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Feb 8th '21
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Chai is a hit-or-miss sort of game for me, but this is definitely a hit. The apple flavor makes this chai very autumnal and drinkable. It's mild, approachable and friendly. A good starter chai, something I'd offer to a friend who just came in from shoveling snow outside.
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Feb 3rd '21
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This is a green-lover's green. Whether or not you like this tea is going to depend on if you're at-home with the grassy, vegetal notes of an unflavored green. It's lightly bitter and astringent, and would definitely be brash and off-putting if oversteeped.
Personally, I'm enjoying it, but I'd need to be in the right mood to reach for it again.
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Feb 1st '21
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It's fruity, but very mild. I wasn't particularly impressed with this warm; it fared better iced, but either way it's not the sort of tea I was looking for today--or anytime before summer settles in.
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Jan 29th '21
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One of the frustrations of the communitea packet is that it means sometimes you're lacking an ingredient--for me, today, it was the marshmallow. To compensate, I added milk and diabetic-friendly sweetener of choice.
I tend to lean into milk with my lapsangs, anyway. I love the smoky character they come with, but they need to be used very thoughtfully in blends, because they will take over if given the chance--sadly, that's the case here.
Still, it was an enjoyable tea, and felt like autumn bonfires to me. Would drink again, not planning to buy unless I hear it's been adjusted in ratios.
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Jan 22nd '21
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Hearty, earthy, fruity, layered. This tea is perfect for days when you're feeling a little wistful and want to go live in a cottage in the woods and be like the good witch who picks mushrooms. It's got that vibe to it. Takes sweetener well, probably would take a slosh of milk too. I'm going to buy this tea for myself at some point.
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Jan 18th '21
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This tea makes me want to try more green rooibos, because usually the combination of rooibos or honeybush and fruit (even with other flavors involved) goes really medicinal to me. This, however, was a delightful spicy cup that felt very well-rounded and rich. The ginger was beautifully warming, and peppercorns are one of my favorite additions to a tea.
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Jan 13th '21
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Delicate and relaxing, this tea is a perfect break from a frenetic work day. The white tea is mild, but not completely washed away by the rich blueberry flavor. I think this would be delightful iced, but right now I need the zen of a warm cuppa. And this tea provides just that without complaint.
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Jan 4th '21
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A perfume-y smell, a medicinal taste. Rooibos and fruit tend to be a sign I'm not going to like a thing particularly well--I was unfortunately not surprised by this.
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Jan 3rd '21
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This chai is loud and brash and jangly. It does well when there's milk to mellow, but otherwise is a bit of a harsh tea.
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Dec 24th '20
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Some chai teas are very cinnamon-forward, to the point it's like eating a mouthful of the stuff pure. This chai bucks that trend, a delightfully warming tea with fruity spiced flavors. Ginger and pepper rounded it out nicely, with the coconut and white tea as a solid base.
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Dec 20th '20
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Steeped at 200, then added a good deal of sweetener and milk. Look, today I wasn't in the mood for complexity, and this tea was simply warm, friendly and accommodating. 'Oh, you just wanna relax with something creamy and vanilla-y? That's alright, I am HERE for you!' I'm sure there's a great deal of nuance to this oolong, but for what I wanted today? Perfection.
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Dec 19th '20
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Deliciously sweet, the flavor of the mango peeking out easily under the addition of a bit of sweetener. While I don't have great enthusiasm for honeybush as a thing, this was a good tea that brightened up a gray winter day.
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Dec 19th '20
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Best served chilled! This tea is not nearly as interesting hot; the citrus flavors of the lime flavoring and the lemongrass clash most merrily against the chili when this is room temperature or iced. This tea is spicy! Legitimately, in the capsaicin sense, not like cinnamon and cloves. While it's savory, it takes on sweetener gladly, to enhance the lime notes.
I'd make a pitcher of this in the summer and serve with Mexican food for a treat.
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Dec 17th '20
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This tea is gently warming, with the ginger lingering on the tongue. The green tea base serves as a simple platform on which the spices can sing. The presence of the orange was more implied than felt directly. I agree with the suggestion in another review to let this tea cool a little before sipping; the spices come to life once you're not burning your tongue off.
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Dec 10th '20
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This tea is delicious, with all the warm nutty notes, and less of the medicinal quality that makes rooibos less appealing to me, I added sweetener and took a couple sips, but what really ended up making it sing was the addition of a small pinch of salt, evoking the flavor of a salted caramel and augmenting the sweetness. I often wonder about salting some of the more savory teas instead of sugaring them, but this is the first time I've dared try it out.
While I wouldn't drink this tea every day, it was enjoyable for this morning, a very Thursday tea.
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Dec 8th '20
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I almost feel silly reviewing this tea. Peppermint is such a familiar flavor that I hardly know what to say without being reductive. This tea is minty, it tastes like mint, it has a minty aroma and a minty flavor.
