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Sipdown!

So the very first time I used the Starbucks Rewards at a Teavana location, I felt extremely guilty and felt compelled (by Jewish mother’s guilt, clearly) to purchase something else. This was maybe a year ago or so and all the chai teas were 30% off, so I bought just over 2 ounces of the cheapest one and finally finished it off tonight. It’s not bad by any means, but I rarely drink it alone. I mostly mix it (forewarning, broken record) with the Spiced Apple Cider tea (2 parts apple cider: 1 part rooibos chai) which I still love and have been drinking pretty much everyday since I discovered that what I thought I was drinking previously wasn’t actually rooibos and totally explained why I was having unexplained stomach issues again when usually I’m pretty “good to go” (Random TMI tangent – I have IBS and if I drink at least a cup of rooibos a day, it has a tremendous impact on my symptoms, in a very good way – end random TMI tangent). PS the tea was The Republic of Teas Chocolate Coconut, which I’ll do a tasting note for eventually…

Anyway, this wasn’t bad, but I have quite a bit of chai rooibos hanging around, so I don’t think I’d restock anytime soon, though it is pretty darned cheap at $4.98 for 2oz, so even an over-pour won’t kill your wallet!

So my husband’s coworker and I are tea pen-pals. We send each other tea to try out. This is one that she didn’t like but hoped I would have better lucky with. Well, the leaves are so small and don’t seem to be great quality that the first steep is actually pretty disgusting and has to be dumped. The 2nd steep a little less so and the third, it actually starts tasting good (though I did add honey), but that’s really too much effort for a tea (also the instructions to steep for 4-5 minutes is ludicrous – not unless you want a sour taste in your mouth for the rest of the day). I mean, even Adagio does white tea better, and it’s not really seen as high brow (or high priced for that matter). I think the small “leaves” have something to do with the taste and maybe also the clear glass jar.

Usually I love Argo, so this has put me off trying any other whites from them. It’s almost like the tea shavings you’d get in low quality bags. Sadness.

I know not everyone enjoys sweet blends, but this one is just really satisfying, even though it doesn’t taste quite like eggnog, it’s sweet enough and a rooibos blend at that. Sure, you get a bit of oily film at the top, but that doesn’t bother me. It lasts through multiple steepings, it’s very hard to ruin. It’s sweet on its own but I add a touch of sweetener for when I’m feeling a major sugar need. In case you were wondering how much I have enjoyed this, I managed to go through 25 grams in 4 days. That, my friends, shows how much I love this “tea”. I have a few small tins, a the ‘big daddy’ tin and I can’t imagine it’s going to be hard for me to get through it rather quickly. If the 250 grams goes on sale beyond the 40% it’s on now, I would definitely pick more up (but since the smaller tins are actually more cost effective, that’s what I’ll do for now).

Eh. I finished this one over the last few weeks when I was ill. It was ok. It wasn’t too pepperminty (since I really don’t like super strong peppermint) but there was no real real chocolate to speak of. I had bought it on sale so it wasn’t a major loss, but it was only ‘ok’.

Sipdown!

Teeny Tiny TTB Rd2

This wasn’t bad, per say, but when I think of Pina Colada tea, my love is Davidstea Tropicalia and this, while not bad, doesn’t even compare. I sweetened it, because without sweetener it was just ho-hum, but even sweetened, there is a bit of a sour taste in the back of my mouth and I can’t figure out what it is. It’s a little bit creamy, but not as creamy as Tropicalia. There’s a bit of pineapple and coconut taste, but not as much as Tropicalia – sorry I guess this review is a bit of a broken record. Not bad, by any means, but eh, I wouldn’t purchase.

Teeny Tiny TTB Rd2

Oh goodness, two tea boxes right in a row is probably not the best idea ever. Anyway, I had the last (only?) sachet of this last evening. I needed something a bit spicy since my sinuses have been bothering me which is strange since all it’s been doing is raining; almost seems like there has been no sunlight (well that’s a bit depressing). Anyway, this is actually pretty darn good. A fairly basic rooibos chai. Nothing fancy, not too gingery (which is sometimes a problem) and rooibos to boot. I added sweetener to mine. I would totally consider picking this up in a future H&S order.

Sipdown

Kind of a sad sip-down though, as I really enjoyed this one. Celestial Seasonings has something similar but it doesn’t have rooibos, which I like to drink daily. This says it’s “Sold Out and Discontinued” on the Republic of Tea site. My only complaint with teas from this brand is they are quite pricey as they only produce 6oz of tea. And for some reason, some of the blends, while still the same price, only come with 36 bags, while others come with 50. In any case, I’ll miss this blend. It’s not too gingery and has notes of cinnamon and vanilla. I add sweetener and use 2 bags per mug (though I can usually get another steep out of them). Bye Gingerbread Cuppa Cake, it was nice knowing you!

Overboard Traveling tea box

This is the last tea I’m trying in this tea box before packing it all up and sending it off to the next recipient (which I think will be tomorrow – but I want to add a couple more things first). I wasn’t expecting that much from this, to be honest. First, it’s a decaf and sometimes decaf black tea can taste a bit funky and 2nd, I’m always worried about astringency in black teas. This doesn’t taste like decaf. The first sip unsweetened, I tasted a bit of something bready and a tiny bit of raspberry, but no real chocolate to speak of. Sweetened is another story! Really tasty, mostly raspberry, but then the chocolate comes in and it’s creamy without adding milk or cream. I feel a bit greedy keeping 2 of the Butiki blends in this box, but I love that it’s a black dessert blend I can have at night and there’s really not much left. Also, the whole company going away – thing.

Overboard Traveling tea box

After having Assam “Black Beauty” #8, this just doesn’t even compare, even though it’s a different type of tea. It smells sweet and almost fruity in the bag, but unlike the Black Beauty, nothing translates to the actual tea. I added sweetener just because otherwise it just wasn’t special enough? I mean, why drink something ho-hum when you can have sweet potato in a mug?

Overboard Traveling tea box

Hmm, I’m not really getting any notes with this one. It almost reminds me of the tea that you get at a Chinese restaurant. Light, unoffensive, not especially memorable. It smells sweet, it’s a tiny bit creamy at the front of the sip but not enough to remember. Not bad, but not something I’d likely stock.