TeaGschwendner

A blend of the finest Black Teas heavy with first-rate natural bergamot oil. Even the Earl himself would be smitten by the bold character of this classic.
Wonderfully aromatic, dark cup

World Tea Champion 2009

Great herbal-tea.

What a cute name.

Anyway, this was the only holiday tea that I ordered from TG, and when I opened the package, I immediately fell in love with the smell. Mmmm. It smells like almond pastries, specifically anything made with marzipan. It’s delicious. Like pignoli cookies. It’s really strong and assertive, with a hint of cinnamon and maybe something citrus in the end note.

So I steeped this at 194 degrees (yeah, it’s that specific), and the infusion was a lime green-ish color. The cup smelled absolutely mouth-watering. Seriously almond pastry. Not almond cookie, like SpecialTeas’ tea, but a more robust marizpan-ish smell. The wet leaves have a similar flavor.

There’s a lot going on in the taste! The tea is there as sort of a grassy note, but it’s not really assertive. In fact, it’s a little bland. That’s probably my main complaint about this. But the other flavoring in here… mmmmm. We’ve got some citrus that comes up. It’s sort of similar to the flavoring in a sfogliatelle, an Italian pastry made with phyllo with an orange-flavored ricotta-style filling. It’s that sort of orange flavor. Not the tart quality of the citrus, but the orange-ness. This probably comes from the orange blossom.

The other flavor that’s the most dominant in the aftertaste is that almond pastry taste. Pure pignoli cookies (which are made predominantly with almond paste). There’s a teeny creamy component, but it’s barely noticeable. It’s almost an almond extract flavor, or a scented flavor. It’s very subtle, and doesn’t overwhelm the rest of the flavors. If you concentrate, you might get a bit of cinnamon. I only got it on a few sips.

The tea base of this definitely isn’t the greatest. If it was better, this rating would probably be higher. It doesn’t taste fresh and doesn’t play well into the balance of the other ingredients. But the flavoring is definitely spot-on. The flavors aren’t as strong as the smell (thank god, or else I’d be pretty unhappy). Very nice for a holiday blend, though!

I didn’t drink this on it’s own. I had some Yuzu Sencha from Lupicia and added some of the hibiscus during a second steeping. I like hibiscus, but I think it needs to be mixed with some other flavors, it’s a little much on it’s own.

Smells really good. I can’t wait to try it!

Smells good! Looks good! Tastes good. The green tea flavor is just barely there, but it is a second steeping, so I’m not too surprised at that. The citrusy yuzu is still present as well. The hibiscus takes center stage, but it’s not a monologue when it’s mixed with the green tea. I like it as a part of an ensemble. This is definitely something I’ll drink again.

I wanted something nice and smooth and decaf before bed last night, so I steeped up this puppy. Also known as the only tea from TeaGschwendner that I truly enjoyed.

Okay, that might be somewhat of a lie. I sorta liked the Chili-Chocolate, but it didn’t rock my socks off.

This one still smells like yummy caramel corn to me, in both the dry and the infusion. The taste is a fairly rough-around-the-edges black, with some tinges creamy caramel-ish popcorn at the end. It’s not the most authentic flavor, but caramel corn tastes kinda sugary and fake anyway.

What elevated this cup this particular time was that I did the unthinkable. I added milk. Soymilk to be exact. Very Vanilla Silk, if you’re that curious. And then I added about two pinches of sugar.

The results were pretty awesome. The briskness of the tea became very smooth and drinkable, very creamy and delicious. The sweetening I added highlighted the cream part of the tea description, and made it very soft and inviting. The drink became less of a tea drink, and more of a liquid caramel corn taste.

Pretty awesome, if I do say so myself. This elevates this one beyond the mediocre.

It got the mom stamp of approval as well.

That was a pretty awful tea day, and it’s probably my fault, cause I poured boiling water over my green oolong. Oops.

Anyway, I decided to go with something basic and tasty, and opened up my Decaf from TG! The smell of this is AMAZING. It’s identical to caramel corn. Cracker Jacks. Mmmmm. The dry leaf is sorta small, and interspersed with little caramel pieces. It’s mouthwatering. I promise.

