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This is the last of the three samples that came with my DAVID’s 24 Days of Tea. I’m trying to decide if I like it or not. i’m usually a pretty big fan of spicy teas, but sometimes rooibos tastes off to me. That is the case here.

The scent must be quite strong with this one because I caught a faint whiff of it. I used twenty ounces of water in my small bubble tea pot and the whole sample package, and let it steep for 3.5 minutes. It is a lovely dark color, and as I said, it must have a wonderful scent. At the beginning of the sip I get a warm, cinnamon-y glow on my tongue. However, it is quickly followed by the woody rooibos. That quite ruins it for me. I drank about half of this and decided to pour the rest out.

I am giving this one a recommendation because I think someone who enjoys chair and rooibos would love this tea.

I am not rating this tea now. I had a cup with a friend last night and I did not like it. It was a bit bitter and astringent. However, I may have over leafed it and over-steeped it. So I will try it again another time and see if I like it better. It sure sounmds good.

Sad Sip Down!

My friend Robyn from Winnipeg came to stay the weekend (she also stayed Monday night on her way to Minneapolis, but returned on Friday for the entire weekend). We had a couple of different teas, but this one was our wake up breakfast tea. We both agreed it was marvelous. Hearty but smooth, with just enough bite to help us get moving this morning. Not that we did, of course. Move, that is. We lazed around most of the morning, drinking tea, eating raspberries, and perusing our devices for updates from Facebook friends. It was a great morning made even better byu a pot of this tea.

On Tuesday morning I thought I might be getting a cold, but it cleared up by lunch. Today around noon I started sneezing violently, blowing my nose, coughing… I guess I didn’t dodge the bullet after all. Dang it.

This tea isn’t a cure, but it is good. A lot of medicinal teas TASTE like medicine. This one kind of does, but not really. It’s actually a tasty tea with plenty of mint. The warm liquid feels pretty good on my throat, and it opens my plugged nose a tish. I’m down to only a little bit of this left, like maybe 20 grams. Maybe my tea pusher will give me some for Christmas.

A friend from Winnipeg drove down to Fargo and stayed with me last night. She brought a small sample of this with her so we brewed up a small pot. Yum. Really yum. Very minty and creamy. I really enjoyed this one. I’m not sure if I like this one or Santa’s Secret more. I may have to order 50 grams of this.

This was one of my samples from my David’s order. It sounded so good. I mean, I loooooove shortbread. One of my favorite things. and caramel is also a fave. And I am always looking for a caffeine free evening tea. So when I got this sample I was pretty excited.

I was disappointed. The first thing I noticed was a bit of tartness. It wasn’t a horrible tartness, like what I get with hibiscus, In fact, I kind of liked that. But then came the artificial sweetness. I rushed to grab the packet to read the ingredients. Grrrr. Yep. Stevia. Imagine my curled lip as I snarl the S word.

I don’t know why so many teas have Stevia. If I want my tea to be a bit sweeter, I have rock sugar and honey, and I know how to use them. Don’t get me wrong, as a diabetic I am happy to use stevia on occasion. but not in my tea.

I am glad I got this one as a sample, because it sounded so good I might have been tempted to order some. Now I know better. This might appeal to a lot of tea drinkers who like a sweet/sour flavor to their tea. And if a friend invited me for tea and served this one, I would be able to drink a cup to be polite, but it will never be my first choice.

I had this one last night after supper. I am still enjoying this one quite a bit. Now that it’s actually cold out (although expected to be quite a bit warmer over the next week or so) I am drinking a lot more tea. I have many friends who turn up their nose at the very idea of drinking tea. I feel sorry for them. How does anyone go through life without enjoying tea??? It must be because the only tea they’ve had has been poor quality bagged tea. Now, if they could try some of the teas that we enjoy, I bet they would change their tune. This one for instance. It’s desserty, mildly sweet, and mellow.

I received this one as a sample when I ordered my David’s 24 Days of Tea Advent Calendar. (I just want to say, I have been a very good girl and NOT opened the tea advent calendar yet!)

I’m always looking for a good tea for a before bed treat. Something light and caffeine free, without hibiscus or chamomile. I know a lot of people love a nice, soothing cup of chamomile tea in the evening, but the flavor doesn’t appeal to me. This one is nice. It certainly fits my criteria, being both light and caffeine free. I may have under leafed it as the color is quite pale. Then again, it is a fruit infusion, so I shouldn’t expect a lot of color. The flavor is mild. I get a bit of minty burst, followed by a nice fruity taste. I will enjoy having the second cup of this sample, but I don’t believe I will order any more. But I’m really glad to have tried it.

I like peppermint tea in the evening when I’m feeling a bit over-full and/or gassy. I usually have Pure Peppermint by Twinings or Peppermint by Stash in the cupboard, but I have only a couple of tea bags left. At the grocery store today I saw a holiday tea display. (yes, I know, it’s not even Halloween yet!) and one of them was this one. They were on sale for only $2.29 for a box. I decided what the heck? and picked one up.

I do like the convenience of bagged teas now and then. Like other peppermint teas I’ve had, this started out as a light greenish yellow, and darkened to brown as it brewed. The description says it has a smooth, creamy taste but to me the flavor seems to be straight peppermint. This may be because my nose is once again not receiving scents. I hope someone else will review this tea and chime in on the flavor. Regardless, I like a nice peppermint tea and this one fits the bill. And the price is great.

Tonight I decided to go thru my tea stash and figure out what I actually have, and which teas I can drink down in the next few weeks. It’s been my plan for a while to get my stash down to only 20 teas, and once I’m there to keep it that way. You know, have three or four really good straight blacks, four or five flavored dessert teas, two or three herbal or non caffeine teas, a couple medicinal type teas, a couple of chai teas, and a couple seasonal teas.

Well, I have a ways to go, but I do have about 12 teas that I have only a few tablespoons of. You know the ones? Either they are so good that you can’t bear to finish them off, or they are so blah that you just can’t bring yourself to drink it. I guess there are a few in between, too, the ones that get overlooked because they get lost. This was one of the lost ones. I enjoyed its flavor, but I won’t miss this one. Of the Teavana teas I’ve purchased, this was probably my favorite. Good bye, little tea.