Tea Information:

Leaf Type:  Black

Where to Buy:  Blends for Friends

Product Description:

A blend for those who truly appreciate the taste of a great beverage. A bright and diverse infusion of creative characters that are full of flavorsome charm. Enjoying fine top notes and far-flung origins, this lovely combination is the perfect accompaniment to rest, relaxation, and reviews!

Ingredients:

Only the finest quality tea: Sri Lanka Uva Black Tea for bright liquor and fine top notes. Cocoa Shells for flavorsome charm. Orange Blossom for bright character. Rose petals for creative style. With natural Bergamot and Chocolate flavor for great taste.

Taster’s Review:

I have been excited to try this ever since it was made for Jennifer (aka TeaEqualsBliss) and I.  Yes… MADE for US!  That’s the beauty of this company, you simply answer a series of questions about yourself (or about the person you’d like to gift a wonderfully personalized tea), and Blends for Friends will create the blend based upon the responses.

And it arrives ready to give (or to receive, if you’re gifting yourself!)  I didn’t have the opportunity to see the all packaging except through the vivid description provided by Jennifer, but I did get to check out the tin – and it’s beautiful.  I’m a collector of tins and I love this one!  This is a tin that you’ll want to keep refilling (and the price on the refills from Blends for Friends is quite reasonable!)

For the purposes of this review, I had tried this blend on three different occasions and chronicled my thoughts about each tasting.  As Jennifer indicated in her review, it tastes a little different each time it’s prepared, but there are also one notable consistent with each tasting:  specifically, the black tea.  The black tea is a strong, solid yet unimposing presence at every tasting.  It is a rich, delicious tea that enhanced the other flavors, and while it didn’t interfere with the other flavors, it still managed to make its presence known.

The first time I tried it, I tasted the chocolate immediately.  The orange/bergamot tones and the rose were hints of flavor that would emerge every now and then.  During my second tasting, I could taste more of the rose flavor.  This time, the rose and chocolate were almost competing with one another – but not in a bad way! – and were about equal in strength.  One sip would be very rose-y, while the next would be quite chocolate-y.  Both made me smile.  The bergamot was also there, but it was more of a whisper of a presence.  While I do love bergamot (and I often prefer my bergamot to be much stronger), I really appreciate the softness of the bergamot here.  It’s a wondrous kind of flavor, like a happy daydream.

For my third tasting, the chocolate was without a doubt the most prominent flavor, but the bergamot was the flavor that was peeking through more so than the rose.  The rose was there too, but it seemed to take the position that was previously taken by the bergamot for the two previous tasting, being more of a hint of flavor than a strong contender.

All three tastings were quite wonderful and delicious.  What I like best about this blend is that it’s a little different each time that I drink it.  I’m never sure quite what to expect.  This adds to the excitement and anticipation of that first sip, and it really embraces what I’m about as a tea drinker.  As you’ve probably noticed, I drink a lot of tea every day, but I rarely drink the same tea every day.  I like to try different teas (which is probably good since I review teas!)  But what Blends for Friends has managed to do is create a whole blend that is a little different every time I taste it.  They really NAILED what I think SororiTea Sisters is all about, which I think is what Blends for Friends is all about:  creating a perfect blend for the intended drinker (or drinkers).

liberteas

Anne (aka the Mad Tea Artist) has celebrated her 29th birthday for many years now. She lives in the Pacific Northwest with her hubby and her youngest daughter. Her oldest daughter is married and has bestowed Anne with the proud title of "Gramma" and her grandson is about the cutest boy you ever did see. Anne started her journey with tea as a casual drinker and became more serious about her tea drinking when she realized that she couldn't drink coffee. Shortly thereafter, she started becoming obsessed with the beverage and she started creating small-batch, artisan blends of tea that she sold online as LiberTEAS. After a few years, she realized she wasn't cut out to be the sole proprietor of a business so she closed LiberTEAS and started reviewing teas online. She met Jennifer through another blog that they both reviewed for and they decided to start their own review blog. This review blog! Throughout her journey as a tea reviewer, she discovered 52Teas and became enamored with the idea of creating a new tea every week. When the founder of 52Teas decided he wanted to move on, he offered the business to Anne but knowing that she wasn't cut out to be a sole proprietor, she instead offered the company to her oldest daughter who employs her as the Mad Tea Artist for 52Teas!

This post was posted in Black Tea, Earl Grey