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191/365

Finally getting back to Bluebird’s spring collection, now the weather has improved. I’m not a huge liquorice fan, so the idea of this one as a hot tea filled me with trepidation. Instead, I decided to cold brew 4 tsp in lemonade, and I’m actually quite pleased with the result. It’s sweet, for sure, but I was expecting that; what I like is that the sweetness is mostly coming from the lemonade. Even though I can tell there’s liquorice root in here, I’m not finding it as cloying as I usually do. I’m not really sure why – maybe lemonade and liquorice are just a good combination? It’s like the impact of the liquorice has somehow been toned down, and that’s something I can definitely appreciate!

As for raspberry liquorice laces? I don’t think it’s quite there in flavour terms. The sweets are so super artificial, and the raspberry flavouring here is almost too natural to really nail it. That seems like an odd thing to say, but there you go. Taken out of context, I actually like that the raspberry is fresh and flavour-accurate; it’s a touch tart, a touch sour, fruity, and refreshing. Basically, an ideal spring/summer cold brew. The sweetness of the liquorice and lemonade bring things towards a sweeter, more candy-like conclusion, but it’s not a flavour doppleganger for the sweets. I don’t think it would even be possible to capture that flavour exactly in a liquid, unless you were willing to use more chemical or artificial flavour constituents, and that’s not something Bluebird do. Instead, it’s a sweet, fresh-tasting, raspberry lemonade, and I’m happy with that. It’s another I’ll be sad to say goodbye to this weekend, when the collection retires.

This is another one I made a note to return to, since I drank it when I more or less had a cold. I love that it contains mini meringues – something about tea with meringue really gets me, even though more often than not they’re not a massive contributor in terms of flavour. I’m really looking forward to trying Bird & Blend’s (Bluebird, as was) Eton Mess from this year’s summer collection for exactly this reason, but that’s a tea for another day.

This one still smells like Christmas to me – heavy on the clove and cardomon, with a background of sweetness. It tastes quite a lot like Christmas, too. The orange zest is fairly prominent in the initial sip, and the background spice gives it a kind of “spiced clementine” vibe. The meringue adds a touch of sweetness, and then there’s a decent wallop of cardamom. So much, if I’m honest, that it makes my mouth feel a bit numb. I don’t really get any rose from this, and nothing but the most fleeting hint of raisin. It’s pretty true to its description, though; it is sweet and spicy simultaneously.

This isn’t really a summer tea for me, but it would make a nice warming winter cup. I might save the rest of my sample until later in the year, if I can resist the urge to keep my cupboard moving forward.

Returning to this one today, because last time I tried it I was right on the edge of getting a cold and I wasn’t sure I’d done it justice. My main concern was that (I thought) it was supposed to be a citrus fruit flavoured yerba-oolong-rooibos blend, and I was getting…caramel.

Turns out it wasn’t a case of wonky tastebuds, because I’m still tasting caramel. It’s distinctively sweet, with a background of hazelnut, a touch of honey, and a little vanilla. It’s nutty and creamy; a little like butterscotch, a little like nut brittle. Very much not citrus, but lovely just the same.

As it turns out, I must have been very confused last time I looked this one up. The description clearly says rooibos caramel, rooibos almond, and honeybush hazelnut, which makes a lot more sense! I’m not sure which tea I thought I was drinking, but it wasn’t this one. (ETA: Actually, I do know. I thought I was drinking Chantel Isaacs version of Felix Felicis, when I actually have Robert Pirlot’s. Mystery solved.)

Now that order has been restored to the world, I’m going to say that I think this would make a decent latte, once autumn comes around again.

I made another Unicorn Fizz a few days ago, because my last one wasn’t the unmitigated success I expected it to be. This time I used 2 tsp of leaf instead of the recommended 3, and only the tiniest squeeze of lemon juice to effect the colour change. It was noticably better – the raspberry was a little more prominent and I found the whole thing less sour and unpalatable. The butterfly pea flower gives this such a funky taste, though – it’s really strong, and I think it just doesn’t work all that well with the raspberry/sencha combination.

