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This one has been on my wish list for a while and tea-sipper was kind enough to include a sample in my recent stash sale purchase. To be honest, my first cup really didn’t impress me. But I think it’s because I drank the whole thing while it was still piping hot. This time around, I let it cool for a good 10-15 minutes before drinking and the coconut flavor is popping a lot more. It’s still not the best coconut tea I’ve ever tried, but it is creamy and yummy and I’m glad for the chance to try it. Thanks, tea-sipper!

Ooo, this is lovely! The dry leaf is beautiful: slender, twisty silvery-green leaves with a rich, nutty fragrance. It brews up to a nice pale green color with plenty of nutty, vegetal flavor and a lingering sweet aftertaste. Smooth, sweet Chinese green teas are my absolute favorite and this is one of the best I’ve tried. I would definitely consider re-purchasing this one!

While I’m not actually the biggest fan of fresh bananas, I do love me a loaf of banana bread and have really enjoyed a handful of banana-flavored teas that I’ve tried: Butiki’s Hello Sweetie and A Quarter to Tea’s Banana Nut Pancakes stand out in my memory. This one is okay, but definitely not a standout. The base tea is very smooth and mild, playing a supporting role to the slightly artificial banana and vanilla flavoring. Nice, but forgettable.

This one’s not for me. Weak black tea with hints of hibiscus…not getting any berry and definitely no orange.

I got this one super-cheap after Christmas in a holiday tea gift set. I was basically getting 8oz of tea for the price of 2oz, so I took a chance on a couple of blends I’d never tried before. I figured the White Chocolate Peppermint alone was worth the price of the whole set and hoped to get at least one more enjoyable tea out of the deal. Unfortunately, this isn’t the one. A weak black tea base with lots of ginger and a bit of cinnamon…drinkable, but not what the name or description promises and definitely not something I would re-purchase.

This is nice! Not quite as sweet and caramelly as I would have expected, but a very pleasant nutty flavor with a rich, malty base adding complexity. I did get just a tinge of bitterness in the aftertaste, but I’m not sure if that’s the tea itself or user error (I lost track of time and over-steeped by a minute or two). Overall, I’m quite impressed with these Simpson and Vail teas I’ve been sampling! I may have to finally break down and place an order with them one of these days…

There are few things I enjoy more than a great vanilla tea. Unfortunately, this is not that. It’s ho-hum, drinkable but totally forgettable vanilla tea. A bland Ceylon base with a light, slightly artificial vanilla flavor. It’s not bad, but definitely not something I’d re-purchase. Give me Tippy’s Not So Vanilla or Indigo’s Vanilla Black over this one any day!

Ooo, this is lovely! Reminds me of Mandala’s Yellow Buds which I tried a while back and really enjoyed. It brews up to a pale yellowish green color with a scent like freshly mown hay. The flavor is light, smooth and sweet with notes of hay and corn. (That tastes better than it sounds, I promise!) I would definitely consider re-purchasing this one when my sample runs out.

Wow, this tea is amazing! It smells like a Mrs. Fields cookie stand (do they still have those anymore?) and tastes like exactly what the name promises: smooth, buttery vanilla almond goodness. I’ve had other almond cookie teas before that tasted more like marzipan, but this one actually tastes like a cookie in a cup! One of the best dessert teas I’ve had in a long time.

Hibiscus, how I loathe thee! I’ve lost count of the number of promising-sounding fruity tisanes that turned out to be nothing more than a cup of tart, bright pink hibiscus water. So frustrating! If I wanted hibiscus tea, I would buy it; I buy a tea with pear (or apple or strawberry or whatever) because I want to taste that fruit! Anyway, ranting aside…this is (obviously) one of those herbal blends that basically tastes like hibiscus with a tiny bit of fruit thrown in. Not the worst thing I’ve had, but definitely not what was promised by the name or description.