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A pandemic gift from a fellow tea drinker, I decided to open it up for this morning’s cup. I quite enjoyed the tropical blend (though I wouldn’t consider cranberry or apples to be tropical). After my last pineapple tea review, this was a definite winner. I had it hot but I think it would a great iced tea too.

As a huge NPS fan, I dashed off to purchase the sampler set from Simpson & Vail. It was delivered quickly and neatly packaged. A little gift to myself! We’re in the midst of planning a trip to Yosemite, so I thought I’d start there.

I’ve now finished the Yosemite sample and tried it at several steeping lengths. I felt 4 minutes was the best steeping time and brought out the pineapple flavor more. That said, I hoped for more pineapple taste. I felt the spearmint was a more noticeable flavor.

All and all, a nice tea to kick off our trip plans but I’m not likely to order again.

At the moment, this is my favorite Earl Grey tea. I’ve not tried many others because I’ve had poor experiences with them in the past. Mainly during that time where I thought you just microwaved some water and dipped a tea bag in. I probably should give Earl Grey another try.
Anyhow, I picked this up as a package at the local Christmas Tree Shoppe on markdown, thinking “sure, why not? I can spare $3 on a box of tea bags”. So I honestly am surprised by how much I do enjoy the scent and taste of this. To be fair, the scent is really what I love. The Bergamot is a joy to smell and very relaxing to me.

A friend went hiking up Kilamanjaro and took my hiking poles. She returned with a package of Spiced Tea Cardamon from D&J Distributors. No, I didn’t typo that but I would normally write cardamom. It was packaged in a plastic wrapping inside a lovely blue fabric. I emptied the package into an old tea container. The tea leaves are a fine granular type. The wrapper indicates that it is from Subsistence farms in Tanzania Highlands.
The tea brewed up a dark with a strong malt scent. I definitely taste the cardamom with a slight astringent ending. I drank it as is but I think my next cup I will add some honey or sweetened non-dairy “milk”.

#2021sipdown

I ADORE this tea and was holding off on finishing the package. It was a gift from a Canadian friend. I never would have purchased this because I’ve had bad experiences with Blueberry flavored teas in the past. Now that I’ve seen other notes about drinking it cold, I will be sure to pick up some more on my next buying spree.

The blueberry flavor really comes through without being too overpowering. It reminds me of wild blueberry picking in the sunshine.

#2021sipdown

Drank the last drop this morning. I’d never considered drinking dandelion teas prior to getting this tea. It was a decent peppermint tea to start the day. There was enough dandelion to balance out the peppermint flavoring. I believe that Sipology no longer carries it.

Big disappointment as it didn’t change colors…. well it went from clear to pale yellow/green to slightly yellow/orange. So I guess it did change colors but definitely not as advertised.

The taste was ok but even steeping for a longer period of time, I felt it was a weak tea. In retrospect, I guess I could taste the stevia and a slight berry taste.

While I’ve not found a maple tea I enjoy, my Canadian friend dropped off some maple espresso for me. She’s unaware that I also don’t care for coffee. BUT I gave the tea a try twice and nope it’s not for me. Gonna pass on finishing the bags I do have and give it over to my coffee drinking husband. Maybe he’ll enjoy it and I can convert him to tea drinking.

I had not heard of this tea maker but a friend had commented on their Facebook page and that led to a conversation which led to her dropping off a surprise tea package for the holidays. Love my tea friends!
I really enjoyed this black tea. Generally I feel black teas need a little sweetener but I always give the tea a chance first. I added nothing to it and enjoyed this one morning before heading to work. I loved the scent of rosemary which is not a herb I would typically associate with a cup of tea.