So I steeped this one up and on the pour, the wet smelled just as wonderful as the dry. The infusion is a dark copper color, and the smell coming off of it is creamy and caramelish. On my first sip, I was actually pleasantly surprised. This one tastes like a nice brisk black. There’s only a slight hint of bitterness and astringency, but it’s pretty pleasing. The black flavor gives way to a sweet caramel taste. Not burnt or overdone, just mellow and lingering in the aftertaste. Like when the sugar from caramel corn lingers on your tongue after you’ve eaten a mouthful. It’s less of a cream and caramel taste, and more of a united flavor. It’s pretty subtle overall, which is nice. The black tea base might be a little more watery than normal (due to its decaf nature), but it’s nothing to cry over.

This is a great little tea to calm down with after a stressful day. Which is what I had, with my oolong debacle. Ouch. Here’s hoping tomorrow brings better tea experiences!

Ever since I drank far too many Harvey Wallbangers in college one evening because they tasted so NOT like alcohol—-I have been wary of liquers. On the other hand, I love the name Luigi and use it as a nickname for any convenient masculine figure—and TeaGshwendner had such an attractive description, that I had to get this tea.

TeaGshwendner, right now, is most certainly in my list of top ten tea companies because I love the sensational things they do with flavor. If you approach Luigi Amoretto you will think that someone has opened a bottle of Amoretto and is waving it right under your nose. This is not necessarily a bad thing. The appearance is intriguing. With all of the raisins, apple pieces, and other visually appealing things in Luigi Ameretto, one wants to sprinkle it on ice cream, on cereal, or simply to eat it stright up.

I used two teaspoons and a dash extra because I have humongous mugs. I also allowed it to steep for a full ten minutes (not be design but because I was distracted). The result was a fine and festive mug of fruitiness which smelled exactly like Amoretto. It’s a kind of fruity, creamy, almondy brew. I like it. I like strawberry and chocolate and chai flavors better but this tea is just great and would make a superb gift for the almond or apple lover in your life. On second thought, however, I won’t give this away. There are times when I want something different and this will remain in my cupboard. I can most certainly imagine drinkers give this tea 90 plus points.

TeaGschwendner seems to be all about high-quality flavors and mixes and this is a great autumn/winter tea. I felt a bit as if I were out on a crisp November day in New Hampshire, 75 years ago, watching Robert Frost (temporarily called Luigi) picking apples and tossing them into a vat of toasted almonds.

I was wet and cold and crabby and tired, this totally hit the spot Mmmm

this one was pretty good

A good, buttery, sweet chamomile.

It’s nearly the New Year here on the East Coast, so I decided to relax a little bit before the party I have to attend and have some caffeine-free stuff. So I pulled out more TG stuff, specifically, Strawberry Pepper.

When I heard that they had a strawberry pepper tea, I leapt at the chance to try it! I love it when sweet blends with savory (an aside: if you’ve ever had Moroccan food, they do a great job of blending the two), so I couldn’t pass this up. The leaves smell pretty much entirely of strawberry. It’s a very juicy-tart strawberry. Not particularly overly sweet, like a vanilla-strawberry. Just a plain strawberry. There’s a bit of a rooibos smell underlying the tea. Not very strong, but it’s present.

It steeps up to a very pretty strawberry-red, and the smell coming off the cup is a deep, juicy strawberry. So if you like strawberries, this will definitely get you pumped to taste it. The taste… is interesting! It’s actually a bit more watery than I expected it to be. I wanted a more robust strawberry taste. I might need to steep this a bit longer, even though I steeped it at the amount that TG suggested. The rooibos flavor is completely overwhelmed by the strawberryness. There’s flashes of subtle woodsy sweet, but it’s really just a base to hold up the strawberry flavor.

As for the pepper… it didn’t really come out strong in this cup. There was a slight tingling sensation on my tongue, but it wasn’t a flavor. It was more of a feeling. Maybe my peppercorns all dipped to the bottom of the bag, but I made sure to shake it. Maybe I just didn’t get enough of the peppercorn in there. Anyway, I’m pretty sure it doesn’t manifest itself as a full flavor, but rather as a bit of heat.

