Auggy

The Final Sipdown: Day 6
Decupboarding Total: 12

I both cupboarded and am decupboarding this tea today. And I’m totally counting it towards my total for The Final Sipdown.

I don’t hate this as much as I did when I had it last year (also as a freebie) and I’m guessing that’s from decreasing the steep time by a minute. It decreases the taste of the tea so there isn’t a disconnect between the Quik flavoring and the tea flaor.

Better or not, I still don’t love it. It’s sweet and creamy but Lupicia’s strawberry flavoring is just a big miss for me. Maybe it’s the strawberry + vanilla thing but it tastes like Strawberry Quik. It’s kind of powdery tasting and just not very strawberry-y. And I love strawberries. So when I want strawberries, Quik just doesn’t do it. Yeah, I like Quik but as a tea flavor, it just ends up being okay.

The Final Sipdown: Day 6
Decupboarding Total: 11

I had the steep time of Royal Phoenix Oolong stuck in my head so I might have massively underbrewed this. Oopsies. But I did end up going a little heavy on the leaf (just so I wouldn’t have to make a 4oz cup of this later today to finish this off) and I’m sure that helped things because this tea is really fantastic. It’s sweet and mildly grapey. There’s no astringency but a lot of sweetness, almost like the sweet/tart balance in a frozen grape more than a fresh one.

Unlike before, I’m not getting woodsy or honey but I am getting nectar. Grapey nectar. It’s pretty awesome. And gorgeous. As it cools, there’s a tiny tingle of astringency on the tip of my tongue and the frozen grape flavor begins to step back and the soft nectar flavor steps up. A little solid tasting something comes in, something like sweet bread? It’s fairly faint but adds a nice base note to balance the pretty.

I’m giving this last cup (yay for decupboarding!) a little points bump because this is now officially a tea I would pick up and park in my pantry. It’s a beautiful cup.
^8.2g/12oz

The Final Sipdown: Day 6
Decupboarding Total: 10

Apparently it is BOP day at my house. The vendor notes say goes well with milk so you can bet I’ll be putting some in. Hopefully it will stand up better than this morning’s Uptons EG FBOP. Just to be difficult, I added a touch of sugar, too. I need tea-cuddles at the moment. I’m exhausted.

The smell certainly is promising. Thick and chewy and honey-malty. And the taste, oh yeah, that is nice. I can tell I’ve added milk to it, but the tea isn’t covered up like (ahem) some teas I might mention that I had this morning. It’s not an overly complex tea but I needed something comforting and relaxing and this definitely qualifies. It’s thick and a little textured feeling in my mouth and has a nice nutty/malty/sweet taste going on that is very cuddly. Yay for comfort teas! This plus a kitty napping on my lap have me well on the way to feeling rejuvinated and perky again!

Thanks to Angrboda for the chance to try this!

Since it is broken leaf, I went straight for the additives here. Ironically though, there is no bitter aftertaste here like what I ran into with a few other Upton blends in the past couple of days. (The husband even commented on the nutty-bitter of River Shannon and he didn’t even try it without sugar and milk.) Actually, there’s not a whole lot of anything really. I taste milky and I taste sweet. Which, yeah, from the sugar and half & half I added. And I didn’t add that much – less than 1tsp of sugar and 2tsp of half & half for a 12oz cup. There is a mild hint of flavoring that I assume is Earl Grey and an even milder hint of tea flavor but only really as a hint of boring cardboard. Yes, not even the fancy, tasty cardboard.

Definitely not what I was expecting from anything with any kind of BOP in the description.

The Final Sipdown: Day 5
Decupboarding Total: 9

Does it count as decupboarding if I didn’t know I had this tea in the first place? It was a total surprise to me to find this tea under some sample tins. Oops.

I opened the little freebie Lupicia bag expecting a teabag. Because every Lupicia freebie since the dinosaurs died off has been a teabag. So yeah, it made a bit of a mess when I opened this because not a tea bag. Loose leaf. Double oops.

Though… it doesn’t look like actual loose leaf. The leaves are small and broken it looks like they just forgot the bag part of the teabag. Of course, I must keep in mind that I did find this little packet under some small tins. So it might not have started out so… powdery. Triple oops?

Fortunately, most of the leaf-related mess stayed on the kitchen counter where I was able to scoop it up and dump in the teapot. (I am a total nerd so I did weigh it first. 3.4g. I continue to appreciate Lupicia’s realistic grasp of how much leaf it takes to make a cup of tea.)

The packaging, leaf and tea (and now my entire kitchen) smell strongly of lychee. Not lychee tea, but actual lychee. See, a while back I had some of Samovar’s lychee tea. It was nice but I couldn’t speak to how realistic the flavor was, so when I was at the grocery store a few weeks later and saw actual lychee I picked up a couple. This tea smells exactly like a fresh lychee fruit ones it has been removed from its shell (husk? rind?). Of course, this isn’t supposed to be lychee tea. It’s supposed to be durian. But I don’t know what a durian is so to me? Lychee tea.

