2.5 out of 5 Hoagies
Published 2025-09-29
tag(s): #reviews #infusions
You can tell it's been a while, because I have five reviews.
Almost all of them are from iN-TEA, a small store in
Littleton, Colorado. My wife got me a big box for Father's Day back in July, earlier in my
tea journey.
The fact that these were presents matters. I used to get mostly fruity & sweet teas, and a few
varieties of herbals. With the occasional Earl Grey. So the selection in the gift box reflect
that earlier preference.
One my initial objectives when I started treating tea as a hobby, was to try as many "plain",
or "pure" varieties of tea as possible first.
I still enjoy herbal teas, of course. And this box has great teas so far, and one excellent
surprise...that I will review last.
It's not only about click bait (?), I also do that for example, when eating a tasty pastry.
Eat all the sides first and leave the middle portion with jam or custard for last. 🤤
I used to get boxes of Celestial Seasonings teabags once in a while. Like for example, Wild
Berry flavored.
Well, this tea is the upscale version of that. Mmmm I think I am selling it short. It is as
flavorful as those, except that the flavor is more textured. And the tea has a bit more
body.
AND it can be re-steeped (MANY times) for variations in the flavor profile, as the sweetness
subsides.
2.5 out of 5 Hoagies
This is actually a really good tea. The score reflects some of the competition in today's post, being honest.
This was included in the box as a sample gift.
It tasted exactly like an apple pie, so I hated every second of it, and after the first steep
I just let it go.
Now, if you like apple pies, sure, get this tea.
I don't understand what's to like about pies anyway. They rank somewhere in the top 5 of my
culinary disappointments in the US.[1]
Dear America: easy on the cinnamon. Less is sometimes more...
0 out of 0 Hoagies
Not even half.
When I tried this one for the first time, it completely surprised me. It is sweet, but has a
kick of sour/bitter in the back of the sip (but it happens on your tongue, not the
throat or exhale)[2][3].
When I had Maria try it, she explained blackberries have that exact quality in their flavor,
so it would make sense for the tea to represent that. I will pay more attention next time I
eat blackberries...
Because it surprised me, and because it is a "slightly different" kind of sweet/fruity tea,
the score goes up a bit:
3 out of 5 Hoagies
For a palate cleanser[4], let's talk about this one:
I want to try many tea varieties, and I would like to do it by trying "regular folk" tea.
I see it with Yerba Mate, in Amazon or some particular stores. They sell yerba as an organic,
specially treated, premium product. While for us in Argentina, any yerba from the store is
good.[5].
Maybe after a while I go for special varieties or qualities of teas that are more expensive
and delicate.
But I think to really appreciate those, first I need to be familiar with a more "standard"
flavor...for, in this case, Darjeeling.
There's a grocery store in Secaucus that carries a lot of Indian products, including the tea
in the photo above. I would like to think this is what people drink on a random evening. It
doesn't strike as a product aimed at connoisseurs or anything like that.
It is very aromatic. The flavor is less bitter than regular black tea, and flowery. A second
steep unlocks more of a "woodsiness"...and that's about how much I get out of a spoonful of
it. A third steep is almost flavorless.
3.5 out of 5 Hoagies
This one has become a go-to for later afternoons and sometimes evenings.
Where to begin.
The flavor is just perfect. You can taste every ingredient on it. But what I
loved the most about this one is the texture. I swear, it is a creamy tea. I didn't know that
was possible, but...this tea exists. Maria says it is probably because of the coconut.
And it is a tea I've steeped up to four times and it was still flavorful and aromatic.
Although by then it would lose the oily/creamy texture.
I know I will order this marvel of a blend again, and again, and again. Forever.
I LOVE this concoction.
11 out of 5 Hoagies
I started writing this yesterday, just today I read this post by
Manu: Scoring books.
And in this set of reviews, I rated a tea 2.5...I think in a previous post that tea would have
been a 3, but compared to the rest of the post, 3 seemed like that too much.
Is that the correct approach? Would a 3 then mean a tea is fine, and most teas would be a 3? No clue. Half of why I did the score thingy was for the fun of coding it - I didn't think at all of the scale I would use long term, or what it means to have 1 or 5 mini Hoagies.
My conscience is at peace, I wouldn't expect anyone to be swayed to buy a tea just because I
rated it a 4. 🤣
Now...if I rate something too high. Like, I don't know. 11.
Well, then you have to try that tea, while supporting a small business too. 😉