1443 Tasting Notes
Enjoyed half of this last night during Star Wars and put my mug in the fridge for the morning. I love that this one is perfect hot or cold (or at various states of cooling for that matter). The flavours are just so well done, temperature doesn’t affect them. The rhubarb is super clear and the custard mellows it out perfectly. It even has a hint of that (from what I can remember of custard) sweet eggy flavour.
I also cold-brewed Baby Spice yesterday in a mason jar (it’s now been in the fridge 21 hours), so I’m hoping that will also be delicious today!
Hmm, the floral here is just too much for me. It’s more in the scent than the actual flavour, and I’m sure someone else might really enjoy this. I want so much to enjoy this tea, but sadly, I really don’t. The Gui Fei from Butiki I recall enjoying. I was hoping for more honey here, but alas, I can’t seem to find it. There is the oolong mineral-ness, but it’s very faint and seems to add nicely to the tea.
I steeped this with 3g of tea for 2 minutes. I’ll resteep a couple times to see if I can find some different flavours.
On the upside, we just took vegan and gluten free mint things out of the oven to cook, and we’re watching Star Wars!
I’m getting pretty close to a sipdown on this now. Thank goodness I have lot 864 in bulk. I drink this tea almost every day and it’s definitely one of my favourites (and has been for many years).
There are subtle differences between the lots, but overall, this is just amazing baked bread with honey afternotes, perfection in a mug.
Preparation
You know, this tea has really grown on me. I think it’s the mix of the rooibos base with the Earl Grey. I think I prefer Earl Grey in a rooibos base! What! I don’t care for rooibos and I don’t care for Earl Grey (well, bergamot) – so why do I enjoy them together? Fascinating!
I guess in this case, two wrongs do make a right.
I’m not sure I’ve ever had a rooibos Earl Grey, but I’m a bergamot fan so I’ll have to try it sometime. :)
You should! It’s actually quite mellow, while other EGs I’ve had have been more “harsh” (for lack of a better word). Perhaps one for the inevitable swap haha!
I had a sample of this from the holidays last year. One of my colleagues gave me one of the little DT ornaments with tea inside it, so I finally brought it home when I went into the office the other day.
Ehhh. I am not so much a fan. I did pick out all the white star and orange people sprinkles in full disclosure. However, with the sugared fruit pieces, I think the sugar is weirdly cloying here. Also, there seems to be a hint of lemon, which might be nice, but the cloying just seems to cancel it out sadly. The scent and a little bit of the flavour actually comes off like those old school flavoured marshmallows I had as a kid.
I’m just going to throw the rest of this away and call this a sipdown.
It’s a weird one, but I do actually seem to be in the minority and enjoy this one.
I only had another 1-2 cups worth left, but if I had had more, I may have sent it over to you!
No worries, I bought a little (6 oz?) last year. It’s not like “OMG AMAZ!” or anything but I’ll enjoy the little bit I have. :) What teas have you been enjoying lately?
Hahah! It’s important to grab our favs when we can. My go-to for years has been TTC Yuchi Wild Mountain Black, but others that I keep reaching for lately are B&B Vicky’s Sponge Cake and Rhubarb & Custard. Also just re-ordered another fav for years: Bailin Gongfu. How about you?
I picked this up one for Lex last year with the DF order and it doesn’t really appeal to me, but I thought I’d give it a whirl tonight.
The dry scent is quite medicinal to me, but I tried to strategically get extra strawberries pieces in my cup before steeping. The taste is slightly medicinal, but it’s not as intense as the scent. The strawberry and cherry mix comes out here, but I’m almost wishing for maybe a bit more vanilla…or better yet their delightful biscuit flavour – just to mellow it out a bit more.
Edit: Lex wants to note that she is upset I’ve ‘strategically stolen’ her strawberry pieces. XD
Sipping away at this during my volunteer shift this evening. There’s definitely some floral aspect, but it’s more in the scent than the taste. There’s also a delightful fig and strawberry jam quality to this tea that just hits the spot in the right mood.
Nice, What type of volunteer work are you doing? I haven’t really done any since Covid started and miss it so much.
I’m very lucky to be able to answer a hotline for a wildlife conservation/rehab from home. :)
That’s really neat! I haven’t heard of any opportunities like that in my area.
This has become my go-to tea! Who would’ve thought? It’s so deliciously raspberry-y and sponge cake-y! I also steep it under boiling (leave the kettle open a few seconds) to remove any astringency that could potentially pop up.
We have live stream covid updates from the CMOH multiple times a week and I always make this tea to watch them to soothe my anxieties, despite the government doing nothing.
Preparation
Enjoying this as a latte as I assess what remains to be done this term before the holiday break (it’s significant haha).
I’m really enjoying my bergamot teas as lattes lately, and I’m mot mad about it. The bergamot seems to work much better for me with a little frothed almond milk and some vanilla sugar on top. Also, I’m really enjoying the two decaf bergamot blends from H&S, I think the tea and flavours are still great, despite being decaf.
