3986 Tasting Notes

82

Yep, more new teas. As I said, I’ve been really bad lately, heh… :P I saw Old Barrel advertising their Ginger Chai as a seasonal offering, and I’ve been loving chai and spiced teas lately, so of course I had to get it. And a few other teas came along for the ride, along with the Hatch green chile powder (which smells amazing by the way).

This was an admittedly risky choice. I haven’t historically gotten along with bee pollen, to me it smells and tastes a bit like a wet dog. But the mention of cake got to me, LOL.

And I’m glad I ordered it, because this is actually really nice. It’s smooth and sweet with a nice mellow vanilla cake/frosting sort of note, and the bee pollen actually tastes like pollen, and gives a bit of a honey vibe. Almost similar to chamomile, really. I like the rooibos too, the gentle woodiness goes well with the other flavors.

Tasty! I guess taking a risk paid off this time ha ha… :P

Flavors: Cake, Chamomile, Creamy, Frosting, Honey, Pollen, Rooibos, Smooth, Sweet, Vanilla, Woody

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

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75

Sipdown! (11 | 326)

The first of many teas from another Etsy company I found. There has been far too much tea buying for me lately, heh heh… But work has been very stressful, so I’m not going to worry about indulging in a little retail therapy. :P

Anyway, this wasn’t one I was super duper interested in, really I only added it to reach the free shipping threshold. But I do love yerba maté, which is mostly what this blend tastes like. I do taste hints of citrus, along with some other herby notes I can’t necessarily identify. There’s a bit of the tulsi as well.

Very pleasant and balanced maté blend. Not something I would reorder, just because I think I would rather have either a plain maté or a blend that’s a bit less subtle on the other ingredients.

Flavors: Citrus, Dry Grass, Earthy, Hay, Herbaceous, Musty, Smooth, Sweet, Tulsi

Preparation
185 °F / 85 °C 3 min, 0 sec 4 tsp 16 OZ / 473 ML
Kelmishka

It barely counts as retail therapy when the product you’re purchasing is consumable! XD

ashmanra

Kelmishka: I’m going to use that if you don’t mind…HAHAHAHA! (I may have ordered a refill for a tea that is almost gone and accidentally added four others to cart BUT they are really so Ashman can have evening tea with me when it gets cold that’s my story and I am sticking to it.)

Cameron B.

Ha ha thanks for the enablement, ladies! ;) Also, obviously I need to know where you ordered from, ashmanra?!

ashmanra

Simpson and Vail! A refill of Carrot Cake Cupcake plus four new green rooibos blends to try!

Kaylee

Simpson & Vail is relatively cheap compared to some other loose leaf companies so I think you’re actually SAVING money by placing this order!

ashmanra

Oooo, Kaylee, I like the way you think!

Cameron B.

I agree, Simpson & Vail is so cheap! I love their Winter Wonderland green rooibos. :D

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82

Sipdown! (10 | 325)

This was a bit of a sleeper hit for me, and probably my favorite of the whole bunch.

I’m not even sure why, but it just strikes a lovely balance of mellow, sweet, and herby flavors. Love the tulsi, but then there’s a gentle sweetness (the fennel maybe?) and a hint of cinnamon, and an almost creamy quality. It’s smooth and calming and just tasty. Almost the teensiest bit carrot cakey somehow?

Will definitely consider ordering some more of this one.

Flavors: Cinnamon, Creamy, Dry Grass, Hay, Herbaceous, Herbs, Smooth, Sweet, Tulsi

Preparation
175 °F / 79 °C 3 min, 0 sec 4 tsp 16 OZ / 473 ML

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75
drank Rooted by Bohemian Tea Peddler
3986 tasting notes

Sipdown! (9 | 324)

So this one sounded intriguing to me, it’s a mix of roots (dandelion, burdock, ginger, and turmeric) with cinnamon and peppercorns. So I expected it to be a bit like a rooty herbal chai, if you will.

