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My first Whispering Pines tea! I chose this in part because I wanted to try the roasted cedar and vanilla bean (and several of the blends with those ingredients were out of stock when I placed my order). This is a really interesting and unique tea. When I first smelled it dry, I couldn’t place any of the flavours, it was just this mysterious earthy boozy deliciousness. Going back after reading the ingredients, I can smell the vanilla and cedar. I’m not sure what saffron smells like, so I can’t tell if it’s there. :)

Brewed, the black tea base takes centre stage, with the various other ingredients adding richness and complexity. It totally does remind me of being out on canoe camping trips: waking up in the morning and stepping out of my tent to breathe the fresh morning air and gaze out over the water.

Tried the black, now for the green. I love how this tea comes so tightly clumped up (as others have said, it looks like an oolong!) and then it expands into these lovely large leaves. The scent is mild and green, and the taste is also mild and green with a smooth, slightly buttery mouthfeel. I’m not sure what to say about this tea – it’s completely pleasant to drink, but I’m not getting much from it besides “green tea”. If the black is like being in a forest, the green is like sitting on top of a mountain, breathing the clean air.

Man, I need to train my palate if I’m going to start reviewing unflavoured teas. I keep wanting to say things like: “It tastes like tea. Yummy tea!”. So, um. Trying for something a bit better than that. I brewed this with 1.5tsp (actually, started with 1tsp and then went back and added 0.5tsp when I read the brewing instructions on this page) in 8oz, and for 5min (the package actually suggested 5-8min, which seemed long to me). Anyway, it brews up into a lovely reddish-brown colour. I find it to be medium-bodied, very smooth and easy to drink – I have absolutely no desire to add milk or sugar, you know? It reminds me a bit of a Darjeeling I have in my cupboard. Ok, I’ve been sipping this while staring at a tea wheel and here’s what I think I can taste: malt, wood/forest, and maybe a slightly grassy fresh hay note? As I finish the cup I’m starting to get a bit of astringency, but I didn’t really notice it that much earlier. I also feel calm, and a little bit sleepy, so I don’t think I’d drink this as a morning pick-me-up. I like it. Off to re-steep now. :)

Mmm, I got this as a sample in my recent shipment fram David’s Tea and I quite like it. The coconut flavour brings a sweetness that blends nicely with the spicy chai. I can definitely taste coconut, and cinnamon, and a bunch of other flavours that are all blending together into “chai spice”. I think it’s the ginger and peppercorn giving it a little bit of extra zip. I’m sure this would be delicious with milk and sugar, but I’m pretty happy right now drinking it plain. I might have to do a head-to-head comparison between this and David’s cinnamon chai rooibos next. :)

I got some of this in my Tea Sparrow box under the old name: Coconut Milky Oolong. The dry tea smells amazing: rich, creamy coconut. Yum. Brewed, the scent mellows down a bit but it still smells delicious. I also enjoyed watching the oolong unfurl as it steeped. :) I was a bit surprised that this was a relatively less-oxidized oolong – there’s definitely a greenish flavour to it that doesn’t quite blend with the coconut. But the coconut flavour itself is light and delicious – not at all artificial – and the overall impression is of creamy, coconutty, yumminess. I have steeped it 3 times so far, and this third steeping has less of the creamy coconut, and is more of a mild greenish tea. It’s still pleasant enough to drink. I think next time I brew this I’ll be more careful about water temperature and aim for a lower steeping temp, to see if that lessens the slight greenish astringency and tips the balance in favour of the coconut.

The scent of the dry tea is interesting. I can’t put my finger on what this smells like. It’s not maple, I think it’s more apple-cinnamon-something else. Brewed, the most prominent taste I get is actually the apple, with a little bit of cinnamon and maple. It’s good, but not overly mapley. I only made one cup of it though, so maybe I just didn’t get any of the maple sugar pieces in my teaspoon? Anyway, I added a bit of maple syrup and that was pretty delicious. This is reasonably tasty, but it’s not blowing my mind or anything.

The tea smells amazing: like spicy pumpkin pie. It didn’t taste right until I added some sugar and milk, and then it tasted pretty good, but I keep getting a weird aftertaste. I think I’ll have to try this one again – maybe I’ll simmer it on the stove with milk and water like the David’s people suggest. In the meantime I might keep the bag next to me and just smell it from time to time. :)

Mmmm, this is yummy. It tastes pretty much the way you you think it should, based on the ingredients: vanilla rooibos, mint, dark chocolate… yep, they’re all there, and they blend together beautifully. It’s rich and comforting. This is a lovely dessert tea already, and I haven’t even added milk or sugar to this cup. I only got a sample (in Amoda Tea’s “Fall Picks Discovery Set”) but I think I’ll have to buy more of this.