came into my office from the hall to ask if the “cocoa-licious” smell was my “choco-tea”. Everyone loves the aroma of this tea, and people will ask if I’m drinking hot chocolate.

This tea doesn’t get super dark when brewed, having an orangey-maroon-brown shade. The flavor is fantastic: chocolate is the main note, but toasted almond comes through as well. It’s brings not just almond but a general nuttiness to the tea. There’s an overall “roasty” flavor to this one as well; almost like the toasted marshmallow and chocolate of a s’more. Just an overall fantastic tea with a strong, well-blended flavor.

I picked this tea up ages ago on a whim at Ikea because I love rhubarb, and it was on sale. Brewed up the tea is a deep reddish brown, and it has a pleasant aroma and flavor. It’s nothing truly outstanding, but certainly a nice cup when I’d like a fruity black tea that’s not berry-flavored. So many fruit black teas seemed based in berries, so this is a nice departure. The rhubarb doesn’t make the tea tart, and I have a feeling that the vanilla assists with giving it a smooth and somewhat creamy taste, as it keeps a low profile otherwise. Not a tea I’ll reach for all the time, but a solid, tasty tea nonetheless. Oh, and I’m not sure what the sell-by date on this bag was, but I’m certain I’m way past it and the tea is still flavorful. Then again I have a jasmine tea I bought in China 7 years ago and I still think it tastes fantastic, so what do I know. :)

I am sad because when I ordered this tea I only ordered a tagalong tin to try, and now this is my second to last sachet. I am really loving this tea. I love a chocolate black tea where the chocolate flavor is deep and complex, and this one fits the bill. Some chocolate teas scream milk chocolate (and smell like you might be having a cup of hot cocoa!), and I certainly love those teas too, but this one is a darker, nuttier, almost a more savory (as long as you don’t add sugar that is) chocolate. I love the hint of rose layered on top, and the solid, delicious tea base that comes through. It’s a Valentines blend but I could drink this any time. I will definitely have to order more of this when I next order from Harney!

This was an experiment: I have a sample pouch of this tea that I ordered online, and when I brew it, I would always get a faint hint of bitterness, even at 3 minutes steeping time, which was disappointing. I got a tin of sachets at the NYC Coffee and Tea Festival, though, and when I brew them, I have no bitterness problems. So, in attempts to figure out the difference, this time I cut open the sachet and brewed it in my Kati cup like I had been doing with the sample. Four minutes steeping, no bitterness. However, I measured the tea in the sachet with my “1 cup of perfect tea” spoon, and it was about 1.5 scoops. I’d been putting two in, so perhaps that’s my problem? I guess I’ll have to have another cup of Paris tea with the sample to test my hypothesis!

This is a toasted maté, which means it has none of the vegetal, bitter tastes of a straight up maté. I first got this tea in an Argo store in Chicago when I used to live there years ago, and I always enjoyed this tea, either unadultered or in their “maté latté”. When I moved away from Chicago I brought a couple of bags with me, and I opened the second one today. The aroma is still powerful and fresh since the bag had been sealed against air for that time.

This toasted maté also has toasted cocoa bits, almond, and cornflowers in the mix, but they’re hard to see amongst the brown chip-like pieces of maté. It has a relatively long brew time, and brews up a dark brown liquor that almost looks like coffee. The major flavor is hard for me to describe: it’s warm, nutty and distinctly roasted. There’s an almondy flavor that comes through, but don’t expect marzipan here, this is a toasted almond that melds well into the maté itself. The toasted cocoa isn’t distinct, and I think it’s providing some background and depth of flavor more than a separate note. I really enjoy this maté; the flavor is complex and you get different hints of each element in each sip. It’s a great winter tea because the roasty aroma and flavor is so comforting and warming.

I was let down by my earlier fruity-sweet green tea experience today, but I still was craving something like it, so I decided to try this tea instead. Right away, the aroma of the leaves is so much nicer to me, smelling of lemony goodness like a lemon drop candy. While it was steeping the green tea aroma started coming through. Ahhh, this tea is delicious. I do really love a citrus flavored tea. Its easy to overpower a green tea with fruit flavors; the right balance is key. This makes a lovely green tea with a refreshing, bright flavor.

Guess I’m in a green tea mood today! When I first open the bag of this tea the aroma is so powerful; it’s smells sweet and sour/tart, like a sour candy. The dried tea itself is gorgeous: big whole flowers spread liberally all through it. Brewed up, the scent is less powerfully tart, but it still is very fruity, and the taste preserves that. I’m thinking sour cherry is a good way to describe this one? There’s something almost medicinal about the flavor which is offputting. I thought I remembered liking this one better the first time I had it. I don’t really taste the flavor of the green or white teas much.

I’m definitely a fan of this Earl Grey green tea. The flavoring isn’t overpowering, and it maintains the pleasant, leafy taste of green tea, but over all is the fragrant bergamot with lemony citrus. It has the notes you expect from an Earl Grey, but it’s so light and flavorful it’s a different (and lovely) experience. Whenever I want a nice light tea, something with clean and bright flavors, this is the tea I come back to.

Another day, another pot of Tower of London. This one was necessary after a long day of running around; usually I try not to drink black tea in the evenings because of the caffeine, but when I’m so sleepy at 7pm, I could use a little pick up. There’s also something so comforting about this blend to me, I could drink it every day.