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There is a sweetness about this tea that makes it go down nice and smooth, easy drinking and you don’t even realize there is nothing more left in your cup. It’s not that strong of a licorice taste, but I like licorice so I don’t mind the taste. The tulsi comes through, with a tart vegetal note, and I’m not sure what else I’m tasting here. If I buy more of this I would mix it with chamomile for a sleepytime blend, or maybe try it iced. The instructions say drink this hot, but I’ve never been good at following the rules. I do see another Maya Tea order in my near future as their podcast Steeping Around makes the tea all sound delicious and they include the history of each tea so I am learning things as well. Apparently I won’t be good at sticking to a tea budget this year either, lol.

This one is more toasty than chocolatey but still an enjoyable cup. I’m on the second brew but it might be able to go for a few more. Caramel, hay, butter, and toast. Pretty yummy, but I don’t know if I’d go out of my way to purchase.

EDIT: I dumped the leaves in my go cup for grandpa style brewing. still toasty warm bread to the last sip. This tea sure goes a long way. Thanks Shae for sharing!

From Shae
The first steep of this smoky/vanilla tea was rather weak. So I used less water and steeped longer the second time and I got a bit more vanilla with a hint of smoke. It inspires me to combine my favorite vanilla and lapsang teas to see what they taste like, but I’m not tempted to try more of this blend. Cool name though.

I bought a box of this a long while ago and didn’t remember that I didn’t like it until I bought another box. Brewing this hot is rather uninspiring if you’ve had a good smoky and smooth Lapsang Souchong. I don’t mind trying a bagged tea as they are easier for traveling and go cups.
I also don’t drink a lot of iced tea, its not something I gravitate towards, it seems un-natural to water down my tea. But we’ve had some hot days here and we started boat tours this week so I need something cool to sip on while I blather on about the history, rocks, plants and big horn sheep in our canyon. So I gave this a shot, brewed it hot in my go cup and added ice to the top. Wow that mellowed this tea out. Now its just mildly smoky and can stand up to 8 oz of ice. Not bitter at all. I’ll finish what I have, but won’t be buying again. Iced its not that bad, hot its barely drinkable.

It was a chilly morning so I thought I’d warm up with a cup of dark chocolate peppermint patty. I’m not a fan of the mini marshmallows, but it adds a festive flair to a decent cup of mostly mint, but some chocolate tea. This tea isn’t anything splashy, just a cup of comfort that steeps three times.

From Shae.
This is better than I expected, and I like it more than Adagio’s Kentucky Bourbon. It certainly tastes like bourbon, not a whole lot of caramel or vanilla notes, but has a bit of a harshness to the finish. But then most bourbons have a bit of a harsh finish. There are some fruity notes to the aftertaste. I am enjoying this tea, but am thinking it would be better with a less harsh base black tea. The second steep is certainly weaker, but the harshness is gone as well. Its bourbon on the rocks with too much ice.

This cup brews up nice and smooth, I taste mostly the Yunnan in the blend. Maybe there is a hint of metallic caramel aftertaste from the Assam (now called Awesome in my head thanks to a recent tasting note from AJ, lol). The flavors are sweeter and nutty as it cools, this seems like a good candidate for iced tea or an afternoon pick me up. My typical Yunnan/Awesome on the fly mix has more of a bite to it from the Assam so this very smooth tea is a bit bland in comparison.
I enjoyed the cup, but its not something I need in my cupboard.

Sample from Shae, thanks! This is quite smooth for a full Assam and small leaf blend. After seeing the other reviews I only brewed this for 2 minutes. Its still quite tasty and strong even at a short steep, not as malty as I’d like for an Assam but the caramel and mineral notes come through. The second steep isn’t weak, but the flavor seems to be smoothed away; its rather uninteresting. Its not bad for an Assam blend but not something I need in my cupboard.

I got a sample of this Darjeeling BOP Blend in a recent Upton order and this is the closest entry I found so here is my tea note.
This very small leaf expanded a lot in the pot and contributed to the bitterness in the cup. That being said there is a nice nutty flavor at the end of each sip. It is less bitter as it cools, and the last cup from the pot wasn’t bitter at all, it was quite smooth.
Second steep was again bitter and not nutty. Not sure I need a darjeeling that is so finicky to brew.

I like the idea of this tea, blending 4 teas together to meld their flavors. But it just washes out each of the individual tea flavors and what’s left is a rather uninteresting tea. I tried a bit more leaf this morning and while the first steep was a bit mineral, it was smooth and not bitter. Smooth is usually good but I was left hoping for a bit more taste. The second steep was just too weak. I would add it to an order as an afterthought, but I wouldn’t seek this out again.