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Sipdown! (17 | 97)

Sadly, this little tin got dumped. I could smell rancid coconut as soon as I opened it, even though I just got it a couple of weeks ago and it has a “best by” date in 2024. I even tasted a piece just to be sure, but sadly it had indeed gone bad.

A shame, as I was excited to try this one. I’m sure I’ll be ordering from T2 in the future, so I’ll have to remember to pick some up then.

Sipdown! (16 | 96)

The last tea from the holiday trio!

I was dreading this one a bit, as lavender is mentioned prominently on the tin and the description, but I needn’t have worried. The dominant note is the lemongrass, and it gives a lovely mellow and sweet lemon drop-esque flavor to the tisane. I do get a touch of citrusy-earthy-floral lavender, but it’s more of an accent. Not much licorice thankfully, there is a little hint of sweetness but not enough to be cloying.

The really interesting part is the sarsaparilla, which I didn’t know about until I went “what is that flavor…?” and checked the ingredients. It gives an interesting sweet-spicy note that’s especially noticeable in the finish, where it almost tastes like root beer.

Not sure if I would buy this again, having an abundance of similar herbal tisanes, but it has some nuances to it that make it interesting.

Sipdown! (15 | 95)

Not a favorite for me. I found it most enjoyable with a splash of oat milk and a touch of sugar to make the vanilla a bit softer and creamier. I tried it as a latte as well, but for some reason it didn’t work for me.

Glad to have the cute tin anyway! :D

Got a free sample of this tea with my subscription package.

I definitely used a bit too much water, as it came out somewhat weak. I didn’t measure the tea, the amount looked about right so I just used the whole sample for 16 ounces of water. Clearly my eyeballing needs work, ha ha…

It’s still a pleasant cuppa, just more delicate than I’m sure was intended. To be honest, I’m getting more of a peach flavor than pineapple? Or I guess it could be mango, which often tastes peachy as a flavoring. I do get some of the creamy coconut at the end of the sip, along with a hint of tart pineapple. Nice tea, but gives me more of a peaches & cream vibe with a touch of a tropical twist.

I’m not generally a big fan of tropical green teas, but it was still fun to try. And for free!

Sipdown! (13 | 93)

The second tea from their holiday trio.

This technically has both purple tea and rooibos in it, but all I really taste is the hibiscus and lemongrass. It’s apparently inspired by mulled wine, but to me they went way too light on the cinnamon – I can’t really taste it at all. Maybe the teensiest hint at the end of the sip? This also has clementine flavoring, which I think is just blending in with the hibiscus.

Anyway, to me this tastes like a hibiscus-y fruit tisane with some citrus notes from the lemongrass. And I’m not a hibiscus lover, so it’s not one I would order again.

Back to my World of Breakfasts sampler!

This one is simply an Earl Grey. It’s funny how the reviews are all over the place, with some saying it’s too weak and others too strong, both for the tea and the bergamot. The world would be such a boring place if we all had the same tastes though, wouldn’t it?

To me, it’s neither weak not strong. The black tea doesn’t have a ton of flavor to it, it’s sort of that generic “black tea” taste that I associate with grocery store breakfast teabags. I do think there’s at least some Sri Lankan tea included, because it has that sort of acidic/metallic combo going on. A little bit astringent, but not overly so. The bergamot is what I would call moderate, it’s very present and definitely makes this an Earl Grey, but it’s not super in-your-face. I’m thankful for that, as I don’t love strong bergamot teas.

It’s a serviceable Earl, but nothing special. I’ll probably enjoy the rest as a few London fogs, since I don’t tend to drink this sort of tea plain.

Sipdown! (12 | 92)

Last one from Nelson’s, huzzah!

I was surprised to see that the oolong in this one is an oxidized rolled variety, which I find very uncommon in flavored blends.

This is okay but since I’m not big on coconut in teas, it’s not my favorite. I think the coconut tastes a touch soapy, but it’s difficult to tell with the ginger in there. Overall, it has a Thai vibe to it with the coconut + ginger combination. All that’s missing is lemongrass! As for the vanilla, I’m not sure I get that specifically, but this does have a creamy-custardy flavor to it.

As for Nelson’s in general, I didn’t really like any of the seven teas I tried, so I probably won’t get any more teas from them. Just based on the flavoring style of these blends, I don’t think they’re a good fit for me.

Sipdown! (11 | 91)

This does sort of taste like banana bread. It has a sweet cooked banana sort of flavor and I enjoy the blend of bases. However, the cardamom really stands out, and I love cardamom but I don’t think it makes a lot of sense for a banana bread tea. I don’t think of banana bread as being spiced, sometimes it has a bit of cinnamon in it, but usually not in my experience. It also sort of brings out the peppery notes from the honeybush, which makes it taste even less like banana bread, especially toward the end of the sip.

Still an enjoyable tea, but I prefer the version from Adagio.

Hmm, I used to really love this tea, so I ordered a tin of it when Kusmi had it on sale sometime late last year. Their new tins look so pretty, but they aren’t airtight at all, and the lid doesn’t even really snap on fully. Such an odd lid design, but I digress…

Not sure if it’s because my tastes have changed, or if this was reformulated when it became an organic tea, but I’m not loving it. I thought it used to be red fruits and caramel, but the tin says berries and caramel. But it looks like the French side says red fruits, so not sure what’s going on there.

Regardless, the berry/fruit flavor is just a bit too syrupy and sweet for me? I’m not really getting any brightness or tartness from it, and to me it becomes a bit cloying when combined with the vanilla and caramel. It’s almost a bit cough syrupy…

We’ll see if my opinion changes, as I have a whole tin to sip through. Leaving the rating for now.

Sipdown! (10 | 90)

So this one doesn’t really taste like the name to me. It’s definitely an Earl Grey, but I’m getting a very sweet sort of fruity note rather than caramel or vanilla. It reminds me of maraschino cherries, or maybe even almond extract. And I’m not a fan of that sort of flavor in tea generally, so this isn’t my favorite. It also has bergamot flavoring instead of oil, and that’s definitely noticeable.

Overall, just too sweet and cloying for me. I tried it as a latte first and regretted adding sweetener (which I usually do with lattes) because then it was way too sweet ha ha.