Great Steepster Freeze of 2020 Review #2 (08/04/20)
So technically it appears the site is back up, but since I know everyone will be madly posting all their tea reviews at once, I’m going to continue to hold off for a few more days (which really isn’t that big of a problem… I write all my tea reviews externally, saved on a document for safe-keeping and backup, and then copy and paste to Steepster which I can do at any time, really). This is the last herbal from my teabox stash, which came from the Discovery Teabox, so thanks to Skysamurai for organizing and all who contributed! Confession: I had never once had a Teavana tea prior to their closing, despite their major “presence” (after all, I live in an area that doesn’t have any “retail” tea shops, chain or independantly owned). When I saw this in the box, I was curious… and the fact it had “Lavender” in the name (as I love floral teas, and lavender is a particular weakness of mine) pretty much sold me.
Brewed up a cup as my evening herbal. The aroma has a bit of a lavender smell, but mostly it smells sweet and caramelly. And… that is pretty much what I’m getting from the flavor, too. There were a lot of things in the infuser (like several whole cardamom pods!) but really all I’m getting in the flavor is a strong rooibos presence, with some notes of wood, honey, caramel, and vanilla, a very sweel caramel flavor, and a more subtle note of the lavender flower that mostly settles a bit on my tongue late in the sip. I’m not getting any of the more interesting ingredients listed (like fig!) or even the cardamom spice, despite the fact I could see it very clearly steeping in the infuser. It’s fine, but mostly just a caramel rooibos (of which I’ve had before) with some lavender flowers added, and the lavender presence still feels a bit weak at that. But it’s probably ridiculously old, so I feel I’m not in a position to judge it too harshly, and I am happy I got the chance to try it (if nothing else, I can now say I have “had Teavana’s tea”).
Thanks to whoever offered up this sample! I’ll certainly enjoy the little bit I have left in evening cuppas.
Flavors: Caramel, Floral, Honey, Lavender, Sweet, Vanilla, Wood
