Zen Tea Ceylon Ratnaupra

Outsides:  This Ceylon Ratnaurpa is just ceylon tea and nothing else.  I brewed a teaspoon of it at near boiling water for 3 minutes and I'd recommend tasting it after 3 minutes to see if you like it and let it steep a few seconds longer if you want a stronger flavor.  The color is kind of a medium reddish brown and it smells very clean and a bit spicy with a note of breakfast tea.

Insides:  First off, this tea is going to be a bit more bitter than other types.  That's just the nature of it and I think the term used for this is a brisk taste.  This has a bit of a bready malty taste to it which reminds me a bit of wheat beer.  The body is less than the Darjeeling but still very full.  This has a nice aftertaste as well, a bit malty and a bit floral but actually sweet compared to the overall bitterness of the tea.

Overall:  It's good, but I'm glad I did this experiment because I found out that Ceylon is not my favorite black tea.  I still recommend getting a sample of something like this just to find out how much you like Ceylon versus other tea.

My Rating:  Try it!

Zen Tea is a Canadian Tea retailer that specializes in mid to high quality tea.

Zen Tea Earl Grey Creme

I've been craving Earl Grey lately, which is strange because I was never really into it before but it's become a regular part of my tea routine.  It's also a bit difficult finding a good earl grey; something that is strong enough to add milk to but not going into the soapy tasting category.  This particular Earl Grey was pretty cheap (50 grams for 2-something with the sale price) and the hint of vanilla sounded interesting.

  

Outsides:  Black tea with bergamont, vanilla and blue flowers.  I have to say, this stuff smells DIVINE!  Citrusy and spicy and sweet!  I brewed a tablespoon and a half in near boiling water for 4 minutes.  The tea is actually lighter than I expected but is that nice Ceylon color with brownish gold tones and smells sweet, spicy and citrusy.  

Insides:  First off, this is too strong for me so I had to add a bit of sugar and milk.  Second off, this is probably the most perfect cup of Earl Grey I have ever had.  The base black tea is very flavorful with little bitterness and a smooth body.  The amount of bergamont makes this tea slightly spicy and slightly citrusy, with a floral undertone here or there, but the thing that really makes this special is the vanilla, which transforms this into a relatively low calorie desert.  It's warm and fresh and uplifting and I am definately buying more of it before this sale ends.  Oh, it's good cold too although I added sugar to mine.

Overall:  I love it.  Seal of approval indeed.

My Rating:  Buy it!

Zen Tea is a Canadian online tea vendor that specializes in mid to high quality tea.  

TasTEA Time! Dilmah Lemon Ceylon

Oh Dilmah, I'm a pretty big fan of you.  You're always top quality and your flavors always come through so nicely.  Plus your farm is ethical and your tea is single origin, meaning you can taste the pureness of Ceylon.  And you have the obligatory Lemon flavor, which is usually overpowering and used to cover up bad tea.  But your staff are professionals, they know how to properly balance the flavors.  Do they?  Let's find out.

Outsides:  Like other products in this line, Dilmah individually wraps its sachets in paper and foil.  The tea is a nice golden color with a lemon scent that smells stronger than natural but isn't as strong as Lemon Pine-Sol.  The best way to describe it is that it smells like a Lemonhead.

Insides:  Here's the thing.  Ceylon is a much stronger tea than green tea, meaning it can take the lemon flavor.  The lemon is still a bit overpowering, but it's tolerable and basically, this is close to what I want in a lemon tea.  It's strong, but isn't just sour or scent, giving off the fullness of citrus flavor.  This would be fantastic cold and I'd actually recommend getting this brand of Dilmah for that purpose.  The tea is strong but not too bitter and the lemon is strong but not overpowering.

Overall:  I recommend this for iced tea.  I mean, people are going crazy for Arnold Palmers so why not this?

