Mini Haul of Flavored Teas from Purveyor New Mexico Tea Company, with first "scent-pressions"

Yay! A treat from husband for being a good kitty-kat! (I know, I am strange)

I had not ordered any teas from New Mexico Tea Company for the past two years, and I had not bought ANY flavored teas since before christmas (and I didn't even buy the one flavored tea I got after that time, it was from my mom). I do usually prefer "plain" teas, but sometimes I just want a flavored tea.

I went with mostly 1 oz pouches, I find that to be a good "starting size" for teas, they are easier to store, and much easier to finish.

I HAVE NOT STEEPED ANY OF THESE TEAS YET.
These are just my first impressions of scent.

Below is the entire haul- including the requested free sample.

• Russian Caravan, this one is weird for me, because I am EXTREMELY scared of smoked teas in general, but this one was not as scary seeming, so risked the $2.00 and bought a single ounce. It does not smell near as scary as I thought it would. To me, it smells exactly like smoldering mesquite wood chips after you let the barbeque burn out.

• Black Jasmine Cream is more my style, You all know how I love the Sunflower brand jasmine tea in the friendly yellow tin. This takes it to me, to the next level. It has a vanilla-cream black tea with green tea and jasmine flowers. It smells like my gramma's perfume, sweet and floral with that creamy vanilla coming after, it is a very soothing scent.

•  French Blend, another jasmine and vanilla blend, this time with the inclusion of lavender and rose. This smells like a garden. The musky floral lavender with the smoldery rose, light playful jasmine, Ooh-la-la indeed.

• Essential Lemon is just that, lemon balm, verbena and grass mixed with peppermint, spearmint, and a little hibiscus. I LOVED lemon zinger from celestial seasonings, back in the early-mid 1990s.  Then they must have changed the formula on me, because it just doesn't taste right any more. This smells how lemon zinger used to taste. I hope the flavor lives up to the scent.

• Wild Blackberry is really for husband. He loves everything blackberry, and I thought he might like this one. The smell is like a fresh out of the oven cobbler, with LOTS of fruit, very little goo, and a crispy, golden, pastry top.

• I very rarely get rooibos, I like it, but it's hard to find it in flavors I like well enough to keep on hand. Bourbon Street Vanilla may change that. It has almond slices and it smells like REAL vanilla. I am PICKY about vanilla teas, even "Natural" flavors can sometimes be vanillin, which is made from WOOD PULP. Natural, yes, appetizing, absolutely not. Taste will tell,  and I am hoping this sports real vanilla and not imitation.

• Ginger Cinnamon, how much you smell like winter time, I hope I don't run out of you too fast. I plan to use you in a tea down on the list to make a clove-less masala chai.

• Coconut Black, how well you smell like a certain chocolate covered coconut confection. I hope you taste as good as it does.

• African Summer smells just like orange, lemongrass, and rosehips. I'm hoping the honeybush will be more pronounced in brewing, but if not, I am seeing this as more of a Sicky-Icky day tea

• Vintage Earl Grey, I did not expect to "connect" with the scent of this tea like I did. It must be the rosemary, because my mom has rosemary plants all over her property, and they bloom mid summer, and they get very fragrant at that time.

•  ok, y'all should know by now that I love oolongs. I haven't met one I don't like yet. Yet again, I have never had a flavored one, other than a random ginseng oolong I got as a sample. Orange Blossom smells like a Florida orange grove, mid spring, when the blooming starts. This is one of the four teas I bought more than an ounce of.  Just two ounces total, but still, that's a gamble on something I was not sure of,

• Yes, I do this one homemade all the time with fresh ginger, but a little convenience NEVER hurt anybody. Curiously this Ginger Green is made with chinese sencha, which is kinda interesting.

•  Black Currant, oh how I love the bagged version from Twinings. I hope this is as good as that one, if not, I'd have to go down in quality to get the flavor I want, luckily it smells good enough that my fears are very minimal.

• Cardamom Black, this may be my holy grail morning tea. I DREAM about swimming in oceans of cardamom infused teas. And this is the ONLY one I have found from a vendor I know that has one that doesn't contain any other things. I HATE CLOVES. This, with the ginger/cinnamon allows me to make chai that does not have it. all I would have to do is toss in a few mint leaves from my mint plant while it boils. It smells like spicy exotic perfume, or the spice aisle in an indian market. MINE, NO TOUCHY!!

• And here is my requested free sample, which, I am probably going to make  today, there looks to be enough for one go in my rooster teapot, which is perfect for husband and I, because it fits two matching mugs perfectly. It smells like earl grey and roses, there isn't much to really elaborate on here, I picked it because along with the other 'Grey' blends, I am trying to get over a bad experience I had with badly done starbucks tazo earl grey.

My husband purchased these for me as a gift. They were not provided by anyone outside my family, and I have no affiliation with New Mexico Tea Company.