The tea is a bit bitter. But honestly, I don’t think that’s the tea’s fault. I think that the fault of whoever put it under some tea tins and crunched on the leaves for a while. (Yes, that’s me.) I think if the leaf were whole (or at least more than it is now), the bitterness wouldn’t be there. So leaving the bitterness aside, what about the rest of the taste?

Lychee. Full on lychee.

As always, the flavoring Lupicia does is very nice. It’s strong but I can still taste tea under there. (Aside from the bitterness from the broken leaves, yes, there is tea taste there! Yay!) Also, the durian lychee tastes absurdly natural. No chemical taste, no funky aftertaste, nothing. Like I actually just ate the fruit (or pureed it into my tea). And that’s pretty awesome.

Normally I have an issue with flavored green teas. It just seems wrong to me so it is pretty hard for me to love them. I guess I’m a green tea purist. This though? Very tasty. I could do without the bitterness but again, I’m not blaming the tea for that. In fact, the flavoring is so nicely done (and it doesn’t hurt that I apparently like lychee) that I would like to buy some of this so I can try it without the crushed-leaf-induced bitterness.

The Final Sipdown: Day 5
Decupboarding Total: 8

I have raised my personal decupboarding total needed per day to two. Gambatte! (Sorry, reviewing Japanese in another window.) Anyhoo, this is number two for today. I really enjoyed having it yesterday so I thought I’d have it again. It’s still tasty but for some reason today I’m getting a bit more woodsy taste and a higher level of astringency. A little more fall-like and less grape-y than I was anticipating but still a tasty cup and it works well with today’s cooler temperature. A good ending to its time in my pantry.

The Final Sipdown: Day 5
Decupboarding Total: 7

Another tea down! This one is another one that falls under the it’s-good-so-I-didn’t-want-to-drink-the-last-bit category. Nicely (but not overly) smooth, smoky (strong enough for the smoky lover but not so strong that it would scare off the not-yet-a-smoky-lover crowd) and slightly sweet, this is a good tea to fill my smoky needs.

Or it would be if I still had it in my pantry. But I don’t. Booyah.

Oops, I forgot to log this one when I was on Steepster earlier (ironically backlogging last night’s teas). The bits of leaf are decently small so I was expecting a strong brew. And it is. I tried it first without additives fully intending on adding sugar and half & half after a few sips. And yes, the additives were desired but I was trying to get computer-related things done and ended up not going back to the kitchen for tea doctoring until I was over halfway through the cup.

It’s malty, nutty, stout and chewy with a little old-nut-esque bitter at the end (a note that seems pretty typical of the stouter Assams for me). I did finally add sugar and half & half but I added too much for the small amount of tea left so it ended up more like tea-flavored sweet milk (which was actually pretty good but not a good representation of the tea).

Currently, this reminds me a lot of Taylors of Harrogate’s Pure Assam, though with a bit less intensity to the bitter-nut taste. I’m going to hold off rating this until I can doctor it properly and then see how it floats my boat then.

The Final Sipdown: Day 4
Decupboarding Total: 6

Yay! I’m ahead my one-a-day goal. Very exciting! (Well, it is to me. You might be less than thrilled.) I might make two-a-day my new goal. How daring do I feel? Hmmm….

This is a really interesting oolong – sweet and fruity and floral and vegetal. It’s got a note of something that is really unusual – it’s like a combo of kettle corn and stewed apples. I’ve been more daring with water temp on green oolongs (normally I do them at 175° since they seem to be easily ‘cooked’) and this one held up well and gives more sparkle than at 175° so thumbs up.

The second steep (1:30) is more ‘normal’. (In other words, not so strong on the kettle apples.) Nicely sweet on the front end and a flash of astringency at the end. It’s a tasty tea. Tasty, I tell you!
^3.2g/6oz

Very tasty tea that seems to be happier at a higher water temp – it has a clearer taste. It’s very bright and grape-y and tartly sweet. It reminds me a lot of a Darjeeling but without any astringency. And makes me want grapes.

I was hoping for good things from this tea and maybe that’s my problem – my expectations were too high. I mean, it’s not a bad tea. It’s a gently smoky tea with a nice sweetness at the end of the sip. Super-faint hints of cocoa occasionally pop up, as well as something almost floral. It’s got a nice depth of flavor and actually reminds me of Teas Etc’s Bohea (which I love).

All of this sounds great, right? But there’s one thing that makes this one a non-happy tea for me. The aftertaste. There’s a little twinge of something on the end of the sip and in the aftertaste. I can’t quite peg what it is but it’s a little… off. It makes me think I’ve just walked through a big cloud of hairspray while inhaling through my mouth. Something sticky and a little perfume-ish/chemically. It’s not a very strong aftertaste so it’s almost ignorable, especially if I sip a little more quickly. But ultimately it means that this tea gets no love because there are other softly smoky teas in my life that behave better.

