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Nope. Nope, nope nope. This pretty much confirms my distaste for any and all things rooibos. Never again. No eggnog flavor at all, strange ingredients (meringue powder?), and that awful, awful sickly sweet tang that is rooibos. I know, I know, if I hate rooibos then why buy the tea, right? Well, it was a small amount, it was on sale, and eggnog – how could I not try it? Lesson learned – I need to stay away from rooibos! I may just try to pick out all those white chocolate chips, though…

So smooth and balanced that I couldn’t discern any of the individual characteristics of the teas that make up this blend. No malt from the Assam, no brightness from the Ceylon, no richness from the Keemun, no vegetal notes from the oolong, resulting in an ultra-smooth, refined tea of medium body. Not much complexity for me, which was a surprise, considering the blend. But a nice, solid choice for when I feel like having a straight black that doesn’t overpower. Stands up to milk nicely.

So wonderful, this tea! Dry leaf aroma: pleasantly fruity, something akin to passionfruit, plus yummy creaminess. Wet leaf aroma was similar. The brew was fairly light, leaves unfurling very quickly, and tasted very close to the scent of the leaves. Love the creamy flavor, and slight fruitiness that does not overpower at all, adding to the sweetness of the tea. So delicious I’m tempted to try brewing just a touch longer next time, to see if I can increase the flavors slightly without overbrewing.

Like drinking a spice cabinet. And where is the pumpkin? I can’t detect any pumpkin at all. I’m thinking maybe it’s because it was bullied into submission by all the weird spice flavors in the tea. Obviously not a fan. This was part of the pumpkin tea set of three offered by David’s last fall, and the last one I tried. That’s what I get for buying a set instead of individual teas, but it was so tempting and cute. Their Pumpkin Chai is near perfect for me when I want that kind of autumnal, pumpkin and spice flavor, so I guess I should stick to that tea in the future. Anyone want an 80g (minus three teaspoons, give or take) tin of this stuff? Please let me know. Otherwise, into the trash it goes.

Beautiful, sophisticated tea. This one is for when you want to focus on the tea itself, not distractedly sipping it while doing something else. I say this because the flavors are complex, and not obvious. Best enjoyed when you’re in a more contemplative mood. Dry leaf smells lightly sweet, earthy, vegetal. The vendor states this tea can be resteeped (three infusions total), so that is what I did. First infusion was a bit tannic, definitely tasted the peanut flavor, along with a spinachy note. Second infusion didn’t have a tannic bite at all, well-balanced between the nutty, sweet and vegetal notes. This was my favorite infusion. Third infusion was light and sweet, with more of the molasses coming out. I thoroughly enjoyed this tea, especially how different each infusion was.

I got this one quite awhile ago from hapatite and am embarrassed that it’s taken me this long to get around to drinking it! I think it was anlina’s recent review that jogged my memory and made me make a note to try it asap, plus this year I’ve been making an effort to go through older teas on a regular basis. So, the tea: dry leaf aroma was barely there, maybe a slight sweet scent, so light I couldn’t really place it. Brewed aroma definitely had a chocolate scent, accompanied by something else…musty, maybe? As others have mentioned, it’s really light. Really, really light. Sometimes you want that, especially with an herbal, but with flavors like chocolate and banana, I want something far richer. I should really stick to black teas for dessert flavors. It definitely was sweet, as in it tastes like there is sweetener in there, which is fine for me as I love sweetness. No banana at all for me. So strange as other people had the opposite happen: definite banana note, but no chocolate. Overall, although nice, it’s not what I’m after today. Maybe in the warmer weather, or maybe iced. It’s OK, not great.

I haven’t been drinking any new unflavored black teas for awhile, but what a nice way to get back into trying them! Dry leaf aroma was sweet and enticing. Brewed, the taste was smooth, light, sweet, with a definite fruitiness. I didn’t get the cocoa or caramel notes I read about in other reviews, but that’s OK. I really enjoyed this tea! Really drinkable, versatile, all around great black. I’ll be ordering more in the future, for sure.

I’ve never had tea from this company before, so I’m excited to review something new. Black tea with chocolate and chestnuts? Sign me up! Dry leaf scent was sweet with a little alcohol pungency. I followed the directions from the tea company and brewed it for 5 minutes, which was the longest time recommended. The brew was a little cloudy. Brewed tea aroma was chocolate and nutty – enticing! The taste of sweet milk chocolate was so THERE, with a creaminess even without milk added. This was complemented by a subtler nuttiness and earthiness from the chestnut flavor. I enjoyed this tea immensely. And to make things even better, it can take a second infusion! I’ve never had a flavored black infuse a second time so well. The flavor was only very slightly diminished in the second steeping. Impressive! The only question now is regarding consistency. Since I’ll definitely be ordering more of this, I’ll be able to answer that soon. I was also really impressed with the turnaround time on my order – it was shipped the same afternoon that I ordered it and arrived just a couple of days later.

The endless cold that has been January has gotten into my very bones, and it feels like I can’t wear enough layers of clothing or turn the heat up high enough. So that means it’s the perfect time for this tea! It’s not a fancy brand, it’s a bagged tea, but it will get me through the rest of the hideous winter. With low fat milk (of course), it’s super creamy, the spices are perfect, well-balanced, and makes it taste almost like a baked good. Been drinking this for the past three winters, and when I couldn’t find it locally, I got online and ordered that stuff! That’s how much I love this tea. Truthfully, I haven’t tried any other eggnog flavored tea, so no comparison notes, but when I’m this contented, I’m not that motivated to try another.

Got this as a sample from American Tea Room. Lovely of them to include such a large sample. Unfortunately, I dislike rooibos intensely. Thought I’d give it a try anyway because chocolate. Although the dry leaf aroma and the brewed tea flavor had a nice, strong chocolate presence, it wasn’t enough to disguise the nasty rooibos. I think if it was a black tea base I would have loved it, but this rooibos is not for me.