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The scent of this tea reminds me a little bit of caramel mixed with the woody red matcha base. It smells very sweet, but actually doesn’t offer much as far as the crème brulee is concerned. From across the room, I do smell more of a buttery, vanilla frosting.

Sipping… the first thing I notice is the red matcha. It seems like it would be a difficult thing to hide as it seems so much more concentrated in a powder form. I love the taste: woody & sweet. There is a tiny bit of bitterness that lingers in the background and I’m not sure if that’s from the rooibos or the flavoring. It’s been relatively consistent in Red Leaf Tea’s red matchas.

The rooibos fades into a kind of creamy sweetness that reminds me more of vanilla than crème brulee. It really does remind me very much of the French vanilla red matcha from Red Leaf Tea. Not a bad choice, really, but I was hoping to pull more of that crème brulee flavor out! Still, this drink is creamy and makes a very soothing drink.

I’m going to give this a try with milk as I’ve found matcha to pop a bit more with milk. I have faith that I will get more crème brulee flavor the more I experiment. You can order some crème brulee matcha for yourself here: http://www.redleaftea.com/matcha-tea/creme-brulee-matcha.html.

Oh, this is so dangerous! I haven’t been loving hot matcha lately — it’s been thin and lacking flavor for me, but this is something different! I mixed some of this up with some soy milk and ice — it’s SO tasty. I feel like this is what people have been talking about when they rave about caramel & matcha. It’s sweet, creamy and has the perfect touch of caramel. The matcha flavor itself is definitely hidden, but comes out at the end of the sip. Maybe I should try making my regular caramel matcha with milk instead of water… This matcha is definitely better when had cold, blended and with milk and ice.

I do like that there are not too many calories in this mix, but there is quite a bit of sugar for a serving. It’s not something that I should drink multiple times in a day, but it does make a nice, sweet treat every once and a while. I need to buy more of this… it’s just truly that good! Here’s the link to purchase some of this matcha mix – http://www.redleaftea.com/matchaccino/caramel-matchaccino.html

I’m having a cup of this tea with a bit of milk this afternoon. It’s very much comfort in a cup! I wanted to have a cup of tea that was unflavored and that could be taken with milk. I have a lot of unflavored black teas, but many of them should be had on their own. It’s a very solid, sweet cup that’s just what you need when you want something simple! Not my favorite cup of tea, but just right for today!

I can’t find my gaiwan at the moment and I also know that I have better luck with western brewing as far as Verdant’s teas are concerned. Not sure why that is, but I am able to pick up on so many more flavors with that method.

First Infusion: this reminds me very much of the Laoshan Green tea that Verdant offers. Buttery green beans, lettuce and a bit of milk. It’s smooth, very vegetal and tasty! I am not actually detecting much of a difference between this and the Laoshan Green — which is fine with me as I love Laoshan Green!

Second Infusion: A bit more astringent this time around, but the same green, leafy flavors remain. It’s still got that milky & buttery quality about it — and I like that it hides in the background instead of being strongly present. I’m also getting more Brussels sprouts with grass than green beans.

This is a very tasty tea & I love that there are Laoshan oolongs available now! I think that I prefer the roasted oolong more as this one is just like the staple green tea I have in my collection. It’s definitely worth a try, though!

I haven’t had this tea for such a long time, but I remember enjoying it. The scent of this tea is of a creamy coconut. It reminds me very much of coconut macaroons — buttery, sweet and just a little bit salty!

Sipping… definitely coconut as the main flavor. It thins out a little bit as the sip continues and leaves a bit of a strange finish on the tongue. It’s not necessarily bitter, but a little bit like coconut + greek yogurt. This isn’t my favorite tea from SerendipiTea.. there’s just something off about it. Then again, I’m not the biggest fan of some coconut teas as they can be over the top. I’d probably like this a bit more if the coconut were balanced with chocolate and vanilla.

