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Happy fall! It arrived bang on time here with a cold front and welcome gray skies with some much-needed moisture, even if it was barely a drizzle.

I think excitement over the relief from a relentlessly hot summer made the last of this bag taste better—rooibos laced with orange, ginger, and a little vanilla, steeped far longer than recommended—close to 10 minutes instead of four. When it was new last winter, I couldn’t coax any pastry aspect out of it at all, and I couldn’t this time, either, but it was still gently sweet and spicy on a cool evening.

One of our favorite weekend goodies has always been those Pillsbury frosted orange rolls in a can. Savoy has captured the scent perfectly and the flavor pretty doggone close. This morning’s cup was a little heavy on the cinnamon, but I think it was sloppy scooping on my part—I didn’t snag much orange peel in the spoon.

Many, many years ago, when Snapple was just a baby niche market product, they had an unsweetened cranberry tea that my husband loved. The gold standard for all flavored tea as far as he was concerned—nothing has ever measured up properly. Bottled, oversweetened tea won’t do; neither will the chemical-and-hibiscus cocktails some try to pass off as genuine cranberry flavor.

As of this morning, we might have found a close substitute. It’s a beautiful tea replete with real cranberry shards and safflower petals. Wasn’t abusively, tongue-shriveling tart thanks to the safflower, and the fruit was genuinely fruity. Smells a little muffin-y in the cup. I have the leaves from our morning pot steeping in the fridge. We’ll see how it does cold.

After a furlough of several years, Oliver Pluff came to our house yesterday, courtesy of thoughtful husband and our 37th anniversary. Oliver tells me that 15 cases of this lovely Congou were pitched overboard at the Boston Tea Party. Independence is a laudable goal, but oh, what a waste!

The first couple of sips after a four minute steep worried me—even though it was a beautiful roasted mahogany color, I wasn’t getting anything but “just tea.” But allowed to rest for a few minutes, the flavor caught up with the appearance: deep, autumn-fruity, black cherry. You know those old museum-quality still life paintings with urns of fruit against a dark background? This tastes like what those look like.

Another surprise selection from one of the little art shops on the Carthage MO square! This is my first outing with the looseleaf version of Charleston Breakfast. You can catch the subtle, mildly wheaty notes much better when it’s liberated from the bag. Light and smooth, even at a longer steep (4:00 today).

Lifting some text from the label: A long steep is worth the wait for this classy and unique dessert tea! Tart apples, rich walnuts, and sweet marshmallows combine to create a flavor reminiscent of apple cake. Guess how long the recommended steep is: 25 minutes! I thought it might be a misprint, but after checking out the packet contents, which look exactly like the photo, I decided to give it a long bath while I was taking one myself.

It performed exactly as advertised: tart, juicy apple tempered by marshmallow and nuts. We’re still doing the summer-autumn temperature teeter-totter and today tilted toward summer, so a slightly cooler evening cuppa didn’t hurt.

This is going to be a lovely autumn evening beverage, but only for those rare ones when you’re not in a hurry.

This one’s for the Queen. Husband originally found the tin at Tuesday Morning some time ago and thought I’d get a giggle out of the royal warrant. Which I did, and then I discovered why it earned the honor: superbly malty and toasty with enough strength to open one’s eyes of a foggy morning. If the quantity of repeat reviews reflects how much one likes a tea, I haven’t done it justice, but there’s not much to say beyond I love it and I’m saddened to see the bottom of the tin approach.

Forgot I had stashed away a few little TeaMaze treats to tide me over until the next run. I should have been drinking this all summer. It’s a very sweet orange-roo combination that the packet (not the website) says is reminiscent of candy. It is. Remember Creme Savers?

There’s also a discrepancy between the prescribed steep times on the website (3-5 minutes) and my physical packet (8-10). I went 8:30 and it is indeed a cup of creamy goodness that leaves sweetness in your mouth after you swallow.

There aren’t many hugely favorable reviews for this Tazo dessert tea. It’s not my favorite in the line-up, either (Glazed Lemon Loaf is unbeatable). Today’s experience substantiated that—got interrupted at work and didn’t remove the bag promptly. The mate got unpleasantly bitter.

However, I’m not writing it off completely. It can be pleasantly sweet and cookie-like, but needs a little coddling and a little milk.

I had just a little Pecan Pie Pu Erh left, hoarded through warm weather, and as it’s really starting to feel like fall (sorry, ye who still sweltereth), I brought it out for a stroll. It has an absolutely delicious pie crust vibe, and without any additions, a nice little mix of sweet and savory that’s making me smile for no reason.