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Backlogging this from yesterday… this is by far the best tea from my 52teas order. With that said, it wasn’t terribly impressive. I was just surprised that I liked it, considering that the other three teas were not really my kind of thing. I can’t say that there was all that much vanilla, but I could tell that something was tempering the peppermint and green tea flavours and I’d guess that vanilla was the reason. Overall, a smooth blend, but I’ll have to try again to get more of a feel for it.

For some reason, there were a ton of floaty bits left after I pulled the strainer out so there must be some smaller elements than usual in this blend. I had to spoon some of them out because they weren’t willing to settle on the bottom of my cup.

Pulled this one out for today’s morning tea… it’s been a while. Only two bags left, and I think I’m going to let this one go for good after I finish up my current tin. I hate to say it, but none of the Zhena’s blends I’ve tried (4-5 total) have been re-purchase-worthy. As a whole, I’m really not impressed with them.

FRIDAY. <3

I am curious to try earl grey cream (or creme) blends by other tea companies to see if they’re all this good… when brewed correctly, this is definitely one of my favourite teas! I seem to have better luck with the bagged version (I bought both loose and bagged… that’s how much I loved it after I tried it in a VT restaurant), probably because it’s portion-controlled. I tend to add too much on my own, and brew it for too long.

Two thumbs up today!

Wow, this is really nice. A very pleasant black tea. Despite the description, I don’t think it tastes particularly strong (and I even brewed it longer than I meant to). Nice golden/orangeish colour, almost no scent that I can detect, and a very smooth taste. I will definitely buy more when this sample runs out!

This is the third tea I’m trying (out of 4) from my 52 Teas order. I kind of put off trying this one because I figured it wasn’t going to work for me. I almost didn’t order it because I was pretty sure I wouldn’t like it, but I thought I’d take a chance. Unfortunately, I was right. I brewed it in a pretty big mug, so I might’ve miscalculated the proper brewing time, but it was pretty terrible. The smell reminded me of a sweet incense, which was a huge turnoff, and the taste was kind of similar. You know how you can “taste” a smell sometimes? That’s what happened here, and it wasn’t very appealing. There was a slightly medicinal aftertaste, which I assume was the cherry, but otherwise there wasn’t much in the way of vanilla cola as far as I could tell. I had to dump it out halfway through—I just couldn’t finish it.

I will definitely try this again, in a smaller cup with a shorter brewing time, but for now I have to say this was a big disappointment. Bummer.

A while ago, Yogi tea had some kind of deal where they sent a little sampler pack for free. They sent 2 herbal teas and this pomegranate green tea (“renew”). I found it hidden in a corner of my tea cabinet and figured I’d try it out today.

I heeded the warning on the bag (“to avoid bitter taste, steep for 2-3 minutes in hot, not boiling water”) and steeped for 2 1/2 minutes. The tea is bright pink (from the hibiscus) and really doesn’t have much taste or smell other than hibiscus. Because of that, it reminds me too much of an herbal blend and I’m not impressed. I can’t taste any green tea (or pomegranate, for that matter) and it’s basically just like any other fruit/floral tisane. I am glad I didn’t steep it longer because the last thing I want is a stronger hibiscus flavour.

It’s not awful, but it’s definitely not for me.

The usual!

I always forget that this is a white tea blend (you’d think it would be obvious to me, given the name) and oversteep it. Today I didn’t have much choice, as there was an emergency while it was brewing and I had to leave it unintentionally. Thanks to my cold, I can’t really tell if it’s bitter, but I’m guessing it is based on experience. All I can taste today is the almond, and the smell is amazing as always!

Despite the fact that my cold is still wreaking havoc with my tastebuds, I decided to give this tea a try. I will reserve judgement until I can fully appreciate it, but for now I’m pleasantly surprised. I brewed it for almost 5 minutes, and I was worried that it might be bitter, but it’s not. I don’t think I would really recognize the flavour as “pumpkin”, rather than just spices that are often used in conjunction with pumpkin, but it’s pretty much what I expected.

The tea is a medium orange colour, and the smell is quite strong—like wintery chai spices, but with something kind of posing as pumpkin underneath (unfortunately, it seems quite artificial). Again, my sense of smell is a tad off right now but I feel like I’m getting a pretty good sense of what this blend is like.

I’ll reserve real judgement on this until my senses are clearer, but for now I’m pleasantly surprised. I don’t love it, but it’s about what I expected.