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THE RUNDOWN
1) Pre-Taste: Got this from a friend (just because) and it smells great. I’ve also never tried honeybush (to my knowledge). I sweetened with honey as directed. No cream though.
2) First Sip: Sweet, peppery, and I’m getting the ginger for sure. The oneybush doesn’t taste tea-like just yet.
3) Second Thought: It’s odd, but it’s ‘red’ I taste. The honey blends right in, but I guess the red is the honeybush. It’s a very similar taste to rooibos really. Only a hint of the citrus comes through.
4) Afterward: I’d like to try this honey sweetened a bit more and iced. But it’s not bad at all. I think I just need to do more with it. And steep it for longer.

THE RUNDOWN
1) Before Tasting: I’m pretty sure I’ve tried this before, but never reviewed here. All in all I’m working through my herbal bags because I want an excuse to go buy something at David’s or Teavana in the Herbal section, so this is the third herbal I’m reviewing this week. I’m getting a stronger Spearmint scent here than anything else, but I don’t think this tea is made with any quality in mind – even Tazo’s Earl Grey is pretty overpowering in the “scent instead of flavor” department. Peppermint is there too, but pretty faint.
2) First Try: And there’s how you know it’s all scent no flavor – the first taste is overpoweringly peppermint! I still don’t get how they accomplish this, but maybe they consider like this: “part of taste is smell, so if we counter the powerful spearmint aroma with a power peppermint taste, they’ll never know how terrible this is!” Yeah.
3) Second Sip: I should mention the mouthfeel is pretty lacking too. Another powerful punch of peppermint, mixed with, yes, my favorite and yours, dustiness. I can’t tell you this enough: dust is ONLY a flavor I taste when drinking filter bag tea. And folks wonder why I’m a whole leaf girl.
4) Afterthought: So, I take it back, there is a mouthfeel, but it’s the dusty flavor. I can’t imagine this would even make a decent blend with something else. Yeah, I do not recommend it and I do not think I would try it again. By the way, if there’s any licorice-flavored tarragon in this bag, I never tasted or smelled it. And I would know licorice, believe me.

THE RUNDOWN
1) Before: Another tea from Tealeaves, hoping it will be as good as the Chamomile I tried last night. Not an overpowering peppermint aroma, so it’s not intensely packed with peppermint oil. The color of the leaves could be confused for green tea, but this is definitely an herbal infusion. Brews pretty dark after recommended brew time of 5 minutes at 212 degrees. I’m also getting subtle hints of menthol and eucalyptus.
2) First Taste: Nice mouthfeel right off the bat, and a cooling aftertaste. It’s a bit menthol-y if I’m going to be fair. Again, much like the chamomile I’m going to wager this is a decent standalone, but might serve better as a blender teabag.
3) Second Sip: I got a bit more peppermint on this sip, but again, it’s a bit subtle and might not be as powerful as their loose equivalent (different blend number but probably the same plant/herbal ingredient). I’m wondering why they make their herbal infusion so weak— maybe it’s a selling point on value? Who knows.
4) After: Would probably trying again, but only to blend with a spearmint or something in the gunpowder green family. But if we’re being honest, this doesn’t bear as much praise as their bagged chamomile. That could stand alone and this…just disappoints.

THE RUNDOWN
1) Before: This is a teabag (which they call a sachet, but it’s not). The tea is also available in loose leaf/herbs/flowers whatever you call it. Obviously the company describes this as having apple notes (and you can always tell what the company wants to give you so all you smell is what they mentioned) but apple is literally the only pre-taste aroma I get. It’s almost not floral at all, but it’s insanely apple. Almost like a mulled cider.
2) First: Okay, I get a little bit more floral with the taste, but still strong apple flavour. I’m surprised they don’t have some sort of apple ingredient. Maybe the Egyptian chamomile is from and area where apples grow? Unlikely, but it’s such immense apple it’s almost un-chamomiley (read: not a word).
3) Second: I get a little bit more of my stevia that time, which admittedly is my own fault for tweaking without tasting additive-free. But I taste the chamomile more also, so perhaps it’s not a strong floral flavour in Egyptian chamomile. Still pretty tasty, but you obviously have to like apple.
4) After: I’d recommend this to anyone who is looking to blend with other floral-turned-fruity tastes, like maybe a honey-infused or a baked good of some type. I’d even recommend it by itself, but as above I would make sure to disclose the strong aple notes first. Not bad and I wonder if it’s more floral as a loose herbal as opposed to a tea bag. Warrants a trial in future perhaps.

