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Another sample from Old Wilmington Tea. This one got me all excited when I opened the packet — definitely a strong orange aroma, and there was a gigantic piece of dried orange in the first tablespoon I put in my infuser. (Orange, pineapple, vanilla, and chocolate are all almost irresistible to me.)

So I made sure there was plenty in the infuser, and I steeped it a long while, but…

Meh. The orange was there but barely after steeping. I think I may have to give up on this company’s flavored teas, no matter how delicious they sound or how enticing the aroma of the dry tea.

But I still have an untried sample of Amethyst and one of Egyptian Chamomile, so I have hopes for their unblended/unflavored teas.

I ordered a sample of this from Old Wilmington and had some earlier today, with nothing added. It was smooth and mellow, but the vanilla was not pronounced. I’ve tried 2 vanilla rooibos teas now, this one and Madagascar Red from Celestial seasonings, and so far I haven’t found what I’m looking for — a lush vanilla aroma and flavor with some sweetness.

I resisted this for a long time because I had tried the regular version of Lady Grey some months ago and had given it away to my sister after one cup.

I probably bought this box of [meant to be] cold-brewed Lady Grey because I had tried the mixed berries version of Twinings’ cold-brewed tea and found it pleasant.

Well, here I am with the box 2/3 gone, quietly sipping on a cool glass of the stuff, and I haven’t even admitted it’s in my cupboard, much less written up a tasting note.

Obviously, I haven’t given this away to my sister. I am finding it very refreshing. It tastes like tea (no clue what the base tea may be, other than black — maybe Ceylon? Kenya?) blended with a dash of bergamot and a dash of lemon. Orange and lime are supposed to be there as well, but I’m not finding them. Still, the citrus is an accent to the tea rather than overwhelming it. I drink it plain.

It was fine to accompany lunch though maybe not the best for the lunch I actually had. I had a rather spicy black bean and rice concoction and I think this would have gone better with something lighter and milder.

It’s even more fine for a mid-afternoon break when I want something cold to drink. That’s how I’ve been using it for a week or two. I will be re-stocking when this box is gone.

See my tasting note under Celestial Seasonings’ Peppermint for blending these two together.

Tried this again this morning added to a black tea – Harney’s English Breakfast, a “silken bagged” Keemun. One bag of Harney’s, one bag of the mint, steeped about 4 minutes, added half and half.

This made for quite a tasty and refreshing late-morning-post-meeting-wakemeup. I’ll be adding somebody’s mint to my cupboard for a blending tea, and it may very well be this one.

I actually tried this the other day — Sunday, maybe? And it alarmed me because it didn’t taste like something I would call “Double Bergamot.” I don’t know what that means.

Yes, I tasted the Bergamot. It was fine. It wasn’t spectacularly strong. Does that mean I’ve only ever tasted Earl Grey teas that were spectacularly strong in bergamot flavor? Does it mean that Stash Tea’s plain old Earl Grey is not especially strongly flavored with Bergamot? Does it mean my taste buds are just weird? Or that I was not feeling my best that day?

Like I said, I don’t know what it all means. Perhaps this weekend I’ll have a taste-off with a “regular” Earl Grey that’s in my cupboard. (I think that one is Taylor’s but it may be Twinings.)

I really liked the aroma of this tea. It reminded me of good-quality soy sauce sprinkled on yummy Basmati rice. Very comforting, hearty scent.

I drank it plain and thought it was a little bitter — next time will pay closer attention to the steeping time. Somehow the idea of adding milk sounds wrong, but I may sweeten it a bit next time also.

I have an idea this is kind of an acquired taste but at this point it’s one I would like to acquire. I may try another brand after I finish this box of Numi.

Another in my Celestial Seasonings’ Herbal Tea Sampler. I Added about 1/2 tsp of sugar.

I’m drinking this about 10 AM. The mouth feel is definitely minty and I think if I were at home I’d add agave rather than sugar. It’s tasty as long as I don’t let it cool down, but it doesn’t seem to be helping my slight sinus headache. The vague unsettled stomach is better, though.

I believe I would have to consider this one a medicinal — not sure I would drink it by itself for enjoyment, but I may try adding it to an uninspiring black tea at some point.

Tried this one again this morning with a proper infuser so I wasn’t bothered by twiggy bits at the bottom of my cup.

Still. Obviously I need an afternoon taste-off among my various black teas. That’s the only way I’m going to be able to tell the difference between Assam, this African tea, and the Ceylon. When I drink each of them in the morning, with nothing to compare, about all I can manage is “tea good” or “tea not good.” So far, all have been “good” but I still can’t detect the tobacco-like aroma others have mentioned.

Generally speaking, I dislike all the Zingers. They all taste alike to me. Or at least that was the case several years ago when I said to myself, “Eh, don’t bother.” But this one was in a sample box.

Hey, it clearly smelled like lemon when I opened the packet! And it tastes like lemon. Actual lemon, not just super-tart and zingy. I cold-brewed it and didn’t add anything. It got pretty strong.

And, of course, red. There’s something wrong with lemon tea that’s bright red. I know it’s the hibiscus. I know hibiscus is cheap and tangy. But come on. Lemon tea should not be ruby red.

Still… I doubt I’ll ever be wooed into buying one of the other Zingers again, but the flavor of this one was as advertised so I wouldn’t turn it down.