1711 Tasting Notes
Huh! Interesting little sewn muslin for a tea bag! That is kind of charming. Holy smokes! The orange in this is like the bright fresh oil from the peel! The chocolate is in there somewhere, but this tea is all about the orange. The aftertaste is like I just had a sip of OJ. As it cools, the chocolate hides even more. The first cup was so flavorful that I didn’t need sweetener. Not sure if it would have helped the chocolate come out some more. I sweetened the second steeping, which is weaker, but still delicious. This tea is amazing and I would like to have more of it someday!
Preparation
I want to like this. Cucumber and mint sound like an excellent combo, but what is coming through is chemical like. It smells a little like perfume and some of that comes through in the taste. It is flat, the flavors don’t seem to dance well, there is a walnut aftertaste and my skin doesn’t feel any smarter (advertised as a skin smart tea). I just can’t get over the gross. Mmmm, and dry mouth to top it off. Nice. : [
Ehhhhhh…. Tastes a little of honey, I guess. Leaves my mouth dry. That is about it. Bummer.
Preparation
Yeah, I think I’m there with you. Drinking my 3rd sample from them and all have been on the gross side.
Having this tea again and coming to the same conclusions as my first tasting note. The tea is nice enough, but kind of mellow and a little boring for the price tag. I do wish they had added something to make this tea spectacular like apricot, honey, cream, mango, chocolate… There is really a lot that pairs well with ginger, so why stop with just ginger?
I tried adding honey, but the honey from my yard was too flavorful and overpowered. Maybe store bought honey? I tried adding powdered goat milk (my go to for cream flavor) and sugar, which was good, but I think it was too much milk. I’m determined to find something to make this tea more exciting. The quest goes on!
Preparation
Whoa there is a lot of stuff in this tea! I’m surprised by the five minute steep time, too. I’m tasting mostly cherry in this cup. A little lemon grass in the beginning of the sip. This is interesting! And is that a strawberry aftertaste?! I bet this would be great cold brewed and iced!
Thanks for this sample VariaTEA!
Preparation
Thanks for this sample VariaTEA!
The flavor in this tea is on the lighter side. I can taste cherries, but not an impressive amount. It is more of a dried cherry taste as apposed to fresh cherry. The base is nice enough, smooth and not overwhelming the flavor. It feels like it is lacking something to really pop. It’s good, but is getting an “eh”. I’m happy to have tried it though!
Preparation
Wow, I gave this a 41 last time I tried it?! It has been sitting in my cupboard for quite some time now. My husband has been wanting iced tea lately since it is heating up here in Texas, so I threw several bags in a pitcher with some water and sugar and put it in the fridge. This time it tastes exactly like the Paradise tea I was hoping it would be! Have my tastes changed? Had this tea aged well? Is the secret in the cold brew? Who knows! Once I added ice it was a little watered down, so I may toss in a few more tea bags. This tea has redeemed it’s self and just when I was about to give up and toss it to make room in my cupboard!
Preparation
I read VariaTEA’s tasting note on this the other day about drinking it after a bite of salty peanut butter and was inspired to try adding a touch of salt. Wow! I used over 1/4tsp matcha with some sugar, a pinch of salt and whisked it in a small amount of hot water. Then I added milk, ice cubes and shook. Holycrapit’ssogood! I decided to add a tiny bit more salt, which wasn’t bad, but wasn’t as good as the lesser amount, so there is a fine line there. It was just enough to get that salty caramel taste. I then took my mug outside an pulled prickly weeds for a half hour with no gloves on. My hands are now screaming mistake, but my taste buds are quite happy!
Chocolate and coconut?! Why do I not, in my obscene amount of tea, have a chocolate and coconut tea?! Thanks to VariaTEA for this sample!
The first sip was heavy and left a chocolate aftertaste, but there was no coconut to be found. Sweetening it a little… aaaah, the coconut hides in the creamy flavor! I am really liking this tea, but I do with there was more coconut to compete with the level of chocolate. It almost has an alcohol scent to it. Maybe a rum? I like it! I have a few more cups worth to decide if it is a must have.
Preparation
Cranberry and almond?! I would not have thought cranberry and almond from a name like Boston Blend! For some reason I would have expected something coffee related. Is Boston even associated with coffee?
Anyways, a little bitter at first and much nicer after the addition of sweetener which makes sense since cranberries are so tart and bitter. It is really an interesting mix and I’m not sure how I feel about it. Almost perfumy for a second in different parts of the sip. I get more cranberry than I do almond. I have to admit I’m not a huge cranberry fan, but I had never tried it with almond which sounded intriguing. Tiny bit of cranberry tartness in the after sip. I think I can sum it up as an interesting experiment in flavor pairing, but not a winner for my tastes.
I almost ordered a sample of this on Harney’s website a month ago, but ended up swapping with VaraiTEA instead. Thanks for the chance to try this!P.S. I still have a faint taste of cranberry in my mouth 20 minutes after finishing this cup! I bet this tea would go great with turkey!
Preparation
I’m not aware of Boston being associated with coffee. I lived there for a few years (admittedly many years ago) but mostly it was associated with baked beans. But Massachusetts has a lot of cranberry bogs and is definitely associated with them. Not sure about the almond piece.