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yummy tea of the night. smells like raspberry jello. used 2 sachets of tea since i like to double up.
have been drinking this tea for years, though not as frequently as when i first got it. perhaps i’ll revisit this more seriously.
yes, there is a tart bite to this, not to mention lovely magenta color imparted by the hibiscus, but it’s not what i would call overwhelming. i went crazy on ‘raspberry-pomegranate’ or ‘red fruit/berry’ type green (and herbal) teas & hibiscus always makes an appearance, fret not lovers of this tropical objet d’art. in fact, we have a lovely hibiscus plant on our porch outside with yellow flowers that are simply gorgeous!

but back to the tea. i find this totally drinkable without sweetener, but a little honey couldn’t hurt. a nice superfruit green to have on hand. pleasant. raspberry is the most prominent note & is quite lovely, but then again i’m a lover of all things raspberry.

don’t want it to get bitter? throw 3 ice cubes into cup of boiling water (or water just short of boiling), let sit for 1 min, then add the tea. let steep 3-5 min and you should be good.

blueberry, yes…..but i could swear there’s orange in here!

like something of a candied orange flavor, once you get past the idea that what you’re drinking is ‘blueberry’.

had a cup of this brilliant fruity-blueberry-esque cocoa-caramel confection not too long after my requisite morning cup of Nutcracker Sweet.

i wasn’t exactly hungry, but craving another cup of sweet tea so i reached for 2 sachets of this stuff even though i have an entire pound of it in loose leaf format. i am shameless.

i’ve found the base tea (which i believe is a China black) & the flavoring to be a bit delicate when it measures up to the aroma of the tea when dry.

i have found a remedy for said dilemma: use 2 sachets (always) or 2 heaping tsps with less water than you normally would for flavored (or straight) blacks. maybe like an ounce less. add as much sugar as you normally would, and only a spot of milk. i’ve found adding the usual amount somewhat eclipses the flavor, so a touch is all you’ll need.

brown sugar really draws out the caramel (and even cocoa!) aspects of this tea, while the blackcurrant and citrus (bergamot?) notes are still present.

if i don’t concentrate on the key flavor notes while drinking, i could almost swear there was chocolate in this!

this is the tea of teas to dispel the myth that bagged tea is inferior. must be the flavoring.
(well now i shouldn’t say that because Harney & Sons blackcurrant tea in bagged form is quite outstanding & tastes very much like Paris! i even give a nod to Tazo’s Awake English Breakfast which up until recently i’d only enjoyed in sachet form. bagged it’s almost slightly better!?)

have a cup of this at least once everyday, and i usually crave it first thing in the morning….
even on an empty stomach this tea can’t deter me. with milk & sugar to taste, it’s like liquid butter-caramel pudding!
make of that what you will, but it’s certainly Christmas everyday with a flavor like this!

well, once upon a time (only 2 months ago) 52teas still had this in their database. oh well. i even went back to their site to try and find the picture to upload, but no such luck. phooey.
just had a cup & i really enjoyed it. like a nice sweet cinnamon twist on a toasty rice genmaicha. the tea liquor is a nice yellow-ish green. i find i’m able to steep loose leaf genmaichas at least twice.

has plenty of brown rice & popped sorghum seed to give the green tea a warm, comforting feel reminiscent of something like wheat. i love green teas this way though i certainly have a number of green teas that i enjoy straight.

this tea followed 2 cups of my favorite ‘dessert’ teas of Nutcracker Sweet & Paris replete with the usual brown sugar & soymilk. this was perfect as is & somehow conveyed a sweetness without having any sugar! sometimes this genmaicha is wonderful, other times ordinary and a bit on the artificial side of things. at least the smell is. steeped, all this seems to dissipate & you actually have quite a nice bunch of flavors.

as for the smell of the dry leaf, it smells quite like the plain, powdery-sugar pink gum by Juicy Fruit (was never a fan). truly, one might expect to drink bubblegum if the smell is anything to go by! Luckily it isn’t, so don’t let the nose fool you.

