4127 Tasting Notes
Sipdown! (5 | 134)
Sending this one off as a plain hot cuppa, but let me tell you, it makes an absolutely scrumptious milk tea! I love the roasted chestnut flavor milk teas from Kung Fu, and it tastes quite similar to that. Of course, it’s yummy plain as well, with such a buttery and toasty caramelized chestnut flavor.
Will probably need to reorder some this winter, because I need more of those milk teas in my life! :P
Flavors: Brown Sugar, Buttery, Caramel, Caramelized Sugar, Chestnut, Nuts, Rich, Smooth, Sweet, Toasted
Preparation
Sipdown! (3 | 132)
Yay, so happy to be finishing this off! These big tins from Harney are pretty but so unnecessarily bulky. I’m glad they have since changed this tea to their smaller rectangular sachet tins (though loose leaf would be better…).
This was one of the first gingerbread teas I had that really has a noticeable molasses flavor to it. Compared to other gingerbready teas I’ve tried since, this one is sweet and mild with no discernable ginger spiciness to it. But I think most gingerbread cookies I’ve had haven’t had much spice either, so it’s fitting.
However, it does tend to taste a bit flat to me now, like it needs some of that ginger heat. I think at this point I prefer the Town Meeting fandom blend from Adagio, which has a similar molasses-y gingerbread flavor and extra dried ginger bits. I do still enjoy this one though, which is good considering I still have a mostly-full tin of the very similar Williamsburg Ginger Cake sachets.
Flavors: Brown Sugar, Cookie, Ginger, Gingerbread, Molasses, Smooth, Spices, Sweet, Thin
Preparation
I always need more ginger, so I add it to most chai teas. I like this one for travel as it can be left in a go cup and it won’t get bitter.
Sipdown! (2 | 131)
Getting back to sipping down some of these Murchie’s teas, starting with the teabags.
Mostly sipped this one with oat milk, as the strong maple flavoring holds up well and it’s not the kind of black base I love plain. It’s a nice enough tea, with the same maple as the others I got. Definitely a fake maple, very sweet and buttery, but not over the top.
I think I would choose to order Canada 150 over this one, though I am very curious about their Maple Chai as well… I also want to try their Christmas tea, but am unsure if they will release more holiday teas…
Flavors: Brown Sugar, Butter, Maple, Pancake Syrup, Sweet
Preparation
#OctoberTeas2024 Day 4 – “Pick One Blindfolded”
Looks like I forgot to post Day 3, oops. Today I used my spreadsheet to pick a random tea, and this was the winner! An old favorite from B&B. I really like the mellow floral of the jasmine combined with the refreshing spearmint. Both are a bit sweet, which I think helps tie them together. The base is light but full in mouthfeel, and the whole combination is just so relaxing IMO. Perfect for a little break in the afternoon on a weekday! :)
Flavors: Airy, Cooling, Floral, Fresh, Grass, Hay, Honey, Jasmine, Light, Mineral, Mint, Nectar, Smooth, Spearmint, Sweet, Thick
Preparation
Sipdown! (1 | 130)
Woo, finished off one of my oldest teas! And a nice one, too. By now the spices are quite mellow, but still enjoy the combination of the toasty hojicha with the earthy ginger and aromatic cardamom. I don’t really notice the cacao, but not sure I ever did tbh. Clove is there in the background.
Not sure I would reorder, just because I could easily make a hoji-chai myself, and this didn’t knock my socks off. I do love their Morning Light, however…
Flavors: Cardamom, Clove, Earthy, Ginger, Roasted, Smooth, Spices, Sweet, Toasty, Woody
Preparation
Oooh love the idea of making your own!
I just started drinking this because it is one of my oldest teas as well, hahaha.
@Lexie I’ve been brainstorming and testing blends to make my own herbal advent calendar, so I probably just have blending on my mind ha ha. But this seems like an easy home blend for sure!
@Alita twinning ha ha! Mine was from 12/2020 and it was my last 2020 tea! \o/ Always 3 years behind lmao.
#OctoberTeas2024 Day 2 – “Something Green”
Forgot to post about this yesterday, oops lol. I went for double green, with green tea AND green chile! The regular Green Chile Biscochito is a classic from OBTC, but this version is from my fall subscription box and has their Horchata Rooibos blended in. I love how they blend their own teas together, it’s so interesting and I’m sure it helps a lot with having variety in the subscription year after year.
