1711 Tasting Notes

Got a sample of this with my order! Oh man, the chicory is really something. It adds this bitterness that I’m trying to work my way past. I love the chocolate macadamia combo. There are four sources of chocolate flavoring in this mix! Natural flavoring, chips, nibs and cocoa. I feel like the chicory is less shocking as I sip on, but its more encompassing. I think I can get some of macadamia creaminess in the sip. The suggested steeping time was 4 minutes and I usually do 3 for blacks, but I feel like shorter might have been better. I tried adding some soymilk and it did mute the bitter, but now there is a slight apple juice without the sweetness quality to my cup. I don’t understand what I just did. I feel like this tea might need some tweaking with the steeping parameters to get the best cup out of it, but I like general idea of it.

Preparation
205 °F / 96 °C 4 min, 0 sec

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drank Queen of Thorns by Happy Turtle Tea
1711 tasting notes

I really liked this character in GOT. An older sassy lady who didn’t put up with any BS, knew what was up and shocked younger characters with her bluntness. This tea is almost a twin to Teavana’s Amandine Rose. I feel like the rose is a little stronger and the cardamom adds an edge where the AR had more rounding cinnamon, but that difference is really hard to tell. This mix has little candy crowns that I suspect are what added fun little sparkles to my cup. I’m finding I have a similar issue with this tea that I have with other almond/rose combos where the flavors translate to baby powder. I wish my brain didn’t do that! Fun sample to try, but I probably wouldn’t buy it again because I have a couple other teas with similar flavor profiles.

Preparation
205 °F / 96 °C 4 min, 0 sec

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drank Honeybush Banana Nut by Adagio Teas
1711 tasting notes

I got a bag of this as a stocking stuffer for one of the two tiny roommates who keep pilfering my tisane bin. The toll is I get to try it! I’m liking this. It’s spot on the nutty banana flavor. It’s strong, but the flavor is light. I’m tempted to add some cream or something to give it some depth and richness. It’s a little bit woody from the honeybush, but not rooibos which I appreciate. This is alright. I don’t think I’d buy a bag for myself, but the tiny roomies seem to dig it.

Preparation
205 °F / 96 °C 4 min, 0 sec

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drank Singapore Breakfast Tea by ETTE TEA
1711 tasting notes

Still just striking me as your average French melange blend that features orange. It’s nice and has an almost caramel undertone, but it’s really not something amazing or unique which is what I look for when buying teas that take effort to get from overseas. This blend will not be a reorder.

Preparation
205 °F / 96 °C 3 min, 0 sec

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drank Kilauea by Lupicia
1711 tasting notes

Kilauea volcano has been erupting this week and has made a lake of lava. It totally blows my mind. A real lake of lava, not the CGI casually used lava rivers that Star Wars seems to be so fond of. Right now it’s as deep as a 44 story building is tall and growing. It’s amazing!

Seemed like the appropriate and perfect occasion to break out this tea. I’ve had it around for a while and never really got into it, but have enjoyed a cup now and then. It has an almost preserved orange flavor. I always compare it to the preserved orange peel candies at Asian food markets. It’s very specific flavor in my mind. A touch of lemon to brighten and a hint of smoke for base notes. It’s okay, but it’s not what I’d think of if I were doing a volcano inspired tea. I’d have fire and spice and smoke. Maybe some coconut or passionfruit or mango for the Hawaii tie in. Citrus just doesn’t scream HAWAII to me. They have SO much delicious fruit there. Citrus seems so… Florida. Apple is Washington, strawberry is California, peaches is Georgia and so on. Anyways, I’m glad the volcano isn’t threatening people or lives of any type unlike the eruption a few years back with the slow motion lava wave rolling over the landscape and engulfing jungle and homes.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CJO50W0Awoy/

derk

That mug has character.

Dustin

All the skeletaldropkick mugs are full of character! The artist has a defined style that I really dig. So far I have 3 of her mugs.

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AJRimmer Advent Day 25

Happy Holiday, y’all! I sipped on this cup while watching the tiny roommates open gifts. I taste spiced caramel apple, which is strange after reading the ingredients! No caramel or apple, so I’m not sure what is translating into those flavors for me. I feel like I’m getting more clove than cinnamon, but the cup seems well balanced. It’s a nice festive cup to start my day with! Thanks AJRimmer!

