4088 Tasting Notes

Sipdown! (39 | 105)

Not my favorite from this quarter’s box. I like the fruit flavors and the white tea well enough, but the rooibos comes in and ruins it for me. To be fair, I never like fruity and especially berry flavored rooibos, as it tastes so medicinal to me. There’s definitely some of that going on here, though the hibiscus does help to temper it a bit. Interesting that it has a smooth vanilla finish as well, which is an odd pairing with hibiscus.

Not bad, but not a favorite.

Flavors: Berry, Blueberry, Creamy, Custard, Fruity, Hibiscus, Medicinal, Rooibos, Strawberry, Sweet, Tart, Vanilla, Woody

Preparation
185 °F / 85 °C 3 min, 0 sec 2 tsp 12 OZ / 354 ML

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60
drank Kiwi Krush by Tealyra
4088 tasting notes

Sipdown! (38 | 104)

Not my favorite from Tealyra. I didn’t get any kiwi, mostly this tasted like a combination of pineapple gummy bears and bubblegum. I added a palmful of hibiscus flowers to the last bottleful, which did help it taste a bit less cloying. But still, too artificial and candylike for me.

Flavors: Artificial, Bubblegum, Candy, Pineapple, Sugar, Sweet

Preparation
Iced 8 min or more 25 g 34 OZ / 1000 ML

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Sipdown! (37 | 103)

This was the only fruit tisane from Harney that I hadn’t tried, so I figured I’d pick up a tin when I was reordering the other flavors.

Sadly, I don’t enjoy it as much as the others. I think it must be the blueberry flavoring that’s giving me a powdery note, which I sometimes get with mixed berry teas. It reminds me a bit of Smarties, and not in a good way. Not to say it’s bad, as I did finish the whole tin over the course of 4 or 5 cold-steeped bottles, it’s just not as nice as the others (IMO). Pretty tin though!

Flavors: Artificial, Berry, Blue Raspberry, Blueberry, Candy, Chalk, Fruity, Powdery, Raspberry, Sweet, Tangy, Tart

Preparation
Iced 8 min or more 20 g 25 OZ / 750 ML

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85
drank Tropical Breeze by Tealyra
4088 tasting notes

Sipdown! (36 | 102)

Finished off a 100g pouch of this one, cold-steeped. Definitely high on my list of favorite cold teas, it has a nice sour cherry sort of flavor without being too tart (and with no hibiscus actually). There is coconut, but thankfully I don’t really taste it. Mostly just a nice sweet and tangy Jolly Rancher sort of cherry flavor mixed with apple.

Definitely plan to reorder this one, and a few other winners from Tealyra.

Flavors: Apple, Candy, Cherry, Coconut, Fruity, Juicy, Sweet, Tangy, Tart

Preparation
Iced 8 min or more 25 g 34 OZ / 1000 ML
AJRimmer

I’ve gotten this tea from several different companies, and it’s one I never mind to see!

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82

Sipdown! (35 | 101)

Really enjoyed this one, it’s probably my favorite of the teas I ordered from Murchie’s. A bit like Harney’s Paris, except I actually like this one. It has a nice combination of rich and jammy black currant with a swirl of whipped cream and a touch of refreshing bergamot.

Definitely on my list to reorder! I’m sure the loose leaf version will be even better.

Flavors: Bergamot, Berry, Black Currant, Citrus, Creamy, Jam, Lemon, Milk, Smooth, Sweet, Syrupy, Whipped Cream

Preparation
200 °F / 93 °C 2 min, 0 sec 16 OZ / 473 ML

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80

Another sample tin I picked up just because I hadn’t tried it, and a lot of the other blends in this series are very good.

This is definitely better than Sandy Claws, and actually a bit similar in that it also has a chocolate mint vibe. But here, there’s no strawberry, and there’s a mocha-flavored yerba mate, so it ends up tasting like a peppermint mocha. Fairly well-balanced between coffee, chocolate, and peppermint. I could do without the chocolate chips, which always leave that gross oil slick on top of my mug.

It’s a bit like a lesser (IMO) version of my favorite Winter Cabin from Old Barrel. If I didn’t love that one so much, I would maybe consider reordering this. Alas, it simply cannot compare! :P

Flavors: Chocolate, Coffee, Earthy, Mint, Mocha, Peppermint, Roasted, Sweet, Toasty

Preparation
200 °F / 93 °C 3 min, 0 sec 3 tsp 16 OZ / 473 ML

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Picked up a sample of this one and Scary Christmas, as they were the only two from the Nightmare Before Christmas fandom set that I hadn’t tried yet. They’re both chocolate teas, which is why I left them out of my initial sampling, not being a fan of chocolate flavoring.

This tastes less weird than it sounds. It’s a mix of chocolate mint rooibos, strawberry black tea, and hazelnut berry puerh. I’m not generally a big fan of mint with berries, especially in tea, where the mint is generally much stronger than it would be in, say, a fruit salad with a bit of mint added in. But this is mostly chocolate to me, like a Tootsie Roll with a bit of mint in it. I do get a touch of the strawberry, but mostly it’s fake chocolate and mint.

