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The first thing I notice is the smell of caramel while steeping. My first taste is gingersnap cookies, but I can also taste the cloves as before.

My taste buds are a little off this morning so I hope it doesn’t affect the tea. The cinnamon scone I’m eating tastes bitter and metallic for some reason. I tried a new mouthwash this morning so I’m guessing that’s it, but I’ve never had a mouthwash do this before. The cream I brought must have gotten shaken up in my lunch bag so I had to spoon it out like whipped cream. Still tastes good though, once I get past that annoying metallic taste.

Just read some online reviews and apparently a lot of people have had this same problem with the mouthwash I used. Some say it takes anywhere from 12 hours to 2 weeks for it to go away. Great. Well, the tea is still good. Much better than the scone at least.

I’m down to my last few sachets of this but when I checked the store where I bought this before they no longer carry it. Serious bummer since I’ve grown to love this tea so much. I’m going to have to find it elsewhere or break down and make a purchase from their online store. That could prove dangerous since I will inevitably find others on the website that I want to try. I just made two big tea purchases so my wallet needs a little time to recover first. But I love this tea and have to find it again.

Second Steep
8 ounces water + 195 degrees + 25 minutes

A good second cup even though I was worried about the lower temperature and the longer steep time. It just didn’t seem to be as flavorful based on the look and smell. Seems to have worked out though.

I’m a little disappointed with this one. The dry leaf smelled wonderful, like juicy fruits, but the resulting brew is very light on flavor. I’m not really sure what happened.

Second Steep
8 ounces water + 200 degrees + 10 minutes

The color is darker with this cup and the flavor is much better, though slightly astringent.

Enjoying this with fruit salad and a cinnamon vanilla scone [breakfast!]. The aroma is almost entirely citrus but I can also smell the tart hibiscus. I’ve had this blend for a while so it’s tasting a little dusty to me. This is a sample we received with our last Teavana order so it has some of their rock sugar mixed in. It just barely sweetens it and doesn’t do much for the flavor or to help the tartness. I used a little over 3 teaspoons to finish the sample. I’m guessing with the rock sugar mixed in it probably worked out to be right around Teavana’s recommended serving of 3 Perfectea scoops. I’m adding some honey to this. The honey helps but it’s still tart and now bordering on bitter. It’s not so bad really; not nearly what I am always expecting. My husband loves Youthberry and enjoys Wild Orange Blossom. I’m sure he would enjoy the two mixed together. It would no doubt be cheaper to buy them separately and do the mixing ourselves. As I get nearer to the bottom of the cup, there is some kind of muck floating in the bottom inch or so of liquid. It looks unappetizing but the flavor doesn’t seem to be affected.

The last few times I’ve had mint tea it has come out bitter and unappealing. I remembered this time and steeped at a lower temperature so now it is much better. It’s still not a favorite, but it certainly has a good taste now.

I’ve had a really great day today, very productive and cheery, but since lunch my body has felt sluggish and just off. I thought a detox tea might be just the thing I needed so I tossed a teabag in a cup and here we are. My initial thought is that the tea tastes spiced and indeed there are quite a few spices in here. The ingredient list is quite long. It’s also sweet, probably from the sarsaparilla or licorice. The taste isn’t bad and if it makes me feel a little better then it’s definitely worth it.

I’m down to one, maybe two, servings of this tea so I’ll be making a trip to Teavana soon to restock. It always surprises me how light in color this is but then how full of flavor. At this point, while I appreciate good organic and truly natural flavorings, if this were made from something crazy and unnatural I would probably still drink it because I just love it so much!

Second Steep
8 ounces water + 200 degrees + 6 minutes

The leaves have opened fully now so I don’t think I’ll try a third steep with this one. The color was dark even after 3 minutes, but it didn’t really smell as strong as I would have liked. I let it go for 3 minutes more and I think that did the trick.

This is good but not anything too complex or memorable. It certainly has good flavor, but it’s not something I would go out of my way to purchase.

Second Steep
8 ounces water + 200 degrees

I’m steeping this one more time out of curiosity. I’m not sure it will do much, but I thought I would give it a try. So far, after over 8 minutes, the water is barely even turning any sort of color. I’m not even going to drink this one. It’s not going to work for a second steep.

Oolong isn’t my first choice, but I can appreciate why some enjoy it so much. After having an oolong from Verdant yesterday, I feel better able to give a note on this tea. Between the two, Verdant is the clear winner for me. In comparison, this oolong, while enjoyable, has something of a muted flavor. The roasted qualities are there, but they are off in the background. Perhaps this was the intention. It tastes fruity once it cools to room temperature so I think I would like this one better as a cold brew.