Jackie O select Send Message

So this is pretty great. The rooibos taste is strong enough that I know it’s a rooibos but slight enough that I can taste the coconut. I don’t notice much lavendar, maybe because I wasn’t looking for it. I made it hot a little while ago and it was soothing, now I’m picking up the remainder of what’s left (cold) and it is AMAZING cold!! I guess when I really pay attention to the details, the lavendar is there, but to me it’s much more of a simple soothing flavored rooibos, which I can seeing loving at bedtime or post meals (especially BIG meals). I would order this for sure, and with my tea club card that came with my steeper, I think I will once bills are straighened out!

Thank you to Dexter3657 for this sample!! When I smelled this brewed I thought “this is soda” and then I sipped it and it was like hot flat soda…which actually was kind of better than it sounds. This tea has ridiculously awful reviews which is funny because I didn’t hate it. It was weird for sure, but like the note that came with my swap package said “everyone should try it at least once”! It is very cola like, I can’t understand how they get it to taste like that. It isn’t something I would purchase if it ever came back, but I am definitely glad to try it!!

sipdown on this sample! I don’t have a variable temp kettle at work so I brewed this at boiling, the flavors are so muddled at boiling though. For anyone wondering, YES…SV flavored black teas are best (in my opinion) at 180 degrees F for about 2.5-3 minutes.

Shut up, the smell of this is insane. It’s like the freshest most fabulous apple pie ever in a mug on my desk right now. Ya know what it really reminds me of? A baked apple fresh out of the oven with cinnamon and some nuts mixed in, it definitely has that nutty warm scent. Maybe it’s cinnamon sugared nuts mixed into a baked apple. I haven’t even sipped it yet, I’m just dying over how fabulous it smells. I’m really nervous I’m going to love this because I don’t live in SK…I live in the US.

Anyway, got this in a SURPRISE swap from Lala and am just getting around to it now because I need something easy on my stomach (I’m a notorious black tea addict) and this rooibos sounded heavenly. Yes this is a problem. I love this tea. I get a bit of the rooibos taste, but the first layer of the sip is more like apple cider. Stop it. This is so good. This is the most spot on apple pie type tea I’ve tried. I generally hoard apple teas because I LOVE apple, but then I remember I don’t usually like apple tea, and then I have a bunch of apple tea that I’ll never drink. But this one is different, it’s special! I love it!

oh my God, so delicious. try it. seriously just try it.

Got this in a swap from TastyBrew and am sipping it at my desk since I have a good chunk of time right now that doesn’t involve seeing clients. It’s so beautiful in Vermont today, high of 76 but we don’t have the super dryness or super humidity, it’s a peaceful comfortable 76 with the occasional warm breeze and draft off of the lake.

Brewed hot, I can smell primarily cinnamon. There’s also a rich malty scent that is clearly the chocolate but it doesn’t smell overpoweringly like chocolate. The first sip is fabulous, this seriously tastes like a brownie. It’s more of the cakey dry type brownie than the gooey underbaked kind that I prefer. The cinnamon is a nice note throughout the sip but it isn’t the dominant flavor. I think the flavors in this tea are so well balanced and I didn’t expect that at all. I’m thinking this would be fabulous with a little milk even though I drink my teas straight. It just makes me think of having a glass of milk with a brownie…

I got this in a swap. I really don’t get a ton of pineapple flavor, but I do get a subtle cilantro which is a refreshing surprise in a tea. I like this, I don’t LOVE it, I don’t think I’ll order my own bag but I will certainly enjoy the rest of the sample to the fullest!

I had a sample of this from a swap and it is freaking delicious. I love the taste of the potato, because it tastes buttery and savory but not weird like I expected. Then towards the end of the sip I taste the apple, then the cinnamon. It’s like a meal in a cup, you get every layer of the flavor at its best, no compromising any part of it.

On the Butiki website it says add salt to bring out the potato or sugar to bring out the applesauce. I’m going to have to try it both ways and report back. This time I drank it straight because I drink 99% of my tea straight.

I was wicked excited to try this one, and it was ok, but I got this sticky aftertaste that I just didn’t love. I’m sure it’s just sugar from the caramel but it felt artificial and left the taste in my mouth for a while. However, in terms of the flavors being accurate, they definitely are. The apple was a classic granny smith apple taste, which personally is my favorite kind of apple to dip in caramel.

It does kind of feel like I’m at the country fair, which I appreciate, and I can definitely imagine enjoying this more in the fall. OOOH or as a latte in the fall!! Awesome. doing it.

Swap from TastyBrew!! I wasn’t expecting to like this because from what I’ve tried, I don’t like most apple teas. I LOVE apples, and mostly everything apple flavored, but teas just don’t hit the mark for me. However, this had a fresh baked cinnamon apple flavor. Like baked apples fresh out of the oven sprinkled with some ground cinnamon. But it also had the cakey, bakery like taste of the coffeecake. It’s a smooth tasty combination with distinct flavors. I might steep it at a little bit of a cooler temp that 212 though, I might go with 180 because the bitterness of the black tea CAN overpower the flavors if you steep even a second too long. Usually I find a lower temp fixes that.

Ok I am going to need a larger amount of this ASAP. I got 3 tsp in a swap with TastyBrew who has the cutest little bags for swapping. I don’t remember smelling the dry leaves because I was too excited to taste it. So once brewed, this smells precisely like a freshly baked slice of cinnamon raisin bread with buttered spread on it.

Every Christmas, my uncle/Godfather hands out these loaves of bread to the people closest to him, it’s the thing we anticipate most about the holiday in my family. It’s a huge loaf of cinnamon swirl bread with the thickest, fullest swirls of cinnamon you can imagine. It makes the greatest tea accompaniment and the BEST french toast. We call it “Joe Bread” because my uncle’s name is Joe. This tea could not smell more spot on like Joe bread.

I think I will not only need a large amount of this for myself, but special bags for every member of my family as well. The flavory is sweet, doughy, rich, and smooth. Such a treat!