Cameron's

Overboard TTB #6

I really enjoy green teas with tropical fruit flavoring, but this one wasn’t my favorite. The flavoring was very light (although it did pop a bit more as the tea cooled) and I didn’t find the base tea terribly flavorful either. The flavor definitely wasn’t unpleasant, it was just…boring.

Herbal Traveling Tea Box

mmm, this tea smells gorgeously of rose. It brewed to a lovely ruby red color. Color and smell are spot on rose. Stunning!:] I enjoy that the floral tastes dance with the fruit in an intricate samba, not overly fruity but not overly floral. A very relaxing tea. It’s got me all yawny and ready for a nap. :P

I didn’t really taste the apricot in this one. It just tasted earthy to me.

I got this carol who along with some awesome Doctor Who books. Books and tea are a great combination always. The blend is quite fruit heavy-fine by me!- and brews up a deep ruby red. Very pretty! The flavors are well blended and there’s enough tartness with the fruit that it reminds me of a tart fruit punch. Yum. I’m really enjoying floral teas lately and this is a gem. Thanks carol who!

TTBC Rd2

This tea brewed up to a deep, fruity magenta that’s surprisingly hearty – there’s layered bits of fruit (cranberry, I think, and maybe some hyacinth-ish notes) that leave you with a silky, full mouthfeel and a nicely warm feeling. Yum.

It’s not spicy or hearty, but the flavours are well-layered and complement one another nicely. I think that as far as fruity teas go this one may be a keeper – I have a sneaking suspicion it’d go well iced as well as hot – and I think it’s on my list of things to buy whenever I decide to splurge again.

’Here’s Hoping’ traveling teabox Round #2 // Tea #6
Steep #1 // just boiled // 3 min
I had to try this one with such a high rating! I really don’t think black currant is for me though. This isn’t a bad flavor, but it’s pretty light anyway, both the flavor and the black tea itself. I think there was one blackberry leaf in the infuser and it made itself known in the cup anyway! Not too much else to say…

Whoa do I have to get moving with this teabox if I want to mail it in a week. so many teas to try! Basically if I want to try it, and there is only a teaspoon left, I’m taking it out for later. Trying the teas with more than one teaspoon now!

Eh, this is okay. I’m having it unsweetened and it is a tiny bit tart, a little floral and fruity. It tastes like what I would expect from a currant, the tea base seems pretty mellow. It just isn’t captivating me. I think I may try cold brewing the rest of this sample from Moraiwe (thank you btw) in the fridge. I can see it being really delicious that way.

This tea has a lovely floral scent and appearance. On first sniff I was in love. Then I began to worry about the evil hibiscus they seem to put in fruity/herbal. And yes, there is a very hibiscus loaded taste. With a bit of stevia the hibby comes under control and leaves the flavor rosy and relaxing.

From the Here’s Hoping Traveling Tea Box #2

Tea of the morning. Black currant is one of those flavors that I think I won’t enjoy, but then I try it and really like it. Then, after a few months, I think I don’t like it again. What’s up with that?

Anyway, I like this tea. It has a wonderful sweet/tart flavor, and I find it very comforting. We’re having a cold and rainy day here today, and being curled up with a mug of this tea and a good book sounds like heaven.

As far as passion fruit teas go, this is a good one. The green tea base is highly present with a grassy, clean, sweet flavor. The fruit, however, is the highlight. It’s sweet and juicy without tasting fake. I still want to try this iced. Given how much I like it hot I’m thinking it’d be amazing as a cold tea.

From the Here’s Hoping Traveling Tea Box #2

Another yummy passion fruit tea! I enjoyed the green tea base of this one. The clean grassy notes complimented the passion fruit flavor nicely. I’d love to try this one iced, but making iced tea takes a lot of leaf, and I want other people to have the chance to enjoy this little gem. It’s a good one!

This one will be added to my shopping list.

This tea has a beautiful red color. I leafed pretty heavily knowing that I generally like a fuller herbal. This is a bit tart so I sweetened with a bit of stevia. I can tell that this would be a refreshing cold brew. Often the cold brewing takes out a bit of tartness, so I will see what I get.
I’m not sure that I know what passionfruit tastes like. Maybe I’ll try some actual passionfruit and add more to this note.

I got a sample of this from Carol Who. Made a pot. Drank it quickly without regrets. The flavoring is stronger than much of the flavored teas I’ve been getting from a different tea company. That’s ok, but very noticeable if you’re going from a less flavorful tea to this one.

I wouldn’t make this my daily tea, but as a now-and-again treat. I suspect it might be better as an iced tea though!

I swear I had a pot of this somewhere. Where did it go? Oh. I drank it.

I like this. I don’t think I’d drink it on a regular basis as it’s quite fruity, but for a dessert or a change from the norm, I enjoy it.

I got this sample from Carol Who! :)

This a a lovely tea made to be cold brewed. The green is the more prominent flavor with a nice taste of the tropics. It seems a little weak and I may try it with a bit more leaf. My ice tea pitcher is 64 oz. and it already seems crazy putting in 8 tsp. Luckily it’s only about $4 for 2 oz.

