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I’m surprised by how much I liked this tea! Rooibos tends to be very hit and miss for me, but this one turned out to be a hit. While steeping it, my kitchen smelled like I was baking blueberry muffins. The first few sips had a lot of woody rooibos and I was ready to write it off as no good. But as it cooled, the blueberry flavor started to pop and the base retreated to the background and suddenly it was tasting almost as good as it smelled: a great combination juicy blueberry and sweet pastry flavors. Thank you to The Cookie Lady for the sample!

This was one of the first loose-leaf teas I ever tried and one of a handful of Teavana blends I still enjoy. You could totally use this tea as potpourri…the combination of rose and strawberry smells amazing! I’m not a huge fan of floral flavors in general, but the rose in this tea provides a nice compliment to the strawberry flavor by keeping it from becoming sickeningly sweet. And unlike other fruit teas I’ve had from Teavana, this has actual tea leaves in it, which give the tea a nice silky mouth feel.

Finally getting around to trying the last few samples that The Cookie Lady sent me a while back. I believe this is the first tea I’ve tried from Lupicia and I am seriously impressed! This is quite possibly the most flavorful oolong tea I’ve ever tried…lots of rich fruity plum flavor balanced by just a touch of floral. And then there’s that wonderful silky oolong texture…So glad I got to try this one!

Thank you so much to AllanK for sending me some of this delicious tea! I’ve never had a black pearl tea before and wasn’t quite sure what to expect…as it turns out, this is one of the best straight black teas I’ve ever tried! Even after a 6-minute steep, it’s super smooth…I don’t notice any bitterness or astringency and I feel no need to add milk (which is unusual for me when drinking a straight black tea). There’s a nice natural sweetness here with notes of chocolate, honey, and malt. And on top of all that, you can keep re-steeping it practically all day. I may have found a new favorite…

This is in my top three favorite teas I’ve tried so far from David’s Tea! I love Brazil nuts, but I’ve never seen them used in a tea before. This blend is lovely…smooth and creamy with a fantastic rich, nutty flavor. Thank you to VariaTEA for sending along a sample! I suspect I’ll be re-purchasing this one soon.

Thanks so much to VariaTEA for this sample! The label was in French, which I don’t speak at all, so it took me a while to figure out what I was drinking. :) This is a really nice fruity black tea. There are lots of dried berries in the blend and the flavors mingle nicely and layer well on top of the black base. There’s a tiny bit of tartness to the aftertaste, but that just adds to the berry flavor for me. This is one I’ll definitely be drinking again!

This one smelled so good…just like some kind of delicious pastry! Unfortunately, the cinnamon is really overwhelming the other flavors for me. I get a little bit of nuttiness and maybe a hint of honey, but mostly just cinnamon. I will try a shorter steep time with the rest of my sample and see if that mutes the cinnamon enough to let some of the other flavors shine through. Thanks for the sample, VariaTEA!

Coffee and tea in the same cup? This was such an interesting concept, I had to try it! It had a delicious coffee aroma and steeped up to wonderful deep brown color. But I found it to be so bitter, I couldn’t even finish my cup. Maybe it would have been drinkable with sugar, but I really try to avoid sweetening my tea.

This could be a great choice for someone who loves coffee or who is trying to make the transition from coffee to tea. It just didn’t work out for me. But thanks to VariaTEA for sending it to me…I always enjoy trying new tea, even when I don’t end up liking it!

Mmm, this is a nice comfort tea for a cold winter night! Spiced, but not too spicy and a nice creamy vanilla flavor smoothing things out. Thanks to VariaTEA for the sample!

This almost smells more like hot chocolate than tea…a truly rich, decadent chocolate scent! Unfortunately, the flavor doesn’t live up to the aroma. The chocolate and hazelnut were there, but muted. I think I need to try a longer steep time on this one next time. Thanks to The Cookie Lady for the sample!