My Rating:  Buy it (if you can find it cheap)!  Here's the link:  Dilmah Lemon

TasTEA Time! Dilmah Green Tea with Lemongrass Leaves

Outsides:  A typical individually wrapped foil sachet.  The tea itself is that gold color that ceylon tends to be and it smells like green tea without much of a distinctive lemongrass scent.

Insides:  This really doesn't taste much different than typical green tea except it has a citrus undertone.  I mean, there isn't much to say.  It's ceylon green tea so it has more of a warmth in terms of flavor as opposed to your cheap green tea.  Actually, this is probably what you're drinking when you get the Pure Leaf Iced Green teas.  The base is good, but there really isn't much different than the regular green tea.

Overall:  I got all of the green teas with their flavorings in a sample pack, and I suggest that as the ideal way to get this tea.  It's not bad, just nothing special.

My Rating:  Pass.  Here's the site.

TasTEA Time! Dilmah Caramel

I'm not gonna lie, caramel is my favorite chocolate accessory.  It's not just because it's milk and sugar mixed together, caramel just is one of the ultimate comfort candies.  No, it's not healthy like almonds or doesn't even pretend to be healthy like raspberry filling, it's just pure sweetness.  But I don't review candy and a lot of times, I find cheap teas that attempt to have a desert flavor like this handle it pretty badly.

I thought it was a bit of a risk buying this caramel tea.  For one thing, what's caramel tea supposed to taste like?  Is it already sweetened?  But having tried a few Dilmah products, I was confident that they know what they're doing.

Her Majes-TEA

The Outsides:  Like a lot of their other teas, the sachets were individually packaged with a lovely picture of whatever flavor it is on the front.  The teabags have strings, if that makes any difference to you.  The tea itself is the typical Dilmah Ceylon color, goldish and slightly murky.  It smells great, kinda like some caramelised sugar you made for a sauce.  It's not as perfumy as the fruit, but that's understandable.

The Insides:  A hint of caramel is probably the best way to describe the flavor of this.  The tea itself is not sweetened but you probably would do well adding some sugar and milk.  Personally, I think they got the flavor down but the flavor they used might go better with a different, more muddled tea.  Still, it's Dilmah so the ceylon is nice and crisp, not mega top quality but I've had worse.  And you know what?  I've combined this with the peach Dilmah and strawberry to make some pretty amazing iced tea.

Overall:  I don't think this would have the same appeal as some of the fruit flavored ones in the states, but I recommend people at least to try it out.  It makes a great, low calorie indulgent and if you don't want to drink it plain, add milk or throw in a bag with your next fruit flavored iced tea or add ice cream.  The possibilities are endless!

My Rating:  Buy it!  Here's the site.


Hey guys.  First off, the l

TasTEA Time! Peace tea Imported Ceylon Tea

What:  Cheap tea

Where:  USA

Why Should I Care:  Because it's 99 cents and has real sugar and tea.  Really that's it.  I forgot to make a pot of tea in the morning and made some coffee instead but being the addict that I am, I needed to get some tea from the 7/11 by school.  Peace Tea is particularly nice if only because it is the same price as Arizona but actually has sugar instead of high fructose corn syrup.

Packaging:  It's the same type and size can as Arizona but has more hippies on the front (and sides)

Non-Taste Senses:  Looks like tea and smells like tea

Taste:  I actually like it more than Snapple (which is more expensive).  It's not great, the tea is a bit weak and the clarity of Ceylon doesn't come through that well but it tastes like real tea and it tastes like real sugar (the fake stuff tends to taste a bit more syrup-y and has this weird aftertaste).  It's a touch too sweet but I like my things less sweet than more and it doesn't need watered down like Snapple does.

Overall:  Comparing it to Arizona, this is why Peace Tea is better:
-Real Tea
-Real Sugar
-Funky Can
-Just as big and cheap
So there you go

My Rating:  Buy it!  Here's the site.

