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Right now, Acquired Taste Tea Co. are offering to send two samples free, so I decided to jump on that. I’m all into spicy chocolate, so this one was automatically the first choice.

When I open the pouch, the beautiful aroma of cocoa and spice fills the air. It sounds weird, but it actually reminds me of a rich, spicy bath product I once had. It smells very fresh too. The dry leaf is speckled with red peppercorns.

Steeped, it smells the same as it does in the pouch. Maybe a little more chocolatey. When it comes to taste, this is definitely a harmonious blend of cocoa and peppercorns. I can feel the heat from the peppercorns at the back of my mouth, but it’s not overwhelming at all. The cocoa doesn’t come out as much as I would have liked taste-wise, but it’s still a pleasurable sip.

One great thing about this tea is you can leave it steeping for upwards of ten minutes and it won’t even get bitter. That’s a bonus for me because I love bringing out the heat in this even more. I’ve steeped this with the same leaves thrice and as long as you steep it longer than the time before, it tastes nearly the same.

I think Acquired Taste Tea Co. acquired another customer! Too bad I didn’t know about them sooner despite the fact that they used to be in my backyard. Will definitely be making a purchase of this and trying out more.

I’ve really been craving a minty tea lately and this is all I really have. I’d love to find a fabulous chocolate mint tea, preferably black. Any suggestions?

Mate Mint is a great choice if you want something with a spearmint punch and gives you energy. The dry leaf smells strongly of spearmint, but not in a medicinal way at all.

When it comes to taste, it’s also very straightforward: spearmint. There is a bit of mate in the background but I’ve personally always liked the taste of it. To me, it’s almost not even there.

Let me tell you, when it comes to function, this stuff really works. My last semester of undergrad was quite rough. Between finishing up courses for my honours double major, writing a thesis, working part-time, and being the VP of an on-campus club, those eyes needed to stay open. I sadly needed to turn to a certain drug: caffeine. I resorted to caffeine pills for a while but those only worked like the first two times, so then I turned to this. And I’m so glad that I tried this. It gives you a real buzz, but a healthy one, if that makes sense. So mate in general for the win!

Glad I got a sample of this. The dry leaves are delicate and wispy, and actually smell very strongly of blueberry. I was actually worried that the steeped tea was going to taste overly artificial and off.

Steeped, the tea truly does smell like blueberries, and the taste is just perfect. So far, this is definitely the best blueberry-flavoured tea which I have tried. The white tea allows the blueberry to shine, and impressively, I can get more than enough blueberry flavour even though I only steeped this for a minute-and-a-half.

Blueberry tea appreciators ought to try this one. It’s smooth and gentle, yet prim and proper, if that makes any sense.

I just got hit with an international headache, having to pay for interwebs in a place I moved away from over two months ago and for a time frame when I’m not even there. And with the threat that if they don’t get it within five days they’ll charge me even more, yet international money wires can take up to a week to process. My point? This calls for tea. Ugh.

I bought this like a-year-and-a-half ago, but I remember when I smelled this in the store, the waft of creamy caramel drew me in and I couldn’t say no. Dry, it smells so sweet and gooey, but of course, as expected, it has lost some of that charm after all this time.

I’m actually not really a fan of rooibos (and it took me a couple years to figure that out, after purchasing like 30 different rooibos blends), so the initial rooibos attack that hits me at the back of my throat when I take a sip is to be expected. But half a cup in, I’m starting to detect more of the caramel flavour. Now, memories of employees raving about how awesome this is as a latte are rushing back to me.

The colour of the liquor is a beautifully rich dark golden caramel. But alas, as I pour a second cup of this from my pot, I’m left with floating rooibos shrapnel, another groanworthy issue I have with rooibos. I’ll stop complaining, try to stop thinking about the interwebs crisis, and focus on the smooth crème caramel.

I dug this one out of my tea box. Haven’t had it in a couple years and apparently they don’t even make it anymore. Well I’ll be, it’s yummy! Don’t know why I didn’t just finish it off earlier.

The osmanthus adds a wonderful drop of sweetness to this. Very hot, the tea has the perfect balance of green tea and osmanthus, but I find that as this begins to cool off, the osmanthus begins to take over. It’s still nice, but I prefer when the combined tastes are equal. The pieces of dried osmanthus in the dry leaf are quite tiny but they definitely don’t stay quiet.

Ok, so this is sort of my favourite Starbucks beverage. By sort of, I mean that I tweak it up. I am one of those weird customers who comes up to the till and asks for a bizarre order that leaves the barista raising one eyebrow and rethinking his/her choice to work there.

Anyway, this is what I ask for: a Shaken Iced Tea Lemonade (sometimes I don’t bother with the lemonade) with equal parts passion, green, and black tea. So 1/4 each of each tea and lemonade, or 1/3 of each tea. No sweeteners. It’s fan-freaking-tastic. Trust me. The passion iced tea, I find, is a little too sweet on its own, so you get the stronger kick from the black tea and the clean vibe from the green tea. And the lemonade adds some sweetness to it, and a citrus twist, whenever I’m in the mood for that.

Try it out if you’re even in the mood for a cool drink from Starbucks, but don’t want to consume a plethora of calories. Or try it out if you feel like momentarily baffling the employees. Don’t worry, they don’t get angry, just intrigued!

I just had a grande the other day, and while it’s alright for a standard chai latte that one can purchase at chains, it’s nothing like the chai that a local chai bar makes (they import all their spices from India and make their delectably dreamy chai from scratch). I know that’s not fair, but I just find this a little too bland for my tastes. I guess I am used to chai lattes that are livelier and bolder. It’s nice and creamy but a little watered down. It’s still worth a try if you’re into chai, though. It’s worth a chai?

For years, I’ve been drinking Genmaicha that I’ve been purchasing at an Asian supermarket in a nearby city. Super tasty, yet incredibly cheap. I chose this one as my free sample from TeaFrog just to see if there would be a difference.

The dry leaf smells pretty much the same as everything else I’ve had, but I do notice a slight difference in taste. Actually, the smell of the steeped tea is more roasted than everything else that I’ve tried. The taste is exquisite. Again, I get more of that soothing roasted taste from the brown rice. It’s truly a comforting tea, and as mentioned in previous reviews, Genmaicha is always a staple. It’s also always been a tea that automatically makes me feel healthier. I’m still sick with a pesky cold so right now, Genmaicha is a must.

I just ran out of my supermarket Genmaicha, and because I’m currently living in a rural area and don’t know when I’ll make a trip to the city next, I just may suck it up and order this online despite the fact that it’s twelve times more expensive. It’s really worth it!