Okay, more thoughtfully, there's the way it relaxes one to drink, the cool sensation it leaves in the mouth that lingers after you swallow a sip, the surprisingly dark color of the tea--all add up to a pleasant experience, and I'm glad to drink it.
It's high-quality mint tea, and most people will come to this knowing if that's what they want or not. I enjoy it, but I find it a little simple on its own, I suppose.
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Dec 6th '20
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Right up front, there's a floral note to this that reminds me vaguely of jasmine, but it's not quite the same. I see other reviewers mentioning honeysuckle, but I don't have the familiarity to place that label on it. Underneath, there's a gentle green note--fresh, not quite grassy, but definitely green. I have this mental image of biting into the leaf of a plant after chewing on the flower.
But, like, in a good way. It's cohesive and relaxing, definitely a cup to savor rather than one to drink while at work trying to churn through a project.
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Dec 5th '20
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A soft, approachable earl grey that takes milk and sweetener graciously, this is a very easygoing earl grey. The vanilla plays well the the bergamot, making a more complex flavor than either alone.
This is the earl grey I'd pull out for a friend who'd never tried it before, as an introduction to bergamot in general.
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Dec 3rd '20
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Note: I sipped this one before adding sweetener and a splash of milk, and found that bitter and miserable, so this review is for the tea once it's doctored.
While no one would mistake this for a cup of cocoa, it is smooth and velvety, conveying the essence of chocolate in all its rich, dark warmth. The tannic tea lingers on the tongue in a way that's pleasant. This is a good cup to sit and enjoy, a Sunday morning tea.
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Dec 1st '20
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Some teas unwrap with a mix of delicate flavors that make you think about them.
This is not one of them. Fiery cinnamon spice is a very in-your-face tea which tastes exactly like it sounds like it would. It's intense; if you don't enjoy being bashed in the face with the flavor of cassia, you're not going to enjoy this. It's pretty one-dimensional. Yes, there are other flavors in it beside cinnamon, but they're all background singers here, supporting that prima donna.
It's good for what it does, and doesn't promise anything more.
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Nov 30th '20
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Coconut is not a flavor I generally reach for in tea. But here, against the light bitterness of the black tea and the...bergamoty bergamot...it's a good mellowing factor, which lends itself to a very pleasant tea which takes a bit of sweetener very graciously--and I'm sure it would do the same with cream or milk if I had any in the fridge. This is a lovely tea that I would serve to guests. Mellow, almost dainty. This is a delight!
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Nov 28th '20
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'That is not the way most tea tastes.' That was my first thought while diving into a cup of this. There's an earthy-woody tone, and something green across the tongue that reminds me vaguely of a eucalyptus note. I was stationed in Sicily, Italy when I was in the Navy, and the roads were lined with eucalyptus trees--that's what the flavor of this tea brings to mind.
I can see where some people are getting grassy, hay notes, though. There's a definite vegetal element, but not the unripe bell pepper vegetal some green teas have given me. It's just...a green flavor.
In all, it's a sipper, not a gulper, even with added sweetener. I think I like it. I also think it confuses me somewhat.
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Nov 23rd '20
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As usual, the medicinal quality of rooibos is the top flavor note, with peach being promised in the scent both dry and brewed, but so mild as to be overshadowed when sipped.
It's not horrible, but it's not an experience I'm seeking to repeat.
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Nov 21st '20
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This is a very pleasant tea. The pu-erh, as usual, is a very mild tea with no tannic bitterness, which means the natural hints of bitterness from the chocolate and orange peel can develop and sing without competing. This tea takes a little bit of sweetener well, developing into something very desserty--this is a great tea for breakfast or after meals, something that feel like an indulgence.
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Nov 20th '20
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Soft, warm, buttery. This tea feels like the younger cousin to some jasmine teas I love, but I'm learning that I prefer a more robust flavor profile over white teas. Still, there's nothing wrong with it--it's a very relaxing and approachable tea, and I bet it'd be as good iced as it is warm. I wouldn't say no if someone offered me a cup by any means, it's just not something I'm going to be purchasing on its own.
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Nov 20th '20
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If the flavor I'm looking for is 'toasty' without being spicy or smoky, then Genmai Cha is what I reach for. There's a warm brown nuttiness to the flavor of this tea that few other teas provide. It pairs well with honey or other sweeteners, and tends to still have some of the usual characteristics of a green tea--that green grassiness, but it's very mellow and tends to be a sideline to the roasty notes the rice provides.
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Nov 19th '20
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This tea is deeply earthy, savory, with a mushroom character to it. It feels like if you added salt and brewed it strong, you could end up with a broth instead of a tea.