TasTEA Time! Dilmah Peach and Lychee Ceylon Tea

What:  LYCHEE

Where:  LYCHEE

Why Should I Care:  LYCHEE.  Oh, and peach too.

Packaging  The one thing I dislike about this whole deal (read the packaging description here for why).

Non-Taste Senses:  Well, it looks like all the other ones but I smell more peach than lychee so I dunno...

Taste:  Oh man, I was scarred for a minute that Dilmah would pull a "pomegranate" (It's a term I made up meaning that a company puts an exotic-sounding fruit flavor on their product in order to entice you, but when you actually taste said fruit-flavored thing, it tastes like a more common fruit.  Pomegranate is one of the most common flavors to do this and most of the time, the juice/tea/snack tastes like strawberry or cherry as opposed to pomegranate).  Anyway, it tastes like pure LYCHEE with a nice, complementary peach taste as well.  What's more, it's a nice strong lychee flavor that doesn't leave me begging for more (flavor, not tea.  I'd always beg for more tea).  Seeing that it's awesome lychee tea, I can't see how it could go wrong with any of the variety of ways you can serve it.

Overall:  What do you think I'm gonna say.  LYCHEE!!!  Not just LYCHEE, but the best LYCHEE I've had thus far.

My Rating:  Buy it!  Here

TasTEA Time! Dilmah Apple Ceylon Tea

What:  Apple-flavored Ceylon Tea

Where:  Sri Lanka

Why Should I Care:  Although apple is a fruit that suits more of the October November December side of the cold season, it's still serves as a nice winter fruit.  That and it's one of my favorite fruits.  I know, I know, I say that about every fruit but Apple is definately on the top 5.

Packaging:  If you've read my Blackcurrant review, I pretty much have the same problems

Non-Taste Senses:  That same light-brown color that I associate with Dilmah Ceylon tea.   It smells apple-y

Taste:  Surprisingly, I don't feel like the apple packs as much of a punch as the other kinds.  Oh, it's good and I think if you want an apple tea without the spices, I'd check it out.  The scent and flavor isn't quite as strong as the blackcurrant, but it's still substantial, would still make a good iced tea and can still be drunk with or without sugar.

Overall:  I like it.  I'd buy it.  You should at least check it out.

My Rating:  Try it!  Here's the site.

TasTEA Time! Dilmah Blackcurrant Ceylon Tea

Right now, I'm gong to review three teas from the same brand.  This isn't something I plan on doing often but I'm almost out of the Blackcurrant and was so excited about the Apple and Peach Lychee that I figured doing a few extra Dilmah reviews won't hurt.

What:  Blackcurrant-flavored Ceylon tea

Where:  Sri Lanka

Why Should I care:  Blackcurrant is honestly pretty exciting.  I mean, I don't get as excited over it as I do with lychee or even mango but it's the quintessential berry in my opinion.  It has this perfect blend of sweet and sour while still being fragrant.  Dilmah also happens to be pretty good with their fruits so here's hoping for the best.

Packaging:  Unfortunately, it's just a cardboard box with a foil pack containing all the tea bags.  If it's good (SPOILER:  it is), then that isn't a problem because you'll just drink all of them but if you're not always in the mood for blackcurrant then you should probably look for a separate container.

Non-Taste Senses:  It has a light brown color with a slight tint of red.  It also smells really strongly of berries.

Taste:  I really freaking love this tea, more than the mango even.  It's just, the berry scent and flavor is so strong and rich and yet you still have that slight tea taste.  It's sweet and tangy and even the slight bitterness complements it.  The tea tastes great with or without sugar, hot or cold and really nice with cookies.

Overall:  Just buy it.  

My Rating:  Buy it!  I don't think you need it at this point but here's the website.

TasTEA Time! Dilman Moroccan Mint Green Tea

What:  Ceylon Green tea with a hint of mint!

