484 Tasting Notes

This seems more bitter and less chocolatey than the Ghana Light Roast/Cavalla that I’ve had before, but it also seems a bit richer. It was more like baking chocolate than the milder dark chocolate I prefer It’s best in a blend. I tried it with a bag of Celestial Seasoning’s Roastaroma and some milk and it was bitter, but also quite rich. I also tried it with a Strawberry Rose tea and that was a glorious combination.

Flavors: Bitter, Dark Chocolate

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80

I was feeling adventurous the last time I ordered from Celestial Seasonings so I ordered a box of this. I don’t like coffee (though I love the smell), or chicory; but I do like roasted barley, carob, cinnamon, nutmeg, and anise so I figured it was worth a shot. This is a very strong tea. It’s in the same flavor category as coffee, dark chocolate, and strong black tea but it is definitely it’s own distinct flavor. I could taste the carob, barley and chicory, while the cinnamon and nutmeg are only an accent on the flavor. I didn’t taste the anise at all, so it’s probably just a tiny amount to take the edge off the bitterness. After a bit of experimentation, I decided that I’m not a huge fan of this plain, but it makes a very nice latte, and it’s especially nice with a teaspoon of cocoa powder added to the mix. When I pick up more brewing cocoa, I’ll have to try blending that. I have seen several varieties of “herbal coffee” that have made me curious. Since I like this one, I’ll have to give some other varieties a try.

Flavors: Bitter, Dark Bittersweet, Roasted Barley, Spices

gmathis

I’ve always liked this one but hadn’t considered the cocoa touch! (Now that you mention it, I’ve got some straight-up chicory in my pantry … hmmm…!)

tea-sipper

Hope you are okay. Wondering what is going on with the Here’s Hoping teabox?

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60
drank Spa Day by DAVIDsTEA
484 tasting notes

Sample from TeainSpoons. Thank you!

This tastes mostly of lemongrass, with an additional light fruitiness. The only way I’ve really enjoyed lemongrass in the past is mixed with anise, so this isn’t quite my cup of tea.

Flavors: Fruity, Lemongrass

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85

Sample from Tea Sipper. Thank You!

This definitely lives up to the name! I’m tasting strawberry, pineapple, buttery coconut, and hibiscus. The fruit flavors are candy sweet, which is a nice contrast with the hibiscus, and the coconut is a tiny bit artificial, but overall it’s very good. It’s unusual to find a tea that manages to balance such a large number of flavors while keeping them distinct and complementary. Now that I’ve tasted more of DavidsTea’s selection I may decide to put in an order at some point.

Flavors: Butter, Candy, Coconut, Pineapple, Strawberry, Sweet, Tart

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60

Sample from TeainSpoons. Thank you!

This one tasted like buttered popcorn to me. Not bad, just not what I was expecting!

Flavors: Popcorn

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75
drank Banana Split by DAVIDsTEA
484 tasting notes

Sample from TeainSpoons. Thank you!

Chocolate teas are tricky to get right. Banana teas are also tricky to get right. So, I wasn’t going into this with very high expectations. To my surprise, this is quite good. It has a light, chocolate-banana flavor. There is a bit of a creaminess to it as well, so I understand why they picked the name they did. The rooibos isn’t very noticeable at all, which is a positive thing for me, since I tend not to enjoy rooibos. I would be tempted to make this as a latte, but I imagine it would require a lot of leaf.

Flavors: Chocolate, Creamy, Sweet

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60
drank Ginger Beer by DAVIDsTEA
484 tasting notes

From Tea Sipper. Thank you!

This definitely has a strong flavor of ginger, but while it has a nice spicy kick and a bit of fruitiness, it seems a little lacking in flavor. It’s not as interesting as the plain dried ginger I recently bought. I’ll happily drink it, but won’t spend my money on more.

Flavors: Fruity, Ginger

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75

From Mtchyg. Thank You!