Fine, but not my preference.

Flavors: Alcohol, Artificial, Candy, Chocolate, Menthol, Mint, Peppermint, Strawberry, Sweet

Preparation
200 °F / 93 °C 3 min, 0 sec 3 tsp 16 OZ / 473 ML
Sofia Vaz

the idea of a rooibos and mint concoction absolutely turns my stomach…. yuck

MadHatterTeaReview

You lost me at “Tootsie Roll with mint.”

"Youngest"

This sounds diabolical

Cameron B.

LMAO it’s so funny how everyone is disgusted by the idea of this tea! XD Honestly I expected it to be worse than it was, given the ingredients.

@MadHatter chocolate flavoring often reminds me of Tootsie Rolls.

Martin Bednář

No idea what Tootsie Rolls are, but it sounds probably too weird to me. If offered, I would try it; but it doesn’t like something I would buy for myself. Maybe as a sample…

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72

This has a nice enough raspberry flavor – it’s quite authentic and doesn’t remind me of candy. I would like a bit more of it, I think, but overall this is quite well-balanced. I have other raspberry teas that I like better, but this is a decent one.

Flavors: Acidic, Biscuit, Fresh, Metallic, Raspberry, Sweet, Tart

Preparation
200 °F / 93 °C 2 min, 0 sec 8 OZ / 236 ML

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72
drank Aloha Hawaii by Tealyra
4088 tasting notes

Sipdown! (5 | 71)

Cold steeped. This one is pleasant enough, but a touch candylike for my tastes. I’m not sure exactly what fruit it’s supposed to be, but it ends up reminding me of Sweet Tarts a bit. Looking at the description, looks like they’re going for guava and pineapple with strawberry. I definitely preferred their other two guava teas to this one, and I guess I can taste a bit of pineapple, but mostly it’s tangy fruit candy.

Flavors: Artificial, Candy, Fruity, Hibiscus, Pineapple, Red Fruits, Sweet, Tart, Tropical

Preparation
Iced 8 min or more 25 g 34 OZ / 1000 ML

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Got a sample of this on the recommendation of a friend, and because the idea of lemongrass with bergamot intrigued me. Sadly, I’m not a fan of Adagio’s Earl Grey cream, so this isn’t a favorite. Decent and drinkable, but not a repurchase. I don’t actually end up noticing much of the lemongrass at all.

Flavors: Acidic, Artificial, Bergamot, Brisk, Citrus, Cream, Sweet, Tannic, Vanilla

Preparation
200 °F / 93 °C 3 min, 0 sec 3 tsp 16 OZ / 473 ML

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Profile

Bio

Hi, I’m Cameron!

I’m a 30-something software engineer currently living in Austin, Texas with my husband and our two pugs, Gobo and Ume. I tend to cycle between my different hobbies, and they include piano, knitting, video games, board games, miniature painting, planners, bento, KBeauty, and – of course – TEA! But really, what I’m best at is “collecting” hobby-related things… ;)

~ 2024 SIPDOWN CHALLENGE! ~
- July Sipdowns: 39
- Total 2024 Sipdowns: 105

I prefer my tea lukewarm or at room temperature and without milk or sugar. I steep Western style, and fluctuate between using big mugs or small teapots depending on the season.

I am always up for a swap! Just let me know if you’d like to try something in my cupboard.

Tea Preferences:
I enjoy both flavored and unflavored teas in many forms. These days, I drink mostly flavored teas, and I tend to gravitate most toward black, green, oolong, and herbal varieties. I do have a special fondness for straight Japanese green teas, however.

I do not sweeten my teas, and pre-sweetened teas are usually too sweet for me. I also do not enjoy stevia.

I tend to reach for fruitier flavors rather than desserty ones these days, but I do have favorites from both categories. Willing to try anything once! There are a few ingredients/flavors that aren’t generally my jam, such as coconut, rose, lavender, and chocolate flavoring. But I also have teas that I love with some of those things, too! :)

Favorite Companies:
3 Leaf
Bird & Blend
Dammann Frères
Harney & Sons
Kyoto Obubu Tea Farms
Lupicia
Old Barrel Tea Co
Simpson & Vail
Taiwan Tea Crafts
TeaVivre

Tea Rating Scale:
90-100: Outstanding! Permanent cupboard resident
80-89: Great – a possible staple
70-79: Good, but I wouldn’t buy it
60-69: It’s decent
50-59: Meh… I may or may not have finished the cup
40-49: Ick. Couldn’t finish it.
00-39: Repulsive, I spat it out

I will sometimes refrain from rating a tea if I feel I’m too biased due to my personal dislikes, or if I suspect the sample has been compromised by age or scent contamination.

Cupboard Spreadsheet:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1ZEuKf1-ppR-VXajO4vV39zU1N3zjFJteEPAynqD2yl0/edit?usp=sharing

Location

Austin, Texas

Website

https://www.instagram.com/tea...

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