I love a good cheesecake tea and in my past experiences, there have been very few that have truly been delicious. The most memorable ones have been Art of Tea’s blueberry cheesecake and 52Teas’ caramel cheesecake black. All cheesecake teas, though, have something a little funky about them.. it could be because it’s hard to get a true cheesecake flavor into tea leaves. After all, cheesecake isn’t something found naturally in tea.

The scent of this tea is of a green tea base, a bit of blueberries and something tangy in the background. I really love the plump blueberries in the blend — it’s always nice to see real fruits instead of just flavors in a tea blend. Sipping… oh, this is tasty. There is a great sweetness from the blueberries followed by a hint of something like greek yogurt. There is a very nice balance between the astringent green tea and the creamy flavoring. Even though I brewed it according to its directions, I have a sense that this is a tea that is very sensitive to being oversteeped — a few more seconds would have pushed this one over the edge.

This is a really nice blueberry cheesecake dessert tea. I’d be interested in tasting this tea with a rooibos base instead of a green, too.

You all know that I LOVE and I mean LOVE Laoshan black tea. When I saw this blend pop up a while ago, I knew that I couldn’t go wrong trying it! This tea seems to be a little bit more mild compared to straight Laoshan black. It does have that chocolate note, but you sort of have to look for it. It’s also much more savory and nutty – I think of it like a snack/meal and less like a chocolate dessert. The entire cup is smooth with a roasted/woodsy quality in the background. I could see this blend pairing very well with food and I’m not much for food/tea pairing in general! I’m not sure if I would buy more of this one only because I like the original Laoshan black more. This is definitely a satisfying and hearty blend!

Still moving through some matcha that I have in my collection. When I saw this flavor pop up, I knew that I had to give this a try. Bavarian cream! Sounds too good to be true! Plus, I love that you can add your flavor to RED matcha. Red matcha is so difficult to find, so I’m really enjoying trying it paired with all of these different flavors.

So far I’ve had the french vanilla red matcha and the cheesecake red matcha. I think that I actually prefer the red matcha more than the classic green, but that’s just my preference, I suppose. This flavor surprised me… I was expecting something creamy, yes.. but something more…. custardy, sort of like vanilla pudding? I honestly tasted a creamy citrus flavor instead! How strange. I don’t think that bavarian cream has lemon or orange in it.. so it came as a surprise. It’s not a bad flavor, though, just not what I was looking for in a “bavarian cream matcha”. I’d like to have something more like vanilla custard. Again, it’s not bad, but there’s a little bit more tangy fruit in here than I’d like. I still think that it fit the creamy note nicely, especially when paired with the frothy rooibos base.

I’m looking forward to trying more matcha teas from Red Leaf. If you’re interested in this blend, you can purchase the tea here: http://www.redleaftea.com/matcha-tea/bavarian-cream-matcha.html. I suggest the red matcha base for something a little different!

I enjoy banana teas, but haven’t really managed to find one that I adore. The best one I’ve had is the banana oolong from Davids, but it’s still not perfect! I saw this and knew that I had to try… The scent of this tea is very subtle. I don’t get much of a banana scent, but mostly a woodsy tea base.

Sipping… I’m really surprised by the banana! It truly pops on your tongue. It’s not at all like banana runts, but more like dried banana chips. The banana and walnut go so well with the tea base. There is a little bit of a drying sensation, but I think it’s from the walnut and the tea base. It reminds me a bit of a banana nut muffin without the pastry/muffin flavors. It’s smooth and rich and doesn’t taste artificial. I’d like to see this have a more buttery/banana bread-like flavor, but I’m very happy with this blend.

This is another one of those teas that I just didn’t like in the beginning. It seemed very weak and metallic — I wanted a creamy vanilla dessert tea! I’ve taken to adding a bit of soy milk to this and it’s like a dream. Even though I do have to add milk to get the flavor I want, I couldn’t be happier. It’s creamy with a nice cloud of vanilla & it’s decaf! I’m sure that this will be a staple when the weather starts getting cooler.