I'm still making up my mind about this tea. I think I may have over-brewed it slightly. Also, I added a little sugar, but think it may benefit from a little more. Also, I think it might be better cold, but this time I tried it hot.

Regardless, the apple smell isn't quite as strong as I was expecting/hoping, but it's still quite nice. It's like the flavor is *so close* to what I'd really like, but not quite there. I think, perhaps, I'd go for a tea more overtly fruity.

Also, though it's caffeine free, I notice while drinking this tea that my head has a similar reaction as it does to coffee and caffeinated teas. It's not bad, but it's rather strange.

I have a lot of this tea (I bought it with gift cards when it was 75% off, getting 34 ounces for free). I'll be trying it again and perhaps writing a follow up review. Overall, it's worth trying (especially if you can get it on sale), but there are other teas I've enjoyed more.

*Update*: Yep, it's definitely better cold. It actually tastes sweeter cold, which is odd because normally warmth is what brings out sweetness in food. I've noticed this in another tea I had recently too, so maybe it works differently for tea, somehow? Regardless, the not-quite-floral taste and aroma come out better when drinking this tea out of the refrigerator rather than out of the tea pot.

Also, I tried the tea hot a second time and it tasted more delightful. The difference was steep time: 4 minutes is superior to 5 minutes. I may try it even lighter next time and see how that goes.

Update 2: After making this tea numerous times, I've found that making sure you actually scoop up the rooibos and have the apples and cinnamon makes a very positive difference. The flavor is smoother and has more body. Earlier, because the fruit and cinnamon tend to rise to the top of my decent sized container, I had been using too much of them.

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Comments:

Alex Zorach wrote: on January 17th, 2014

Hello and welcome to RateTea! Thank you for your first review, and I look forward to reading more!

I think there can be a lot of ingredients in a tea that influence mind and body other than caffeine. For example, Bigelow Tea's Sweet Dreams herbal blend, which is caffeine-free (and marketed as relaxing), is one that I feel has a noticeable "pick me up" effect, much like drinking a cup of caffeinated tea. I'm not sure why, but it may be that the aroma of the peppermint has an awakening or stimulating effect on me.

I haven't tried this particular blend by Teavana, but looking over the ingredients, it contains chickory and carob, which are sometimes used as coffee substitutes. It also has rooibos in it, and I've heard some people say that they get a headache when drinking rooibos, especially if they're not accustomed to drinking it, so that's another possible explanation.

One problem with Teavana's blends is that they have so many ingredients that if you don't like how you feel after drinking them, it's hard to pinpoint exactly what ingredient or ingredients is responsible.

Brytta Sóþword wrote: on January 19th, 2014

I've actually read somewhere that mint increases alertness and focus (although I have no information about any scientific studies, if any, that back this up).

Thank you very much for the feedback and thank you so much for creating this site. How long has it been up? Are you hoping to ever make a phone app version? I found your site after being very dissatisfied with existing tea apps. (The ones that exist aren't comprehensive enough, have an annoying design, or don't actually allow you to rate teas.)

Best of luck with the site!

Alex Zorach wrote: on January 19th, 2014

Thanks! RateTea has been up since 2009, but originally it was just a small side project back when I was doing statistical consulting. Now I'm working on it nearly full time, and it's grown into something a lot bigger.

I would like to make phone app versions (and you're not the first person who has requested one), but I'm the only one on our team with enough programming and development expertise to do something of this scale, and I don't know anything about phone programming, so it'd be unlikely to happen soon. What will probably happen first is a dedicated mobile layout for the website. I actually use the site frequently on my Android phone, and it's usable, but the layout is not optimized for a mobile device, and improving this would probably be an easier undertaking than making a native app.

Brytta Sóþword wrote: on January 19th, 2014

Cool! I wish I had programming experience so that I could help you out. Alas, I have no such experience (though being a nerd, I'm suddenly wondering how long it would take to develop those skills ... hmmm).

I also have an Android, so I'll have to bookmark this page (though ultimately I prefer doing any significant writing on the computer anyway, simply because it's more efficient and comfortable to do so).

One suggestion I would make for the site is that it'd be cool to be able to put in your location, bring up a list of local tea resources (cafes and tea shops, perhaps some markets that have unique teas), and be able to rate them based on their tea collection, their prices, and their overall atmosphere. It'd be a great way to support local businesses and also encourage people who want to branch out into more varied tea drinking.

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