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Thumper’s dad said, if y’can’t say somethin’ nice, don’t say nuthin’ at all.

Okay but if I don’t I’m going to forget why I don’t like this blend, sorry. All berry, no root beer, which in itself isn’t enough for me to dislike it. But oh gosh, the nose on this one. I’ve had better-smelling cough syrup—so chemically! The taste is oookaaaay, just not for me. [internal score: 35ish]

That said, others seem to have had better luck with this one, so maybe I just took too long to dig this one out of my stash? Certainly possible.

Nice name, but in reality utterly unremarkable. Even just walking down the supermarket aisle, there are much better options. [internal score: maybe 62ish.]

creamer: none
sweetener: none

It’s a nice, hearty, black tea.

I’m really persnickety about coconut flavour. I was a bit sceptical upon reading the packet label, but one whiff raised my expectations. I was pleasantly surprised by the balanced aromas of coconut, bergamot, and black tea. And! The steep didn’t disappoint! The flavour is equally balanced and so, so good! Deserving of all the exclamation points! Very forgiving steep, good at any temperature. I have maybe three servings left. I’ll be very sad to see the packet empty, but to my credit I didn’t expect to last more than a day. Two! It’ll have lasted two days! Maybe 1.5.

creamer: none
sweetener: sugar

Wh… Wha… What sorcery is this‽ One, I didn’t know root beer and black tea would be such an amazing combination. Two, I didn’t know until I tasted this that I needed tea in my life that smells and tastes exactly like root beer. How‽ Just amazing, honestly.

If I’d had more, I would’ve tried it iced. And if I’d had more more, I would’ve tried it iced, carbonated, and sweetened with actual root beer. That would’ve been a fun experiment.

creamer: none
sweetener: sugar

P.S. I wanted to enter “heaven” in the “what flavours and scents do you notice?” field, but it wasn’t an option.

I love banana and wanted to like this a lot more than I did. Decent black-tea base, but the banana flavour didn’t taste real ‘n’ proper to me. And it got bitter really quickly. Full disclosure, though: I haven’t the slightest idea how long this packet has been sitting in my stash; it’s entirely possible that it’s past its best-by date.

creamer: none
sweetener: sugar
caution: Drink quickly, prone to bitterness.

Good but not great. Kind of cheesecakey in fragrance, but sort of generally dessert-like in flavour. [internal score: 65ish.]

creamer: none
sweetener: sugar

Do you like floral teas? I do. But I’m used to single-flower blends, like just jasmine or just rose. Here we have a mini bouquet, and it’s gorgeous. I could easily drink this by the litre. The flavours are so complementary and smooth and not perfumey. It’s also a forgiving steep, delicious at any temperature.

creamer: none
sweetener:
– first serving: none
– second serving: a bit of rooh afza (rose-flavoured syrup)
– third serving: I didn’t get that far—Mum stole the rest of the packet!

I like bold flavours, and the apple in this blend is barely perceptible (more noticeable in fragrance than flavour). But I also don’t love strong apple teas, because they taste like hot apple juice, so I’d probably complain about a stronger apple presence, too. Let’s all feel bad for this blend: poor thing, there’s just no winning with me. [internal score: 60ish.]

creamer: none
sweetener: none

I’ve learned that it’s safe to trust 52teas and now try all their teas in my stash, even if I don’t love some of their ingredients. Case in point, this grapefruit green tea. I don’t love grapefruit—but it occurs to me that I actually do like the flavour, I just don’t like the bit of bitterness it has more frequently than not. Here, we’ve got the lovely lightness and brightness of green tea, and the liveliness of grapefruit, without any of the bitterness. It’s fantastic.

creamer: none
sweetener: none
cautions: Drink hot. It got really bitter when it cooled.