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This is one of the best chocolate teas I’ve tried: rich, bittersweet chocolate flavor with a hint of hazelnut. It’s definitely on the pricey side, but worth it for a special treat. It was delicious straight, but I’m curious to also try it as a latte…milk and sugar might take it over the top!

“Roasted seaweed” is the best description I can come up with for how this tea tastes. A little bit grassy, a little bit salty, and just a hint of smoke. The leaf is also very finely shredded, escaping through the holes of my infuser and leaving behind a thick layer of residue in the bottom of my cup. This was an interesting tea to sample, but probably not something I would ever re-purchase.

I bought this months ago, but finally remembered to buy a can of sweetened condensed milk so I could try it this weekend! This is an interesting product: basically, just a blend of fresh spices that you are instructed to mix with sweetened condensed milk and then add to black tea. I followed the directions on the bag to the letter, mixing 1 tablespoon of the chai into a can of sweetened condensed milk and letting it sit overnight, then mixing 1 tablespoon of the resulting “goop” into a brewed cup of their Breakfast Assam. This resulted in a sweet, creamy, spicy cup of tea with a fair amount of heat…a bit more ginger than I would personally prefer. While this is definitely an easy way to make a chai latte, the flavor leaves something to be desired for me. I prefer their (sadly discontinued) Reena’s Chai tea over this one.

I bought this for making Chai, but decided to try drinking it straight yesterday. It’s a CTC tea, so I was expecting a strong, bitter flavor. I was pleasantly surprised! The flavor is definitely robust and malty, but only slightly bitter. With a splash of milk, it made for a lovely breakfast tea! Still need to try it with their Chai mix, though.

This is a beautiful Chinese green tea with long, tightly twisted pale green (almost silvery) leaves. It steeps up to a clear, pale liquor which is sweet and smooth with a light vegetal flavor.

My kitchen smells like I’m baking something delicious when I brew this tea! The sweet, creamy vanilla is the most prominent note in both aroma and flavor, followed by a light, natural cinnamon flavor and a bit of nuttiness which I’m guessing is the squash, though it doesn’t really scream squash for me. Personally, I’d call it Vanilla Cinnamon Cookie instead, but whatever you call it, it’s yummy! This is one of just 3 Butiki blends remaining in my stash. I know I should sip them down before they completely lose their flavor, but I’m dreading the day when there’s no Butiki left in my cupboard…

I’ve tried this one both hot and iced and really haven’t been impressed. It brews up to a beautiful lime green color and it smells like limes, but that distinctive lime flavor I was hoping for just isn’t coming through for me. Instead, I get a bit of the herbaceous green base, a touch of indeterminate citrus, and a lingering tart aftertaste. Disappointing.

I went out to coffee with a friend yesterday and was delighted to discover that one of her favorite coffee shops (Kickapoo in Milwaukee’s Third Ward) also serves a nice selection of organic loose-leaf tea! I haven’t tried much from Rishi yet, but I’ve been impressed with what I’ve sampled so far. This was no exception! Large, unbroken leaves unfurled during the first steep, yielding a rich mahogany-colored tea with an intense wine-like aroma. The flavor was just the right balance of earthy and fruity with a lovely smooth texture and just a hint of astringency that kept me coming back for one more sip. The second steeping was just as flavorful as the first and I’m guessing the leaves would have held up for many more if I hadn’t gotten too deep in conversation to go up to the counter for more hot water!

This tea was an impulse purchase at my local coffee shop, totally inspired by the adorable tin! Thankfully, the tea inside was delicious: a traditional Earl Grey with a smooth black base and pleasantly assertive bergamot flavor. As usual, I enjoyed it with milk, but also found it good enough to drink straight. Now I’m curious to try some more of this company’s blends!

Several years ago, I sampled an Irish Breakfast tea from a (now defunct) Etsy shop called The Great British Tea Store. It turned out to be one of the best breakfast blends I’ve ever tried: rich and malty with an unexpected note of sweet caramel in the aftertaste. While this one isn’t quite up to that standard, I am enjoying it! It has a robust, slightly bitter flavor that is perfect with a generous splash of milk. This one will get you going in the morning!