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I’m not sure why I got this tea. I’m one of those people who don’t particularly like the taste of fruits and chocolate mixed together. I do like dessert style blends, so that may be an explanation as to where my head was at when I decided to get this.

This tea was one of those instances where I think every flavor that the blender intended me to taste came out in the brew, which happens less often than I thought (probably due to my untrained palate). The cherry and chocolate are blended well together and make themselves known over the tea base without being overpowering. The chocolate is dark and subtle, barely sweet. The cherry is even more subtle, which keeps it from tasting fake…a nice touch.

The only thing that I found odd about this tea was the base itself. I’m not familiar with the different types of oolongs, and I have even less experience with the long twisty leaves as opposed to the rolled up type. The base tasted earthy, like wet soil.

I’m not sure if it’s the flavor, the base, or the entire blend together, but I get some coffee sort of flavor in the mix every now and then. (Okay, this note is added later, but I forgot that this tea has the word “latte” in it. Guess that would explain the coffee taste.)

While I enjoyed tasting this tea, it’s not my flavor personally.

At least three people told me that this tea was going to be “weird” because “all GABAs are,” so I was all ready to expect weird. While this tea certainly wasn’t what I was expecting, I wouldn’t describe it as weird.

The dry leaf has a creamy aroma that made me excited to brew it. 190º for 2 minutes, and I’m getting a sweet cream aroma with some cinnamon. It smells almost exactly like the cinnamon buns at Ikea.

Taking a sip, there is a hint of astringency that reminds me a bit of black tea. There’s an initial shock to the tongue, like a gentle poke that says “tea!” Maybe it’s a little fermenty flavor? I’m not sure. There’s a hint of earthiness at the base of the flavor. But none of these are the dominating flavors.

Dominating flavors are overtones of creamy sweetness and vanilla. Maybe the smell is messing with my brain, but I almost think I can taste the smallest hint of cinnamon. I’m never really able to taste the fruit that sites describe in their teas, so I’m not surprised that I can’t find the pear.

Overall, a very enjoyable experience!

The first time I had this tea was on Liquid Proust’s trunk in the parking lot of a strip mall, because tea time can truly be any time. I think the water was much hotter than today’s brewing. The flavors I got were in the range of bitter, grassy, seaweedy, and cucumber. There was also a bit of buttery flavor. These would appear and disappear based on LP’s steeping times.

I’m kind of amazed at how different this tea tastes today.

I took the kettle to 165 (a little higher than recommended) and had several sessions as it cooled. First couple of steeps were flashed, and then I increased the time up to a minute as the leaf wore out.

The first couple of brews were an almost overwhelming mushroom flavor that lingered on the palate for a while. The buttery taste and creamy mouthfeel came in and blended well with the mellowed mushroom flavor as the kettle cooled and the leaf settled. There was also a “green” sort of taste that I don’t really have the vocabulary to describe, but it was a dark green (yeah, the synesthesia is kicking in).

Every once in a while, there was a slight hint of bitterness or a little drying on the back of the palate, but this would disappear and reappear between steeps.

My thanks to LP for giving me a bit to sample again!

I’m finishing up my sample of this tea from a stash sale I got on reddit, along with some toast with clotted cream and raspberry jam.

I have to say that I’m surprised at how strong and full-bodied this tea is. It’s a little earthy and leathery, like a good puerh. It’s also extremely malty. The flavor reminds me of a smoother version of a breakfast blend.

But it’s not as smooth as most Yunnan blacks I’ve been drinking lately. There’s a hint of bitterness on the edge, and the flavor is hefty with almost no chocolate. As it cools, there’s a hint of smoke.

Looking up the price, I’d say this is a good everyday breakfast tea if you’re looking for something with more flavor than Twinings English Breakfast.

I would call this blend Wine, not Ice Wine. Perhaps if I put a bunch of sugar in there, it would taste more like ice wine.

It’s still a nice tea. It’s grapey; it’s winey. The base is nice and smooth, but unlike most blends I have been drinking, it makes itself known. It does get a little drying after a while, but I think it adds to the authentic wine experience.

It’s actually not too bad for a tea store blend.

Not a fan of this. It smells a bit like formaldehyde, so it was taking me back to my high school days and science class. Surprise! You get to hack into a fetal pig! So I was already traumatized before I took a sip.

It’s extremely vegetal, but whatever kind of vegetable it is, it’s one I don’t care for. It’s a little bitter and sour.

Just…no thank you.

I had to guess which Tieguanyin I was sent in the 5 for $5 deal, and judging by the flavor profile, I guessed it was this one.

Flowers, but not really a specific one that I can identify. A light and dewy kind of flower. There’s a hint of vegetable in there as well, maybe spinach.

Enjoyable, but not my favorite.

Edit: It becomes a sort of creamy jasmine in subsequent steeps. It’s kind of nice. I gave it a couple of extra points for that.

It’s funny that reading the other reviews, there are a couple comments about the base being really strong on this blend. I found the base to be rather watery tasting. But since this was a secondhand purchase, I don’t know how long the leaf has been sitting in its little baggy.

Other than that, I enjoyed this. The maple is strong, and you can never go wrong with a nice maple flavor. The cinnamon is the next strongest flavor and pairs well with the maple. I suppose I chose to drink this this morning because I wish fall were here, and the maple cinnamon is doing its best to help me pretend. There’s a buttery chocolatey kind of aftertaste too.

Maybe my palate is filling in the likely pairings, but I might taste a bit of clove? It’s nice, whether it’s there or not. The cinnamon sticks and the pumpkin sprinkles were a nice touch to making this blend fun.

I don’t know what to say. I want to take a bath in this tea. It’s warm. It’s toasty. It’s chocolatey. It’s like drinking a cup of hot chocolate. I wish I had had THIS last night when I was craving something sweet.

I’m sad I only have a sample size.

So, it’s late at night, and I’m craving something sweet. I can’t have caffeine, because I’m not yet hardcore enough to drink caffeine before bed; I have enough sleeping issues as it is. Well, Stephen just picked up some of this caramel corn, which has no tea in it, so perfect!

But wait, why the hell is it pink? A quick check of ingredients shows that it has beetroot in it, presumably for sugar. But then there are like 4 other kinds of sugar in here. Why did you feel the need to make it pink, David?

First sip: way too sweet, with that fake sugar taste I can’t stand. It’s also a little sour, like when you eat a brownie and then drink a coke? I think they mixed the wrong sugars in here. SOMETHING doesn’t belong.

The popcorn and caramel taste is nice, but REALLY strong. I’m breathing it out my nose. I’m imagining THAT flavor is coming from the oily sheen on top of the cup. It also tastes very strongly of apple—so much so that they should call it caramel apple popcorn tea.

Stephen’s going to try it iced. We’ll see how that works for him. I’ll be staying far away.