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As a major fan of Yerba mate, I also like this herbal tea native to South America. Today I drank it iced, cold brewed overnight. What makes this brew stand out to me is the lack of tannins. I often get a bitter brew from some sort of mistake on my part from making mate. It is quite finicky that way. The resulting liquor from this tea is lighter and more golden in color than mate, the flavor itself is great. Smooth, bright and the citrus plays really well off the ginger. It reminds me of a green tea. Young hyson perhaps? This tea is not wanting for anything, I can down it straight up all day without any jitters.

Steepster has such a sense of humor. The tagline for the description for this tea is, “You’re not gonna want to share this tea!”
Yes, Steepster, you are right. I would not wish this tea on my worst enemy.
This was a part of the October 2014 Select box. While all of the other teas in the box were generally lovely, (Oktoberfest, anyone?) this was the one tea that stuck out like a sore thumb. The dry notes were overwhelmingly licorice – y and clovelike. Which was actually pretty pleasant to my nose. But this tisane does not get better when you steep it. The licorice and the clove increased tenfold, with a small citrus consolation prize. A sweet cinnamon mint after taste helped me forget the whole thing. I couldn’t finish the sample. Too bad too, I could use some new incense.

I like to think of this tea as my guilty pleasure tea.
To modify that old Animal Farm quote, i’d like to say that all tea is created equal, but some are more equal than others. Rag on Teavana all I want, they can sometimes spit out a pretty good tea.
The base oolong they use for this tea smells wonderfully floral and honeydew-ish in it’s own right. Adding pieces of apple, orange and hibiscus actually accentuate the flavor of the tea, rather than cover up, as many other flavored teas that I have tried.

I am not particularly wowed by this tea. There was a lot more raspberry than I had anticipated. There is a distinct presence of flavorings added to this tea that may have turned me off to it. I know, I know, it is supposed to be and “infused” tea, but it becomes almost artificial in it’s quality. The one time that I over brewed the tea, I got a Grape Fanta flavor. After that I am careful to watch the steeping time, cause I don’t want to taste that again. Alone it is good without sweetener, for it is naturally sweet. When I am in the mood for a fruity light tea, this is what I go for. An interesting concept, but I don’t think I would buy it again. Red Leaf Teas are better for flavored matcha anyway.

As is customary with Japanese food (and drink as well) the flavors are very fall like. The dry leaf had a smell of autumn leaves, and the sweet nutty liquor has flavors of hay, roasted hazelnuts, and brown rice. It was a lighter, more delicate flavor than I am used to with my usual robust, in your face Hojicha. All in all a refreshing cup of tea that will pair well with any fall food.

Horrendously offensive name aside, this is a pretty good tea. (I mean, what were they thinking? Japanese Samurai did not drink Argentinian herbal tea flavored like the national drink of India.) it has a decently balanced flavor, and the tannins of the mate never get in the way of the citrus notes or the spice. It’s a pretty good alternative to traditional chai; it keeps it’s fresh, bright taste, while still being full-bodied.

I am a big fan of oolong, but not so much of this one. It’s seems to be the consensus among tea reviewers here. It reminds me of the flat barley-flavored bottled teas from Ito En that gives Oolong a bad name. After an the initial flavors of burnt toast wears off, the scent and flavor of gingerbread, cherries and brown sugar are present throughout. I prefer my oolong to be on the less oxidized side and this is a good example of hey. The flavor was pretty one note. Nothing to write home about.