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I found this while my boyfriend and I were giggling-drunk in the health food section of the grocery store. I was intrigued with the name of the tea at the time, so it found its way into my basket. (Despite the fact that I have so many other teas to be reviewed!)

This is actually my second time drinking it. I took it with me to work in a 16-ounce cup. I underestimated the strength of it and used two bags, which was a MISTAKE. It was so strong that I had to gulp some and add more water. But after that, it was great.

Like I said, this is a strong black tea that does not kid around. Perfect for your first cup of the day, especially if it’s cold outside and you have things to do. (The caffeine content is delightfully high.) After barely four minutes, it’s very dark, almost like coffee or a puerh. The flavor is malty and caramel-like, especially in the aftertaste. It certainly has a bitterness to it, but I crave that sort of thing. This is an especially good black tea for something bagged, I think. I’m actually pretty surprised by it, since it’s something from the grocery store. This might end up as my go-to convenience tea for those mornings where I just don’t feel like dealing with an infuser.

Decided to give this a try this morning, but didn’t have time to log it. I drank it fast while I got dressed and did my makeup before meeting a friend for hibachi.

The aroma of the dry tea is delicious and spicy, smelling like a good standard chai. The blend is more uniform than what I’m used to seeing in chai loose leaf. Usually, there are brown and tan bits, nuts, etc. but this is mostly chocolate-colored leaf and what looks like cinnamon bark. Maybe? It’s so small I can’t tell what it is.

Anyway, the flavor isn’t quite as bold as the scent lead on, but it’s alright. I tend to like my chais on the spicy cinnamon and gingery side, and this doesn’t really present that. (Granted, I added a heavy splash of 1% milk.) But I’ve certainly had rougher chais before. I’m glad I got a chance to try Harney & Sons’ take on a classic, but I will continue my search for the perfect one.

This was a freebie that came with my latest Harney & Sons order. When I opened the package, I "eek"ed out loud because the sachet was not properly sealed. Tea almost spilled everywhere. The whole bottom of the bag had not been closed. Strange! So I dumped it all into my infuser and continued.

It didn’t smell very much like grapefruit dry or while steeping. I mostly smelled the delicious vanilla they use in the Vanilla Comoro. (But not as overwhelmingly strong.) There’s a vague hint of citrus, but I feel like if I didn’t know it was there, I wouldn’t have known what it was. But the flavor is quite different! The vanilla is more dominant than the fruit, but the grapefruit is quite present, especially on the exhale. It’s very nice, in a unique way. I can’t say much for the white tea, as it has been smothered by other flavors. But this is really interesting, and enjoyable.

Alright, I’ve been meaning to taste this tea for years! I’ve seen the rave reviews here on Steepster, and I love anything vanilla. So I knew this was something I needed to get my hands on. My only hesitation was the fact that it’s a black decaf. I’ve never had tea that has been decaffeinated. And I’m the kind of girl who likes her buzz.

Anyway, I opened the pouch for a quick sniff last night. I had to get my non-tea-drinking man to sniff, too, because the aroma is like straight up buttercream frosting. Like a delicious cupcake. And not the grocery store kind. The independent, mom-and-pop bakery kind.

The taste is as lovely as the smell, but sadly not as potent. Sure, this is a delicious, creamy, wonderful vanilla tea. The best I’ve had. It just sort of lacks a punch. But that could be my fault entirely. Luckily, I have enough to try to make a stronger brew next time. For now, though, I am serious when I say this is my new favorite vanilla tea. It puts everything I’ve had previously to shame. Then again, I have Vanilla Black, the non-decaf version. So I’ll probably be onto that next. We’ll see what the difference is!

So, my tea stash had started to dwindle. I decided it was time to get around to tasting all the Harney & Sons teas I’ve had my eye on, so I made a big order of samples. And in addition to what I ordered, they sent along five other single-bag samples! I have so much tea to review!

