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I re-visited this one yesterday, and liked it, though I overdid the sugar/honey factor.

With about one spoonful of sugar, a drop of honey, and 2 minutes steep time, this gives a nice, gingery taste with a pear kick, mainly in the aftertaste. It’s very good, kind of light, definitely a tea best for a refresh. Milk actually goes well with it, and may help lessen the pear for those who think it is a bit too much. Just don’t over do the sugar! :-)

This is a backlog from days/weeks ago. I have mainly been doing one of two things recently: Either drinking my bagged teas, all of which so far I have reviewed, or, unfortunately, drinking no tea at all. I just always forget, or don’t feel in the mood for tea, or any beverage. Or even food. I’m just lazy. :P

But I DID drink this tea! I am just winging it on the steeping time. I don’t remember what I put it as. Sorry.

Taste: Simple and quick. It was a bit too sweet/mapley for me, but I could drink it occasionally, and I’ll be able to finish what I have. Personally though, it was just…not my thing. My reviews are sucking now. Great. I need to drink more of my tea.

Thank you so much Naomi from Joy’s Teaspoon for sending these along! You have been wonderful!

Smell: Very berry. (Berry berry!) And I like that. I like that it is labeled and smells the way it is labeled, you know? I want to smell berries in my tea if that’s what flavor I’m supposed to get. I didn’t look over what type of berries, but I’m going to guess blueberries and blackberries.

Taste: Ooh, yummy! I could taste lots of berry flavor, definitely blackberry. But what I loved is that I could still taste the classic flavor of Earl Grey, but it was very smooth and subtle enough that it let the berries shine. I really loved this tea, and I want more!

Backlog from yesterday evening. I got home from traveling, and was extremely tired, but as it was early evening and not yet bedtime, I didn’t want to sleep. So, I needed a nice and strong caffinated tea, and quick.

On to the note!

Taste: For some reason, regular black teas, or mixtures kind of like English Breakfast always remind me of honey for some reason. I guess it’s just the bold, slightly sweet taste of tea. This tea delivers a nice, rich taste, and gives a sweet aftertaste. All in all, it was a nice tea, not too plain but not too jazzy.

So, since I like being honest in my reviews, I’m going to admit that this tea tasted much better the second time around, even though I did give it a pretty decent rating the first time. Reason why it’s better: I didn’t have to tamper with it as much to get it to taste good to me.

First time I did this: Steeped 4 minutes at 212 degress, and put in 3 packs of sugar, and a bit of milk, AND some extra chocolate chips. It was wonderful, but it took all that.

Second time (now): Steeped five minutes, at about 205 degrees or so, and added 1 and a half tablespoons sugar (this time regular white, not raw cane in the packet.) I think the extra steep helped bring out the natural flavor much better.

Smell: Still cocoa-y and yummy.

Taste: Way more chocolatey from the start, and a bit more sweet milk chocolate rather than more bitter dark. It also tasted creamier. :-) I’m happy to report I’m upping the rating (my original rating was 83) and I’m hoping to order some of this sooner than later.

I’m not even sure about number ratings, anymore. Or……well, I think I’m going to add the rating after I drink the full cup, or at least halfway through. Random little side note.

Azzrian, this is one of yours. Thanks! :-)

Smell: Dry, this was grassy. Steeping, there is only one scent I can compare it to, and it is going to sound strange but…spinach. Cooked, of course, but yeah, that’s what it reminded me of. And I was slightly turned off for a moment, but then I reminded myself that it doesn’t mean the tea is going to taste bad. Or like spinach. It’s just a grassy tea.

Taste: Grassy, kind of reminding me of green tea a bit, and plant-like. Some other reviews mentioned honeysuckle, and after adding my desired sugar amount, and a tad bit of honey, this is definitely true. It’s a very sweet, floral taste, with almost a honey (before adding more, and after) taste, and I really like it. It’s not overly vegetal, and again, it’s sweeter to me, and I like that. It’s a wonderful balance, and it’s white, so it’s a lighter tea. Nice for afternoon, and good for me as I’m trying to relax.

I guess now would be a good time to note that most of my tasting notes are written after only tasting a few first sips. Most of my good teas though get better deeper in, but don’t change so much that I have to go back and completely re-write a note. So another side note. I do those a lot. Sorry! :)

Finishing the review, not even half a cup done yet, but I think I can rate, and high, too. :-) Nice, soothing cup!

So a friend let me borrow a bag of this (actually, it is loose leaf, but her sisters put her together a cute giftbox and they made homemade bags with coffee filters) and I highly enjoyed it!

Smell: Earl Grey, but I could definitely smell the vanilla!

Taste: Very, very creamy, the vanilla came out so well, and the usual Earl Grey flavoring was very smooth and delicious. A touch of milk kicked up the creamy factor. All in all, I really liked this tea, and it was a sweet treat. :-)

Note: I’m not sure on the proper instructions for prepping this tea, because it was fashioned into the bags, and since they were thick, the best water temp was WAAAY hot and I had to keep pressing against the bag for a while to get the tea to steep fully. So these are my instructions based on the way mine was made. :-)

I think I lowered the rating on this one a while ago, and I am trying to remember why?? IT’S SO YUMMY! The Bergamot and just wonderful smell and everything in this tea is smooth and amazing. I love it!

I added some vanilla caramel latte coffee creamer to this and it is ABSOLUTELY divine! :-)