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Here’s Hoping Traveling Teabox – Round #5 – Tea #17
Interesting leaves here – they look like like a silky wiry Fujian but the leaves are very tiny coils with hints of gold. I haven’t seen a leaf like this before! I love the flavor – it’s a little like a Fujian black tea but more malty molasses. That is exactly the type of flavor I love. The brew doesn’t seem very strong either. It’s on the sweeter side rather on an astringent side. I feel like I’ve only tried a tea that tasted like this a couple times before but the leaves didn’t look quite like this. The second steep was a little lighter, which is a shame. This one is unique! Another tea company I’ve never heard of before. I love when those are included in teaboxes. :D Their site has quite the selection!
Steep #1 // 1 tsp // 10 minutes after boiling // 2 1/2 minutes
Steep #2 // just boiled // 3 min

Here’s Hoping Traveling Teabox – Round #5 – Tea #16
Leave it to Teavana to not know the difference between oolong and roasted yerba mate. Finding details on this one are difficult. It looks like it was only available in a set of other teas. Looking at the blend it looks mostly like roasted yerba mate, calendula petals, rooibos and some sort of larger cocoa nib. That is the flavor as well (with little to no strawberry). I’m tasting mostly the barbeque flavor from the yerba mate, with woodiness from the rooibos. Hints of chocolate. It seems more like a chocolate yerba mate than a strawberry oolong. Not bad but nothing special.

Here’s Hoping Traveling Teabox – Round #5 – Tea #15
It’s a Teavana tea but there was no hibiscus in the ingredients list, so I’ll give it a try! The ingredients actually sounded good. It was the promise of plums and almonds. But I should know with Teavana, it isn’t really a promise. I could smell the almond in the dry leaves. The pink cup (pink from the beet root… not hibiscus… remember beet root, tea companies!) is mostly sweet and a little tart but it’s a little bland. I’m not picking out the almond or plum at all.

Here’s Hoping Traveling Teabox – Round #5 – Tea #14
I wasn’t expecting much from this, since it’s in a thin baggie, but it’s actually quite good. Sencha, pineapple and ginseng. A big piece of ginseng went in the infuser and plenty of pineapple flavor came out. I love a pineapple tea. Both steeps were nice, fruity, refreshing. Hopefully someone else enjoys the last serving…

Here’s Hoping Traveling Teabox – Round #5 – Tea #13
Another one I wanted to try! I love the idea of pu-erh, coffee & cinnamon, I’m not sure what these yellow things are. And I’m also not sure how these ingredients make a cookie. It’s tasty though! I wouldn’t mind if the pu-erh was richer, but it isn’t one with odd pu-erh flavors at least. There is plenty of coffee flavor with only hints of cinnamon. Just as flavorful through all three steeps.

Here’s Hoping Traveling Teabox – Round #5 – Tea #12
There is a LOT of this one in the teabox. Two pouches actually. It seems like a bunch of ingredients that wouldn’t work. But the flavor isn’t as bad as I’d suspect. It actually tastes a lot like I thought it would when I see ‘cocomint cream’. I can’t tell if all of those green leaves are mint or blackberry leaves. They seem odd in the blend either way. But it’s like creamy coconut that is smoothed even more by the apple, with only the tiniest hint of mint coming across in the end. But then there is a sour pickled flavor that isn’t as unpleasant as it seems (I don’t think it’s old coconut). ‘Dill’ is mentioned in the flavor list, so it isn’t just me. This one is a weirdie. But I’ll try most teas once. :D

Here’s Hoping Traveling Teabox – Round #5 – Tea #11
I’m not sure if this is from the reblends, as I don’t actually know what the new packaging looks like. Whoops. Sorry, 52Teas! But if the new packaging doesn’t look like the old 1.75 ounce pouches, then this is an old one. The flavor is okay. I wouldn’t necessarily think it is french toast. It might be a REALLY old pouch though, because it doesn’t even seem like the newer old black tea I don’t like. Even the cinnamon was barely making an appearance. Maybe it’s just the way I brewed it.

Here’s Hoping Traveling Teabox – Round #5 – Tea #10
Another unique blend! The lemon really takes over with this one, with annoying hibiscus in the background diminishing any other flavors that might be in the cup. There should be cocoa, vanilla, raspberry, lychee, elderberries, sumac(?). But those are missing. The lemon is nice but the hibiscus shouldn’t be there. I also can’t taste the splenda in this. There are also so many ingredients that not much black tea is in the cup, resulting in a very light brew.

Here’s Hoping Traveling Teabox – Round #5 – Tea #9
I just watched the third Hobbit movie the other day. :D Happy to see this one in the teabox to try! Oolong and Tahitian vanilla? sure! And boy is this an oolong fit for those elves. It’s like nectar of flowers… and fruit… and this lovely vanilla and this oolong is so smooth. The fruits sometimes seem like pear and peach and cherry. So so good & gorgeous. I don’t think I’ve tried an Anxi Ben Shan before… but I think I remember Ali Shan being very fruity and mostly pear. I’m not sure what these cedar leaves bring to the table, but nothing that doesn’t fit with this cup. I couldn’t think of a better name for this one either. I just love the creamy floral fruitiness of it.
Steep #1 // 1 1/2 teaspoons for a full mug// 15 minutes after boiling // 2 minute steep
Steep #2 // 7 minutes after boiling // 2 minute steep
Steep #3 // just boiled // 3-4 minute steep

This is another that Zen sent over for the teabox. Such soft, delicate, crumbly leaves with this one. So many colors to the leaves as well – from white to the darkest green. The flavor is light, lovely and sweet. It tastes like sweet creamed corn, probably because the texture of the tea is very smooth and silky too. One of the lightest green teas there are, while still maintaining a ton of flavor. The second steep has much of the same flavor but with a little more depth and strength. Overall, a fantastic, light, tasty, sweet, refreshing green tea. Not overly vegetal at all. A great example of this type of green tea if you’re looking to try it.
Steep #1 // 1 1/2 teaspoons for a full mug// 30 minutes after boiling // 1 minute steep
Steep #2 // 25 minutes after boiling // 2 minute steep