Good Life Tea

This is the last of my samples from Good Life Tea. I brewed 1/2 t in 4 oz. of water. I haven’t been drinking much Hibiscus tea lately, since it tends to trigger my pregnancy heartburn, but I decided to indulge a little today. This made for a very nice change of pace. It was a light fruity tea tasting of crisp, sweet apples, and hibiscus. The two flavors really complemented each other well. I really enjoyed it. I liked it plain, and I imagine it would also be tasty with some spices during the winter.

I received this lovely sample from Good Life Tea. Thanks! I really don’t like hibiscus or rose hips even though they are a good source of vitamin C. They are just too tart for me. I like the other fruit-y flavors in this tisane but… well, you know … the whole hibiscus thing. With some sweetener, it improves. I enjoyed the description of the tisane more than the tea. I agree with someone else who said they were wondering if the way the samples were packed messed up the flavors. The envelope had a lot of scents before I ever opened it. Maybe thicker bags would improve that. I would also like to see the ingredients listed on the package.

I knew as soon as I opened the sample that I would not like this one. I have not changed my mind. Hibiscus. No. Just No. At least not at this level. I can taste apple but could not bring myself to care enough to keep trying to pick out other flavors.

On the other hand, my wife who can’t have caffeine loves this type fruit tea. She gulped down the first hot cup and told me to make another. That one she iced. She insisted I try it. It is cold and watered down but it still is not fit to drink. She disagrees. Pick a side of the fence to stand on based on the ingredients. You are not likely to change your mind later.

Thanks Good Life Tea for letting my wife try this fruit tisane

Thanks to Good Life Tea, I have a very nice EG to try out. I smell the bergamot but it doesn’t overwhelm the tea. The base is a good black tea. There was enough in my sample to make it in my Breville which required a 2 tsp minimum in 500 mil of water. The directions said to steep for 3-7 min. I have found I don’t like black teas that are steeped that long and only steeped for 3 minutes. I don’t taste the bitterness that people described but there is a bit of astringency. I don’t mind the astringency because it seems to just add a crispness to the tea, not overwhelming the tea.On the second cup, I added French Vanilla stevia drops which really brought up the flavors. I use the flavored stevia drops since I am trying hard to lose weight (31 lbs in the last year). I don’t use cream but the French Vanilla is superb.

I am a huge bergamot fan and even though the bergamot isn’t heavy I really enjoyed this tea! I won’t mind adding this to my collection of EG ( 8 EGs at the moment) when I have enough money together to buy some more. I have too many teas (82 1 oz or more) and samples( 120 1-4 tsp) right now to buy any more for a long time.

I certainly wouldn’t pass up a cup of offered.

Thank you GoodLifeTea.com for another round of surprise samples! There are a couple I wanted to try just based on the names that recall some of my favorite teas and those were the couple I happened to receive. This tea IS like the other one, but to me it seems slightly different. There is an uncanny resemblance though. The black tea base is very nice with the flavors, though tough to describe as the flavors are so nice. It looks as gorgeous as it tastes with the dark red color of the mug. With the first steep there is mainly a very bright flavor at the front that shifts between lemon, orange, bergamot. Then there is a lovely berry flavor coming through, with a sweetness that sometimes seems like pastry, butter or vanilla. The second steep somehow seems to have MORE of these flavors. It’s like a bergamot berry pastry. I will say though that the Hot Cinnamon Spice that was sent along with this one seemed to give it a cinnamon flavor, so my tasting wasn’t as accurate as it should have been… even though I knew that was going to happen and removed Hot Cinnamon Spice from the others as soon as I got the samples. A REALLY delicious blend though. I’m not sure how they got this one so close to the other tea, as I think the black teas are different. I won’t say which one is better as I think it depends on a ton of different factors.
Steep #1 // few min after boiling // 3 min
Steep #2 // just boiled // 4 min

This was my before bed tea last night. I have to say this tea impressed me. I’m super picky about rooibos teas and teas that have chocolate in them, so I wasn’t expecting to like this one, but it was good. There is a rooibos flavor at the start of the sip, but it’s very mild and not medicinal. The chocolate note follows, and it’s creamy with a bit of depth. I added a little sugar to my cup which turned this into a very nice dessert tea. Something I’d happily drink again.

Thank you Good Life Tea for this sample!

September Sipdown: 13

This was a surprise sample sent by the kind people at Good Life Tea. Thank you!

