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I really enjoy this tea and I so rarely turn to it. I think of it as a tea that I need to be in the right mood for, but I’m not sure what mood that is exactly. It’s smooth, smokey, leathery. It is really well rounded with low and high notes in the flavor. The complexities of the flavors make me think of whiskey without the alcohol. I need to drink this more often!

I recall loving this tea! This one and London Breakfast. I was excited to have the opportunity to restock it recently after years of going without, but they aren’t quite how I remember them. I used to use cream and sugar in my teas and have gotten out of that habit, especially with the sugar. I think both these teas really benefit from that addition. It took two small scoops of sugar and some cream to get this cup to a good state. Once that was accomplished it was a good breakfast tea and I cup I’m enjoying. Most hearty teas fit into that category once you add enough cream and sugar, so I’m not sure why I was so taken by this. Maybe time and exposure will change my mind back. Maybe my palate and preferences have outgrown this tea.

I have never had a hawthorn berry before. This is the first time I’ve even heard of them. This tea could taste like a totally different fruit and I wouldn’t know the difference, so I have to take them on their word about this flavor. It almost seemed cranberry like for a second, but it doesn’t have the puckering tartness and has a sweeter way about it. There is a very airy perfume like taste in the sip. It’s bright and enjoyable on green rooibos. It’s interesting, but I’m not super taken by the flavors. Little bit of rooibos dry mouth after each sip. Overall it’s a fun quick experience of a new flavor for me.

Buttery blackberry pancakes you say? I don’t get the butter or pancake part. What I do get is a chocolate berry flavor that is less than exciting. I don’t think this is even quite blackberry. It reminds me more of raspberry chocolate teas. There may be a hint of syrup long into the finish. The tea it’s self was more finely ground than any other tea I’ve seen, almost a powder in the bag. It’s not horrible, but it’s far from interesting.

I’ve had several great green strawberry teas that were bright and full of flavor. Kusmi and Lupicia both come to mind. This was not one of them. I kept searching for the fruit and just got the ghost of it instead. I do get a little bit of cream, but it isn’t interesting without the strawberry there. The instructions do say to steep this in almost boiling water, which I just can’t bring myself to do to a green, so maybe it is user error. I did steep it for 3 minutes like the instructions say. Still, hard pass on this one for me.

This smells really fruity when I open the bag. Like artificial fruit, just like breakfast cereal. I expected it to be sickly sweet, but it’s actually a fairly nice fruity flavor. It has an underlying citrus flavor that brightens each sip. I can’t pick out any of the other flavors individually because they all merge into a fruit loops flavor. This looses a little magic as it cools, so drinking it hot is best IMO, but I do wonder how this would be cold steeped. This tea is fun and I kinda like it!

I kinda like this one! It’s a green rooibos, so very little dry mouth feeling or woody taste. I think they really nailed the flavor of almonds on a croissant. Not so much the croissant part, but that particular flavor of almond, which is almost extract tasting. It doesn’t have too much depth to it, more middle and high notes in the flavors, but it’s tasty anyways. It reminds me of a David’s tea I had long ago that was on an unusual woodchip like base and had a very strong almond taste. I’m enjoying this cup and would happily drink another, but isn’t something I’d buy and stock.

In the bag this smelled like fresh orange juice. It had that intense juicy scent to it. Once steeped the chocolate scent comes out. It’s a lovely rich scent balanced with the higher notes of the orange and reminds me of Butiki’s Three Friends. A few sips in and I think this might by my favorite Almost tea so far. The orange and chocolate are really well balanced with the puerh base hiding in the background while providing depth. I don’t think scones so much as I think Terry’s chocolate oranges. It gets a little sharper as it cools, but it is still really good. I’d almost consider buying this tea. If the price was lower and they sold it loose leaf I think I’d be in.

I’m so confused. The package says green tea as do the leaves in the bag, but green tea isn’t listed as an ingredient and honeybush is. Proofread fail? The instructions for this tea say to steep at just under boiling for 3 minutes, which is a lot for a green. I did two minutes at 175 and probably should have only done one minute. The sip is flat with a hint of alkaline and the start of the finish is the same. Once that initial taste wears off I’m left with a nice caramel brown sugar like taste that was nowhere in the sip. Sometimes flatness will wear off a few sips in for some teas, but I’m not having that luck with this one. There is also something that leaves my throat feeling almost irritated. It feels a little weird. I’m dumping this cup.

Huh. I had a cup of Lupicia’s Natsukoi earlier today and this reminds me a bit of that. It has a lemony taste to it with hints of lemongrass. The sip is a little sharp at the start before it mellows out. The finish is nice with lemon lingering. There is an almost gelatin like taste to it which I’m guessing is supposed to add a jello type jelly flavor. It is a totally acceptable inoffensive tea that I can sip in the evening, but isn’t exciting enough to run out and buy.