All The Raj

I am finally able to dig into my samples from Krystaleyn! Took me long enough, and I feel a bit guilty for waiting, but I was separated from my stash this weekend and this is the first chance I’ve really had to drink any of my teas. This is also one I’ve been meaning to try for a long time—I opted for Three Wishes in my first DAVIDsTEA order over this one, but since that turned out to be not so floral I’ve had plans to pick some up. But the reviews seem…. well, awful, so I’m thrilled that I have the chance to try it out first.

Well, apparently I have odd taste in tea, because I LOVE this. It’s the most heavily rosy blend I’ve had, but I adore rose so that is definitely a huge plus. It’s mostly all rose: there’s a hint of sourness from the rosehips which balances out the perfumey notes well, and then the fennel and licorice kick in. It seems like licorice is a big nope for many people, but I like it… then again, black jelly beans are some of my favorite, so it’s no surprise that I like a hint of it in tea as well. This is so close to what I wanted Three Wishes to be—I think I might blend the last of my sample with some jasmine. Either way, this is definitely going to make it into my cupboard!

Dunno where to start with this one!! I’ve had it in my cupboard for so long… I think I was hiding from it? The reviews are so polarized that I was worried about being poisoned by perfume haha.
But ya know what, it wasn’t half bad. I fully expected to be tossing the rest of my packet (one serving left! Mucho thanks to whomever sent this my way)
So you could say that I am pleasantly surprised. And eager to make my last cuppa iced!
Now, starting off with the negative points, it is a tad soapy and peppery, when hot… except as it cools, I’m getting a citrus and caramel association more than suds. Hence, why I think this will go better iced.
Oh! also, I went with a really short steep. Two minutes I think? so I may get a second one out of it to!

Dry Leaf Nose: Floral, with a hint of chili.

Liquor: Rosy-red liquor, with a very aromatic, floral nose.

Flavour: Playful notes of rose, coconut and fennel, skillfully blended with top notes of chilli.

Cold brewed for 10 hours. At first sniff I was a little put off. Don’t ask me why I was expecting it to be fruity and instead it smells like old lady perfume. Thankfully, it tastes a little better than it smells. Brews into a nice, light pink. The predominant taste is definitely roses, which isn’t as weird as I thought it would be. It’s a nice sweet tang that sits lightly on the tongue. I don’t love it, but I wouldn’t turn down a cup if someone offered it to me.

someone on here said that this tea tastes like “rose-scented shampoo and panda licorice” which i found hilarious and i kinda agree. but i also kinda like it! haha! (yum soap)
it’s unique. and since i’ve really started to drink more and more tea, i’m realizing that unique vs delicious is a great way to test your palate and keep things interesting. (especially since i only drink herbal tea)
we’ll see how i feel about it later. i rarely trust my first impression.

http://instagram.com/p/Sn9GDWocwU/

ICED! not my favorite of my iced tea experiment. i will probably keep drinking this one hot and leave the iced teas to my others. i mean knowing me i WILL drink it iced again in the future. it’s light and delicate in flavor. refreshing for sure. but not like outta control delicious or anything.

I…I don’t even know.

I honestly don’t. The dry smell is amazing as in it’s something I want to sniff all day, but not necessarily something I want to drink.

I don’t like overly floral teas. Well, I usually don’t. Jasmine and other floral teas just taste like perfume to me, but this…this is a lovely balance. The more I drink of it, the more I like it. Hrmm.

At this point it’s been sitting out for so long that it’s cold, but I think I prefer it that way. I am enjoying the way the different flavors mix. The floral rose combining with the creamy coconut and licorice and the way the chili just gives a hint of heat on the back of my tongue…this may be a good summer tea for me.

I reached for this as my stomach was giving me trouble and it has fennel in it. It did help my tummy, for what it’s worth, and it has had a bit of a calming effect, so shrugs who knows.

I’m going to try and finish the rest of my 10 grams, but I don’t think this is a restock for me. However, I might get more just to use a potpourri! I love the smell of it! But the enjoyment of this cup is quickly fading.

I had such high hopes for this one, it sounds fantastic, and it smells fantastic in dry leaf form… but I don’t know whether it was the water temp or the steep time or the lack of sweetener… but sadly this one fell very very flat for me.

It wasn’t so terrible when it was really hot, but the moment it started to cool down it turned bitter and changed in flavour. While I love the scent of rose… I’m not entirely sure I love the taste, and there is a lot of rose in this one. I didn’t notice at all any of the calming effects of this one either which was dissappointing.

I might give it another go as a cup to-go… but I won’t be looking for any of this for my tea shelves!

1.5 tsp for 250 mL water.

Meh. Smells and looks lovely — I like roses — but the rosehip is so sour … almost like vinegar. That note ruins the whole experience for me. Could detect no coconut at all; in fact, I was surprised to find it on the ingredient list.

Rating: 20.

Ok so i bought a sampling of all of the new Ayurveda line to try them.

Dry leaves smell like pickles, roses and spices…..weird i hope i won’t hate this…

steeped all i get is licorice, pickles and roses the liqueur is a tangy orange color

Time to taste: Wish me luck…. wow i’ve never GAGGED when drinking a tea….this is bad tastes exactly as it smells, pickles licorice to the power of ten and then roses, maybe the second sip will be better…ok no gag reflex this time, it also leaves a sweet note on the tongue but i will not take a third sip this tea is terrible.

. . . ew.

It tastes like rose-scented shampoo and panda licorice. Neither of those are good things. There are very few teas where I can’t even finish one cup.