Teekanne

I am normally not much of a teabag person, but sometimes you gotta make some sacrifices… I wanted to have a tea on the go that I could brew and sip during classes/breaks and loose leaf just isn’t as quick and practical. So I decided to grab this cheap-ish box from the store and hope for the best.

First, the smell. It smells very strongly of the same artificial perfume-y cherry blossom flavoring that seems omnipresent in many Japanese snacks, candy and drinks during the Hanami season. So while it definitely reminds me of Japan, it was not exactly in the way I’d hoped. I usually don’t mind the taste but in this case there is just too much of it, even when brewed with twice the recommended amount of water (200ml/teabag). It tastes exactly how it smells, although the maltodextrin (sweetener) in this tea gives off a nauseous end note that lingers in your mouth for a surprisingly long amount of time. I haven’t tasted any cherry or tea notes either, which leaves this blend really flat tasting and one-dimensional.

Speaking of which, the tea (aka. the dust) itself wasn’t the absolute worst there could have been. Well, probably. It barely tasted like anything so I am unable to comment on it. The flavorings are overpowering any other nuance that could have even slightly redeemed this tea, and the sickeningly sweetness of the maltodextrin present in the blend unpleasantly reminds you hours after drinking that buying this tea was a horrible mistake.

I will, however, still finish the box. I mean, it’s not so revolting that I had to throw it out on the spot, hence why it got such a high rating, but still vile enough that I will be sure to never buy this again. I’m sure some people who really like the Japanese cherry blossom flavoring could still like it somewhat. With milk, it tastes similarly to a less watery KOCHAKADEN Cherry Royal Milk Tea with less emphasis on the cherry and I found it more bearable that way.

Strong lemon and ginger in aroma.
Extremely shallow and watery taste, lemon and ginger are barely noticeable, no base green tea whatsoever.

Smells like sweet orange.
The taste is very shallow and watery, with almost no tea notes, only some orange ones.

Not rating this one, since how you can rate Christmas?

Steeped 2 minutes and the taste is very strong. It is mostly bitter citrus and clove, with just a bit of cinnamon bark. I appreciate that since American holiday flavors get so heavy on the cinnamon. The hibiscus and elderberry just serve to add a little additional tang. This would be rich and delicious sweetened – even if that makes it a bit too much for an everyday drink.

I love this tea! Now, I have to admit I’m totally biased – this tea means Christmas to me from early childhood. My father loves this tea and mum would always make it for him during winter. When I smelled this tea, I knew Christmas was coming.
It smells really good and the taste is very Christmas-like – it’s almost like a punch but with a twist. I would recommend to drink this tea sweetened – it’s meant to be a winter treat, after all.

I do love mint tea and this is actually my go-to mint tea when I run out of my homemade supplies :) Lemon changes the taste of this tea only very slightly and I noticed no difference in smell from pure mint tea.

Very strong aroma with a lot of mango, slight lemon and subtle white tea notes in the background.
Slightly sweet, very fruity taste, with dominance of mango and only subtle lemon. Very slight white tea bitterness in the aftertaste.
Refreshing and nice. Especially good as a cold brew on a hot sunny day.

Strong malty and earthy aroma.
Very malty and a bit earthy in taste, quite rich, a bit astringent.
Not bad for a mass produced tea, yet nothing spectacular.

Quite malty and earthy, surprisingly solid.

Surprisingly drinkable, round, malty. For this price segment it’s really good.

Surprisingly nice! The flavours are subtle and combine smoothly leaving your palate very refreshed. Some teas can overdo it with the mint flavour but this blend has delicate hints that are enjoyable to taste. I think this is largely because I steeped the sachet for 3-4 minutes. Any longer could risk the mint becoming too overpowering to appreciate.

This is currently my favorite tea. It has an amazing mint flavor that is incredibly bold without seeming overpowering or harsh. This is a current nighttime staple for me.

The vanilla flavor is light on the rooibos tea. It’s a great, value-for-money tea for daily pleasure, hot or iced.

Not the most impressive chai out there, but definitely delicious. Tad better than Twinings’ Indian Chai, not as good as Horniman’s Chai Té. Infinitely improved by a dash of cinnamon and a splash of boiled milk.

It’s not…. unpleasant. It definitely isn’t. That being said, it’s partly because the tea is so weak I can’t taste anything. I like the liquorice aftertaste, but other than that, it tastes like water. I think I’d enjoy it if I could taste it though.

How i got it: Got a bag from my parents’ house

Experience: This seemed to me like a worthy candidate for the everyday category, and i think i wasn’t mistaken. Intense classic Ceylon aroma, and an equally intense flavor, maybe at the level of Lipton’s Royal Ceylon or Dilmah’s Supreme Ceylon. The only detail that takes points away from this tea is that it feels sometimes a bit plain to the taste. Just a bit more of richness could make it much better. That said, i have a fairly fine tea here. Oh, it have some astringency too, nothing unpleasant. Very good.

Would i buy it?: To the date, this is the closest match for my everyday Yellow Label. The possibility is clearly open.

I got Teekanne’s Happy Moods when I bought a box with samples of the different kinds of tea in the “Body and Soul” line.

The teabag package reads “Enlivening Herbal Tea Blend with Green Tea” and some of the ingredients are Ginger, Lemongrass and Cardamon. You could guess I was very excited to sip some of iit.
Later today, I tried it, following all the steeping instructions and I sweetened it a little (against my usual rule of not doing so) I could never expect the results.

At the beginning the spicy notes didn’t show up to fulfill your expectations and make you think you’re drinking a bland , overpriced green tea, but then you swallow and just when you are about to be disappointed, Ginger and Cardamon make their entrance and suddenly there’s a spice party in your tongue.

I might be a little biased, since I love spicy teas so much, but believe me when I say this tea in particular is very good for those cold autumn/winter evenings. It puts you in the mood to keep working for the rest of the day. Enlivening, indeed!

This is the one tea that made me realize green teas are actually good! Perfect taste and scent. You will for sure be able to smell cacti, the ‘greeniness’. Conclusion: it is a great tea for quite a favourable price.