THE RUNDOWN
1) Initial Impressions: Full red color and aromatic bush taste make this something I a excited to try. I like Twinings because their Earl Grey is among the few bagged version I don’t hate.
2) First Taste: There’s a bit of saltiness I get first. And earthiness. Not at all what I was expecting.
3) Second Sip: I don’t know if it’s actually salt water in the brewing process or just crappy bags? This is not good. Like…it’s bothering me how much it’s not good.
4) Final Thoughts: This might smell similar to rooibos, but it in No way tastes like it. It’s damn near awful. I doubt it is a dud bag too. Bummer.

THE RUNDOWN
1) Pre-Taste: I love chai that doesn’t have a too-powerful clove smell. There should be more chai then clove. I also like the bright red color, and that’s after 3.5 minutes of steepage. This was a sample taken from a hotel ages ago, so hopefully it hasn’t gone stale.
2) First Taste: I sense all of the seeds and fruits: cardamom, star anise, and the bush rooibos. I also get that earthiness of clay – like red mud. Dirt but clean dirt if that makes sense. I always tend to add ‘dirt’ to reviews of bagged teas. Not surprising.
3) Second Sip: Oddly, I taste more of the black pepper and clove this time around. Odd, but in this caffeine-free blend I’m not missing the actually tea leaves. I thought I would, but it’s nothing I’m really sensing is lacking.
4) Final Thought: There’s definitely something good int he tea, maybe the sweetness. Unfortunately, this wouldn’t be top among my list of recommendations of rooibos chai. Stick with loose for fuller flavor and less confusion in the recipe.

THE RUNDOWN
1) Pre-Taste: Ooh so dark at only 3 minutes of brewing. Intense scent, too. Earthy, with a hint of mud. I like that in my pu-erh.
2) First Sip: Delicate and yet so dark. That’s unusual for pu-erh, especially since it was so fragrant post-brew.
3) Second Sip: Much fuller mouth feel and flavor in the second taste. Definitely taste the earthiness more. I wish I had better descriptive words for earthiness. Like its not a forest earthy but a plantation earthy. Maybe a hill or mountaintop?
4) Final Thought: Definitely a richer soil flavor than other bagged pu-erh teas. The final sips made me think of potting soil a bit too. If you like earthy and want the convenience of a bag instead of loose leaf, you may want to try this tea.

THE RUNDOWN
Not going to do a full rundown because I’ve had this tea before. I just uncovered I still had some in a mason jar in a box full of mugs I’ve ignored for about 2.5 years. Still good, obviously: mason jar.
1) First Taste: I love the smokiness the pinewood adds, but it’s not overbearing (probably because this isn’t the heavy-smoke variety). I get a nice acidity too, but that may be because I brewed dark (5+ min).
2) Long Story Short: If you have never tried a Lapsang, this might be a go to – plus it’s available online if you’re not in the tri-state. They ship ANYWHERE. Maybe I’ll try the full-smoke someday, but for now, this my go-to loose leaf China black tea for any time.

The Rundown
1) Trying this at a friend’s house. Only sweetening with an expired agave but who really cares. It is sweet smelling already so not too much agave. Long thin leaves so use a sachet instead of an infuser IMHO.
2) First taste: very earthy and extremely mild. I don’t like my green tea to be too strong. This makes me happy. Definitely a lot of wet earth smells.
3) Second sip: definitely getting a lot more sweetness. Some pine scents and flavors too. I would definitely buy this as a go-to.

THE RUNDOWN
1) Pre-Sip: The scent of clove is strong, but that’s what you get when whole cloves are infused. I smell a faint cinnamon and cardamon scent as well, but they are overpowered by the intense clove.
2) First Taste: I think I’m tasting green chai, and that’s cool. Never had that before. But again, in such a small amount of tea there were probably 3 or 4 dried cloves. It’s impacting the flavor too much and I’m missing the coconut, the ginger, and the thai chai. Not an unpleasant aftertaste, though I can’t imagine this being a non-winter tea.
3) Second Taste: I got a little ginger that time! This feels like the spices should be spicier though. I wanted to taste this thai chai (I’m begin to love all things Thai so I was excited about that) because of the spice. It’s like a spiced chai, but all spice and very little chai.
4) Final Thought: There’s a lack of sweetness and a overwhelming amount of spice. I wouldn’t recommend this to someone unless they love clove and ginger. But it’s good to try new things.