• Brand: Bigelow
• Purchased at: Given to me by a coworker
  
• Ingredients: black tea, naturap pumpkin flavores with other natural flavors (soy lecithin), cinnamon, licorice root, clove, ginger, pumpkin flakes
  
• Serve: Hot
• Serving Size: 1 teabag
• contains: caffeine

I opened the bag and smelled pumpkin pie. Pumpkin Pie, fresh out of the oven. It was faint. You had to be RIGHT up close to smell it, but it was sooooo good. Made me want a dollop of whipped cream and a fork, right there.

So I brewed it and sniffed. I smelled the pumpkin pie and the tea, all together. It was an odd mix. I wouldn't call it unpleasant, but it wasn't all that either. I wish they'd made this as an herbal tea or tisane. THAT could be awesome.

So I tasted it and i got - mostly nothing. Like drinking water, but with an undernote of...something. not pumpkin. made me think of grass. or mold. Not happy.

I added a little splenda (1 packet) and tried again. The pumpkin SMELL came out. This smells heavenly now. This time, i tasted tea, with an undercurrent of...well, whatever I tasted before, but it was sweeter, and I could see it as being pumpkin. Maybe. There were similiarities.

I added another packet but it just made it sweeter - didn't really affect the flavor any beyond that. This one tastes ok but isn't fantastic.

3 stars

Republic of Tea Cranberry Blood Orange

• Brand: Republic of Tea
• Purchased at: Coffee Shop in Vancouver, WA
• Ingredients: Fair Trade Certified fine black tea, natural cranberry flavor, orange peels, natural blood orange flavor, and cranberry bits
  
• Serve: Hot
• Serving Size: 1 teabag
• contains: caffeine

The ingredients in this tea make me think of Thanksgiving, so I was excited to begin with. I opened up the bag and smelled cranberry sauce, with some sort of citrus added in. Like a fancy thanksgiving one. More excited.

After I brewed it, I just smelled tea, but I had faith and took a sip. There was a comforting hint of fruitish spice. Think like the flavor of apple cider minus the apples. It was good, but not quite as good as that first smell had promised.

I added one package of splenda and got a bit more spice, but no real fruit. This tastes OK, but it's basically a weak version of Constant Comment.

I added a second packet to see how it came out. It tastes better. More sweet, more spicyness. It doesn't taste like fruit, but it's not so much like Constant Comment either. Mild, mellow spice.

3 stars. Not as awesome as hoped, but pretty alright.
2 bag - better. spicey, sweet. doesn't really taste like cranberry OR orange, but it's pleasant. not as strong a spice as constant comment, but reminiscent of it.

3 stars. This is pretty alright.

Republic of Tea Strawberry Vanilla

• Brand: Republic of Tea
• Purchased at: Coffee Shop in Vancouver, WA
• Ingredients: Organic, Fair Trade Certified Roobios, natural strawberry and vanilla flavors
  
• Serve: Hot
• Serving Size: 1 teabag
• contains: no caffeine

I didn't have very high hopes for this - berry teas always seem too much tea and not enough berry to me. It smelled good when I opened it though - just like strawberry pie Mom used to make. MMM.

So I brewed it and sniffed again. A faint strawberry scent, but nothing major. A sip made me think of warm, lightly flavored water. No strong tea, at least.

I added a touch of sweetener. Ok, a LOT of sweetener. 2 bags of splenda seemed right for this one. It tastes like strawberry bubble gum. JUST like it. Which is an odd taste for tea but I really like it.

4 stars

Republic of Tea Orange Blossom

• Brand: Republic of Tea
• Purchased at: Coffee Shop in Vancouver, WA
• Ingredients: China white tea, natural orange and orange flower flavoring.
• Serve: Hot
• Serving Size: 1 teabag
• contains: caffeinated

The bag, when opened, smelled like musty orange. I was NOT pleased. I brewed it anyway, and sniffed it.

Water? No smell whatsoever. Then I sipped it. bitter tea, that's it. A bit of splenda and...we have tang with a hint of tea.

This stuff's awful.

1 star

Stash Raspberry & White Decaf

• Brand: Stash
  
• Purchased at: someone left an open box in the breakroom
  
• Ingredients: Decaf white tea, raspberry flavor. Contains soy
• Serve: Hot
• Serving Size: 1 teabag
• contains: decaf

Someone left a box of these lying about, and it sounded yummy, so I tried it.

Opening the bag, I smelled tea. Just plain ol ordinary tea. As it brewed, the raspberry came out and it smelled really really yummy. A taste revealed...tea. And maybe a hint of raspberry but too bitter to tell.

Splenda to the rescue! I used one packet, and the raspberry popped on out. It's a very watered-down raspberry, just sorta there as an afterthought. It's not the star of the show, and it doesn't even meld well with the tea. Just there.

I think I would have left it in the break room too. I won't be going back for seconds.

2 stars. Drinkable, but pretty bleh

Tazo Wild Sweet Orange

• Brand: Tazo
  
• Purchased at: a coffee kiosk inside the local hospital
  
• Ingredients: Lemongrass, blackberry leaves, citric acid, rose hips, spearmint, natural flavores, orange peel, safflower, hibiscus flowers, rose petals, natural orange essence, ginger, and licorice root
  
• Serve: Hot
• Serving Size: 1 teabag
• contains: caffeine free

I spotted this little herbal tea when I had to stop off at a hospital. I'd hit up the coffee bar for a smoothie, and decided to pick up a bag of this. I like orange, and despite being a tad concerned about the licorice (ICK!) I decided to try it.

When I opened the bag, I smelled candy. To be specific, orange slices. For those who don't know, they're an orange-flavored gummy type candy that is covered in crystalized sugar. I like them. I considered this a good sign, and brewed myself a cup.

After brewing, I took a little whiff and smelled...orange. Like almost cleaning-chemical strong orange. The companies that make all that orange cleaner stuff must have tried this.

I didn't get any bitterness from tea, but the orange was a little strong for my taste. It didn't taste like it needed sweetner - maybe just some water to weaken it a bit, but I added a little splenda anyway, to see.

It evened out the orange just a touch but made it too sweet for my taste.

Sweeten sparingly, brew for short periods of time, and use extra water. All in all, it's pretty good, and now that I know where the pitfalls are, I think I can enjoy this one a lot.

4 stars. Good, not great. But close.

Republic of Tea Chamomile Lemon

• Brand: The Republic of Tea
  
• Purchased at: a coffee shop in Vancouver, WA
  
• Ingredients: lemon balm, linden flowers, orange blossoms, chamomile, lavender flowers, skullcap, passion flower, and valerian root.
  
• Serve: Hot
• Serving Size: 1 teabag
• contains: caffeine free

A lot of ingredients for a simple tea! I was hoping this would be a lot like the Mighty Leaf Chamomile Citrus I love.

I opened it and sniffed. I smelled....musty. I didn't smell tea, i didn't smell lemon. I smelled...your grandmother's attic. Not unpleasant, just dusty.

I brewed. I sniffed again. A light, delicate chamomile. Very nice. I tasted it and got the flavor of water. That was it. Smelled again - yeah, that's chamomile. Took a slightly larger sip...that MIGHT be some chamomile in there...mostly water.

I added sweetener and tried again. Hint of chamomile was a little stronger but still mostly disappointing.

1 star. waste of brewing time