615 Tasting Notes
Tea #24 from Another Traveling Tea Box
I’m starting to realise I’ve gotten really sensitive to smoky teas in the last year or two. I used to really like gunpowder greens, but I’m just finding this one too smoky for me. The balance of spearmint to tea is awesome! The mint is complementary without being overpowering. It adds a crisp refreshing edge. I just can’t get past the smoky undercurrent running through each sip.
I think I’ll keep my Casablanca Twist as my Moroccan Mint stand in for now.
Preparation
Tea #23 from Another Traveling Tea Box
I’m mildly disappointed by this one.
The base is good! It’s brothy, mildly sweet, and vegetal. It’s my favorite part of this cup.
As for the flavorings, on one hand, I do get the pear flavor — it hits at the roof of my mouth right before I swallow — but on the other hand, it tastes like a not-quite-ripe pear. And I can’t find the plum at all. This is a tough combination to nail (pear and plum are tough flavors to get right without tasting like candy) but it still came up lacking with even that in mind.
Preparation
Tea #22 from Another Traveling Tea Box
This is a hug in a cup!
The vanilla isn’t artifical, liquory vanilla, but the real bean stuff that’s smooth and, well, vanilla-y. There’s a creamy feeling to it, as well.
The fact it’s decaf is awesome. I can very much picture myself curled up with my Kindle and a mug of this before shutting the lights off for the night.
Preparation
Tea #21 from Another Traveling Tea Box
I actually found this to be bordering on too flavored for my tastes, which I wasn’t expecting because the common consensus seems to be that it’s not flavored enough?! What is here, though, is a lovely balance of floral and more subtle cherry, but it’s quite potent.
I think I would have preferred something more delicate that allowed more base to bleed through.
Preparation
Tea #20 from Another Traveling Tea Box
This is a really lovely chill out tea. The peach is subtle, but well done and not gummy candy-like, and there’s just the tiniest bit of chamomille flavor in here. I’m surprised it came out a delicate as it did, seeing as there’s an overabundance of fruity bits in here.
I really wouldn’t want anything peachier, but I wouldn’t call this one overpowering. Yet. As this stands, it’s easy for the tea to get lost in here (and it does!) because it’s a soft, sweet white tea. Maybe a sweetly vegetal tasting Bai Mu Dan would have been a better base and add a nicer mouthfeel? Otherwise, I enjoyed this one quite a bit.
Preparation
Tea #19 from Another Traveling Tea Box
I could smell the pumpkin and spices as soon as the hot water hit the leaf, but I might have been the teensy tiniest bit nervous for this when I smelled what brewed up. It came out smelling like a strong black tea, with maybe a slight bit of pumpkin spice.
And all that for nothing. It’s spice, pumpkin and caramel and quite tasty. The pumpkin flavor is really impressive in that it’s a spot on pumpkin and lingers. Sugar amplifies the caramel notes, but I still miss the cheesecake and crust elements. We’re out of milk, but I think that would be outstanding in here, too!
A yummy spicy, seasonal cup.
Preparation
Tea #18 from Another Traveling Tea Box
This is…very coconut-y. And I pretty much adore coconut.
I’m kinda hyped this is as good as it is hot! I love that it’s not oily feeling and is more of a shredded coconut feel. I feel like the vanilla flavor might be the only thing keeping it from being overwhelming, though. It also treads (successfully) the line between sweet and too sweet. Honestly, it pretty much like drinking coconut water. This is coconut through and through.
If you’re looking for a tea, though, this kind of misses the mark as it’s pretty much drowned by the coconut.
Preparation
Tea #17 from Another Traveling Tea Box
I don’t really see this as a summer tea (at least not hot), but it works great for fall.
Basically, it’s a lemongrass-green tea with more interest. The base is unremarkable, and maybe a little overwhelmed by the other flavors. The dominating flavor is the lemongrass, but there’s a definite sweet orange note, possibly more orange blossom-y. I don’t necessarily pick up the strawberry as strawberry, but there’s a sweet berry note that lingers.
It’s tasty, but I’m not blown away. Or even really all that excited.
Preparation
Tea #16 from Another Traveling Tea Box
This one wasn’t what I was expecting, but in a good way.
There’s a very subtle, very slight marine quality to this one. Like breathing ocean air. Otherwise it’s a delicately earthy, slightly mossy cup with an aftertaste of what is basically Riesling wine.
If I didn’t have so much Darjeeling here already, this one would be staying.
Preparation
Tea #15 from Another Traveling Tea Box
Where was this when I was weaning off coffee?!
I feel like the description of this as a Mate is a bit misleading, as the mate only plays a roasty background note to the black tea. But aside from that, this is creamy, chocolatey and strong.
It brews up a rich brown, not as opaque as coffee, but quite dark and smells a lot like a mocha. The taste is vanilla and cocoa first, with tea, and a pervasive toastiness provided from the mate. The aftertaste is sweet an it’s where I get the most Mate flavor.
Fiance really like the Matevana, but this is so so so much better. I don’t think this one is going any further.