Where:  Sri Lanka

Why Should I Care:  I like Dilmah.  Maybe it's because they use pure Ceylon at a slightly higher quality than I'm used to or maybe it's because they say that everything is packaged at the source, but the tea Dilmah produces seems to have a fresher taste with less bitterness than your average tea.  A couple of months ago, I got a varietly pack of their green tea (Natural green tea, Lemongrass, Cinnamon, Ginger and Mint) and I ended up buying a couple more because I liked to tea from it so much.  I'll try to review each of them but for now, I'll review the one that I had the most of, the Moroccan Mint.  

Packaging:  IFWS.  

Non-Taste Senses:  Light, clear and a golden-yellow hue.  It has a light minty scent.

Taste:  It's nice.  Not great, but nice.  The mint flavor isn't too overpowering and is pretty refreshing.  That being said, it's mint tea.  It's not much different than your average brand and what you see is what you get.  It goes well with sugar and would probably be a nice summer drink (especially if you add lime), but it's not something I crave often.

Overall:  This is my least favorite from my Green Tea Variety Pack, which doesn't mean it's bad or even that I don't think it's good.  I think in compairison to the other flavors, it lacks uniqueness.  If you like mint, it's good and is probably a good option for making a refreshing drink for a group of people, but it isn't something I'd go out and buy individually.

My Rating:  Try it!  Here's the site.  

TasTEA Time! Hedley's Royal Pomegranate Green Tea

What:  Cheap Pomegranate Green Tea

Where:  Apparently, Sri Lanka

Why Should I Care:  Well, I love pomegranate.  And this tea boasts that it is "the Finest Tea on Earth" and I just can't stand that.  

Packaging:  What's nice about this is that it's a metal tin with a foil bag containing the tea sachets.  Of course, this isn't so great for the tea sachets but if you buy loose leaf tea, it's nice to use this if you need a spare container.  

Non-Taste Senses:  It's slightly more golden than your average green tea (ceylon is like that) and it smells like pomegranate.

Taste:  Well, it's not the finest tea on Earth but it is a heck of a lot better than the Arizona Pomegranate tea I reviewed.  The tea itself is very light tasting and has very little bitterness.  This allows the light pomegranate flavor to come through nicely.  There's a little bit of tartness but I think that comes from the pomegranate as opposed to the tea and it's not enough to make me squint.  It goes well with sugar but I think it might be better warm than cold due to its lighter flavor.

Overall:  It's pretty cheap and is probably worth the money, but you can probably get better green tea for the same price.  If you like pomegranate, this'll be worth it for you.  

My Rating:  Try it!  Here's the site.  I got this before the product redesign so be warned.  

tasTEA Time! Dilmah Mango

What:  Ceylon Tea with Mango

Where:  Sri Lanka

Why Should I Care:  It's mango-flavored!  Oh sure, I'd prefer a green tea with mango, but it should be delicious, right?  Actually, mango tea suffers the same problem as strawberry tea in that it should be good but people rarely add enough of the fruit so it ends up tasting more like a mango afterthought (which is why I'd prefer green tea since that's generally a bit lighter of a flavor).  Dilmah successfully pulled off Strawberry though, so lets see about Mango.

Packaging:  IFWS

Non-Taste Senses:  It's the typical golden Ceylon color.  Yes, it smells fantastic, like real mango only more pungent.

Taste:  What's really interesting about this tea is that the tea flavor and the mango flavor are both very strong, but they also balance well with each other.  For those of you unfamiliar with Ceylon tea, it generally has a strong, clear taste and a slightly bitter undertone (least it does in this case).  Another thing of note:  Since the mango flavor is so strong, this would be a great tea to drink without sugar and would also be fantastic cold.  It also makes me really want to eat curry.

Overall:  I really like this tea.  If you're looking for a mango tea that honestly delivers on the mango, you should check this out.  It's great for summer, winter, hot, cold, with food or by itself.