Moroccan mints, in my previous experience, tend to all be very similar. This one is a little more on the bitter and astringent side of things, but that’s because it’s not just pure dried herb. About a third of it seems to be gunpowder green tea leaves. But that certainly doesn’t take any flavor away from the peppermint. It still leaves a soothing, tingly feeling in my mouth. I’ll be happy to finish this tasty blend, but I think I prefer the Arbor Teas version.

Wow, alright. This appears to be a tea that Steepster either loves or hates. We’ll see how this goes.

The dry bag smells very appealing. Like a mix between sencha, pineapple, and mango. Heavy on the pineapple, but I guess that’s what they mean by “tropical”. I was hoping for some coconut, but oh well. But it also smells like there’s going to be some actual green tea flavor in this instead of a hint like what I’ve been drinking lately.

The tea brews up to a yellowy tan and… I oversweetened it. Why did I think I needed two packets of Abriva? Still, I can tell that even beneath the sweetener, this isn’t bad. It is mostly pineapple flavored but not sour. Very, very fruity! There is a wholesome but uncomplex green tea taste mixed in to back it up. I bet this would be very good iced. Sadly, I only had one bag to try, so I’ll probably never know.

Sipdown! This takes my cupboard down to 7 teas! Seven! I am both proud and itching to restock it at the same time. But I must be strong.

Another note — I won’t be buying this again. There’s just too much new and better stuff out there.

Oh dear, it’s a rooibos. Rooibos and I don’t really get along, but that’s with one exception: apple cinnamon. I’ll admit right here in front of all of Steepster that I genuinely like Tazo’s Organic Apple Red, which is also a rooibos. (What?! You got something to say?!) I had a feeling that this might be similar, so I’m giving it a chance even though this one uses chocolate instead of caramel.

It smells divine. I actually made a “mmm” noise when I sniffed the bag. I can’t smell the chocolate, but that’s alright. As it steeped, the aroma spread throughout my kitchen. As I sip, I can’t really taste the chocolate either. But more importantly, I can’t taste that strange rooibosness that I dislike so much. This is just a yummy apple cinnamon treat to me. Smooth and comforting, well-spiced without it being too much. Yep, I’ll be picking this one up again, too.

I picked up a sachet of this tea at Fresh To Order in midtown, but instead of drinking it there, I put it in my coat pocket for later. I’ve tried almost all of their Harney & Sons offerings now.

This seems like a good idea for a cold winter’s night. Even though it’s a pyramid-bagged tea, it still has large visible chunks of orange peel and cinnamon bark mixed in to the not-so-crushed black tea leaves. And the aroma is fantastic. Seems like it’s going to be very spicy, which is great because I hate it when a cinnamon tea is stingy with the spice.

Whoa. This is very spicy, but not enough to burn afterward. The taste instantly makes me think of my grandmother’s house. She always had those decorative cinnamon-scented brooms and they made her whole kitchen smell that way. This tea is like drinking that smell. Plus a hint of orange. And shockingly, I can actually taste the black tea they used as a base shining through. It’s pleasant! I would certainly drink this again, but I don’t think I’d purchase it again… despite its tastiness, it’s a little too plain for me.

My first tea with yuzu in it! And forgive me if I’m describing it funny, I have no clue what it’s supposed to taste like.

The bag smells like real honey, but also something very sour and sort of fruity. It’s a confusing scent. Part of me wants to taste it, and the other part of me wants to wash my hair with it. As it steeps, the water changes to a sunny yellowish tan and smells more like toasted fruit, maybe lemon. Really trusting you here, Tea Forte!

The flavor is surprisingly pleasant after a little sweetener. Sure, it’s a little strange, but it’s basically like a lemon and honey green tea. Only the lemon is yuzu, maybe yuzu peel. I believe the bee pollen is what’s making the honey aspect seem toasty. As usual with Tea Forte’s flavored greens, the actual tea aspect is buried and hard to detect. All that’s there is a bit of bitterness in the finish. But this isn’t as terrible to me as it seems to have been for other Steepsterites. I wouldn’t buy it again, since it’s not really my thing, but it’s not awful.