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A risky buy given my feelings on red rooibos, but it paid off this time. While I am getting some of the woodiness from the rooibos, the spices are strong and give me an excellent cinnamon, nutmeg, clove, and cardamom blend. The banana is stronger in the scent than the taste, but the flavor is still there. I wouldn’t have been at all surprised to find nuts in the ingredients with the scent either. A solid choice for a little morning sweetness and spice.

I had a hard time with this particular sample – I didn’t really feel either of the namesake ingredients came through. Lavender isn’t my favorite anyway, so I didn’t necessarily miss it, but it did make me wonder if the sample itself was unbalanced or if that’s just the tea.

This one just felt like the winner for a quick cup before trick-or-treating and other Halloween shenanigans.

After the last two struggles with oversteeping I stuck with the short end of the suggested window and I loved this cup. The tea itself was light but it wasn’t used as an excuse to skip out on the spices. The ginger was dominant. I’m not a big coconut fan, but this just added smoothness without an overwhelming coconut flavor. It tasted like a spice cookie with a little cream.

Probably a brew that would benefit from more careful attention on the timer, with a steep closer to the beginning of the recommended time. Even so, I enjoyed this one. While the bitterness was forward (hence the steeping note), it mellows into a pleasant and even sweet toffee profile that lingers.

I’m not giving this a number just yet, because I would not be charitable to this particular cup and I think I need to try again with a lighter hand. This round was acid and bitterness and only the slightest caramel finish. So note to self – experiment with less tea, shorter than recommended steeping time, etc.

A good balance of creaminess and light spice in a chai I could drink regularly. I even liked it better as it cooled. I don’t know that it stands out enough for a purchase out of so many good options, but I wouldn’t be mad about having more.

I wanted more berry from a tea with this name. It appears slightly at the back of each sip and leaves a tiny bit of aftertaste, but I’m mostly getting the genmaicha flavor. Still tasty!

Trying to get back into writing tasting notes because otherwise it’s impossible to remember what I already tried and how I felt about it.

I like the idea of this tea, but I’m finding this cup rather odd. The chocolate is hiding while the bergamot/stevia combo is more forward and leaves an aftertaste I’m not enjoying. I believe I have another sampler hiding somewhere, so I’ll be giving it another go, but it’s a no for now.

This was a letdown. The ingredients list has so much going on – pomegranate, raspberry, vanilla, caramel, bergamot – and yet I couldn’t pick out almost any of it in the flavor. I wouldn’t have even recognized it as an earl grey if not for the name. There is a subtle generic berry aftertaste, but I’m not getting anything else. The tea itself is fine. Just not anywhere near what I expected.

(This was part of the 2023 advent calendar that yes, I am still finishing, after basically neglecting advent season).

The sampler in my subscription packet this month (Plum Deluxe being the final remaining tea subscription I just can’t bring myself to end, despite my stash).

A pleasant enough black tea, with some of the bitterness I expect of a breakfast tea and a clear scent of hazelnut. The hazelnut flavoring is more forward when the cup is hot. As I’m down to the last colder sips, I get almost none of it, with a light berry flavor underneath the tea itself showing up instead.

Nice to drink, but not something I’d need to have.