This was the first thing I pulled out of the package Mitch sent me, and it sounded interesting so I decided to give it a try. It is quite a tasty green tea. Smooth and buttery but also quite light, but when I drink a flavored tea I tend to prefer if it’s a bit more flavorful. The Jasmine came through very lightly, and I didn’t taste the tangerine much at all. It was quite pleasant, but didn’t quite live up to it’s name for me.

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85
drank Ginger Snappish by Bigelow
484 tasting notes

My husband found this on sale at the grocery store so he brought a box home for me to try. I like it. I tend to like lemon ginger teas, and this has a sweet cookie note that makes it pleasantly unique.

Flavors: Cookie, Ginger, Lemon, Sweet

gmathis

Can’t wait till this one shows up locally again! I like it year round.

rosebudmelissa

You can buy it online, but you have to buy six boxes at a time.

gmathis

Yeah, 6 boxes is a little much, even for one this good :) (Bigelow’s Eggnogg’n comes out at about the same time—I snap up multiples of that one, too.)

rosebudmelissa

I don’t think I’ve had a chance to try that one.

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25

The licorice root is too strong for my liking. It pretty much overwhelmed all the other flavors, although I did steep it quite a while and it tends to get stronger over time.

Kristal

I found the same thing with this tea. Personally I’d rather drink straight echinacea tea and use throat lozenges as needed.

rosebudmelissa

I agree. I just tried straight Echinacea for the first time and I quite liked it.

Kristal

At the first sign of a cold I start chugging!

rosebudmelissa

Sounds like a good strategy. I’ve been alternating it with peppermint and Lemon Ginger. It definitely seems to be helpful for me.

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Profile

Bio

I drink a lot of herbal tea, and the occasional cup of traditional tea here and there. I enjoy experimenting with my own blends. I also enjoy stories, board games, music, nail polish, philosophy, science, teaching, and faith.

Flavors I like:
Tea (unflavored/dessert blacks, dark, floral or flavored oolongs, jasmine green, unflavored/fruity/floral whites)
Desert (caramel, cheesecake, chocolate, cream, honey, maple, molasses, vanilla)
Spices (allspice, anise, black pepper, cinnamon, cloves, ginger)
Fruit(apple, blueberry, fig, grape, grapefruit, honeydew, lemon, lime, mango, orange, pineapple, plum, raspberry, strawberry, tangerine, watermelon)
Flowers (chamomile, chrysanthemum, hibiscus, jasmine, rose)
Nuts and seeds (coconut, hazelnut, pecan, cashew, sesame)
Grains(barley, rice)
Herbs (dandelion leaf, echinacea, green rooibos, honeybush, mint, rosemary, thyme)
Vegetables (carrot)

Flavors I Dislike: cardamon, elderflower, licorice root, stevia, tulsi; artificial cherry, and almond flavors; bitter smokey, leathery, medicinal, or overly sweet teas

Allergies and Sensitivities: lavender and stevia upset my stomach

I have participated in the Overboard TTB, the Butiki Herbal Blending Box, the Butiki Educational TTB, and the Puerh Beginners Box. I ran the Herbal TTB and the Monthly TTB Club, and am currently running the Herbal and Decaf TTB.

Ratings: I rate teas based not on their objective quality, but on how much I personally liked them. I mostly do this because it’s an easy way to tell at a glance if I’ve tried a tea before and if I’d be interested in buying it. It sometimes takes a while to sort through and find out whether or not I’ve reviewed a tea without rating it.
90-100: Truly excellent tea, will buy again, could drink it every day but might save it for special occasions because it’s just that good, will miss it if it’s not in my cupboard.
75-89: Really good tea, would buy. Might be a solid everyday tea, or something that has a strong appeal but doesn’t quite amaze.
66-74: Good tea, would buy, but will also look for better
50-66: Probably wouldn’t buy this tea, but would drink it if offered
33-49: I will never buy this tea, and would probably even turn it down if it was offered to me.
1-32: I hope to never drink this tea again

I currently have a young baby, so while I’m drinking lots of tea, my activity may be sporadic.

Location

Maryland

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