Anyway, just thought i’d write about this since i just had it and it did exist once upon a time. i plan to resteep this right now!

PS- the rumchata honeybush was a disaster. i can’t think of any humane way to get rid of it. giving it away would be a cruel joke. the problem was clearly the honeybush. it tasted like medicinal woodchips. one would have a better fate steeping mulch!!

what a nice Assam! has beautiful golden tips and infuses quickly since the leaves are quite small. the liquor started out as the most gorgeous golden shade of burnt sienna….then it slowly darkened into this stunning auburn shade of amber. quite red with an orange warmth to it. it was lovely to see this steep!

it reminds me a lot of Grandpa’s Anytime Tea in terms of flavor & color. this was a solid cup and had a rather smooth flavor in my opinion. but nice and full-bodied. also had that cozy graham cracker ‘essence’ floating around somewhere in the back, which most definitely came to the forefront in the second steep. in the first steep, i could have almost sworn i was getting ‘raisinette’ at the end of each sip! then again, my adulerants were brown sugar and soy milk. this tea held up very well to both and turned a lovely shade of caramel.

a very nice Assam. i might just prefer this to their Premium Taiwanese Assam, though i’m not entirely sure. will have to do a side-by-side comparison. but for anyone curious about the taste of Grandpa’s Anytime Tea, try this! ….it has the same lovely flavor and produces a most splendid color.

what a beautiful, delicate cup. i’ve had this twice already but have never logged it. again…the weight & the color of the liquor are so sylphlike! my experience with many oolongs is that they are very delicate. never harsh. no bitterness, no astringency. conducive to meditation (although i don’t meditate). a tea i’d recommend for those who do!

Golden Moon’s Coconut Pouchong was also meek & mild, and while Butiki’s Maple Pecan Oolong is bursting with fragrance, the brew is surprisingly light, as is this one. either way, i certainly enjoy such a tea, although i wish there were a bit more weight to the body. something tangible.

aroma of the tea liquor: sweet, honey, light maple syrup all mix together to make banana bread!! Sugar Caramel. there is definitely a sweetness, but i don’t quite get caramel. i truly get banana bread. warm, sweet banana bread that is soft and moist. and it’s funny because i was never much a fan of banana bread til recently. i’m starting to develop a taste for it. then when i smelled this tea dry, it was unmistakably sweet banana bread, perhaps soaked in kahlua and drizzled with caramel syrup ;) yum!

the flavor: as the aroma suggests—-lightly sweet, with notes of banana and pecan. unfortunately, the richness of the fragrant dry leaf doesn’t translate fully when infused. but it is beautiful nonetheless.

today i’m really getting a buttery feel from this tea, but i’m not sure if it’s coming from the flavor or the mouthfeel. make no mistake, it’s nothing overly buttery so as to be rich or gourmand, but i feel it makes a presence worth mentioning. following that is the entrance of a very natural-tasting strawberry. not at all synthetic. it may seem slightly candied (slightly) because of the suggestion of strawberries ‘n cream, but it really is more on the natural end of things given my experience with strawberry flavoring. it really strikes the perfect balance with the green tea base, though admittedly i can’t make out a specific flavor profile for this particular one.

you can sense the green tea, though not so much taste it; then again, perhaps a very delicate base was used so as to mingle well with the fruit flavoring. personally, i think the end result is brilliant. if French teas are supposed to be delicate, this tea is positively French :)

a perfect palate cleanser, aperitif, digestif, or in-between-teas tea. it’s quite versatile in my opinion because of its lightness, yet it is something for which one can have enthusiastic cravings and drink many times throughout the day (as i do). maybe it’s just me!

N.b.- happily i’ve noticed, this resteeps well….i get 2 good cups out of 1 heaping tsp of leaf for sure.