...and I kind of absolutely love it. There's not a single bitter, tannic note to it, which makes it really sippable for me. It's complex and a little Splenda brought out a sort of nutty characteristic that was really pleasant. It's a moody tea that is in no way going to be everyone's cuppa, but it's definitely one of my go-tos.
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Nov 18th '20
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Rooibos is not something I'm reaching for of my own accord, but the CommuniTEA box seems determined to find me one I would drink regularly.
This one isn't it.
Someone on the CommuniTEA chat compared the scent of this tea dry to Tang, and that's accurate to my experience. Brewed, this still has the medicinal aspect of rooibos, but with a lingering sweetness from the orange at the end. I almost wonder if this tea might be served by a tart note, something to cut through the sweetness. As is, though, not something I'd reach for again, but worth experiencing.
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Nov 13th '20
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I'm fond of jade snail, though I tend to associate it with springtime and summer rather than autumn (when I received it in the CommuniTEA box). In the bag, it has a mossy/vegetal scent, but that character was understated in the brewed cup.
The experience of drinking this tea is very different from a lot of the flavored teas or blends I tend to flavor. This feels very stripped-back and refined, allowing the character of the tea itself to truly be the star. The sip begins with a nutty note at the tip of the tongue, and as it spreads, there's a slight dryness at the sides of the tongue. Not a heavy bitterness, it's subtle enough to lend character to the tea instead of making it unpleasant (for me).
While I wouldn't drink this every day, personally, it's the sort of thing I would reach for when I'm in the mood to really savor a cup instead of just looking for something warm to drink.
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Nov 10th '20
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Teas like this are why I joined the CommuniTEA. While I didn't know what to expect when the back of the packet simply said 'black tea', the moment I opened it, I was greeted with a sweet aroma, something that approached a sort of fruitiness without being possible to pin down.
I gave this a relatively brief brew, as I tend to with most black tea, and found the flavor beautifully layered, the tea itself a soft butterscotch-y sort of brown. There was no bitterness or astringency, but there was a sort of vague warm brown note--it's not the toastiness I've noted in other teas in the past, more akin to the character of a buttery pastry than a slice of toast.
In all, this is a treat, and not something I would have bought myself, even as a sample, so I'm glad I got the chance to indulge this once.
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Nov 8th '20
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This is a case of YKINMK(ATO) for me. I could take or leave coconut as a flavor in general, when it comes to tea, and this blend centers on it.
Two Splendas were needed to cut through the bitterness up top, because this tea, even with a brief brew, is like the second act of a horror film: it gets dark quickly. If I'd had coconut cream or even regular milk on hand, this might have made a good latte-type drink, but hot without those, it is not for me.
And that's okay, because it might be for you. If you like a punchy dark black tea with mild spice rounded out by coconut and vanilla, try this. If cardamom is more important to you in something spicy than cinnamon and cloves, try this. One of the wonderful things about tea is that we all have different tastes; if this is your tea-soulmate, all power to you.
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Nov 7th '20
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This tea is very polarizing. Either you love it or you think it smells like something's on fire. For me, it's a 'love it', but I do need to sweeten it in order to enjoy. The bitterness of the tea is very up front, and some people might even find it acrid. That said, it is the essence of fall to me, the perfect taste of campfires. If you're not sure if you'll enjoy Lapsang on its own, Bonfire is a blend that brings some lapsang to the table along with peppery notes and a hint of sweetness; if you enjoy the smoky note there, try it here.
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Nov 7th '20
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I'm someone who's tannin-sensitive, so breakfast blends aren't something I reach for regularly. Black tea without flavoring is just asking for a bitter hell. But brewing this and adding a little splenda for sweetness gave me a pleasant surprise. The flavor was rich and hearty without being too astringent and bitter. A few of the other reviews are mentioning a 'malty' note--I'd call it more 'toasty', myself. But not burnt-toast unpleasantness. More like the character that separates a roasted marshmallow from a raw one.
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Nov 5th '20
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A complex, well-rounded green. It feels like the base upon which one could build great things. I'm vaguely familiar with it from an employee blend from my local store a while back, but isolating it and seeing what it was bringing to the table is enlightening.
There's a vague vegetal character to the gunpowder that I don't mind, because it's balanced well by the smoky notes (and a packet of Splenda). As illogical as it sounds, I'm reminded of something like green bell peppers in the 'greenness' of the tea.
Would drink again, will definitely look out for blends containing.
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Nov 4th '20
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I am not generally a rooibos fan, but this is a very approachable one. The apricot is a warm friendly flavor that 'plays nice' with other flavors, making this a sweet delight. I'd reach for this for an iced tea in the summertime, I think.
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Nov 2nd '20
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This is definitely a tea that calls for milk and sweetener, but once it has them, it absolutely sings. The caramel aroma is rich from the beginning, but the tea's prone to a strong bitter tannic flavor.
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