The taste is so intriguing- it's like coffee when prepared, but it's missing the icky bitter part of coffee that makes it hard to tolerate for me. When I made a cup for a friend of mine, he made an odd face and I asked "Don't you like it?" to which he replied "Oh, I love it- I'm just so confused... it tastes like coffee, but it's tea?". My personal favorite is the Creame Brulee- it's very sweet naturally on its own, and the flavor would make it a wonderful dessert tea.
It's closely followed by the Chocolate Chai- personally I think the chai comes through a little stronger than the chocolate, it gives it this little bit of heat, not spiciness but just a warming feeling and flavor as you drink it- it would truly be awesome in the winter as an alternative to hot chocolates!
Now, the Classic Black- this one I was most apprehensive about, merely because of my dislike for coffee, but really, it's nice! The best thing about the Classic Black, in my opinion, is that it is so versatile! I've experimented with making it, diluting a little with some milk or cream, and then adding flavored syrups like chocolate or vanilla to get a flavored latte experience without paying $5 a cup! You could probably even use this in cooking to substitute for black coffee or prepared espresso, because it certainly does have the right flavor for it.
You can also get at least two, but usually three steeps out of each pouch if you're steeping them- which you can do, by the way, just treat it as a normal teabag and use about half as much water as you normally would, because you want this to be small and strong! So at $11.99 a box, considering you get 18 pods/pouches- that's a minimum of 36 cups! (not "cups" as in the measurement, as I'm not going to make a whole box to measure, but "cups" as in servings which you would presumably drink out of a cup) So even if you're only paying $2-3 per cup of your favorite sweetened cafe drink, it's a massive savings!
In fact, it works out to just over thirty cents a serving. Now, that's not including the milk, cream or other additional things you might prefer, but I doubt anyone could deny the economy of that- and even if you like your espresso super-duper strong and you only use them for one brew apiece, it's about 66 cents per serving. I've never seen a fancy latte or flavored coffee for that price- Have you?
I will say that icing these is a little tricky depending on how you do it- Of course, you can simply pour the finished drink over ice, or preferably those reusable ice "party cubes" to prevent it from getting watered down, but for those who like frozen/slush type drinks the most successful way I've had was making a couple servings, preparing it how I like it, putting it in a container and popping it in the freezer- then every 10-15 minutes or so, giving it a shake. Doing this will result in a thicker slush-type mixture, which can then be put in the blender to smooth it out. It works pretty well, actually! I find that you need to make it a bit stronger if you plan to make it a frozen drink because the coldness will dampen the taste slightly.
Speaking of interesting ways to prepare this delicious hybrid between espresso and tea, well, there are a lot! You can put whipped cream and a bit of sugar in a cup and then pour the prepared espresso over it, pour milk or cream into the espresso and mix it in, and of course since it's your house, you can add your sugar and other flavorings to taste! No need to worry about your barista getting it wrong because you'll be your own barista- and nobody will mind if you sneak a sip to see how you're doing!
Overall, whether you have a fancy espresso machine or not, these are definitely worth getting- I think I'm addicted! I'd like to thank Shangri-La teas for gifting me these products to review, and I can honestly say that by far these are my favorite of any flavored tea I have ever tried- yes, seriously!
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