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Time to open the 2nd day of Christmas door in my tea advent calendar…just a little late. No worries, it’s supposed to snow like 6 inches later this week, so we might as well roleplay as though Christmas is still around the corner.

Highly average earl grey tea. Tastes somewhat watered down. I do like the flavor of the bergamot, but something about the general taste just feels mediocre and lackluster. I’m finding myself missing that spark of freshness and vibrancy that I’ve come to expect from a really high-quality earl grey.

This is a fairly average, run-of-the-mill black tea. I don’t taste many chai elements here, unfortunately. The ginger, cinnamon, and cardamom are extremely muted, and it seems as though all I can really taste is…well, sadly, cheap black tea. Perhaps this is black tea that was in the same room as chai spices at some point? A disappointment, to be sure.

Finishing this box of tea is bittersweet. Every cup has been a pleasure, whether hot or cold. The pineapple flavor really stands out—it’s bright, sweet, and refreshing, but also incredibly comforting. On a freezing day like today, it felt especially soothing. I’ve never had green tea blended with pineapple before, but it’s such a natural combination that I’m surprised I haven’t come across it sooner. I will have to keep my eyes open for other pineapple teas and give them a try.

Trying the first caffeinated option in my Tea Forte sampler. Once again, I’m hoping that this is the correct Steepster entry, as the label on my box is simply “Vanilla Chai” versus “Vanilla Veda Chai.” I don’t know why there is such a discrepancy in names between the Steepster entries and what I have listed on the box, but until I can confirm otherwise, I will assume the ones listed here are correct.

This tea was very pleasant! I love me a good vanilla chai, and this one was every bit as good as your average pick. I have had better, but there’s much to enjoy here nevertheless. I am getting prominent notes of the vanilla and there’s a distinct clove flavor as well. I never ever put milk into my teas (yes, I know I’m probably missing out), but this one feels like it would pair really well with a splash of milk. Maybe someday I will try it, but not today.

Happy Sunday to everyone, the RealFeel here is -14*F, so stay warm!

It’s finally the weekend! After a long, grueling week of work, I’m excited to try one of my new caffeinated teas.

This is from yet another sampler pack I picked up at HomeGoods. I really enjoy English Breakfast blends, so I had high hopes for this one. And, while the tea was fine, it didn’t meet my expectations. There was a lack of depth of flavor which was disappointing. I usually want my EB blends to have a really deep and rich taste, and this one just felt sort of watered down and lackluster. I can’t even pick out any flavors to list here…it’s kind of just plain black tea.

Hopefully I will find a better blend in this sampler pack.

This is the last new herbal tea I have in my Tea Forte sampler box. Again, just taking a guess that this is the correct Steepster entry, because the actual name on my tea pyramid is just “Turmeric Chai.” But the photo here and the ingredients seem to line up.

Probably my second favorite of the 3 herbals. I get lots of cardamom and some ginger and turmeric, but there are also very pleasant notes of clove and licorice. The flavor of clove is very nostalgic for me, so this tea made for an interesting trip down memory lane. Overall a very enjoyable blend.

I love all things earl grey, and really all things bergamot in general. This tea has a lot of great qualities, and extra points for being caffeine-free so that I can enjoy it in the evening.

Visually, this tea is gorgeous. The little specs of blue cornflowers are delightful to look at. I did notice that it’s about time I invested in a better quality infuser, as my current ones allow a good portion of the finely ground loose leaf tea to simply fall into the water. If anyone has any recommendations, drop them in the comments.

The taste is great! Plenty of bergamot, but the rooibos profile is definitely not to be dismissed. I agree with some of the other descriptions that were listed: wet wood, root beer, anise (as an aside, I noticed that “wet dog” is one of the flavors in our database…I hope I never have to use it in one of these reviews). These are all great descriptors that work well with this tea. There is some orange/citrus as well that’s quite lovely.

I don’t often comment on the mouthfeel of teas, but I will say that this one felt particularly silky.

I enjoyed everything about this tea thoroughly and look forward to drinking it again.

Finishing the last of this box and I’m quite disappointed by that. Work has been super stressful and I like to enjoy the calming effects of this tea, placebo or otherwise.

The taste is very pleasant. I am getting some of the lemon peel, a slight hint of the licorice root, and the most subtle notes of cardamom. Combined, there’s a slightly medicinal flavor but without being too in-your-face about it.

If I can remember where I bought this, I’ll likely opt to purchase another box.

Going to assume that this is the correct entry for this tea, because my set names this as a Ginger Chai, not Ginger Guru Chai. Their website doesn’t seem to list anything other than Ginger Guru Chai, so until I know better, I’ll be leaving this review here.

This tea packs quite a powerful punch! I am instantly getting a ton of pepper, cardamom, and of course ginger. And wow, the more I drink this, the stronger the ginger seems to get. I can feel it slightly burning and tingling my throat. Another sip – damn, it’s straight up liquid ginger. I want to taste more of the other flavors, but everything is largely overwhelmed by the GINGER. SO. MUCH. GINGER. I enjoy a ginger tea, but this is too much. I ended up actually struggling to finish this cup, my throat actually burned with every sip. GINGER.