I really wanted to like this one. As an idea, it sounds excellent – blue raspberry, tea, unicorns…what’s not to love? I’ll try this one a couple more times – I’ve yet to give it a chance hot, or cold-brewed. At the moment, though, I’m thinking it might be a blend that favours style (and appearance) over substance (and flavour), which is a shame.

190/365

I’m not sure how I’ve become the only person to have reviewed this particular selection of T2 blends? I came by them in the Hottest Hearty Brews sampler box, but from what I can see when I’ve been looking to see if some of them are still available, they have been sold individually as limited edition blends. Some of them are really good, so I’m a little surprised they haven’t garnered more of a following on here. It’s not like they’re a niche UK brand, either.

Anyway. Jaffa cakes aren’t really my thing, but this one promises to be chocolate orange and I can get behind that as a flavour combination. It’s a black tea, so perfect for first thing Monday morning. Something has to brighten things up, and it isn’t going to be work. I’m bored stiff a lot of the time.

First sip, and this one tastes quite a lot like a jaffa cake. The cocoa is the primary flavour to begin with, and it perfectly captures the dark chocolate coating. It’s perhaps a little dryer than I’d have liked, but still good, and I like that it’s not over-sweet or watery in the way some chocolate teas can be. The orange emerges in the mid-sip, with a slightly sour tang. It reminds me quite a bit of Terry’s chocolate orange at this point, in that the orange is unmistakable as a flavour but not quite natural-tasting. There’s a touch of biscuitty flavour towards the end of the sip, but it’s fairly fleeting. I don’t mind particularly, since I wasn’t really looking for jaffa cake; as a flavour combination, chocolate orange alone is fine with me.

I’m enjoying this one. The flavouring is excellent, and the black tea base is a sound pairing. There are a few from this sampler than I’m really sad not to be able to repurchase, and this is one of them. 50g of this wouldn’t go amiss in my cupboard!

189/365

This one’s supposed to be reminiscent of a Hot Cross Bun, and since my acquaintance with that kind of tea is limited to Bluebird’s (or, I should say, the tea company formerly known as), it’ll be interesting to try another.

This one smells so cinnamony, and it’s actually reminding me quite a lot of (I think) Frank-era 52 Teas French Toast. It’s nice, but stronger than I’d typically associate with a Hot Cross Bun.

To taste, it’s a different affair. The initial flavour is bread dough with dried fruit, and I kid you not. It’s almost squishy tasting, like a hot cross bun is when it’s straight out of the packet. Bluebird’s Hot Cross Bun was toasted (which is just how I like them…), with a tiny bit of Lapsang. T2’s is soft and oven-fresh. It’s different, but I feel like there’s room for that.

The cinnamon is really strong, though – it comes out primarily in the mid-sip, and then it lingers forever. It’s so concentrated it almost feels like it’s burning my throat, which is a level of cinnamon I find too intense to be really enjoyable.

I’ll probably resteep this one a couple of times, and maybe eventually the cinnamon will settle down a little. I like the flavour, but the amount of cinnamon does spoils it. Kudos to T2 for nailing “fruit bun” in liquid form, though. It’s a tea worth trying just for that!

188/365

This is the blend that used to be called 1706, and which I remember really enjoying as a teenager before I “found” tea properly. It’s nice to revisit, although it’s not quite as impressive as I remember it being. I feel like it used to have more presence, and more to differentiate it; it was somehow “softer” than English Breakfast, less tannic, with a lot of sweet maltiness. Now, I think I’d have trouble telling the two apart.

