Solstice Custom Five-Tea Loose Leaf Kombucha Tea Blend (8 oz); Handblended Custom Blend of Black, Green, White, Rooibos & Yerba Mate Tea

Updated review 8/20/2020: I decided to give it another try, and I’m glad I did! It tastes exactly like what the description leads you expect: a mild smokiness, and a balanced flavor between bold (assam) and light (oolong). What I really like about this blend (this batch, at least) that I didn’t expect, is a nice, cozy malty layer. I used 2.6 grams (a little less than a tablespoon) with full-boiling water steeped 5 minutes. That’s about the amount in a typical tea bag, but the fuller the leaf, it will need to be brewed a little longer because it has less surface area.This bag contains plenty of full leaf tea, at least at the top (naturally, if you ship it in a bag, there will be more broken pieces that settle). I might suggest the manufacturer inflate the bag with some nitrogen to cushion it during shipping, but for the price, I don’t mind if some gets a little crushed.Prior review, January 2020:I think I got the dregs. (See update!)My favorite way to drink Russian Caravan is sweetened, with a good amount of milk or cream, and a pinch of salt! The milk and salt give it a buttery flavor, and along with the smoke, it brings me old memories of my mornings sipping yak butter tea in the hills of Dharamsala. If the salt sounds weird to you, think of the little bit of salt in hot chocolate. Give it a try sometime!I was so excited at first to find an affordable replacement for my beloved Choice brand Russian Caravan tea. Unfortunately, I was disappointed with this purchase. The smoke was very light, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing, depending on your preference, but too light for my liking. The remaining tea flavor seems very thin to me, even using a generous portion, 2 grams (about two teaspoons) for a mug of tea. Not the bold, hearty brew I’m accustomed to in black tea. Maybe the Choice brand I was used to had more assam and less oolong.The bag I received had an awful lot of crushed leaves, a lot more than I expected from my experience with other loose teas. The particles are not so small that a lot escapes the infuser. It was shipped in a padded envelope, which was probably not adequate protection (fulfilled by Amazon).I noticed that this item has gone out of stock. The Lapsang Souchong by the same company seems to have consistently good reviews, so maybe I just got a bad batch that had been sitting around too long.Update June 2020: The seller, Soulstice Trader, replied immediately to my enquiry and cheerfully refunded my purchase. Great customer service! I am trying to decide whether to take a chance on the Russian Caravan again, or go to the even smokier Lapsang Souchong.

Let me start with this- you're either going to love it, or you're going to hate it. I personally like the smell of wood smoke and smoked foods. If you sharkey tastes you will probably enjoy this. When you open the bag the scent is clearly of wood smoke. In fact the smoke scent overpowers the tea scent. To be clear this isn't the smell of hickory or mesquite that you might be used to. It is the scent of a campfire the next morning after it has burnt out. I suspect that whether or not you're someone who has had fond memories of camping or sitting around a firepit (or fireplace) will affect how much you like this tea. They say scent is a trigger for memories and this tea is an example. The scent of this tea will fill a room. It's not overpowering, but you will definitely notice it.As far as taste goes it will depend on how long you step the tea. I use 1 teaspoon for 2 cups of water and let it steep for 15 minutes. This produces a dark tea with a strong smoky scent. These is definitely a bitterness to the tea that comes from the smoke. You will want to experiment with how long to step it because 15 minutes will be way to long for you. The taste is predominantly smokey up front with the tea flavor slowly coming though. The flavor lingers for quite a while.In conclusion for me personally this is a very enjoyable tea, but it won't be for everyone. Take the caveats into consideration. I wrote with the hope of informing you of what to expect from this unusual tea. If you found my review helpful I would be grateful if you take just a moment to click that helpful button. Have a great day.

I was using Costco green tea for my kombucha and after several batches, had to discard the SCOBY and start over because my kombucha was turning snotty (yeccch!) I switched to this tea and haven't had any problems plus the flavor is outstanding.

I love oolong tea . I have spent 50 to $60 on a bulk bag from the Republic of Tea. That was several years ago so I'm sure it's even more expensive now. I didn't want to spend that much this time around for a tea that I drink everyday. I may have considered it for a special occasion tea. But I drink oolong almost everyday and I like it strong so I don't get two and three brews off of one tea ball full of tea like other folks. I'm lucky if I can get a second brew but usually the second one is way too weak for my tastes . So I decided to try this. I guess I'm no tea Aficionado but since I have invested in some really high-quality brands from Republic of Tea, Serendipitea and other companies and I have tried and can detect the difference between varieties such as Wu Yi, Tai Quan Yin, White Tip, and Milk oolong, I have developed an appreciation and an understanding for the way that I think a good oolong should taste. So, with this tea, it does have that sort of distinct floral quality that you would expect from almost any oolong -- except maybe white tip. I didn't get that floral note from white tip oolong but then I've only tried Serendipitea's white tip oolong and I don't even think they offer it anymore on Amazon. This one has the floral quality but it is not as astringent as some of the other brands I've tried. I think it's the tannins that I'm tasting that produces that slightly astringent quality that I love. Frequent tea drinkers will understand this. I'm not talking about a bitterness. I'm talking about that slight "bite" or astringency that a good quality tea has that just kind of floods your mouth and enhances the flavor of the tea. I'm not getting that from this tea. It's smooth and mellow and has no "bite". That's why I'll give it 4 out of 5 Stars. It's good for an every day tea and it has a great price point. But it's not quite as heavenly as, for instance, a good quality Tai Quan Yin (which is my favorite).