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This is one I really enjoy so I’m surprised I don’t have a note here for it. The aroma is menthol and peppermint candies – the little pillow-shaped ones that dissolve in your mouth. The peppermint is strong enough that it’s making my eyes burn a bit. Do you know the sensation I’m talking about? Like smelling a really strong essential oil. There is a little artificial sweetener taste there but mostly this is just straight peppermint candy. Such a treat.

The more I drink it, the more I’m picking up on that artificial taste. Maybe it’s licorice instead of a fake sweetener. Yup, just looked it up and there is licorice root. Bummer.

Day 17 of our Advent Tea Swap. From amandastory516.

My first thought when opening this tea was lemon, maybe chocolate. Well, I was kind of close – there are cocoa shells and orange peel. It doesn’t really taste like a chocolate orange to me. Instead, I’m tasting lemon. It’s not exactly fresh lemon, more like bottled lemon juice. Maybe even like a lemon cleaner? Not that it tastes like cleaner, only that it has a very distinct flavor.

Note to Self: This one has hibiscus so no cream next time!

Another old tea, another round of questionable coconut.

I really like this one! I was worried because of the coconut, but it is delicious. I think I’ve always put off drinking this one because of the prominence of the ginger. It can really be overpowering sometimes. It’s not in this blend though. I can taste it and feel the spice but it isn’t too much. It’s really like a nice chai.

Day 16 of our Advent Tea Swap. From amandastory516.

This tea is beautiful! I don’t drink white teas often, so I forget how stunning they can be. The leaves are twisty and fuzzy, with colors ranging from soft and pale celery to dark and brooding umber. There are pieces of bright orange carrot mixed throughout. I’m not necessarily getting the cake or spice, but the carrot is quite noticeable in both flavor and aroma.

I’m still working through some of my older teas and this one was next on my list. I was a little nervous because I noticed this one also had coconut, and after my run-in with Coconut Ice I just wasn’t ready yet for another soapy cup. It tastes just fine though; in fact, it’s really delightful! After reading some of the other reviews, I decided to add a spoonful of condensed milk which turned it a lovely shade of pink. It does taste a lot like Forever Nuts, but I like that one so I’m good with it. This isn’t one I would turn to during the day, but I love it for a nighttime treat. It seems especially festive for the holiday season.

I’m not sure I gave this much of a chance. I normally would have sweetened it after trying it unsweetened first, but it tasted so bad that I just abandoned the cup. I cold brewed this one overnight (probably about 24 hours actually) after reading some reviews that said this was good cold. The liquid was very light but did have an aroma so I tasted it first before adding some sweetener. It tasted like SOAP, just as if I’d stuck a bar right into my mouth. It was awful. I took it to my husband for him to try, to see if maybe I was overreacting. He actually enjoyed it! Not only did he like it, he also picked up on the coconut flavor. I couldn’t believe it. I told him he could have the rest, because I’m not touching it again.

Day 15 of our Advent Tea Swap. From amandastory516.

From the look and smell of the dry leaf, this appears to be a mint black tea. After reading the description on Steepster, however, this is actually a spiced peppermint black/rooibos mix. I’m not getting any spices here, but the mint is very nice. It reminds me of Death Eater by Grimoire Tea which I had a few days ago. Not a strong tea, but solid on the mint flavor. It doesn’t taste specifically like peppermint to me, but I’m enjoying it nonetheless. I also love that this is a decaf black tea that I can enjoy later in the afternoon. I’m trying not to drink caffeine after 3pm so this will be a really good option when I want something other than an herbal.

I’ve been trying to drink down some of our older teas, but I just received my order from Harney & Sons and really wanted to try something new. I absolutely love floral/rose teas, and this one really hits the spot. The rose isn’t overpowering but is obviously present. It reminds me a lot of rose water. It’s just a comforting cup. I think floral teas do that for me, just give me all-over comfort and coziness. I’ll use a couple of teaspoons next time around, to bump the flavor, or maybe combine this with one of the straight teas I ordered. I saw a lot of combinations with this one when I added it to my cupboard.

Day 14 of our Advent Tea Swap. From amandastory516.

I’ve heard of this tea before but didn’t really know what the flavors were meant to be before looking it up here to find that it’s coconut and raspberry. I never would have guessed that from the scent. To me, as weird as this sounds, it smells like mayonnaise and vinegar. Thank goodness that’s not the flavor.

This tea is very light both in color and in flavor, though I did only use one teaspoon so perhaps that’s why. I sweetened it with agave and really that’s all I taste. It still has kind of a sour quality to it, but it doesn’t taste like the sourness of berries. And I definitely don’t get any coconut at all. It’s also just a touch bitter. The reviews on this tea are great so I’m wondering what I did wrong here. I still have plenty left, so I’ll be trying different steeping parameters later on.

EDIT: I’ve added some cream and as it cools I am now tasting the raspberry. Still not my favorite, but it’s much better.

Day 13 of our Advent Tea Swap. From amandastory516.

The description for this tea sounds so interesting – passion fruit, cacao, and cayenne. Not something I’d pick out for myself but I’m curious to try it.

I left this one to steep far longer than I intended, so I’m wondering if that might have something to do with the taste. It’s not exactly bitter, but it’s definitely more dry and the flavors just aren’t coming through. I’m not really sure about the flavor of passion fruit, but I’m not tasting cacao or cayenne either. It reminds me a lot of the Whiskey and Fig tea I had a little while back. A very dry tea with little flavor. I’ll save my rating on this one until I can steep a proper cup. Hopefully the flavors will come through more with a better steep.