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This used to be one of my favourite Pukka teas (hence the 100 rating that I gave it before even writing a review), but lately I’ve just been… disastisfied with it.

I think it has something to do with the water I use, but I just can’t seem the get the same strength as what I used to be able to get? It may be that the few bags I have left are old, but I don’t think that’s the case, they’re no older than six months and I have Pukka tea that’s much older than that and it still tastes fine.

I do think this tea is better iced/chilled than hot, so that may have something to do with it. The vanilla can be hard to find and it tastes like you’re just drinking chamomile, in which case, you know, why not just brew some straight up chamomile if that’s all the flavour you get? The fennel seed and licorice barely come through, and calling something from Pukka bland is something I thought I’d never do, but I think just using one bag per 6oz cup of water for brewing may be just that: bland. I’ll be honest, I don’t have the best habits when it comes to the water I use (I use tap water and sometimes if there’s a bit of water left in the kettle I will just use that; atrocious, I know), so I’m sure that factors into it, but still.

My advice: this always tastes best for me when I brew a large batch of it and use 3-4 teabags in a medium to large pot, so unless I figure out what (if anything) is wrong with the remaining batch I have, brew this stronger than you normally would bagged tea/Pukka/tea in general.

I’m going to leave my rating where I had it before, but if I come back and it’s more of the same I might lower it.

I remember having this for the first time and being ridiculously surprised about how it tasted. It’s very savory, and if you’re looking for a traditional, camellia sinensis tea, this likely isn’t for you, but I love it.

I’m a fan of Thai food, and this goes perfectly with pad thai, Thai hot & sour soup, or a Thai curry; I’m sure it would go with any number of other dishes as well. It’s warm and soothing and, at the same time as it’s energizing, very relaxing with the mellow undertones from the licorice. I personally wouldn’t call it spicy, but then, I’ve talked about my love of spicy things before so take that with a grain of salt; the lemon verbana and licorice root definitely do make it sweet, but I unfortunately don’t know enough about amla fruit to really judge it and what it does in the tea. Pukka’s website calls it an Indian Gooseberry and says that it’s used in ayurvedic practices.

I like curling up with this when it’s cold out, so I don’t have it often in the summer, but it’s perfect for fall and winter. I don’t find it ‘energizing’ as in it gives me more physical energy to stay awake/be alert, but clears my head and helps me focus on doing one thing (especially when I’m multitasking out the wazoo, haha), such as… writing this review when I have a paper to be editing.

It’s not one of Pukka’s teas that I have very often, but I do think it’s one of their best.

I bought the remnants of this from Teaopia while visiting a store just before it became Teavana; it was very much a ‘well, why not’ purchase, and I haven’t been disappointed with it.

It is, like others have said, a very typical, sweet green tea. I think I may have steeped this just a bit too long because there’s a slight bitter undertone, but other than that, I’m happy with it. It’s not something I’m heartbroken over never being able to have again once I run out of the 50g I bought, but it is a nice green blend for those who like sweet teas.

So, almost out of this, and I don’t think I’ll be making it a repeat purchase.

I love pu’erh and orange/citrus tea. The earthy-ness of pu’erh is so calming and relaxing and pu’erh is one of my favourite teas for a reason. But I don’t get any oolong taste in this, and, well, if you told me there was ginger in this before I’d read the label, I don’t think I would believe you for one second. Maybe the point is ‘benefits of the ginger’ and not ‘flavour of the ginger’, but still, with something that has extra ginger flavouring on top of the ginger root, you’d think you’d be able to taste it.

I have enjoyed what I’ve had of this, but my first impression still stands: I think I’ll stick with Blood Orange Pu’erh to get my fill of earthy citrus tea.

Have another mug of this right now and still love it; warm and mellow and soothing and so, so calming.

I feel like I should say that, for the record, I am a fiend when it comes to spicy food. So when I drink this tea I would describe it as ‘pleasantly warm’, and I wouldn’t even consider it spicy.

For me it’s smooth and does wonders to settle my stomach. It’s a sipping tea, but I tend to sip teas as is so that’s not a problem for me. And, for those who are so inclined, I’ve found that it actually mixes quite well with white wine, especially reisling.

So I’ve found myself becoming a bit too comfortable with caffeine lately, and decided it was time to step back a bit: new plan is no caffeine for the weekend, and after that only caffeine when it’s needed.

Which means: I’ll be getting reacquainted with my herbals.

I seem to be Steepster’s Sole Proponent of Pukka, if going by other people’s tasting notes. This didn’t even have a Steepster page so I actually had to make one. I haven’t touched this in over a year and distinctly remember not being that impressed with it, as far as Pukka teas went? I had better rooibos teas. But I had a cup of this yesterday and it just felt like a warm inviting hug, so I’ve decided to give it another shot.

It tastes exactly like typical rooibos. It IS mostly rooibos, with only a bit of honeybush, ginseng, maca, and Pukka’s typical licorice root. So if you’re not a big fan of rooibos, I can safely say that this tea probably isn’t for you. It doesn’t have a medicinal taste, but is definitely herbal. It’s sweet, smooth, and I may try it with a little bit of milk sometime even though I don’t normally have milk with rooibos. A bit weaker today, though that’s likely because I used more water when brewing it. I think this might be a ‘one mug only’ tea for me. As usual with Pukka herbals, I used boiling water and left the bag in for as long as I wanted and had no problems other than probably using a bit too much water.

If you want to sweeten it, go ahead; it’s already pleasantly sweet as it is, but adding your own sweetener is completely up to you. I imagine it would go very nicely with honey, taste-wise.

When I had it yesterday to get me through a three-hour lecture I could definitely notice the difference: I was tired the whole time and found myself closing my eyes because keeping them open hurt. So there are some things caffeine does that can’t be replicated with ginseng or maca, however ‘natural pick me up’s’ they are. But for someone who hasn’t been as wired on caffeine as I have, or doesn’t have much caffeine in general, it may help. It always depends, when dealing with brain chemistry and neurochemicals.

But the point is: this tea is lovely, and I will be paying much more attention to it!