However, in practice I feel like I’m only tasting the burdock root and the turmeric, along with a bit of a tongue tingling sensation from (I assume) the ginger. And I do love burdock root (in fact, I named one of my dogs after it), it has such a nice mellow earthy flavor to it and a very firm texture, and is great in stir fries. But I guess I was hoping for more of a chai vibe here, or at least more cinnamon.

Still a very pleasant tisane, but ends up tasting more like turmeric with a burdock foundation. Will have to jot down the idea for my own future creations though, ha ha…

Flavors: Burdock, Earthy, Ginger, Roots, Smooth, Spicy, Turmeric, Woody

Preparation
200 °F / 93 °C 5 min, 0 sec 4 tsp 16 OZ / 473 ML
StrangeButTrue

Your description of the turmeric piques my interest! I’ve always thought of turmeric (granted, I mean dried turmeric powder) as a spice that adds more color than flavor, and I don’t know if I’d be able to pick it out in a tea. This tea sounds like a cool idea, though.

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Sipdown! (8 | 323)

So this is mostly your standard hibiscusy mulled wine sort of tisane, the type that seem to pop up everywhere around the holidays. Not a favorite of mine, but they can be enjoyable in a seasonal sense. This one is slightly different though, in that I taste quite a bit of the star anise. It ends up being mostly tart hibiscus with an interesting black licorice note to it. Unusual combination for sure.

Not bad, just not something I would buy. I tend to only enjoy hibiscus-heavy tisanes iced, and these spiced iterations are always a bit odd that way IMO.

Flavors: Anise, Clove, Hibiscus, Licorice, Sour, Star Anise, Tart

Preparation
200 °F / 93 °C 3 min, 0 sec 4 tsp 16 OZ / 473 ML

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75

Sipdown! (7 | 322)

The last Wizard’s Tea, this one being for Gryffindor.

Nice enough chai. A bit strong on the ginger, as advertised, but also tasting the clove and allspice, and perhaps a touch of cardamom. Certainly nothing special as chai goes, but makes for an enjoyable fall cuppa for ginger lovers.

Flavors: Allspice, Cardamom, Clove, Earthy, Ginger, Smooth, Spices

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

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78

Sipdown! (6 | 321)

Another Wizard’s Tea, this time for Ravenclaw (I presume).

This has a lot going on – Earl Grey, lapsang, lavender, sage, rosemary, peppermint, and cardamom. Or at least it would, if I could taste all of those things.

Mostly I taste lapsang, mint, and those savory herbs. Maybe a hint of bergamot? It’s hard to say under the other, stronger flavors. The smoky lapsang predominates, with the mint coming in second for an interesting “fire + ice” sort of combo. The rosemary is especially noticeable in the finish, where it gives a piney, savory note.

Pleasant enough tea. The cardamom might as well just have been for looks, because I didn’t taste it at all. Though honestly, I feel I’ve had a similar experience with her other teas with cardamom? Maybe her stock is just old or something…

Flavors: Bergamot, Earthy, Herbaceous, Herbs, Mineral, Mint, Peppermint, Pine, Rosemary, Sage, Savory, Smoked, Smooth

Preparation
200 °F / 93 °C 3 min, 0 sec 4 tsp 16 OZ / 473 ML

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80
drank Butterfly Jasmine by DAVIDsTEA
3986 tasting notes

Sipdown! (5 | 320)

So I knew I had written a note for this tea, and I could see that I had rated it, but for some reason my note doesn’t show up in the list on the tea page. It does show up in my tea log if I page back to the correct date. Strange.

Anyway, this is a nice jasmine tea. I got it with a Frequent Steeper redemption, because I’m always looking for teas to spend those on when I earn them from teaware purchases. Nice sweet and natural jasmine flavor. The butterflies do take a while to open up, which always makes me feel bad since I don’t generally resteep my tea, and they’re never fully opened on the first steep. Ah well.