Preparation
205 °F / 96 °C 4 min, 0 sec
Courtney

Happy Holidays! This one reminded me of eating mincemeat tarts as a kid. :)

Dustin

I still need to try a mincemeat tart!

Courtney

They’re worth it! We might try making them from scratch this year because the store ones aren’t vegan!

Cameron B.

Happy Holidays! :D

Martin Bednář

Happy holidays!

Dustin

Thanks y’all! :) I’m curious enough to give making mincemeat pies a go, but right now persimmon bread is on my horizon. I second guessed myself with a few jars of what was perfect persimmon jam and ran the jars through the pressure cooker which turned them to slush. Need to salvage what I can in bread form. :/

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drank Candy Cane Herbal Tea by Plum Deluxe
1711 tasting notes

Advent Day 24

Candy cane? Hmmm…. I’m getting a more savory mint than a sweet mint. And it’s dull instead of a sharper flavor mint. It smells very herb like and almost has a broth flavor to it. This can’t be right! I’m not into it, but it’s a source of heat and I’m in my cold studio at the moment trying to get my printer set up to run a new design with chilled fingers and I need that heat!

Preparation
205 °F / 96 °C 4 min, 0 sec

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drank Christmas Breakfast by T2
1711 tasting notes

Advent Day 24

This has a very effervescent cola like scent to the dry tea! While steeping it smells like cookies with cinnamon. No, ginger! Cinnamon ginger? This tastes like an almost fruity gingerbread tea! I’m really liking this one and it surprises me after a month of trying mostly underwhelming teas! The flavor level on this one is nice and intense too, almost a tingly level of spice without going into a grossly concentrated territory. It’s very warming. I’d think about buying this one if I found myself at a T2 store along with Go Go Goa.

Preparation
205 °F / 96 °C 4 min, 0 sec

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drank Christmas Tea by Dammann Frères
1711 tasting notes

AJRimmer Advent Day 24

This is quite the appropriately named tea for an advent! I have the hardest time picking out flavors in DF teas! I feel like I’m missing out on something because I see so many reviews of people loving their teas. I couldn’t make out any of the flavors in this cup, so I added some sugar which I think has helped. I’m getting a deep fruity finish, almost like candy cherry. There is fruit in the sip with some spices with a slight tang to it. At the end of the sip there is a tobacco like note before the fruit kicks in. I feel like I’m getting more flavor out of this blend than I have in a lot of other DF blends!

Courtney

Their teas are very delicately flavoured, I feel like if I’m in the midst of something and drinking, the flavours can be easy to miss. This one sounds unique!

Dustin

Maybe that’s my issue. I do favor bold flavors. This one got more caramely towards the bottom of the cup!

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drank Tsarevna by Kusmi Tea
1711 tasting notes

Advent Day 24

Mini tin! Yay! I’m glad this was included in the advent. I had been wanting to try it. It has a really rich caramel scent. Spiced orange dominates the sip. Lots of clove and cardamom. This is pretty nice. It’s well rounded, flavorful, interesting and I get to have more cups of this because mini tin! The tin has the same pretty shades of teal that the advent has.

I’ve only had a few Kusmi teas before. Sweet Love was a really tasty chai and there was another smoky tea that I enjoyed. I was really hoping to get to try a wide variety of their blends in this advent and get a better ides of the company’s style, but I don’t feel like it was well represented. It felt like they were pushing the Lov brand blends a bit and I was hoping for more of their classics. The hibiscus really killed several days for me too. The packaging was gorgeous, there were two mini tins and a couple of tea accessories that someone new to tea would find useful. Overall it was a decent value and a fun experience.

Preparation
200 °F / 93 °C 3 min, 0 sec
Cameron B.

I agree, I wish they had done more Russian blends at least.

Dustin

Did they do more of that last year and decide to mix it up for this advent? I’m going to have to pay more attention to the tea selection next year if I do their advent again.

Cameron B.

I have no idea, this is my first time getting this advent too.

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Profile

Bio

My name is Dustin and I like tea.

I’m an added flavor kind of tea fan, but have had a growing appreciation for plain. I want my tea to remind me of cookies and cakes with coconut and almond slices with a hint of chocolate drizzled on top. I want dancing ponies and flying monkeys shooting off fireworks! And no hibiscus. Hibiscus is the devil.

Location

BA, CA, US

Website

https://www.instagram.com/dre...

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