I’m not the biggest fan of strawberries, and I tend to like them somewhat on the sweeter side, or mixed with something creamy (like vanilla-ish things. So if you like tart-ripe strawberries, you’d probably like this. This one would probably be pretty interesting iced as well. And maybe even sweetened a little bit, if you want it to have more of a sweeter strawberry flavor.

Overall, though, I think this is a great herbal to relax with and sip. I actually feel like it’s more of a daytime tea than a nighttime one, and it tastes very summary. It’s not particularly a favorite of mine, but I could see someone else really liking this one and getting into its unique flavor profile. It’s a bit fruity and one-note for me. I prefer a bit more body and oomph to my tea-drinking experience.

If you know me, you know that I love bananas. LOVE them. I think they’re probably the best fruit ever. Extremely sweet and creamy, perfectly portable (moreso than any other fruit, since they don’t even need to be washed!), and delicious in desserts. Bananas and chocolate is probably the best combination ever. And a frozen banana, dipped in chocolate and then sprinkled with nuts? Heaven!

So I was really excited to try this tea, since I’m a huge banana fan. But fake banana stuff tastes bad. You can’t extract an oil or an essence from a banana. It just doesn’t work. They don’t have that. So I’d imagine banana-flavored tea is a difficult thing to accomplish.

Anyway, when I opened the bag from TG, I was immediately hit with the smell of a somewhat artificial banana. Maybe a Laffy Taffy-style smell? It was actually a lot more authentic than I’ve smelled before. There was also a nutty scent of walnuts. I was nervous.

The leaves are fairly smallish, and there are walnut leaves and tiny banana pieces mixed in. It’s all very pretty. So I threw it into my pot, and let it steep up. The resulting infusion smelled a bit better than the try leaves. A bit more buttery and creamy, with more walnut accents. A bit less fake.

On my first sip, I was midly surprised! The tea actually tastes like tea. The flavoring is sort of an afternote. You start with a fairly brisk black, and then it evolves a bit into a walnut taste. It’s a combination of that specific astringency that comes along with eating walnuts, and an overall nutty taste. It’s very subtle, but it’s there if you concentrate. The aftertaste is a creamy banana-ish flavor. Sort of like bananas in cream. Or maybe banana candy. It’s sweet, but not cloying, and definitely not overwhelming. If it was, I think this tea would be dead in the water.

I would have liked it if the bananas had tasted a bit more natural, but I realize that that’s pretty much impossible to create in a banana tea. I did finish my cup, but it’s not a tea that I can imagine drinking regularly. It definitely is balanced, and entirely drinkable, but it would get tiring every single day if you had to drink this over and over again.

So overall, not a huge disappointment. I didn’t expect this to be a perfect 10. After all, banana is hard to replicate. Passable.

Sometimes Darjeeling astringency is like paint thinner in your mouth. Other times it is like little twinkling stars. This tea is in the later category.

Dessert teas are my weakness, and this is one of the better ones I have sampled recently. I am really impressed by TeaGshwendner, by the way. Their shipping was super-speedy and their teas have been superb. They do not stint on taste and I love the way the taste deepend and develops in their teas. Their Rooibush Eggnot is no exception to the incredibly high bar they have set.

If you like eggnog (as I do) but the profusion of calories, fat, cholesterol, sugars might ruin your diet, this tea is an extremely satisfying “hit” of sweet, full, rich eggnog. It’s got a natural sweetness, so you don’t need to add sugar although I am sure that the tea can stand up to added sugar or milk and not be the least bit overpowered.

The eggnog aroma is enticing in the dry, loose tea and also in the brewed tea. When you drink it, you can taste the eggnot quite specifically. The aftertaste is exceptionally festive and I felt as if I had downed a filling quart of eggnog without fear of consequences.

