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Looks like this tea has been sitting untouched in my cupboard for two years now! Unfortunately it hasn’t gotten any more exciting with age. I cold steeped it overnight in the fridge. It tasted of generic fruity green. I added a little sweetener hoping that might better define the fruit, which cut down on the slight green bite, but really didn’t do much to make the flavors transform. I get a light fruity floral flavor, but nothing very exciting.

TWG teas have been so hit or miss for me. There are a few that I really enjoy, but so many of them strike me as unremarkable.

Another Zhi tea sample I got for Xmas! I’m always impressed with a tea that I can enjoy without any additives. A lot of the time with blacks they have to bitter of a bite, especially malty breakfast teas that I have been loving on so much lately, so I adjust them with cream and sweetener. This tea however is super smooth and creamy on it’s own. The assam and coconut merge so well together that it is hard to tell the two apart. Most coconut teas that I have encountered are green unless it is a mix of many flavors that uses coconut to add something, not be the focal point of the tea. I am enjoying this enough to debate if it should be a staple in my collection, but coconut has tendency to go bad faster than I can finish a bag, so maybe sample sizes are a better route for this. Hmmmm….. tea things to ponder.

I was imagining I wanted some Momoko with cream when I saw this in my cupboard and changed my mind. I had some Tochiotome with cream instead! I enjoy this tea, but I don’t feel it stands out among a sea of strawberry flavored green teas. It is a little candy like in flavor, which isn’t good or bad. I’m not feeling like I need to restock this, but I think I would like to keep a good strawberry green in stock in my cupboard. Luckily cough(not at all because I have a tea hoarding problem) I already have back ups.

I have had the Misfits song London Dungeon stuck in my head since seeing this tea in my cupboard earlier. I love the Misfits. sigh Anyways… tea! I’m getting some of the deeper darker chocolatey notes this time in this tea. I’m still able to pick up the brighter notes that I was referring to as lemon in a previous review. It is a perfect tea for a little cream and sugar. It is reminding me of TWG’s New York Breakfast and I’m wishing I had some of that to compare the two side by side. Unfortunately none of the places I can buy TWG from has both in stock which would make the higher shipping cost more worthwhile.
I’m getting a little bit of malt with the chocolate on the sip. The higher lemony taste comes in and out throughout the sip. I would like to get my hands on more of this someday.

These are old. They have been hiding out in the back of my cupboard while I explore my love affair with black teas. It’s old and it is still putting out a good cup. The jasmine is still lighter, but very smooth. How have I forgotten how much I enjoy a good cup of jasmine tea?!

I’m on my third morning in a row with this tea! I’m either really bored with the expansive options in m cupboard, or this tea is really good. I’m having it with a slightly sweetened soy creamer and it isn’t quite as magical today. I think the sugar really brings this cup up a notch. I have been craving hearty malty breakfast teas lately and can’t seem to remember what my favorites of the past have been. I guess that is one of the downsides of not rating teas. I would consider ordering more of this, but Vansing Distribution Company which has taken over for The Urban Tea Merchant doesn’t have this or London Breakfast in stock. There is only one other tea that I want more of that they have in stock which makes it hard to justify the $9 shipping. Oh the troubles of a tea lover!

Oh god the first sips are bitter! Almost coffee like and with a similar deep color. The bitterness lessens as I sip on, but it never gets to a tastes good level. Cream and sugar to the rescue? OMG, yeeeeeeeeeesss! Cream and sugar changes the game. The bitterness is knocked out. The tea is rich enough that cream and sugar doesn’t take over and the strong taste of tea comes through. With the sweetness of the sugar there is a honey like note that I get that transforms to a tea flavor. This cup is quite enjoyable now! I’m still sometimes surprised by how adding cream or sugar or adjusting brewing techniques can significantly transform some teas! I’ll have to remember this tea when I want a hearty breakfast tea.

I was likely attracted to this tea for the description of mint and berries. I’ve had a couple cups of this hot without exciting results and decided to try cold brewed. I get a lot of green tang, a little fruit flavor behind that and not much else. I’m not feeling it.

I just realized this is my first tea of 2017. I’d better step up my tea game because this is no way to start off a new year!

One of six Zhi samples I got for Xmas! So far I’m feeling a little eh about this one. I like the base which is nice and smooth. I’m not really getting much in the way of rose or vanilla tho. I get a vague floral taste, but nothing that says rose. The scent of the tea while dry is much more interesting than when brewed. Not impressed, but there is time for it to grow on me.

I love flavored gens and I love horchata, so the combo is a winner in my book! The rice and cinnamon together is really great. I was eating cinnamon french toast this morning while sipping on a cup and the cinnamon in the toast overpowered my ability to taste it in the tea, unfortunately. I’m now finishing the cup cold and while a slight green bite comes through in the aftertaste, it is still a tasty cup. I would imagine that adding a little cream would bring out the creaminess found in horchata, but that is only speculation since my cup is now empty.