Choice Organic Teas

oh so smokey and deep, this tea perks me up on a rainy day

If you are looking for a smokey tea this is a good one to try. They did a good job with this Yunnan-Lapsong blend ratio… straight Lapsong is too smokey for me and the Yunnan pulls it down to a point of acceptability while maintaining the richness and character, minus the too-intense smokey bite. Its still a very smokey tea and needs to be stored away from others.

Compared to Samovar’s Russian Blend it is smoother and richer, with higher and more diverse flavor notes. The samovar is more of a frank, charred smoke, while this one is more of a burnt/roasted cedar. Both have a background sweetness which is a great component. They are both very good teas if you enjoy smokiness. I drink both of them straight. For the money, and the organic aspect, I’d go with this one.

Terrific, strong cup of tea. It’s smooth and not too acidic. Somehow I found it both bold and mellow. I think this is the brand of choice tea with the most personality of any of the ones I’ve tried.

I found this cup very smooth and not acidic. It’s flavorful and light.

This tea seemed less exciting than the other Choice Organic Teas, but it was a solidly good cup of black tea. You can buy it in bulk and you can feel good that it’s organic and fair trade certified!

This bright cup of tea is really satisfying. I felt like it wanted sugar and creamer, and indeed, it was better that way.

This was a well balanced breakfast blend. I really liked it: plain, with sugar, and as it cooled.

I am learning about detox tea and roasted dandelion, so I didn’t have much to compare this to. It’s interesting, but not something I’d drink for flavor.

Ok, but a bit perfumy. There are a bunch of hibiscus teas I like more. My son really liked it, though!

Purfumy as expected, and a bit fruity as well. I think I like it, but I don’t love it.

Now that I’m in Seattle I’m trying out all the local options for things—tea included. I got a sample pack of the pyramid tea bags from Choice and this one is solid. I didn’t like it enough to buy a box, necessarily, but I did like it. I’m looking forward to trying the rest of the samples!

I had never heard of this tea before, but its romantic name and history of being transported thousands of miles from China to Russia in camel caravans sold me. It smells like a fire. It tastes like a bundle of burnt sticks. It’s fabulous! I happened to be eating some raspberry yogurt while drinking it straight, and I don’t know if I ever had a tea that goes so well with cream and sugar. Bold and smoky on its own, but in another realm when paired with rich and smooth, sweet flavors.

Foods for Living had a sampler of this, and it actually was pretty smooth and well balanced. Not something I’d surely buy, but at the same time, it is not a bad chai. Ginger is a little bit stronger, but the black tea really evens it out. I’m pretty impressed. I’ve been craving chai’s and Earl Grey’s in this cold to think of it.

A gift from my sister, in the bag of teas of doooooooom.
Ok, she didn’t call it that, but I do like to write out words that I can stretch to dramatic lengths like this.
This tea, however, I do not feel particularly dramatic. It was not unpleasant to drink, but I shall not remember it.

Good spiceful stuff happening here

The second tea in my search for a good rooibos chai. This one also has cardamom listed as the second ingredient, so the cardamom flavor dominated. Not one I will buy again.

This tea is not bad, it’s just not for me. I really liked how the chai spices mixed with rooibos in the Choice Rooibos Chai, and I’ve enjoyed a couple rooibos teas mixed with vanilla; however, this fruit/rooibos combination isn’t my thing. I can taste the rooibos, but the predominant flavor is definitely orange. I’ll continue to drink this tea until I get through the box, but I don’t see myself purchasing it again. Maybe I’ll mix one bag of this with a bag of the rooibos chai to see if it can be salvaged as a combination tea.

I depleted my rooibos stores the other day, and bought this tea and the Choice Rooibos Superfruit so that I have some nice antioxidant-packed, caffeine-free evening beverages (I can’t seem to get into chamomile). The chai spices work very well with the rooibos. They are not overwhelming, but they definitely are stronger than the rooibos flavor. The local tea store near my sister’s house has some decent loose rooibos that I’ll have to purchase next month. In the meantime, I will enjoy this tea. Hopefully the Rooibos Superfruit is a good one as well.

My favorite local store always has a great variety of teas from this brand, and I am always happy with their products. The box indicates that the tea is a combination of Ceylon and Assam. I definitely enjoyed the smoothness of the Ceylon. There’s a little Assam kick, good for the second cup of the day…I would definitely prefer more Assam to get going on a weekday. If I had to rate Cheapster Steepster English Breakfast Teas, I would put this one above Twinings, but below my beloved Ahmad. :P Ahmad somehow finds a way to get the right combination of smoothness and strength into a regular tea bag…quite an art.

Picked up this tea at an organic store looking for something new, wasn’t sure what to expect. Off the bat, the steeped scent is great. Subtle, very much a tea scent, and very enjoyable. It’s nothing I can complain about. I’d say it’s even slightly floral.

The first thing I notice when I drink this tea is that it’s slightly bitter. Otherwise, I wouldn’t say the taste is phenomenal or worth mentioning to a friend. It’s pretty subtle, enjoyable, but doesn’t really have anything that stands out to me. Don’t get me wrong, I do like it and won’t mind drinking it in the future, but it’s not what most people would look for in a tea. I wouldn’t recommend it to casual tea drinkers, as it may come off as being like one is drinking hot water or a very diluted tea.

Overall: gorgeous scent, lovely, I love the scent. Taste is good, but subtle, so I can’t say I would recommend it unless you like that kind of subtlety in your tea. Definite tea flavor though!

Been drinking this for more than a year after I found out that I am pregnant just to be safe from chemicals. Whenever I need to stay up after a tiring night I make 2 bags and then I stay up.

The dry teabag smells entirely of peppermint, specifically those peppermint puff candies I love. The color is red with a border of green and the taste is peppermint with the cloying artificial sweetness of licorice. I don’t mind licorice candy so much, but I’m not a fan of the flavor in tea. A tiny bit of honey smooths it out a bit without adding extra sweetness.