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I saw this at my local Meijer. One of the only loose leaf teas that I found there. I have to admit, the name grabbed me. Upon opening, it smelled AMAZING. I kind of wanted to just put it in a bowl, throw some milk on it, and call it cereal. But, I resisted the temptation. As soon as the boiling water hit it, BAM, pink. Huh. Didn’t expect that.

I let it steep for about 7-8 minutes or so. I, like many reviewers, felt that the taste didn’t quite match up to the smell. It was a bit watery and tart. I wanted more nutty creaminess. I mean, it’s there. But it’s waaay under the watery tartness. I kind of have to roll my tongue around in my mouth for those flavors to show up. I can actually taste more nuttiness on the after taste a few minutes after drinking it.

I’m currently doing a second steep, adding honey and milk, and hoping that it makes some of the more desirable flavors pop. Not horrible for a 2.99 clearance buy. But also a bit of a let down after the amazing smell.

Second review. I ended up putting milk and honey in this one and it mellowed out the straight black tea flavor and let a bit of the strawberry banana shine through. It was still a mild background flavor but it was nice enough. Enough for a small uptick in rating.

This is the first strawberry banana tea I have ever tried. The smell both out of the bag and while steeping is really nice, evoking a strawberry banana yogurt. I have to say though that the smell doesn’t translate to the flavor as much. There is a hint of something… slightly fruity? Maybe? But if someone handed it to me and I didn’t know it was suppose to be strawberry banana, I’m not sure I would pick out strawberry banana on flavor alone. Perhaps I will add some milk and honey and see if it helps bring something out.

I first tried this tea with about 1.5 tsp and didn’t get much of an apple or brandy flavor to it. The second time around, I doubled it to about 3 tsp and a mild apple/brandy flavor emerged. I then added a dash of milk and sugar to see what that would do. It highlighted an apple smell nicely but didn’t bring out too much more in terms of flavor.

I can see this being a fine session tea. It isn’t anything that pops out or wows you but it is nice, mild, and has a mild background flavor to it.

Another hit from Whispering Pines. This tea has depth. Honey, malty bread, cocoa and a mild earthiness. It’s very forgiving as well. I accidentally brewed the first steep for almost 5 minutes. My cup was still smooth and delicious with no signs of bitterness or astringency.

A nice caramel apple scent greets you upon first whiff. Very enticing. Upon brewing, the tea tasted a little bitter to me. Perhaps I went too long with 5 minutes. That’s what happens when you have a 3 year old distracting you from your tea drinking ;) I added some cream and sugar and it smoothed it out and a caramel apple flavor stayed. Very nice blend.

This tea is one of the best I’ve ever tried. I’m not exactly an expert on tea but I know quality when I taste it and this is quality. The smell upon steeping, heavenly. Almost like a baking cake with vanilla and chocolate notes. The taste is malty, raisins, with a hint of chocolate undertone. 3 steeps and each one was wonderful.