One of the items I picked was this Game of Thrones sampler. I liked the art and the flavors sounded interesting - lots of spice. The six tins came together in a cardboard box that was also decorated with the art for each flavor along with a general banner, as you can see here with my House Stark mug:
I really like the way the art incorporates the description of each flavor - not all of the fans who make the blends choose to do that, but it's helpful not to have to go look up what's in what. As you can see, I opened these all up and sniffed them; they were all pleasant and all spicy, as the descriptions suggest. I took the picture with the tins partially open so you can see how each tea looks different, which is good - who wants a sampler that's all similar? - and I was surprised by how different the different teas tasted. I'd been worried that they'd all just taste like spice, but they were quite distinct. The way the flavors and art adhere cohesively to thematic elements would make this sampler a nice gift for the Game of Thrones fan in your life who already has all the standard merch.
And now some specific thoughts on two houses and one dragon:
Stark Winterbrew - I love how smoky the scent of this one is, but unfortunately I didn't taste the smoke very much. It is dark and strong, as Stark winter tea should be. It could use some more spice, though - the flavor was a bit flatter than the others.
Lannister Royal Tea - This one gets extra points for the pun, obviously. It's very smooth - the almond helps there - and the spice is more of an undercurrent, as seems appropriate for a refined court tea. (Murdery and incestuous, I guess, but refined.)
Rhaegal's Fire - This is a green tea, but honestly just read as "pleasantly spicy" to me. As a dragon tea should be! The green-ness does make it a bit lighter, which is nice, and as I'm not a huge green tea fan in general I was just as happy that that taste was not dominant.
Next time: Detective teas!
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