I am contemplating adding some warm milk and a shot of rum or bourbon next time I have this tea—although it really does not need any enhancements to make it pop in your mouth. This is a perfect tea to sip on as you sit by the fire and contemplate the majestys of winter; it’s a great substitute for eggnog that will not leave you feeling at all deprived. Play some holiday music, or pull out a mesmerizing Victorian novel. Repeat and congratulate yourself on how virtue sometimes really is a reward!

I got home from Christmas at my aunt’s house not too long ago, and I really wanted to tear into some of the tea I got for Christmas. But it was soooo late, that I definitely couldn’t have anything with caffeine. So I opened up this sample that TeaGschwendner gave me, complimentary with my order from them (and they included a personalized note and it was signed, by a real person). I figured, what the heck, it’s Christmas, and this is an Eggnog tea, and eggnog is pretty much THE Christmas beverage.

When I opened up the little resealable package, I was immediately hit with the scent of eggnog. Like, real, honest-to-goodness eggnog. If you had blindfolded me and put this under my nose, I would have thought there was a glass of eggnog near my face. It’s rich and creamy smelling.

This is the first time that I saw rooibos up close and personal, loose-leaf style. The only other rooibos I’ve ever had was that ROT Dream by the Fire blend, which I really didn’t enjoy. I could smell something similar in this bag to the ROT bag, so I figure that’s what rooibos smells like! Woodsy sweet.

Anyway, I steeped this up, and the resulting infusion was a beautiful sunset burnt orange. The smell coming off the liquod had a rooibos slant, but the eggnog was the dominant aroma. I’m not the hugest fan of eggnog, but I really do like Silk’s rendition of it.

On my first sip, I was quite surprised. It’s mild and smooth, and almost creamy-like. The eggnog doesn’t hit you until the tail end of the sip, and it tastes very convincing and natural. Like someone poured some eggnog into my rooibos. The effect was a bit uncanny and disconcerting. It’s a fairly sweet flavored tea, so I wouldn’t add any additional sugar (not that I ever add any to begin with). The eggnog flavoring definitely doesn’t overpower the taste of the rooibos, which I think I’m starting to get a feeling for on its own. I think I’m actually enjoying the taste. It’s fairly mild and sweet, even though it sort of looks like pencil sharpener shavings.

I sipped this with the boyfriend as we chatted about Christmas, and it just felt very snuggly and homey. I don’t think that I’d be able to drink this on a daily basis, for sure. It’s extremely seasonal. But it’s a really fun substitute for eggnog. One of those teas you curl up next to a fire on a cold winter’s night. And a perfect cap to this dreary Christmas evening!

Lighter, fruitier and sweeter than I expected. This is not a bad thing.

I like TeaGschwender’s herbal blends because they are usually not fruity but I wish this one had more fruitiness to it. I can clearly see apple bits in the mix and there is a decent amount of them but I can’t taste them at all… absolutely nothing.

The tea is very herbal, in fact it is herbal to the point it seems almost medicinal. It’s neither minty or bitter or sweet, it’s just ultimately herbal. Did I say herbal again?

This Green tea has a very classic Green tea flavor. Not plant like the way some greens come across. The flavor profile is subtle with still a significant flavor – there is a simple, clean and mild sweetness to this. The liquid is light, as is the color in the cup. The flavor of this tea is such that it could be used as a baseline for other green teas.

Interestingly, this tea no longer seems to be in TG’s catalog. So as of this review it isn’t available. While teas literally come and go on a monthly basis, hopefully, TG will be able to secure another shipment of this or an equivalent tea next year.

We followed TG’s excellent brewing instruction to the letter on with this and the result was satisfying and refreshing. On a test to push the limits, we did let the steep time go a little over 3 minutes and the result was bitter reminding us again that Green teas are not as forgiving as black teas.

Love, love, love, love this tea :) First tried it at Wystone’s Teas in Lakewood, CO. Went back to Wystone’s yesterday to get more, and they no longer sell it. Bummer :(

This was quite fantastic- a very good black tea with what at first seems a slight taste of rich cocoa bean and chili. The chili and chocolate flavours build slowly and wonderfully as you drink and leave a long rich finish. Really plays beautifully with your taste buds- and stays in your memory. I want more! An unforgetable tea.