135 Tasting Notes
This is a terrific, smooth Assam with a buttery caramel and vanilla flavor. The rich caramel predominates but is NOT too sweet. It is a beautifully balanced tea. Even though this is a black tea, there were no sharp edges; just a nice rich Assam. Even the aroma of the tea when I first got it was overwhelming; I could not wait to brew a cup.
Flavors: Butter, Caramel, Vanilla
Preparation
This is a spicy tea with lots of cinnamon. What is off-putting for me, though, is how sweet it is. The amount of sugar in this tea covers up most of the spicy notes. I prefer a chai that I can add a little German rock sugar to so that sweetness doesn’t cover up the tea. I would probably like this without the sugar or the candied ingredients.
Flavors: Cinnamon
The aroma has a strange bottom note; that also translates into an odd flavor in the cup. It must be the mate’. You can clearly taste the hibiscus; as in most Teavana teas, hibiscus is overpowering. I would not call this a raspberry tea as much as a hibiscus-citrus tea.
Will not buy this again.
This is an ok white tea. It does smell enticing and tastes good, but I just don’t want to go out and find more now that its gone. I think the aroma tricks you since the tea doesn’t quite live up to it. One reviewer said it seems out of balance; well, I agree as there seems to be an element missing or out of balance.
I thought this would be a nice change to most of my white teas, to have something with a littl kick. Instead the flavor seems “watered down” when brewed.