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TeaTiff TTB #12

This reminds me of a Darjeeling, which I know is supposed to be the “fine wine” of black tea, but which I personally don’t love. The flavor is light and floral with a lingering woody note. I find it slightly drying on the tongue. This one’s definitely not for me, but hopefully someone else will enjoy it!

TeaTiff TTB #11

What a lovely surprise! I wouldn’t normally reach for an herbal bagged tea, but I decided to give this one a shot based on Martin’s recommendation and I’m so glad I did! The flavor of this one really blew me away. The name is spot-on…it tastes and smells like freshly squeezed orange juice! Super natural and refreshing and I’m guessing it would make an amazing iced tea!

TeaTiff TTB #10

If I hadn’t known this was an oolong, I would have thought it was a green tea. It brews up bright green and has a very fresh, floral flavor. Although it’s nice and smooth, it doesn’t really have that buttery mouthfeel I associate with oolongs. Still quite enjoyed it, though!

TeaTiff TTB #9

I was intrigued by the combination of caramel, vanilla, and pomegranate in this blend. However, the pomegranate really didn’t come through for me. I was a bit disappointed by that, but the tea itself is still quite good! The caramel and vanilla flavoring is sweet and natural rather than cloying or artificial and the base tea is hearty but not overbearing. This is definitely one I’d drink again!

TeaTiff TTB #8

This one surprised me! It had a strong scent of brown sugar and I thought it might be a flavored tea, but it turned out to be just a straight black. The flavor was quite light and sweet. Honey smooth, but lacking in body…almost more like an oolong than a black tea. It was interesting to try, but probably not something I’d go for again.

TeaTiff TTB #7

Though not the best green tea I’ve tried from the box so far, I still enjoyed this one. It was quite vegetal in flavor, but not at all bitter.

TeaTiff TTB #6

Tamaryokucha by Forthees from the Japanese Tea Marathon

I used to think I didn’t like Japanese green teas, but I think I’d just tried some really grassy ones and given up. I liked the other two from this box so much, I decided to try another today and this one is delicious as well! The leaf is super delicate and tightly twisted into little spikes resembling pine needles. The dry leaf was a gorgeous forest green with a strong scent of spinach and it steeped up to a bright neon green in the cup. The flavor is super fresh and vegetal (still reminding me of spinach) with a nice buttery smooth finish.

TeaTiff TTB #5

Apparently I had tried this tea before, but I didn’t remember that when I grabbed it out of the box to try at work yesterday. To be honest, I was drinking this in a meeting and thinking about other things, so I didn’t pay super close attention. But I remember it being a pleasant nutty, spicy brew this time around with notes of cinnamon and almond. Raising my rating a bit.

TeaTiff TTB #4

This tea made my kitchen smell like pancakes with maple syrup while it was brewing! Hot, I was a bit disappointed by the flavor. It’s a pleasantly smooth and creamy black tea, but I wasn’t really tasting the maple at all. However, as it cooled down, the maple flavor started to pop out more. It’s still more subtle than I would I have expected based on the aroma, but it’s quite enjoyable! I’d like to try it as a latte.

TeaTiff TTB #3

Skysamurai kindly included a number of teas from a special “Japanese Tea Marathon” she participated in last year. This one is a Kabusecha from Nakamori Seicha, which I couldn’t find on Steepster and didn’t have enough information about to add myself. Apparently, Kabusecha is a shredded Japanese green tea. It looked like bright green grass clippings in the bag and left a fair amount of dust at the bottom of my cup. I was expecting the flavor to be strong, like a CTC tea, but it was actually quite light and delicate with notes of fresh green peas. I didn’t personally love it, but it was definitely an interesting experience to get to try it!