I think this is a high quality jasmine tea, but I certainly wouldn’t pay the $25 for 50g of it. It’s a good option for reward redemptions, although I recently bought a bag of jasmine pearls from Teavivre, so I’m set in that department for a while.

ETA: My previous tasting note shows up on the tea page now, but this one doesn’t?

Flavors: Floral, Jasmine, Mineral, Silky, Smooth, Spring Water, Sweet, Thick

Preparation
175 °F / 79 °C 3 min, 0 sec 3 tsp 16 OZ / 473 ML
MissB

Not that it helps, but I can’t like this entry, either.

ashmanra

This is in my feed, and I was able to like it.

ashmanra

Now it is happening to me. Note is on my tealog but not on the feed,

Cameron B.

That was probably just the dashboard getting stuck. This one showed up in the main feed for me, but it doesn’t show up on the tea page.

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58

Sipdown! (4 | 319)

Brought this tea home from our Hawai’i trip last fall. Good memories. Unfortunately, not good tea ha ha…

This is just quite bland. There’s a subtle pineapple flavor to it, and the tea itself is sort of cardboardy, but also tastes a bit like hay or dry grass. A bit musty, but overall just lacking flavor.

Flavors: Cardboard, Dry Grass, Hay, Musty, Pineapple, Sweet, Thin, Watery

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

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75
drank Enjoy Summer by Dammann Frères
3986 tasting notes

Sipdown! (3 | 318)

This is a nice enough tea, but I find I don’t really love fruit and mint together. I mean, I do enjoy a melon salad with some honey, a squeeze of lemon, and a bit of fresh mint, but I don’t seem to love it in tea form. Maybe because the mint comes on much stronger? Also the green tea here is fairly strong and grassy, so maybe that’s emphasizing the mint for me. It’s also slightly astringent, even at a 2-minute steep.

Not a favorite from Dammann. I don’t find myself reaching much for flavored greens these days, though there are a few that I really love. This is not one of them. I think if they had included a bit of citrus, I would’ve liked this a lot more.

Flavors: Astringent, Dry Grass, Fruity, Grassy, Honeydew, Melon, Mineral, Mint, Spearmint, Sweet

Preparation
175 °F / 79 °C 2 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! ~
- January Sipdowns: 6
- Total 2024 Sipdowns: 6

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. Occasionally I’ll brew Gongfu style when I’m in the mood. I’ll also often use a kyusu for Japanese teas.

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 also enjoy maté, rooibos, and honeybush. I love matcha and drink it often! Fruit tisanes are not a favorite, but I’m always willing to try them.

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

Fruit: All of them! My ‘go-to’s tend to be in the red fruits, stonefruit, or citrus spectra. I also really love apple, banana, berry, fig, lychee, melon, pear, and rhubarb flavors. Tropical fruits aren’t among my favorites, but I still enjoy them once in a while – especially passionfruit, mango, and pineapple. I am not generally a fan of coconut in tea, though there are some exceptions.

Dessert: I love creamy vanilla and marshmallow flavors, along with anything in the caramel family such as butterscotch, toffee, or maple. Chocolate is also a favorite, though I’m often disappointed by it in tea. And don’t forget anything buttery, cakey, or cookie-y!

Floral: I’m a little bit more particular in this category. I very much enjoy jasmine, even strong jasmine, along with sakura, chamomile, and elderflower. Osmanthus is also a favorite of mine. But I’m not crazy about rose or lavender flavors, and I prefer hibiscus in moderation only.

Spices: I don’t generally find myself drawn to masala chai, but I do enjoy spices combined with other flavors. My favorite spices are the warm ones, especially cinnamon, nutmeg, anise, and cardamom. A bit of heat from black pepper or chili is okay too, as long as it’s not overwhelming! Ginger can be a lovely accent, but I find it difficult to drink as a starring flavor.

Aromatics: I’m obsessed with Earl Grey! I also love cooling flavors such as mint (especially spearmint), pine, juniper, and eucalyptus. I am not a fan of strong rosemary or sage in tea.

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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