There’s a lot to like about this tea. There is a nice vanilla flavor that’s simple and good with no artificial taste. It’s paired with a berry flavor that at first I thought was just generic berry, but as the tea cooled a bit I got a distinct blackberry flavor. It was fruity with a sweet/tart flavor that kept it from being candy-like. At the end of the sip there is a hint of a floral note and a lemony finish that makes me think the base is a Ceylon. Very nice as an afternoon tea. I really enjoyed this one.

September Sipdowns: 10

Out of the bag this smells really chocolaty. Once brewed the leaf scent is rooibos while the mug has a chocolate aroma. The taste starts rooibos, without the harshness so common to this type drink, then mid sip it changes to a nice chocolate. At first I thought it tasted a bit thin and ended with a mineral taste. Then I added sweetener and the flavors got bigger. Now the rooibos and chocolate seem to swirl around each other and in between there is a neat minty like thing going on. I am not generally big on rooibos but I liked this one.

This is the second of my free samples from Good Life Tea. I used the whole sample – a little over a teaspoon – only steeped it for 3 minutes ( I usually steep Rooibos for 5), and I might try that for the rest of my Design a Tea samples because it didn’t have the smokey/medicinal flavor that Rooibos often has. It was sweet and lightly chocolatey with caramel notes and a sweet woody undertone that I tend to associate with Honeybush. I’ve been craving chocolate all day, so this really hits the spot.

I steeped the rest of this sample (1/2 teaspoon) in 4 ounces of water for 2 minutes. This seemed to take care of the astringency without losing the flavor. It made for a nice, creamy flavor that I would recommend.

The first of my free samples from Good Life Tea. I steeped half a teaspoon of this in 4 oz of water for three minutes since several people complained about bitterness. The first sip was lovely. Light, creamy, floral, and citrusy. But as I took a few more sips, the bitterness of the tea overpowered those flavors. If they switched out the base I would try it again, but as it is I wouldn’t recommend it. It’s a shame, because if the whole cup tasted like that first sip, I would be a big fan.

Hot-brewed and then stuck in the fridge for three hours. The liquor is the color of magenta and smells of raspberry and hibiscus. It tastes sweet and refreshing like lemonade – a boon on cool summer evening after a hot and humid day. It’s also not tart, which is a plus considering the hibiscus. However, overall, it does taste a little weak, the aftertaste especially so. I would need at least two teaspoons in order to have the desired strength.

Thank you, Good Life Teas, for the sample!

This is a good chocolate rooibos tea and makes a great dessert tea, so as long it is paired with a chocolate dessert (which, I’m sure, would overpower the tea). It smells really nice. The chocolate flavoring is prominent enough so that it stands out but not so much that it overwhelms the rooibos.

Thank you, Good Life Teas, for the sample!

The dry leaf smells of bergamot. Mmmmmm. I was originally going to have this without milk or sugar, but I had to add it after taking a couple sips. The base tea – probably due to some of the leaves being crushed to a powder – is very malty, even bitter. And I couldn’t taste any cream. A third of a teaspoon of sugar and splash of milk did the trick for me to temper the bitterness. The bergamot delightfully pleasant and light – in no way overbearing like some Earl Grey’s I’ve had. The milk brings out the creaminess and the vanilla.

Thank you, Good Life Teas, for the sample!

Thank you for the samples, GoodLifeTea.com! I’m usually not much for hibiscus blends, but this is one done right. Four minutes at boiling seems to result in a perfect cup. Maybe three minutes would be better if you wanted less hibiscus. It’s quite a refreshing cup on a hot day. I’m not exactly sure what the ingredients are here, but they are tasty. It’s pretty tart but not as unbearably tart as some hibiscus blends can be. There is actually quite a lot of sweetness and smoothness. It’s almost like there is a hint of sugar in the blend… I can only imagine that is the apple. It’s almost syrupy. The color of the cup is a lovely rosey pink. I was in doubt with this one, but there are much worse hibiscus blends out there.
Steep #1 // just boiled // 4 min steep
GoodLifeTea.com

Directions say 212F at 3-5 minutes, I steeped mine right in the middle at 4 minutes.
The first few sip were shockers I just didn’t know what to think at first, it almost seemed tart at first.
After a few sip the flavors started falling into place and it was really good.
The chocolaty notes were like creamy milk chocolate with hints of mint and some herbaceous sweet type note.
This is an interesting chocolate tea, I’m not sure what to think of this one but it was pretty good, It’s like chocolate with something else that I cant quite figure out.
I really enjoyed it.

