Late night driving sometimes means stopping for tea on the way, and this was a delicious choice.

This purchase felt like a real gamble. I’m not sure I actually like green tea, and while I have had one yummy hojicha latte, that’s not a lot to base a long-lasting purchase on.

Anyway, I like it! It feels like I shouldn’t, because it’s a very unique taste that reminds me of being in a Japanese restaurant more than the teas I usually like, but it’s good and I’m looking forward to drinking more.

I’m not ready to give this full marks (maybe because I don’t actually like caramel corn all that much, so who knows why I felt like I had to have this tea). That said, it’s good and interesting, Elmwood Inn somehow managed to make it taste like its description, and I don’t think I’ll get bored of it.

Not the best chai I’ve ever had, but a nice addition to my morning rotation.

I know it’s a breakfast tea, but this hit the spot yesterday when I was dragging right before an afternoon meeting. Not too strong, just the exact kind of malty flavor I’m trying to experience more of.

This blend felt like a bit of a gamble, but if the flavors are subtle, they are more or less what I would have expected from the branding. A welcome addition to my current lineup.

As a side note, I just want to say how glad I am that I now write these posts because over the weekend, I was trying to remember whether I liked a particular blend, but it was from before I started teablogging, so I had nothing to rely on!

Anyway, this was another good midmorning work tea. I’d gladly drink it again, even if I can’t say I’d notice if I never had it again.

Doesn’t knock one’s socks off, but it was a good mid-morning work tea.

A friend offered me a cup of this when I dropped by to visit briefly. It was good! I’d drink more green tea if it tasted like this!

While I’m in a “reevaluating tea” mood today, I want to confess that this tea is not as mind-blowing as it was when I first discovered it years ago. It’s good, but it’s not Smores or Dubai Chocolate-tier good.

I badmouthed this in my first review, but I’ve since remembered what I like about it even if it isn’t what I expected from a chai, so it deserves a review update.

I got this a while ago, when I was first trying to get into “real” black teas instead of the flavored stuff that’s my favorite.

It’s very strong, so I have had a hard time getting used to it, but I think I finally cracked the right way to steep it, and now I’m not dreading finishing the box.

This is a pretty good apple and cinnamon blend, but having cinnamon in it does not make it a chai, so points off for false advertising. It’s still good even when I borked the steeping this morning, though, so it has that going for it.

Green tea is not usually my favorite, and I think hojicha would take a while to get used to, but even without a bunch of milk, I think I’d enjoy it more than other green teas.

This tea is tasty! The orange flavor is good, and I like the cinnamon more than I might have expected. I am not giving it full marks because I think I’d tire of it quickly, and even though that raises some inconsistencies in my rating system, I’m sticking with it.

It’s not totally what I was hoping for (maybe I’m getting used to the oolong—the last licorice tea I had was just black), but it scratches the itch for a good licorice tea.

Good but not mind blowing!

This would be better except that I steeped it too long, so some of the underlying tea flavor is too strong. It is the kind of chai I like (more pepper and ginger than cinnamon), so I’m going to have to be more careful the next time.

This was pretty good, but I think it would be better if I’d steeped it differently. I don’t get the “one bag per person” instructions and how it differs from “one bag per cup.”

Chamomile is not something I generally like in tea, but the overall combination here works, and it’s a nice “warm me up” blend for a cold day.

Not bad but not my favorite. I liked the recent blend of Kenya and Ceylon tea a lot, and now I’m wondering if what I really liked was the Ceylon. I’m guessing I’ll find out!

One of the first non-herbal teas I tried was a Lady Grey, and I think that biased me toward that approach to Grey-like teas. I’ve had mixed experiences with Earl Greys (sorry, Jean-Luc), and I usually find myself wishing it was a Lady Grey instead.

This Earl Grey was pretty good, though! Not enough to get full marks from me (again, I found myself wishing for more citrus), but I was pleased by how it worked out.

I bought this at a Renaissance Faire in September and had the last of it at lunch today, because it’s a “several cups of tea” kind of day. It’s not as exciting as I hoped when I first bought it, but it’s been a reliable weekend tea for the past few months, and I’ve enjoyed it.

I was pretty excited for this one, and it wasn’t bad, but there wasn’t enough chai flavor and there definitely wasn’t enough vanilla. Maybe I steeped it wrong? Maybe I’m too tired this morning to appreciate it? I don’t know, but I’m tired of giving out “good but not great” ratings and was hoping this would really impress me.

I take my tea without milk or anything else—one of the big reasons I got into tea and not coffee was so I could just steep the tea and be done with things. That has an effect on my tea preferences, though, since I won’t ever have other flavors in the cup.

All of this to say that this is right at the edge of “too strong” for me. Breakfast teas are growing on me: They’re one of the reasons I’m excited about this advent calendar. I do like the malty taste, and alternating sips with spoonfuls of muesli was a good experience. It’s also a flavor I’m growing into, though, and I wonder if I would have liked it more if I’d steeped it differently (or had a single cup/bag instead of my usual two).