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I had planned to attend my local march today. The conspicuously-timed stabbing migraine I’ve been fighting since yesterday morning had other plans. So I am stuck at home, trying to rest and not dwell on the frustration of having my body betray me or the guilt of not being in the streets with my friends and colleagues. What does one even drink on a day like today? Why, Butiki of course, for this is a day for dwelling on what we have lost and remembering what we still have. I’m pairing it with Netflix’s A Series of Unfortunate Events.

This blend has held up quite well. I may have added too much sugar to the first steep, resulting in an imbalance between the almond and maple flavors. I didn’t really get any waffle flavor, though there was a nice thick mouthfeel and no driness. I’m on steep 2 now and the flavor of the base tea has come out to play, sort of bready and just a touch bitter. This is a wonderfully soothing, dessert-like blend that I’m happy to still have a little of.

Backlog/sipdown

Honestly, I’m not getting a lot of pudding flavor or texture here. Instead, this tastes like a thin Mexican hot chocolate. It’s probably a mild-to-moderate kick of spice but I have an Eastern European palate so it tastes super spicy to me. A splash of rice milk helped smooth out the spice. I think whole milk would probably be great here to add some thickness and mellow out the chili flavor. Alas, I have none.

Sipdown! I could have sworn that I wrote a taste comparison between this and 52teas’ Coconut French Toast with Cardamom Maple Syrup, but now I can’t find it anywhere and I finished off the 52teas about a month ago so… either I planned to write it and never did, wrote it somewhere unusual and lost track of it, or accidentally deleted it, but the end result is that no such tasting note exists. Alas.

I drank most of this tea grandpa-style, with two balls in a 12-oz mug. I must have gone off script at some point, because I ended up with just one ball left. I decided to gong fu it. I’m five steeps in and still going. The first steep has a strong maple flavor. Subsequent steeps transition to primarily malt and cocoa notes. It’s good on a cold winter’s night.

Sipdown! I think this was better when it was fresh two years ago. It’s still quite decent though. The floral jasmine scent carries over into the flavor, present but not overwhelming, floral but not perfume-y. I have a vague memory of cold brewing this over the summer and finding it quite enjoyable.

I actually finished this off at least a year ago, but apparently never posted a note for it. I just found the beginnings of one in my drafts and decided to put it up for completeness. Initial notes: “The dry leaf smells like nutella and butterscotch candies. It brews up slightly darker than a Werther’s candy.” From what I recall, this blend tasted like nutella and butterscotch too. I remember it feeling warm and wintry and comforting. It wasn’t my absolute favorite but it was damn good.

I’ve claimed a sipdown for this before, but then I found another bag when I moved a few months ago. Alas, this time the sipdown is real. The blend is so old that I was worried the fruit would have molded or the coconut would have gotten soapy. Thankfully, neither of those things came to pass. Instead, this remained a sweetly strawberry and creamy coconut confection to the end. The nuttiness is largely gone and the other flavors require some sugar to really pop, but it’s a respectable showing for a two-year-old white tea blend with coconut and dried fruit. There are some good blenders out there right now but I have yet to find anyone who surpasses Stacy’s skill. I’m just grateful that most of the blends seem to have held up to aging well – I might still be hoarding a substantial amount despite my efforts to use it while it’s still good.

Edit: Upon review of my records, it appears that this additional bag came from greenteafairy in a swap we did two years ago. Apologies for the omission, and thanks for sharing!

December sipdown number 19! Honestly, this one is usually rather meh. Except when I’m sick. Then I add a whole bunch of honey and the lemon-apple-ginger flavors meld into a soothing symphony. Hands down, sick with lots of honey is the best way to enjoy this blend.

Sipdown number 18! Phi gave me a generous sample of this delightful blend. It’s sweet almond cookie goodness. Not marzipan. Almond. Two solid steeps. I maybe should not have gone for a black tea so late in the day but… oh well? Not much I can do about it now.

Sipdown number 17. This is actually quite good. I find that chamomile is one of those herbs that really can be excellent in a teabag. This particular version is gently sweet with a hint of hay and a lot of that apple-like flavor certain chamomile has. So soothing.

Sipdown number 16! I have completely failed at the advent concept so I am retconning this endeavor into a December sipdown challenge.

This is an ok bagged jasmine. Not as good as loose or even pyramid bags, but not disgusting either. Just meh.