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Ok… so I got my Della Terra order yesterday and they sent me a sample of Honey & Spice that I fully thought I would try first.. because I opened the bag and it smelled so nice. For some reason I just felt like water last night, so I missed my evening tea.

When I got up this morning I decided to grab something out of the bag w/caffeine in it… the Honey & Spice will have to wait. It was a choice between this and Peppermint Bark. I’ve not had an almond tea before so this was the choice.

Dry leaf it smells sweet and almond. I’m not usually much of a green tea person, but flavored ones I’m finding work for me sometimes.

The first few sips I wasn’t sure about. I just knew I’ve had something very much like it in flavor before. I’m not sure I can pick out the coconut in this blend. I can taste the green tea base, but it comes through pretty mild which is nice for me.

I let it cool awhile and smelled and tasted it again… then had an “Aha” moment… I know what this reminds me of!… Celestial Seasonings Sugar Cookie Sleigh Ride. I think the almond flavoring in both is what makes me make the connection. CS Sugar Cookie has a hint of orange and is much more dense of a tea than this. I don’t like to compare loose leaf w/bagged store brands, but that’s what came to mind when I placed the flavor.

Now I love, love, love almond extract in my mom’s cherry pie recipe, and I love it as a fragrance in soaps, but I find it to come through very differently in tea, the sweet fragrance is there, but just different. I’m not sure yet if I like it. I will have to give it a few more tries like I did with Winter Nog (which is now a fav).

This Christmas I found CS Sugar Cookie to be too dense, rich, and sweet smelling, and the orange just added 1 element too much for me I think.

This one is much lighter in mouth feel and exchange citrus for coconut.. which I think I can faintly taste at the end of each sip if I look for it.

Had to log this this morning because it is my 8 yr olds first experience today with loose leaf… One proud Momma! He has always turned his nose up at loose leaf until today, and he actually helped me fill the steeper ball. :)

He is home longer this morning for a delay due to cold temperatures, so we had a nice breakfast and tea. He finished his first cup and after breakfast asked for more. We were out of his first choice for today, so I went through some of the options and he chose this. He loves root beer, so this was an obvious first step to loose leaf for him. He was really surprised at how close this was to root beer for him.

This has been one that my Hubby has liked since I was able to get a partial pkg from ShadowFall to try… Thanks again! Now we know we have 2 that enjoy this one and it might be worth the re-stock. I may, however, be looking for a caffeine free version of root beer so he can have it later in the day and not compromise bedtime.

My son had a 2 hr delay for school due to the cold temperatures this morning. He asked for this tea :) Sugar, no milk. Drank it down easy and later asked for something else… I would’ve re-steeped and given him a weaker second cup (but I had already done that w/it for myself). It was the last bag, so we had to find him something else.. he chose his first loose leaf… granted, he chose Butterbeer since it smells like root beer which is one of his favorites. Even so… Proud Momma! Not too long ago he would have just asked for some chocolate milk as a treat.

I bought this when I was away on vacation for a friend who loves peach anything… Preserves, juices, etc. Thinking I would hold it until her birthday, it has been sitting in my tea cabinet amid my teas so I know where it is when her birthday comes around.

Today, on a whim, I decided to try a sample of this tea. Hubby and I can’t stand anything with artificial peach flavoring, but how could I give her something untested?!?!

To my surprise we both found this tea to be much nicer than we expected. The dry leaf is light in fragrance, but peach is present. Steeped, the flavor comes out a little stronger, but it’s not overwhelming and more realistic than most peach flavored candies, etc. Hubby actually liked this one a bit more than I did and he usually won’t go near anything peach flavored.

This would be a nice one to get and keep around for evenings when we want tea without the caffeine. My girlfriend will love it!! But might not like my introducing her to something she will want to buy more of ;)

I gave this a try a few days ago and didn’t get around to logging it.

I was one of the lucky ones that got a free sample of this from Columbia Kate a few weeks ago… she was very generous to also send along her Almond Orange Rooibos.. Um… Yum… & I didn’t think I’d like orange as a main flavor in tea. If you like anything orange in tea, read the tasting notes and go order you some… It’s amazing!

On with the review…

Dry it smells light, green, and maybe a hint of floral.

Being new to loose leaf, I’m into dessert teas and a few blacks right now, and haven’t had a chance to try much else. I thought I’d give this one a go since Columbia Kate was so gracious to send a sample.

I found this one just ok. At first I wasn’t sure what I was tasting, but not sure I’ve had gunpowder in anything yet. Maybe that is what is throwing the taste off for me on this one. I want to like it, but there is a bit of a smokey flavor that just doesn’t sit well with me and I’m guessing it’s the gunpowder. I was looking for the spicy in this blend and didn’t find it, but I tend to like spicy, so it just may be too weak for my palet. Maybe after a little more experience with smokey teas, I could come to enjoy this because I do like the rest of the flavor profile. I will hold on to the rest of the sample awhile and come back to it after I’ve had a little more experience with tea flavors.

Got this one for Christmas as part of a family “white elephant” Christmas exchange. Somehow I got so lucky as to get the bag of tea and nice mug. :)

All of the teas are bagged, as is this, but that’s ok for those times hen I want something easy.

My son, who is 8, has recently started drinking evening teas before bedtime. It started one night when he couldn’t sleep and I didn’t want to give him Benadryl or something, so I offered him some Celestial Seasonings Sleepytime tea. I thought I would make it and then he would turn his nose up at it, but the picture of the bear on the packaging won him over and he drank it, went to bed and went right to sleep.

This afternoon he asked me what kinds of teas you drink at breakfast or in the afternoon. I showed him a good variety & even had him smell some of the loose leaf teas we have. He wanted something more plain, so we went for the box of Twinings w/a variety. I thought I picked up the Earl Grey, but soon realized I had the Lady Grey and it was already opened. I went ahead and steeped it for him, added a little sugar & milk, the way my mom always did for me, and he gave it a try. Said he liked it, but we didn’t have much time before we had to leave for Cub Scouts so he didn’t finish it.

I took a sip myself since it was my first try of anything Lady Grey. I’ve only ever had Earl Grey before. I had read tasting notes on Lady Greys before, and understood there to be citrus/lemon undertones, but wow… Maybe it’s just me and my lack of familiarity with lemon & tea. I have had lemonade and sweet tea together before .. Bleck. This to me was an earl type base tea with very present lemon flavor, smooth and not bitter or tart. Others have mentioned Fruit Loop in their description.. Maybe think lemon Fruit Loops. :). I bet if I mention that to my son he will ask for another cuppa!

I tried this when I received it as a part of my black Friday order and wasn’t too impressed. It’s fragrance was a bit overly sweet to me.

This evening I went looking for something caffeine free since I’d already had enough today and grabbed this to give it another try. I have to say that I enjoyed it much more tonight. Maybe because I knew what to expect when I chose this one. Very sweet fragrance with a hint of spice & cream.. Not eggnog to me, but with a touch of sugar it tastes just like it smells… Which is nice. It does have a bit of an after taste, maybe it’s the rooibos, but it’s tolerable.

I think I’m starting to like this one now that I’ve come to know what to expect of it. I’m glad now that I kept it.

Had this this afternoon since I’ve been craving it since yesterday. As yummy as I remember… Steeped 3 times just to see how it turned out… Third time was pretty weak, but still had peppermint goodness and was very drinkable when I added a touch of raw sugar.

So gonna miss this one when it’s gone! Too bad it’s seasonal… Anyone have any extra to sell or trade ?