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I think I brewed this too long. Previously it’s been better so I’m rating it as what I would normally say.

This smells like a slightly heartier Earl Grey, so I didn’t even bother trying it without milk. The scent alone is enough to make me want to rate this tea high, but I guess I’ll wait until I actually try drinking it.
On first sip it’s quite tasty, definitely an Earl Grey base, and though I can sort of taste the rooibos, it’s not overpowering; it complements the EG quite nicely (I’m not a fan of rooibos so I was a little leery of that part of this tea). I can’t really tell there’s coconut in it, though there’s something adding a delicate sweetness that may be the elusive coconut. Something delicious this way comes with the addition of a little bit of honey.

There’s little better than Irish Breakfast with milk and honey. Yum.

Okay, WTNV tea #2. This one opened with a very strong chocolate aroma, almost overpowering, but it promised a very delicious experience which it didn’t really live up to.

The aroma softened quite a bit upon steeping to a slightly less pungent chocolate/almond. I let it cool for about eight minutes so I could actually start drinking without burning my mouth. I got a definite “cookie” flavor, but it was subtle and not terribly sweet, so I added a little brown sugar for kicks, which helped. On further sippage I could begin to taste the chocolate, though it certainly wasn’t as strong as I had hoped (I brewed it using an open tea strainer instead of a bag, hoping to let the chocolate melt out into the tea).

Hoping to make a more drinkable tea, I then added a little bit of milk and a little chocolate syrup (because hey, why not?) and it just continued to fall flat. As it cooled, a more obvious chocolate flavor started sitting at the back of my tongue, and I began to enjoy it more with each sip. Not a bad tea, yummy but not very exciting. It would probably be a good tea for just before bed (caffeine doesn’t affect me unless it’s in huge doses, so I’m perfectly fine drinking black tea and then falling asleep).

I got the Night Vale fandom sampler and couldn’t decide which one to try first, so I just used random.org and this one came up as my first test.

It’s a bit of an adventure, because I’ve never tried pu-erh and I’m not the hugest fan of greens, but I’m willing to give it a try. I’m not used to being able to see the bottom of my cup through the tea.

On opening the tin, I was overwhelmed by the fruity aroma, mostly peach, and something else I couldn’t quite identify, which I assumed was the pu-erh. On steeping the aroma was toned down quite a bit and brought out more of the green tea smell that I’m used to with teas of this color. Smells very delicate – at least to my black-tea-loving nose.

I tried it straight at first, not wanting to bias my tastebuds with sweetener. To be honest, I can’t really taste much of anything beyond the green tea. It’s also quite dry and I think there may be a layer of dust covering my surroundings… I got up just now to get a cup of water and noticed a dead crow on my porch. Unusual. Usually it’s just dead starlings. Staring at me with their unblinking dead eyes.

I added a drizzle of blue agave to see if that would bring out any more flavor in this airy tea. There’s now a totally unique flavor here that I can’t quite put my finger on. It’s not the agave, and it’s certainly not peach, but I’m not sure where it’s coming from. Tastes a little bit like the school board. Hm.

It’s also, confusingly, leaving me with an almost marshmallowy aftertaste. Odd.

I’m considerably upping my initial rating because once it’s cooled down quite a bit, a lot more of the flavors come to head. I’m now getting a citrusy taste on the back of my tongue in addition to the marshmallow.

I got this tea from my mom who got it from a student of hers whose mother lives in Britain… It continues to be one of my absolute favorites. Smooth and delicious with a bit of milk and honey. I have it in both loose and teabag forms, and they are equally delicious.