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Additional notes: A HUGE thank you to Dustin who sent me a pouch of this because I love it so much! I really appreciate it! Hilariously enough, the day I after got this, 52Teas reblended it. So I figured I should place my very first 52Teas order (they had Earl Grey Cheesecake too which I was dying for a reblend.) I can’t have enough of this blend anyway!

This cup I overleafed a little bit – a heaping teaspoon and a bit more. I should have known with the relatively small leaves that it would have a bit of astringency, but nothing I can’t handle. 52Teas has very nice chai blends. I just love the lemon & mallow, I just wish there was MOORE. Hopefully the reblend is just as nice. I love that the mallow adds sweetness & the lemon adds a bit of tartness & juiciness. The second cup was really good, if not better.

Thank you so much Shadowfall for a sample of this one! I always wanted to try it! ohmygoshitissoossosogood. One teaspoon at just boiled for 3 1/2 minutes. I LURVE these Adagio blends. The tea itself just looks like plain black tea so I’m so shocked the flavor is so strong. It’s like chocolate syrup, hints of caramel, hazelnut (but I’ve tried Adagio’s actual hazelnut tea and that has much more actual hazelnut flavor.) and really just a wonderful strong flavored mix of everything desserty. The black tea is dusky, dark and I just love it. Probably at the top of the chocolate teas list for me. Sadly, the second steep wasn’t as amazing, but the first cup was so good, I don’t mind. Adagio has the teas for me! Apparently, because this is only rated a 66 by Steepsterers. Sad I only have one teaspoon left!

I HAD to try this one when I spotted it on Fusion’s site. Everything here makes it a very unique blend: bergamot, buttery sencha, rhubarb and roses! Went with the suggested teaspoon and a half.

Steep#1 // 30 minutes after boiling // 2 1/2 minute steep
The dry leaves certainly have a bright strong bergamot scent. There are big pieces of rhubarb here and pretty rose petals. The flavor is mostly very strong sunny bergamot. It’s interesting on the buttery sencha. The hints of rhubarb and rose might be mingling too much in the background or being drowned out by the bergamot. Even though I could wish for more of a balance with the ingredients, this is very tasty anyway. The second steep was just as nice.

Well, this steep IS fresher than the previous sample I’ve tried, and it’s having the same problems anyway. This cup is from the Bestsellers Sampler. I’m trying to taste some others again from 52 because they have reblended some of my favorites! I must order them! Especially since I mentioned I would definitely buy the Lemon Meringue Chai if they reblended it, even though Dustin generously just sent me a pouch that I received the DAY before the reblend was announced! I can deal with more of it though. :D

Steep #1 // a few minutes after boiling // 2 min
I just love the honeybush blends! Maybe I’m not remembering, but this one does seem a bit different. Mostly honeybush flavor, that would add to the sweet/butter aspect of a cinnamon roll, but sadly, even the cinnamon doesn’t seem like it is here anymore. I was expecting oodles of sweet cinnamon.. the sugary cinnamon type… but really there is only a hint of spiciness. Really isn’t a frosting type flavor either, though even that could be hinted at with the honeybush itself. Again, there is probably a science to brewing these 52Teas blends. I figured the two minutes wouldn’t make the honeybush overshadow the other flavors though. The second steep went for longer/hotter but seemed to have even less flavor.

I’m not sure what to think about the new Steepster look… I’m typing in italics right now, first of all. ANYWAY… this is a sample I had from Rachel’s sale a while back! Thank you! I’ve got a headache so that means peppermint teas are the choice. I made a handy list of my peppermint teas yesterday, for that reason. After cooling the water for a half hour and brewing for a few minutes, there isn’t much of a mint flavor here, but the yerba mate is nice as usual, sweet and earthy. Hopefully yerba mate isn’t one of the things that likes to give me headaches. I had some of my Zen Chocolate mint rooibos yesterday (also headache) and even though the tea is kind of older, it still tastes as fresh as when I bought it!

Sipdown of this sample from old! I’m trying to see if I love it enough to buy it and man oh man this is GOOD. This one is another irresistible reblend! I had to try it again to see if I love it as much as I think I remember. Yessss. 52Teas would certainly win the banana teas award! I love all of them that I’ve tried. The description of this one is as accurate as any blend has ever been! I definitely get hints of banana, rum, vanilla, brown sugar, butter… all equally represented. And the black tea base is one of the best that 52Teas uses. Actually there was a teaspoon and a half here to use up the rest of the sample. The second steep was really nice too. I can’t resist ordering this one and I REALLY hope this is blended the same, if not better. Even as an older tea that was stored terribly in a really thin tiny ziplock, this blend is pure magic.
Steep #1 // a few minutes after boiling // 3 min
Steep #2 // just boiled // 5 min

Another sample from MissB! I’ve always wanted to try Shanti’s maple teas! All of their teas sound really nice but somehow I never see them around Steepster. Smoky maple though… very promising! Shanti wants you to steep this for 3 minutes at 190 degrees.

Steep #1 // waited 20 minutes after boiling // 3 min
I always associate dark oolongs with charcoal flavor, but not this one! It’s a nuttier base. Sadly, there is only a hint of sweetness from the maple. And really no smoke I can see, but I like my smoky teas SMOKY. I like the idea behind this blend though.. it would be perfect if the flavors were more present, as it’s a nice combination with this oolong base.. maybe even more so than if it were a black tea base. The second steep had less flavor. If I HAD to choose a dark oolong to have in stock in my cupboard, I’d probably go with this one anyway!

A blend from BrewTEAlly Sweet’s sale! thanks so much! I’ve really liked some of Steep City’s teas! This one isn’t my favorite though. It isn’t terrible, but the odd lychee flavor tastes weird when I don’t really have anything to compare it to (and the picture of the lychee on Steep City’s site is also Weird with a capital dub). But I love the addition of the fruit pieces (pineapple) – it did actually add a genuine pineapple flavor that wasn’t completely overshadowed by the weird lychee (I’m at least accustomed to pineapple). Not really berry like the description mentions. The white tea base is nice too. I won’t give up on Steep City, but this one just isn’t for me.

This one is from Janefan! Thank you thank you! This is the black tea base I like from 52Teas. This is a delicious blend, but as pumpkin pie it kind of fails. I’m only seeing cinnamon and cloves on the ingredients list. These are nice (and would actually make for a nice non-ginger chai) but that doesn’t mean these ingredients make pumpkin pie. I really didn’t get any hints of pumpkin, sadly. These poor pumpkin teas: Della Terra’s has them all beat because they add dehydrated canned pumpkin (I think?) to their blends which is just perfect. I wish everyone who attempted a pumpkin tea would do that (though I’m not sure how easy it actually is to do that.) I also had to add some of the rock sugar that Janefan sent along with this.. it certainly made it tastier (and maybe even a little more pumpkinish). Even if this blend isn’t actually pumpkin pie, it’s still very tasty for what this is!

Additional notes: Finished my sample of this one today. It’s such a unique tea. I love the natural candy strawberry notes in this one. The aroma fills up the room. There is also a duskiness to it (but not astringency) that I really love about it. Miss it already!