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I’m frozen through to the bone after shoveling 6+ inches of snow off the walk… hopefully my tea hasn’t cooled off too badly in the amount of time it took me clear out the masses of white stuff.

I love the smell of this. It’s pineapple, but there is this sort of soft floral note I’m picking up with the fruit aroma that just really works for me. The base has a brassy malt aroma with just a little smokiness peeking through.

I’m always a bit weary when a blend includes Lapsang Souchang, as it’s one of the few teas I just can’t do (the strong smokiness triggers my migraines). But I do like it when it is lightly and subtly added to blends, but it is a delicate line for me. This tea is just right. Just enough smokiness to give a sort of “almost burnt” breadiness to the malty base. The pineapple is noticable, but I could do with it even stronger, as it feels like the strong black base is overpowering the fruitiness a bit.

I feel a bit of warmth returning to my cheeks and fingers now. It’s very comforting to have a nice, strong cup of tea to sip on a cold morning like this!

I made a cup of this warm a few nights ago and it just didn’t really work for me. I absolutely love lavender, often at strengths that most others find “soapy,” but I was getting this kind of acrid/sour floral note from it that kind of ruined the cup. I was also getting a strong citrusy note, very lemongrass forward, with that sort of green/herbaceous taste to it. I will happily report that I am not a fan of chamomile, but wasn’t tasting any actual chamomile flavor in the cup.

I probably could’ve salvaged it with a bit of honey to smooth the bitterness in the florals, but I was lazy that evening and just made do. But I did decide to steep the remainder of the package coldbrew after that, and sipping on it now, it’s very nice! Very lavender forward, and I would not recommend it to anyone particular about that floral note, but I’m a fan. It doesn’t have that sourness in the coldbrew, instead it has a subtly minty briskness to the floral note. The lemongrass is still coming through strongly, though I think I’m also getting a bit more lemon peel tangy pithiness in the coldbrew as well.

Traditionally, I have never really liked a blueberry-flavored rooibos. Something about the particular flavor of blueberry combined with the natural notes of rooibos just always came out tasting like drinking pure cough syrup to me. And I do still get a bit of that note in both the aroma and the flavor, though it isn’t nearly so pronounced in this particular tea. The blueberry flavor leans pretty sweet and desserty, and the vanilla does a lot to smooth out the rougher medicinal edges of the flavor. The aftertaste is very pleasantly blueberry. I’m enjoying this a lot more than I would’ve ever expected given my history with blueberry-flavored rooibos in general.

The dry leaf of this tea has a really pleasant aroma that really evokes dates and orange marmalade jam for me. Steeped, I lose the citrus in the aroma and get a very strong grape scent. I get strong grape notes on the sip as well, which are reminding me of the “Tea and Scones” tea (one I really enjoyed). At the back of the sip the orange starts to pop, and I taste a very subtle hint of ginger in the aftertaste. As the tea cools, the flavors start to meld a bit more… I’m getting more “raisin bread” than “date cake” with orange glaze, but I really like the malty raisiny/grape notes with the sharp citrus undertones.

I enjoy coldbrew Silver Needle, so that’s how I prepared this. It’s really enjoyable; I get a sweet red berries flavor during the sip, but at the end of the sip and in the aftertaste it turns to a tangy cranberry (probably the most notable I’ve tasted cranberry in a tea). The Silver Needle itself tastes of hay, honey, and pollen; the floral notes go nicely with the soft berry tones. It’s very thirst-quenching and refreshing!

I think I’ve been craving turmeric lately… I made a Mango Golden Milk smoothie for breakfast and also brewed this tea for my work thermos.

I get the “autumn” vibes from the aroma… it’s a little earthy, a little smokey, and very mapley. The flavor is a pleasant mix of those things. The turmeric is present, but there isn’t so much that the tea is peppery/spicy. It leans more toward the sweet side, due to the maple. The green tea base adds some dry grassiness and subtle smokiness which is smoothed nicely under the sweet maple. I’m not getting any of the apple, though.

A pleasant morning cuppa, that works for the cold and rainy winter we are having despite the autumn flavors.

I’ve been drinking this iced. I first prepared it coldbrew, but oddly enough, tasted more of a cucumber and melon leaning towards green mango rather than peach. Steeped hot and then iced, the green tea base is coming through fairly strongly with a grassy and vegetal flavor, though I do taste a soft peaches and cream flavor that is most apparent toward the end of the sip and aftertaste. I’m not getting the nutmeg at all. It’s quite refreshing as an iced tea, but I wish the flavors were stronger against the base.

I have been seriously craving rose-flavored black tea, but that is yet another casualty of my high-sipdowns-low-orders over the last several years, so I don’t have one in my cupboard anymore. Then I found this packet, and was over the moon.

It is perfect. The base is malty and slightly coppery with hints of smoke, and an almost syrupy floral rose sweetness. The strawberry is sweet and somewhat candylike and blends seamlessly into the rose; it really pops in flavor at the back of the throat toward the end of the sip. It is lovely and satisfies my craving perfectly.

I made this as a warm, straight cup the other night, and was just not into it… the rooibos came off very strongly, and veered slightly in that medicinal direction I don’t care for. I wasn’t really getting the pumpkin and spices, though there was something a little savory about it. So I decided to take the “latte” in the tea name literally, and prepared it that way yesterday. Wowzah! A complete 180! This tea is fantastic with a bit of warm sweet vanilla almond milk added. I could clearly taste the warm and sweet cinnamon, which was so smooth and lovely, the rooibos/honeybush base had mellowed into sweet honeyed and nutty notes, and the chicory seemed to elevate a nuttiness in the brew. The creaminess added a lot, too. This is definitely how I’ll be finishing off this tea.

My beloved Twinings of London “Buttermint” was not at the store the last time I went, so I grabbed this instead. It didn’t really hold a candle to “Buttermint” (obviously, no creamy vanilla flavor) but just as a warm mint tea… meh. I can drink it (it’s mint!) but I wouldn’t call it a favorite… it was a bit muddled when I was hoping to taste more distinct spearmint notes… the peppermint was a bit dominant and also just a bit dish-raggy compared to bright Pacific Northwest peppermint.

But I have been going gangbusters on this as a coldbrew. I decided to bust out some New Year’s cleaning on my place this morning, and have been gulping this as ice cold refreshment to keep me hydrated. Somehow it has a more fresh and menthol crisp taste as a coldbrew, and I also taste the spearmint notes better that way, too.

So while it just doesn’t hit that “evening cup of peppermint curled up on the couch” appeal I was hoping for, I will definitely quickly go through this box making iced tea.