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Jim sent me a sample of this a long long time ago after I told him that I liked my oolong teas to taste like chinese restaurant tea. I thought I had logged it but I guess not. I know I’ve had some of it before now, so I don’t know why I didn’t log it! I found some of this remaining hidden in the back of my tea drawer. It seemed like the perfect choice for reading a book with a cat in my lap.

This brewed up pretty light, so I might not have used enough tea leaves (2 tsp). Despite how light it was, I could still taste a beautiful oolong with a touch of maltiness and nuttiness. It has no astringency. The color of the tea is exactly as pictured. I like it!

Something to cleanse the palate after the Maple Bacon tea. This is perfect. I’ll be sorry when I run out of this one since SpecialTeas is gone.

OK, I’ve been staring at this sample in my tea drawer for weeks now. Chris_s gave me a sample. I’ve been afraid to try it, worried it would be as bad as my experience with puehr (which to me, tastes like a fish market).

So, now I’ve brewed it. It sits next to me, mocking me. What to do. How long can I stall? When it was brewing, I smelled it and actually gagged. Meaty liquid ham smell.

Alright, here goes.

The smell of the brewed tea is black tea, smokey, and meaty. Not sure this works for a vegan (the bacon bits in this tea are actually not made of animal products in case you are wondering).

I tasted it. Hmm. Weird. At first sip, I liked it. It was a nice black tea with smokey maple syrup. The maple adds a mild sweetness (and I added a touch of agave nectar). But… at the end, the flavor of the bacon bits really takes over. The bacony meaty smokey ham-like flavor is all in the aftertaste. Alrighty then. Not as bad as I expected, but not going to finish this cup.

I also (like Lisbet) will give this a pretty high rating as it is exactly as advertised. But, it’s just not for me.

I had a cup of this last night at book group. It tastes pretty good, but the pomegranate is pretty strong and overwhelms the white. If you’d asked me to identify what kind of tea it was, I’d have said herbal. I would not have guessed white. Even so, I liked it ok. I wouldn’t go buy it but also wouldn’t turn it down if someone offered me a cup. I had this unsweetened.

This teabag was a gift from Lisbet. I luckily read the reviews here before I made it. I made a smaller cup with this teabag than I otherwise might have to increase the strength and I added a couple of tablespoons of rice milk to it. I don’t think I would have liked it at all without the addition of rice milk. It’s ok. Drinkable. I taste a mild chocolate flavor and a fair amount of cinnamon. It’s been a snowy morning here and this is a nice mid-morning treat.

Harney’s sent me a 1 cup teabag sample of this tea with my last order. I’m not a big fan of chai, so it’s taken me a while to get around to trying this one. And, unexpectedly, I like it. It’s not overly spiced and the rooibos isn’t overwhelming. It’s a nice lightly spiced rooibos with cinnamon, clove, and cardamom flavors. I added a couple of tablespoons of rice milk and no sweetener (can you believe that?). I sweeten almost all teas so I was surprised to find that I like this unsweetened. Perhaps that is what I need to do with all chais (add no sweetener).

Cranberry and orange are definitely not my favorite flavors on this planet, especially not when put together, so this is something I wouldn’t look for normally. Chris_s gave me a large sample of this, so I got a chance to try it.

It smells like candy in the bag. Once brewed, it has a nice non-astringent black base and I can taste a light orange flavor in the background. The cranberry is more like a craisin (sweetened cranberry) and there is something both candy-like and lightly floral that I cannot put my finger on. And, I agree with TeaEqualsBliss that there is also a grape flavor to this. I kind of like it, but its not really my thing. If you like cranberries and orange and candy, then you will probably love this.

Bleah. Dislike. Raspberry kool-aid mixed with the flavor of melted crayons. I don’t think I need to elaborate further.

PS – Thanks Lisbet for the sample. :)

Lizbet sent me a sample of this tea. It took me a while to figure out exactly what this tastes like but I think I now know. Orange Kool-aid. Now, I like Orange Kool-aid so that’s ok but I generally drink kool-aid cold so this is a bit odd… but I kind of like it. But it’s odd… but I like it. I don’t think I’d go out and buy it, but it’s ok.

So far I have not been disappointed by any tea from Harney & Sons. I think that is impressive since I am very picky. This tea does not disappoint either. This tea sample was also a gift from chris_s (who just posted his first review today, so everyone should go follow him).

When I opened the bag, it smelled amazing. It smelled like cinnamon toast. I couldn’t wait to steep it. The tea itself looks like a cinnamon colored ground coffee or a coarse hot cocoa. I used a tea-sac for this one. It brewed up to a light purple-ish color. It smelled like candy and cinnamon. When I tasted it I got candy, then cinnamon, and then plum flavors. It’s almost like a cinnamony mulled apple cider, but with plum and more mellow. It’s complex and I really really like it. It’s such a nice afternoon or evening treat.

2 tsp per 12 oz cup.