Thank You to Good Life Tea for providing me with a few Samples to try.
I just couldn’t really enjoy this one very much at all tho :(
Not saying it was Bad or anything it just wasn’t that Great to me.

The Tea itself taste pretty good but the bergomot and the cream/vanilla flavors in the teas taste a bit off to me.
The tea itself over powers the harsh flavors, I love Earl Grey but this one is just not one I can love, it really taste like the flavors are artificial and not so great.
Overall not bad but nothing I would purchase at all when looking for an Earl Grey.

Also I noticed that the sample I recieved was not in the very best of shape, the leafes was crushed so badly that they looked like they should be in a teabag rather than loose leafe.

OH!, The Envelope they came in gets a BIG thumbs up tho because of the Super Awesome handwriting on the front :) AND a Harry Potter Stamp featuring Madam Professor Minerva McGonagall, Hells Yeah!!!!!!

Dry leaf aroma: Fruit and hibiscus with the faintest hint of cream.
Dry leaf appearance: http://instagram.com/p/sYeOEBFcI3/

Preparation: Brewed western style in a ceramic infuser mug.

First/only steeping: 5 minutes at 210 degrees. This tisane has a strong fruit and hibiscus aroma and brews to a pinkish red liquor. The predominate flavor is tart fruit, with a very subtle note of cream at the end of the sip. While I cannot isolate the individual fruits, the infusion is neither too generic nor overly tart. However, the cream note throws me off and I am wondering if the Cream of Earl Grey sample packaged in the same mailing envelope contaminated this flavor profile.

I received this tea as a free sample, and I want to thank Good Life Tea for the opportunity to taste this.

Dry leaf aroma: Bergamot with undertones of creamy sweetness.

Preparation: Brewed western style in a glass infuser mug.

First/only steeping: 5 minutes at 210 degrees. This Cream of Earl Grey has a pleasant creamy bergamot aroma. Freshly brewed, the black base is smooth and well balanced with the bergamot and vanilla flavors. Sometimes you get an Earl Grey that has too much or too little flavor, or a cream essence that veers towards artificial, but this one is just right. As the cup cools I note a sweeter, sugary undertone which suggested this would make an excellent iced tea.

I received this tea as a free sample, and I want to thank Good Life Tea for the opportunity to taste this. It is quite enjoyable!

I almost feel sorry for Good Life Tea reviewing this tea when Steepster is being so wonky. Yeah, I first typed about 4 things other than wonky but changed them for conscience sake. Hopefully someone actually sees this.

This is very smooth. The vanilla and bergamot are very balanced but light. The black base is present but not assertive. It comes out most clearly in the aftertaste. There is no bitterness. A slight dryness with light cheek tingle. What made this one a stand out and different for me was once I added sweetener to it, after first tasting without it. Sweetener brightens the flavor without increasing the intensity (does that make sense?). The real bonus was a fruity/floral/spice note that joined the party. At first I thought cinnamon, then after another sip it was Orange Creamsicle. I highly recommend adding the sweetener with this one.

As far as a rooibos dessert tea goes it tastes like it should I guess. I’m not a big fan of rooibos and you can really taste it in this tea. I do get chocolate taste but I get like a medicinal taste from the rooibos. Thanks Good Life Tea for the sample!

If you like hibiscus then you’d probably like this. It smelled like a fruit snack and I brewed it hot, it was generically fruity and super tart. I don’t add sugar to my tea so it was too tart for me. Maybe would have been better iced. Thanks Good Life Tea for the sample!

I got this sample from Good Life Tea (thanks!) It’s good but not something I’d buy later. The smell was very fruity, the taste is smooth and mellow. Tasty enough but a little muted for me. Seems like a good tea for like an afternoon snack time.

Thank you so much for the samples, Good Life Tea! I was about to brew up an EG, but I just received these in the mail, so I thought I’d go with this EG. There was a little over a teaspoon for my 12-13 ounce mug. The leaves are twisty and pretty with the cornflowers mixed in. The flavor is very nice – different from other earl greys I have tried somehow! There isn’t too much bergamot, but I’m one that loves a ton of bergamot. I wouldn’t call the rest of the flavor a typical cream, but there is a sweetness to it like a dessert. There is more sweet than there is bergamot. The black tea itself is the perfect strength for an EG, that showcases the nice flavors while also having a bit of a bite. If it wasn’t for the caffeine, I’d call this a dessert Earl Grey. Very nice!
Steep #1 // just boiled // 3 min
Steep #2 // just boiled // 4 min
Goodlifetea.com