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This is my first (and last, most likely) chocolaty tea, so bear that in mind.

The smell of the unbrewed tea is of bitter chocolate and something artificial-scenty. It’s strong and, IMO, nasty.

The brewing scent is the same, I had to stand several feet from it while it steeped. I couldn’t stand to be close to it.

I’d read the ingredients and noted the chocolate contents before buying it, but since it was named Peach Truffle I thought, well, maybe all the ingredients together made that flavor somehow -because sometimes teas DO surprise you.

No.

Once it cooled enough I sipped it. The flavor itself isn’t bad at all, but I can’t report on what it tastes like because I had to sip it while trying not to breathe so that I wouldn’t smell the horrid scent of it. I truly couldn’t stand to be near it and breathe in. I’ve struggled to take 3 sips and have now just wrote it off as “I don’t like it”, officially.

This would likely be a great tea for those who do like chocolaty scents and teas, so I’ll use it for tea swaps. But I won’t be tasting anymore myself.

Am now trying this as iced tea, the last little bit of the sample I had.

I was right, it’s very good as an iced tea. On its own and would probably make great sweet-tea, but I’ve only this last bit to experiment with. I think I’ll be buying more for ice tea usage.

Added agave nectar to the last half of cup. Awesome.

Second try.

This time I can already smell much more, so I’m sure this tasting will be more accurate than last.

The smell is very vegetal with a hint of sweetness. Not bold like black teas, subtle and sniffy lol. Maybe a little honey-toned.

Since the leaves are so long in this, I use about 1/8-1/4 cup of them to 12oz of tea. Sounds like a lot, but it’s not… it turns out to be about the same as 2 tsps of more broken teas, judging by how much space in my infuser they take up before and after brewing.

The flavor is very vegetal, it’s true. I think leeks may be accurate; with it’s subtle honey taste it reminds me a bit more of fresh cut grass or possibly wheat. Yes, that’s it: wheat. That’s what the sweet + green equals out to, for me.

I’m definitely liking this better this time around. But still not an all-time favorite… just makes me want to explore more white teas.

The scent hits you about 2 feet away. Very seed-scented, sweet and toasted.

The flavor is very round, toasted bread, a bit of that slight seed taste that’s present in the scent, not much front-of-tongue action here. Medium length finish with slight sweetness.

It’s a good but not great Oolong. Something to drink if you just want a general Oolong with no particularly special notes to it. A safe solid Oolong, but without any real flare.

Scent is a little fruity, has a sweetness to it.

The flavor, too, is a bit fruity… maybe strawberries or something like that. Also has that rich brown flavor of Assams. Malt comes out as it cools but is not strong. It’s a moderate to strong tea. Long finish is slightly burnt, charcoal flavor.

It’s quite pleasant; I think I’ll keep it around for a stronger Assam option.

The aroma is really strong, not in a bad way but in a fill-the-room way… Spicy, a little sweet, with dark undertones.

The flavor also has the dark tones to it like an Assam does, with a bit of green at the tip of the tongue. Little bit of a burnt taste. Strong and lasting finish. Would probably be good for those that like milk and sweets in their tea, it would hold up well to them.

It’s a good tea, but not for me. I’ll rate it high on its clear quality, even though it rates low for me personal-taste-wise.

On a second cup I used more tea and a little more time. Much better.

Since this cools well, I think I’ll try some of this as iced tea. I’m betting that’ll be quite nice.

Got this as a sample. The color brewed is a muddy tan-pink. From a distance the peppery scent is the strongest, on closer sniffing you can pick up the strawberry and some ginger.

On tasting, I’m not sure what to think. It’s not bad, I’m just not used to fruit or flavored teas, for the most part. The strawberry is subtle and not overwhelming. The ginger you can’t really taste, but can feel that ginger-feel in your mouth during and after a sip. The pepper aspect is the largest flavor in a sip and is surprisingly pleasant.

I was dubious going in, but it’s a return-to-it tea. I like it enough to make me reconsider the world of flavored teas and will explore this area more due to it.

The only thing that could really be improved would be to bring up the strawberry flavor a bit more.

On describing it and sipping further I think I do like it. I’ll fiddle with temps and strengths to see what they do to this tea. It’s interesting.

Edited to add:

As this cools, the strawberry comes up some.

I really like this tea as a casual bag tea for hot or cold grab-a-mug’ing. It’s a dark pink color when done steeping and has a nice tart pomegranate flavor. I usually don’t like RoT teas and over-all I don’t tend to like fruity teas, but the tart and fruit of this one is pleasant.

Brewed this after a day of a less than impressive Assam, for a nice change. Just the scent of it while it’s cooling to drink temp is gorgeous. Floral, rich, delicate, pleasing.

Again the flavor is SO good. Malty, astringent around the sides of the tongue, a tiny bit of floral off the front middle of tongue. Just lovely and exactly what I needed.