Anyway, this one is delicious for fall. I don’t taste much of the green chile, which is a shame, but the combination of the anise with the cinnamon and vanilla of the rooibos really pushes the cookie aspect and results in such a cozy, gently spiced brew with a soft licorice note. And since it’s only half red rooibos, it doesn’t taste too rooibos-y for me. Win-win! :)
Flavors: Anise, Cinnamon, Cookie, Licorice, Smooth, Spices, Sweet, Toasty, Vanilla, Woody
Preparation
#OctoberTeas2024 Day 1 – “Chai/Spice”
Doing a fun tea challenge on Instagram for October, so I figured I might as well post the teas here as well! (it’s by @talesnteacups if anyone else is interested in playing along)
Ended up ordering a bag of this one (along with This is Halloween and Trick or Treat) last month as a fun fall tea purchase. I also want Man’s Best Ghost but figured that’s more holiday vibes with the candy canes, so I’ll wait on it.
Anyway, enough rambling (lmao). This is such a nice, cozy tea for autumn. Primarily a gingery chai, but then the sweet apple and rich chestnut add a bit of something special that takes it in a dessert-ier direction. I do wish I tasted the hojicha, but I think it does help lighten the body a bit, which is nice for sipping it neat.
Not an amazing tea by any stretch, but perfect for the season. Also highly recommend Town Meeting in the same series for a similar but more gingerbread-y flavor.
Flavors: Apple, Chestnut, Cinnamon, Clove, Ginger, Gingerbread, Nuts, Smooth, Spices, Sweet, Toasty
Preparation
Another one from the Tea Thoughts fall countdown.
I don’t generally like dancongs, so I wasn’t very excited to see this, but I can see why they named it “breakfast”. It actually reminds me of a fusion of a Fujian black tea with a dancong. It has those savory, chewy notes that I always enjoy in a darker Jin Jun Mei or even an unsmoked lapsang. But it also has some of the floral and fruity character of an oolong.
A nice tea, and one that I was pleasantly surprised to enjoy.
Flavors: Bread, Caraway, Clean, Clear, Floral, Fruity, Nectar, Savory, Smooth, Spring Water, Sweet, Thick, Wheat
Preparation
Cutest little baby brick from the Tea Thoughts fall countdown.
Perfectly lovely tippy Yunnan tea – smooth and satisfying with those trademark bready, malty notes on an earthy base. Apricot and honey are here too, and a smidge of dryness at the tail end that makes me think of the fuzzy skin of an apricot.
Nothing amazing, but a nice Yunnan that made for a pleasant first cup of the day. And such an adorable format!
Flavors: Apricot, Bread, Drying, Earthy, Honey, Malty, Mineral, Savory, Smooth, Stonefruit, Sweet, Woody
Preparation
First one up from the fall subscription box!
Not a lavender lover, but their Banana Bread Coffee Pu Erh is one of my favorites, so that’s encouraging. Luckily, the lavender isn’t super strong here. Seems to be about an equal split between the two teas. I’m not sure how I feel about lavender and coffee together, it’s a bit of an odd combination to me. Maybe if there was more creaminess it would tie them together better. Honestly I’m surprised there’s not more cream flavor given the name.
Not bad, I’ll have to try this one a few more times to decide how I feel about it…
Flavors: Cocoa, Coffee, Earthy, Floral, Herbaceous, Lavender, Medicinal, Roasted, Rooibos, Sweet, Woody
Preparation
That’s got a lot of flavors going on in it! I presume the puer is a ripe product. Could you detect any vanilla-caramel out of it, representing the creme brulee? Is there actually a rooibos ingredient? Or just a flavor note? Maybe your next steeping will reveal furher character!
Aha! I now see that OBTC does list rooibos (twice) as an ingredient in their description.
As bougie as this is (insert hands over face emoji here), I had a lavender latte (with lavender tea) and an espresso shot (plus non dairy milk) recently and it was divine. Granted it was from a fancy coffee shop – all that to say, this sounds like it has potential and the few OB teas I’ve had from your tea sharing have intrigued me with the company in general as well. :)
I assume there is cream or vanilla flavor in the rooibos blend, but I’ve never had it so I couldn’t say.