My Rating:  Buy it!  Unfortunately, Dilmah doesn't make plain mango anymore.  There's a variety with mango and strawberry but that's it as far as that goes.  I can't imagine that kind being bad though since I gave both the Mango and Strawberry good reviews.

TasTEA Time! Dilmah Ceylon Green Tea

Tommy looks so regal here.  I kinda wish he would stay this way for all his pictures

What:  Green Tea from the Ceylon region

Where:  Sri Lanka

Why Should I Care:  Whether a tea is black or green doesn't depend of what kind of leaves are used but the processes used on them.  Ceylon may be more of a typical European tea but if you just pick and "fry" the leaves, you'll get green tea and probably the kind found in most European brands.  What's more, Dilmah does all the packaging at the site so it should be fresh.

Packaging:  Individually foil-wrapped sachets (from now on, I'm calling this IFWS).

Non-Taste Senses:  It's a little more yellow than your average green tea but it smells nice.  Less grassy and more floral than your average green tea.

Taste:  I'm pretty sure brands like Lipton use Ceylon for their cold-brewed green teas because this tastes almost exactly like what you're getting in that bottle.  It has this hint of floral that when you add sugar to it, tastes like you have honey in there and there is a slight hint of toasty-ness to the tea.  Long story short, it's really good with or without sugar and makes a great iced tea too.

Overall:  I know it's kinda hard to find Dilmah cheap, but here's what I'm going to say to encourage you to buy this.  Let's say you buy a Lipton Pure Leaf Green Tea three times a week.  The cheapest I've seen them here is about $1.50 so that's $4.50 per week for 3 bottles full.  If you can find this for 30 cents per sachet (I found it for 10 cents at Big Lots but we're being hopeful), you'll be paying less than half price for a slightly better quality of tea that is also delicious hot or with a different type of sweetener.

My Rating:  Buy it!  Here's the site, although if you really want to try it then look around other tea outlets.

TasTEA Time! Dilmah Strawberry Ceylon Tea

What:  Strawberry flavored tea

Where:  Sri Lanka

Why Should I Care:  I've seen a good number of teas with strawberry flavoring but for the most part, they don't have that much strawberry flavor. It's kinda sad because everything else that's strawberry is pretty delicious so tea should also be delicious.  Alas, I barely can taste the strawberry most of the time.

Packaging:  All the sachets are individually foil-wrapped.

Non-Taste Senses:  The tea is the typical Ceylon golder than normal tea color and the smell is PHENOMINAL!  If you have an area in your house that smells bad then brew a cup of tea there because this has a strong smell of strawberries.

Taste:  For one thing, I think rinsing has done the trick for Dilmah because I can barely taste any bitterness.  Also, this tea is fantastic.  The strawberry and tea flavors are both well balanced and yes, the strawberry flavor is strong and fragrant.  It takes sugar ok and if you're ok with the tea being a little strong, it makes a good iced tea.

Overall:  I haven't tasted a better Strawberry tea, least for the price I got it.  I highly recommend it for people who love strawberries and black tea.

My Rating:  Buy it!  The site only offers huge quantities for a not so great price, so shop around.  However, the site I used to tell you guys what rinsing is looks awesome!  They even have a free gift with any purchase and although the lychee tea is black tea, it's still lychee!  I'll probably buy some at the end of the month.

TasTEA Time! EnjoyingTea.com's Black Tea Banana

What:  A free sample of black tea and banana

Where:  I don't know where the company is located but the Ceylon is from Sri Lanka

Why Should I Care:  The reason I am reviewing this is because I got a free sample or more accurately, a free sample which i had to pay shipping for.  Four dollars in shipping.  I'm not particularly happy about that especially since the other site I ordered form only cost 1 dollar shipping with a 2 dollar credit for next purchase but it happened and I have to say, they didn't jip me as much as I thought they would.  I got enough tea from them to last me about 4 teapots full (and I have a pretty big teapot), they gave me a 15% off coupon and a nice little reference card for brewing different kinds of tea that includes temperatures, times and a couple tips.

