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This is a pleasant EG with strong citrus and lots of bergamot. I found the citrus was almost too strong, but the coffee leaf base was slightly roasted so it was a unique take on EG. I do find EGs are much better with milk, so I added some vanilla soy milk and poured it over ice (first brewed hot but then iced and drank cold). It is almost spring here on Canada’s west coast and we have daffodils and crocuses coming up soon in the garden. It is sunny but cold today (~10 deg C) but I thought sun instead of rain/clouds was reason enough to have an iced tea.

One critique of this EG is that without a black tea base, there is no malty undertones. I also like my EGs with vanilla (cream of EG or Vanilla EG) so this plain version was made even less desirable by the lack of malty black tea and the lack of vanilla flavouring.

This was the first time I have had this blend as a hot cup without milk. I still prefer it with milk because it seems richer that way, but it was still a solid cup. One thing I find odd is the weird herbal sweetness that tastes like blackberry leaf (maybe it is the apple?). It doesn’t work at all. This blend needs more white or black tea in it and less of whatever is making it sweet.

My first cup was awesome because I used the rest of my pouch (2-3 tsp) in a large travel mug with some vanilla soy milk. My second cup was hot water but no milk except the residue in the cup from before and it was a bit too brisk for me. Most of the maple flavor was gone and the black tea was malty without being smooth. I think milk is the key to a good second steep.

But in other news, I’m only two teas away from my sipdown goal now that I’m finished this one!

I’m indifferent towards this blend. I enjoy Twinnings herbal/caffeine free lemon and ginger more and it doesn’t have the 20mg of caffeine this does. I did find that if you let it steep for over 10 minutes it gets too pungent with the lemon. Either water it down quite a bit after steeping, add sweetener, or use a shorter steep. I had this iced, no sweetener.

Despite the lemon being pleasantly sour, it had this unpleasant acrid taste I did not enjoy. The ginger was spicey, which was nice.

I’m surprised I had to add this one to the database since it comes in Wize Monkey’s sampler pack.

I don’t appreciate the hibiscus (too sour) but the strawberry was lovely and very fresh/juice/natural. The coffee leaf is quite tasty with the fruity strawberry. I had this iced but not sweetened. If I was to drink it again, and as a recommendation to all of you, sweetener is a good idea to curb the sour hibiscus (especially if you let it steep for more than a few minutes). As a strawberry iced tea this is amazing and one of the best strawberry flavours I’ve ever had. The hibi completely ruins it, as is tradition.

One of my guilty pleasures is a cup of Stash’s decaf vanilla nut, so I saw this flavor on sale (never have I seen it before) and I had to buy it.

I’m four cups in and can say it makes a good latte. I haven’t tried it cold or plain yet, but it really works with a splash of vanilla silk and a long steep. I find the flavor a bit weak, but the hazelnut and vanilla are tasty (but subtle) and the black tea isn’t as strong and malty as it could be. There isn’t anything stand-out about t, but I like desserty teas and it is so difficult to find decaf flavoured teas that aren’t EG or chai.

I bought a little sampler pack of these with the condition that I finish them before the end of the month. I’ve been considering it for a while so when I saw the sampler pack for $7 in whole foods I decided to go for it.

Mango madness has been my favourite so far. Quite realistic mango flavouring, very creamy and aromatic. The coffee leaf base gives a similar roasted flavor as yerba mate. The juicy fresh mango flavor really comes out strong and it makes a good iced cup or hot (with or without milk).

It was good enough that I’m considering keeping this one in stock in my cupboard. It is low caffeine and I like the company. By providing income to coffee farmers the rest of the year (non coffee cherry/bean harvesting months) the farmers have a more secure yearly income and can afford to have fewer plants (less rainforest cut down) and spare income for food and whatnot. I like this principle and want to support alternative ways of supporting farmers.