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Single-serving portion from a tea friend.

This is fine, as I would expect. I like citrus, so the orange and lemon is nice enough. Definitely an essential oil sort of flavor, as there’s no tartness to this. The base is a generic Chinese sencha, with mostly hay and dry grass notes.

Drinkable, but not something I would order. I’m definitely a bit of a green tea snob these days ha ha.

Tried this with oat milk and sugar this morning, and it was much better. There’s a maple-y note to it, along with the rich toasted chestnut. I do still get a hint of that odd savory/herbal flavor, with the milk it leans a bit more toward fennel than dill maybe. It’s not a bad thing per se, just odd, and I mostly taste it in the finish. I assume it’s just part of how I’m interpreting the flavoring, since I’ve had plenty of their other black teas and never noticed it before.

I’m not sure if this is one I would reorder, since I happen to love Lupicia’s chestnut teas, but definitely a good one to have on hand for the colder months.

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So this was a random sample that I picked up at some point, maybe when I ordered Nightmare Before Christmas teas for fall? Speaking of which, because this has lapsang and hazelnut, it actually does remind me a bit of the This Is Halloween blend.

It’s nicely balanced, the smoke isn’t overwhelming and neither is the somewhat creamy hazelnut flavor. However, I wish I tasted more of the other things. I get cinnamon and maybe a hint of clove, but definitely not anise, and the orange is extremely subtle – mostly I get a hint of zest in the finish. And because of that, I prefer This Is Halloween. That one has apple, which I think helps bridge the gap and tie everything together. If this had a stronger orange flavor, I think I would like it at a lot. But as-is, it feels like it’s missing something to me.

Another seasonal tea. Not gonna lie, finding this one just okay. There is a buttery, nutty quality to it with bits of dark caramelized sugar. But I feel like the astringency of the base really works again those nice, smoother flavors. There’s also a hint of some odd herbal quality, almost dill-like? Not sure where I’m getting that from, but it’s a bit of a clash as well.

Will have to try this one out with milk, as that would help smooth the tannic base a bit.

This sounded interesting based on the description, but I’m mostly just tasting the Assam. There’s a hint of gunpowder I think, but the strong and malty Assam dominates. It’s not unpleasant, with dark caramelized brown sugar and raisin notes, but I guess I was expecting something more nuanced or complex? They claim it tastes like whole grain toast, but not really getting that at all.

Oh well, we’ll see if my opinion changes over the course of the 2-ounce bag!

One that I picked up in my fall and winter seasonals order, because why not? :P

It’s very nice actually, as orange spice teas go. I am not a clove fan, so I’m happy to not find a strong clove presence here. The orange flavor is quite bright and zesty, and there’s a touch of cinnamon adding sweetness and warmth. I’m not sure I really taste vanilla here, though I wish I did. The black base is nicely balanced between brisk and smooth, and flavorful without being too drying or bitter.

It’s not super Christmassy to me, just because the spices are very mellow, but it is an enjoyably zesty orange black tea that I’ll have no trouble sipping through. :)

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Just finishing off my 10-teabag sampler box, since I have loose leaf coming tomorrow!

Just a lovely eggnog-meets-pumpkin-pie tea that’s great with milk and sugar. It’s nice plain too, but even better with additions. It’ll be interesting to see how the loose leaf version compares, but I imagine it’ll be even tastier. :)

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Finally finishing this one off after packing some up to send to a tea friend. This last cup was mostly honeybush so I didn’t get much pineapple. But still quite a tasty coffee honeybush!

This is discontinued now. I get it, it’s sort of an odd duck tea with a weird combination of flavors, but I did enjoy it. Luckily they have other coffee teas that I like even better. :)

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Finished off with milk and sugar. This had a nice maple aroma but ended up being too much clove and not enough maple for me. Milk and sweetener did help bring it out a bit more, but I don’t regularly add those things so I don’t really want a tea that requires them.

I did order some Sugar Maple, which had a very strong maple flavor when I tried it, to try to mix with chai and make my own version of this. :)

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Wakoucha is never my favorite, for some reason it smells and tastes a bit skunky to me (at least, Obubu’s does). But the roast helps with that here. I still get the skunky smell when it’s steeping, which isn’t ideal, but not so much in the taste.

It tastes quite savory, and lightly toasty, but it still has some grassy notes to it as well. Almost a touch barnyardy even? I dunno, it’s difficult to explain ha ha. There are some dried fruit notes as well.

It’ll never be a favorite, but still an unusual and enjoyable tea.