Packaging:  I can't really say much about this since it was a free sample.  It came in a thick envelope with bubble wrap?  The tea itself is loose leaf and came in a nice thick bag but...it was free-ish.

Non-taste Senses:  It's lighter than most of the ceylon tea I've brewed and it has a mild scent with a hint of banana.

Taste:  The tea itself is rather mild.  It still has that Ceylon tea clarity but there isn't really any bitterness.  There's also a nice balance between the tea flavors and the banana flavor.  I wish there was a little more of the banana flavor but it's still pretty strong and it doesn't overpower the tea.  This would make a nice iced tea.

Overall:  I don't know if I'd order this particular tea again but it's not because I don't think it's good.  I've never seen banana flavored tea before, even in fruity ice tea flavors, but I also don't think I personally have the urge to have it.  However, it's a couple weeks until Christmas and the 15% couple would be great for any tea lover (including yourself).  Plus you get some decent tea.

My Rating:  Try it!  Here's the free sample page.  Here's the rest of the website (with a Lychee Jasmine Green Tea that I'm making eyes at).

Edit:  I've decided to bump up the rating to a Buy it! for at least the sample.  Banana black tea is something I've only seen at one other tea site and that one isn't a free sample, it's really good quality tea and for 4 bucks, you get enough to brew about 6 big pots of tea.  Plus, it really goes great with vanilla cookies and cakes or just as a nice iced tea.  I didn't think I'd enjoy it as much as I actually did (cold and with shortbread cookies), but I actually am impressed.

TasTEA Time! Dilmah Premium Ceylon Tea

What:  Ceylon Tea (a type of tea grown in Sri Lanka)

Where:  Sri Lanka

Why Should I Care:  In my Macro and Microeconomics class, we watched a movie about coffee beans and basically how the industry was run.  Companies buy coffee from dozens of companies, mix it all together and sell it for 2000% profit (I'm kinda making that number up, but the truth isn't much different).  I'm guessing tea works pretty much the same way.  Now, when people talk about Ceylon tea or Darjeeling tea, they're talking about regions.  Ceylon refers to Sri Lanka and Dilmah attempts to differentiate itself by talking about how its tea is grown on one big family-owned plantation and the profits are used to better the areas surrounding.  I'm sure it isn't quite as awesome and ethical as it sounds, but it's nice to think that I'm helping more than just the big wigs by buying this.  Plus the owner apparently named the company after his own sons.

Packaging:  Dilmah, like Twinnings, is normally very good about foil-wrapping their tea so that it retains freshness.  However, this was apparently not one of those packages.  The sachets aren't those stupid little bags that attach into pairs but it's pretty much just the cardboard box just protecting them from the elements.

Non-taste Senses:  It's more golden than your average black tea.  There's also a really strong "tea" smell to it that makes me believe in that it'll taste fresher than most black/ceylon tea.

Taste:   This tea seems to have a much "clearer" taste than most black tea.  It's definitely lighter and a bit more on the refreshing side than the comforting side.  Unfortunately, it's also more bitter than those other teas.  Maybe I steeped it too long, but there's a wave of bitterness that hits you after about two seconds into drinking it.  Sugar brings out both the good and the bad although I'm sure this would be delicious iced.

Overall:  If you like Ceylon Tea, you'd probably like this.  It does taste stronger and fresher than your average black tea and I have to give them props for being a widely available, well-known tea that helps the community   Be warned that it's bitter and that sugar will only accentuate that note but if you like your tea unsweetened then go for it.  Also, this one's a bit more expensive if you order online and that ultimately makes me say meh for most people.

My Rating:  Pass (unless you really like ceylon).  I will add that this is my least favorite tea of theirs and the flavors I've tried have been really good and will be reviewed in good time.  Here's the site so you can browse a bit.