Another enjoyable cup of tea. It’s doesn’t have the boldness and wakeup quality of some of my other black teas but it has that nice gentle satisfying push of caffeine. I love the apricot flavor. Often apricot is combined with peach which I also enjoy but I’m glad to have just a straight apricot. Nice quiet wake up to a gloomy day. I probably should switch to one of my high octane teas ( Chocolate Rocket, Chocolate Yerba Mate, Mateavana) so I get moving and get something done! :D

I was very pleased to find loose leaf teas in a nearby grocery store. I don’t usually go to this store but I will from now on! They also carry Harney and Sons Teas, as well as a bunch of others! I will now be able to sneak teas into the house with the groceries. I feel so evil! ;-p
The dry leaves have a nice apricot aroma. It doesn’t taste artificial to me. It is smooth and flavorful. I don’t sense any astringency or bitterness. I think this could be a frequent afternoon drink. While it does have caffeine, the site says it has mild caffeine.
There were no brewing instructions but I think it’s safe to say that it would be brewed as a black tea.
I purchased several other teas that I am excited about trying!!
Finding this tea improves my whole attitude today as it’s cold again :( but it’s supposed to warm up tomorrow :D

1 hour later… I still had another cup in the teapot. Of course it was cold, so I put it in the microwave oven for 30 sec. (Like I often do). Now the tea is flat and somewhat tasteless. I did a resteep and again flat. Apparently this is a tea that I will have to brew 1 cup at a time in my brewing cup.

This makes a nice iced tea. Not knowing what black currant tasted like, I thought this reminded me of Republic of Tea Blackberry Sage that I would always drink Iced at work 2 years ago. After pondering about the familiar taste and smell, I remembered at work we also carry RoT Black Currant Cardamom Green Rooibos, so I guess I do have an idea of what black currant taste like.

Each time I’ve tried it I drink it so fast I forget I drank it, all I remember is of course this taste better than RoT’s I’m comparing it to. Thank you moraiwe I’m glad to have another iced black tea option.

Tea #25 from the Here’s Hoping TTB

Even when steeped for 5 minutes, as listed on the sample, this tea had a very weak flavor. I picked up the fruit flavor before the green tea, but most of what I tasted was still water. Since I’m not sure if this is due to the age of this tea, or the tea itself I’m not going to assign a rating.

I love floral flavorings, and this one definitely is my top favorite! The look is beautiful and reminiscent of potpourri. This similarity is so true, I’ve used it in herbal baths and other uses. Ever fragrant it leaves breath with a lovely scent and accompanies berry flavored pastries well. I find it’s very good on its own hot, for it’s delicate fruit flavoring mixes with a floral aftertaste. The color of the finished brew is so delightful that the tea in it’s entirety pleases three of the fives senses. The tea is also nice with cream and sugar should you choose to do so. I have plans to use this as a refreshing ice tea once it becomes that scorching time of summer. <3

Twelfth tea sampled from TTB-C

Yet another tea containing ginger and I didn’t notice at all. I also didn’t notice that there was rooibos in it.

It tastes like a berry and hibiscus mix, no spice at all. I generally like fruit and hibiscus blends, but I prefer straight-up hibiscus. As far as blends go, this wasn’t bad, though It doesn’t live up to it’s description.

I expected that my husband would like it, so after drinking about half of my cup, I gave him the rest. I was correct, he did like it. He said he rated it 95, then 98, then as he finished it he contemplated giving it even a 100. There are only 2 servings left in the bag, and since it doesn’t look like a popular blend here, hopefully no one will miss it from the box if I keep it for him :)

Tea #4 from Traveling Tea Box C

So, the first ingredient listed is Saigon tea. I don’t have any clue what that is, but it’s definitely not camellia sinensis.

I am not hibiscus shy, but this tisane is a whole lot of flavorless, stale hibiscus. The plum and spice promised in its name were nowhere to be found. I dumped the cup after a few sips, which is something I rarely do.

Love this tea. Smooth and awesome with some soy milk and honey

Discovered last Christmas when searching for awesome teas to add to the three different Tea Advent Calendars I made for my dear friends. The local grocery store HyVee (that I lovingly call Hive) has a very small organic and bulk food section and in that section is an even tinier bulk tea selection. Cameron’s is mostly a fancy whole bean coffee company, but they also have a small selection of teas like a decent Gunpowder Green, a decent Chai and the tea I am reviewing today. The other teas are decent…I know not a very inspiring compliment, but they are not at all bad and quite tasty, just not OUTSTANDING!!!

Green Passion Tea is outstanding, and I was so pleasantly surprised. A mix of Chinese Green (no desire to tell me what kind and I am not that skilled yet at telling the difference) Passion Fruit, Egyptian Calendula, and Siberian Ginseng makes for a delicious and pretty pile of tea.

The leaves are really quite beautiful, they are bright green and appear to be pressed giving you large, flat, leaves…mix their bright green color with the delicate, gold flower petals and this tea just looks like spring time. The aroma is one of Passion Fruit and freshly mown grass with a slight herbaceous zing

The liquid is a beautiful green reflecting the spring color of the leaves, very bright and clear! The aroma is still mostly passion fruit, but the mown grass of the tea fades into a clean, leafy smell…like being in a field that is growing rather than having just been cut. The taste is very fruity and at the same time very mild. The tea taste is very clean and it almost feels sparkly in my mouth. Luckily the passion fruit does not overwhelm the tea itself, and the ginseng is a slight note of tanginess that is more of an after thought than an actual taste.

This tea is wonderfully comforting as a hot tea and refreshing as an iced tea.