2238 Tasting Notes

65

Sipdown! I’m not over keen on this one at the moment. It smells delicious dry — very strongly of berries, but I find it overpoweringly toasty to taste. I think I ruined this one for myself when I tried it iced, somehow! I love the SBT version of this tea, so I think the Razzleberry black might have been better suited to my tastes. Sadly, I’ve not had the opportunity to try it so far. Green tea and genmaicha aren’t ordinarily for me anyway, so I’m not too surprised. I’m glad to have had the chance to try this one, but it wouldn’t be a restock.

Preparation
170 °F / 76 °C 3 min, 0 sec 1 tsp

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95

Sipdown! Finished off the last of these bags in cold brews for work. This is a tea I continue to enjoy, and which I’ll likely repurchase if it’s still available next summer.

Preparation
Iced 8 min or more

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65

Sipdown! I finshed this one off yesterday at work. I think there was a little additional leaf in my final cup, but it was nicely sweet with quite a thick mouthfeel. I found this one a little mild and flavourless for my tastes (it reminds me a lot of white tea), but it was interesting to try nonetheless. It’s definitely made me more open minded about oolong!

Preparation
175 °F / 79 °C 4 min, 0 sec 2 tsp

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85

Sipdown! This one was finished off earlier this week. It’s so, so creamy. I haven’t been drinking it with milk, but sometimes that’s hard to believe when taking a sip. It’s also very spicy, although both of these elements do overpower the pumpkin flavour a little. It’s undisputedly milkshakey, and will be sadly missed.

Preparation
180 °F / 82 °C 4 min, 0 sec 2 tsp

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80

Sipdown! Finished off the last of this pouch at work today. I find it a little less creamy than the original version, but it resteeps well. The spicing is pleasant, and I can taste pumpkin. It definitely puts me in mind of milkshake! I’ve been drinking the base tea — Doke Rolling Thunder — alongside, and I found it a very mild, vaguely sweet-ish tea. Although I find it a little tasteless alone, it works well with the flavouring here and allows that to shine.

I think I prefer Pumpkin Creme Brulee on the whole, but I’d have to go back and try that again to be sure. Easily done, as I have a pouch waiting for me in my stash! This could potentially be a restock this autumn. though — it’s certainly yummy stuff.

Preparation
180 °F / 82 °C 4 min, 0 sec 2 tsp

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90
drank Marco Polo by Mariage Frères
2238 tasting notes

Sipdown! Finally gave in and finished off my tin of this one. It’s a finicky tea…when it’s good, it’s fabulous. When it’s bad, it can be awful. I struck lucky today, and got the strawberry syrup flavour I enjoy so much. I’ve been plumping for a shorter brew time lately, just to make sure I avoid any astringency and bitterness. It seems to work pretty well. I liked this one while it lasted, but I think I’ve had my fill for now. It won’t be an immediate repurchase, but I can see myself returning to it at some point in the future.

Preparation
Boiling 3 min, 0 sec 1 tsp

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85

I’ve been drinking this one at work recently, and I still love it as much as I did the first time I tried it. Perhaps even a bit more. I’ve oversteeped it a little by accident a couple of times, but it’s surprisingly forgiving. It just seems to get creamier and creamier! This one has a nice spicy kick to it, and a good, solid pumpkin flavour. It really does taste like milkshake, which is all the more surprising given that I’ve been drinking this one hot. Butiki magic at its best!

Preparation
180 °F / 82 °C 4 min, 0 sec 1 tsp

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60

I’ve been drinking this fairly regularly lately, but I’ve not had time to log it. It’s a nice assam, but for some reason it’s just not really doing it for me. It’s sweet, lightly malty, and it has good body and depth of flavour. Kudos for the name, too. It works equally well with milk or without, and it’s smooth with no astringency. Sometimes I get mild honey notes, other times I get more grain. On the whole, though, it leaves me fairly uninspired and I’m not sure why. I’ve had assams I like more, but there’s absolutely nothing wrong with this one. It makes for a strong, reliable, every day tea.

Preparation
Boiling 4 min, 0 sec 1 tsp

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45
drank Blue Unicorn Reserve by Tealux
2238 tasting notes

Another sipdown! This one wasn’t a favourite. Not because it’s an oolong, for a change, but because it tasted of so little. I had high hopes for this one, so I’m a little sad. I love the name, and it’s nice to look at, but sadly it just wasn’t to be.

Preparation
175 °F / 79 °C 4 min, 0 sec

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95

So I came into work today with this as my cold brew, thinking I’d made a mess of it. Turns out, it’s actually a surprise success. I was tired last night, so I filled up my iced tea jug on auto pilot with 2 litres of water, and dropped in three bags of this tea. It wasn’t until this morning that I realised I usually use three bags to one litre. It was such a pale pinky red, I was convinced it was going to be a watery disaster. I couldn’t have been more wrong! If anything, it tastes more like strawberry lemonade that when brewed stronger — the hibiscus is less tart and sour, and there’s a beautiful candy strawberry flavour that’s very prominent and distinctive. A light tang of lemon is just lurking in the background. I think I have a new favourite way to brew this tea! Yum!

Preparation
Iced 8 min or more
Sil

awesome! sounds tasty!

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Profile

Bio

Hi :) I’m Sarah, and I live in Norfolk in the UK. My tea obsession began when a friend introduced me to Teapigs a good few years ago now. Since then, I’ve been insatiable. Steepster introduced me to a world of tea I never knew existed, and my goal is now to TRY ALL THE TEAS. Or most of them, anyway.

I still have a deep rooted (and probably life-long) preference for black tea. My all-time favourite is Assam, but Ceylon and Darjeeling also occupy a place in my heart. Flavoured black tea can be a beautiful thing, and I like a good chai latte in the winter.

I also drink a lot of rooibos/honeybush tea, particularly on an evening. Sometimes they’re the best dessert replacements, too. White teas are a staple in summer — their lightness and delicate nature is something I can always appreciate on a hot day.

I’m still warming up to green teas and oolongs. I don’t think they’ll ever be my favourites, with a few rare exceptions, but I don’t hate them anymore. My experience of these teas is still very much a work-in-progress. I’m also beginning to explore pu’erh, both ripened and raw. That’s my latest challenge!

I’m still searching for the perfect fruit tea. One without hibiscus. That actually tastes of fruit.

You’ve probably had enough of me now, so I’m going to shut up. Needless to say, though, I really love tea. Long may the journey continue!

My rating system:

91-100: The Holy Grail. Flawless teas I will never forget.

81-90: Outstanding. Pretty much perfection, and happiness in a cup.

71-80: Amazing. A tea to savour, and one I’ll keep coming back to.

61-70: Very good. The majority of things are as they should be. A pleasing cup.

51-60: Good. Not outstanding, but has merit.

41-50: Average. It’s not horrible, but I’ve definitely had better. There’s probably still something about it I’m not keen on.

31-40: Almost enjoyable, but something about it is not for me.

11-30: Pretty bad. It probably makes me screw my face up when I take a sip, but it’s not completely undrinkable.

0-10: Ugh. No. Never again. To me, undrinkable.

Location

Norfolk, UK

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