Today’s cup, I’d say, was a slightly more tannic version of English Breakfast. It’s a good, hearty “builder’s” style tea, for sure, absolutely great with milk, and robust in flavour. I could say the same about their English Breakfast, though, which I find noticeably stronger and maltier than their Everyday blend. The effect you get with English Breakfast and English Strong Breakfast largely depends on how long you leave it to steep – ESB is perhaps a little quicker to achieve strength, but you can get there with EB quite easily.

I feel like these two are basically the same tea, and I don’t think there’s a need for both of them in a range that already has a lot of black breakfast-style blends. 1706 used to be a heritage blend, rather than just an EB clone; I’m kinda sad seeing what it’s become.

187/365

This is an interesting one – peppermint, chamomile, and lavender. The last time I tried a blend like this, it tasted a bit like a buttermint. This one is less creamy than I thought it would be, although pleasantly herbal. The peppermint is the main flavour, and makes for a nicely fresh and cooling introduction. The chamomile is second, adding a touch of sweetness and a mild honey flavour. The lavender is mostly absent. There are little flashes of it here and there, but it doesn’t have a significant impact on the overall flavour.

As blends go, it’s okay. It’s not as exciting as some of the others from this sampler, but it’s a solid sleepytime choice. I feel like it would be more unique if the lavender came out more, but since I’m not a huge fan of floral teas it’s not a big deal for me. Since there are definitely a decent handful of similar blends out there, I’m not too sad that this one’s no longer available.

186/365

This one smells so much like Black Forest Gateau, it’s ah-ma-zing. Literally mouthwatering! It also brews up to a rich red, which helps. So much like the black cherry sauce! I’m guessing that’s the beetroot, since it has much the same effect in Bluebird’s Red Velvet Cake. I thought this one was a black tea when I picked it out, but the “base” ingredient is actually cocoa shells and cocoa nibs. The “leaf” I can see is apparently blackberry leaves, although I’m used to seeing those look green and these ones definitely aren’t. Other ingredients are strawberry pieces and pink pepper, so it’s an interesting blend for sure!

The flavour is actually pretty good. I get cake, and I’m not entirely sure how. The cocoa helps, obviously, but there’s something specifically cake, and cake soaked in cherry syrup, at that. It’s moist-tasting, chocolatey, rich, red-fruity, and cake. I even get whipped cream, towards the end of the sip. It’s not strong, but there’s a hint of soft, dairy creaminess that rounds things out perfectly. The cherry returns at the very end for a final farewell, and while it’s rich it never borders on over-sweet. It’s pretty perfectly balanced, as flavoured blends go.

This one was a limited edition, and sadly I only had a one-cup serving. I’m really sad this one’s no longer available (a little like Two Stones from a few days ago), because they’re really solid flavoured blends that I’d happily repurchase. Buying this sampler box was probably simultaneously the best and worst thing to do – I’m glad that I got to try these blends that are now gone, but that’s tempered by sadness that they are no more.

185/365

I picked this one up with my first Leaves of the World order, mostly as an afterthought since they hadn’t got enough That’s My Jam! left to fulfil my order and asked me what I wanted instead. I picked this one out because it sounded good, and because it’s one of the ones I’d looked at before putting my final cart together.

It smells delicious, dry. Very bright, tart lemon – like lemon curd. To taste, it’s a bit of a different story. The lemon is intense and distinctive to begin with, but it quickly becomes super artificial and very reminiscent bathroom cleaner. I almost get cheesecake in the mid-sip; there’s something that’s approaching tangy, sour, cream cheese…but it’s just not quite there. The lemon descends into artificiality at about that point, so I’m wondering if that’s affecting things. Probably. I mean, how could it not? I don’t get any biscuit, which is a shame.

The suggestion for this one is as a hot tea or a latte, but I’m actually wondering whether this one might work better cold. The intensity of the lemon seems to fade a little as my cup cools, so maybe that’s the way forward. I’m interested to try it as a latte, though. A little extra sweetness and creaminess might be just the thing.

I think this is going to be one of those really finicky blends that takes a while to get right. I have 50g, though, so plenty to play with until I do!