I’m wondering if Upton does something to their leaves that gives them this aftertaste. This funkiness isn’t near as strong as the ick that was the Extra Bergamot aftertaste (that one was bitter and sticky and wrong) but they could theoretically be related. Perhaps the way they store or package or maybe even flavor their teas? I see nothing that indicates that this tea is artificially flavored but maybe?

The Final Sipdown: Day 4
Decupboarding Total: 5

For me, the worst thing about this tea is the end note. There’s something sour/bitter/tacky/acrid/just off about the taste at the end of the sip. From the artificial flavoring, perhaps? From the not-so-stellar leaf quality? I don’t know what it is and, at this point, I don’t care. Because this sample is gone and I will never get it again. Rejoice!

Na-na-na-na. Hey hey hey. Goooooodbye!
The Final Sipdown: Day 3
Decupboarding Total: 4
Yay!

PS – Cut the steep time on this to 1:30 and I’m much happier with it. Ironically, it is my last cup, but whatever. There’s still some nice astringency but it is better balanced by the creaminess and chlorophyll sweetness I expect from Kukicha.

Also, I iced the second steep (15s) of this from yesterday and just had some. It’s fairly mild and softly sweet and grassy. Very nice.

It’s officially The Final Sipdown: Day 3 and I thought I would be decupboarding my Kukicha. (Actually, I still might, but that will be determined later today.) Instead, this lovely little tea is the one that is going bye-bye.

I’m sad to see this one go. It’s sweet and thick and almost a little textured, especially before it cools. I don’t know exactly why Adagio calls it ‘delicate’ because I really don’t think it is. (Just because it isn’t tough enough to jump you in a dark alley and steal your wallet doesn’t mean a tea is ‘delicate’.) This has a little Yunnan-like boldness and a lot of Fuijian-like sweetness and smoothness. Very enjoyable and something I could totally see picking up.

I need tea before I am operational this morning. Until I have more caffeine running through my blood stream, I cannot guarantee to make sense.

Sample from Arbor Teas that The Final Sipdown has encouraged me to bust open finally. This tea is now officially part of the epic EG hunt for the husband. Okay, maybe it isn’t epic but it sure feels that way since I have so many EG samples in my pantry. SO. MANY.

The smell of the dry leaves is very nice – potently EG in a way that manages to be strong but not OMG-at-the-bergamot-it-burns strong (I’m looking at you, Upton’s Extra Bergamot). There’s even a nice menthol-type whoosh at the end of the sniff which strikes me as fun (and much better than the more perfume-y after-smells that can pop up in EG).

Without additives. This is really nicely done. The tea feels heavy and smooth and clear but there’s no bitterness that sometimes pops up with additive-less flavored teas. The bergamot isn’t as strong in smell or in taste as it is in the dry leaves but it seems to mesh with the tea flavor and smell instead of sitting on top of it. There’s no chemical aftertaste, no tacky-mouth feeling from the flavoring. The bergamot flavor is nicely balanced – there’s a hint of sweetness to the flavoring but not so much that I would say this is sweet (though sometimes the aftertaste is a bit fruity-sweet which is pleasant). The overall taste is noticeably (but not overpowering) bergamot throughout the sip – from initial smell to aftertaste – and a tea tastes that, while not overly nuanced, gives a full, unmuddied flavor and a smooth but somewhat thick mouthfeel.

Honestly? Best EG I’ve had in the EG Hunt. There’s one Upton EG that might compete with it (their premium or supreme or something) but I had that one with additives and this one without so that makes me think the Arbor Tea’s one will win if there is a head-to-head. I do have super-fond memories of A&D’s EG – I recall it being a juicy type of EG and I really enjoyed that. But the husband didn’t and ultimately this hunt is to find his perfect EG that I also really enjoy. This tea officially makes me list of contenders two.

This tea was so unexciting the first time I had it, it’s been sitting in my pantry for the past 5 months, ignored and unloved. But with The Final Sipdown: Day 3 approaching rapidly, I decided to do some prep work and used up about half of the remaining sample. For one really big cup. Okay, the initial idea was to decupboard more than one tea today, but I do not need to drink 40-some oz of green tea at a go, so it’s being split in half. Plan on seeing this one go bye-bye tomorrow.

It’s not as bad as I remember it but it’s still not super-tasty. I decreased the steep time by a minute and that helped it a lot – there is a fair amount of astringency but it doesn’t dip into bitterness like it did at 3minutes. I’m sure being abandoned in my pantry for months and months has not helped it any as far as freshness but it was still acceptably tasty. I tend to prefer deeper steamed senchas and this one doesn’t have that same sweetness or quite the same thickness I’d get with one of those, but as lighter steaming goes, it’s nifty.

It’s The Final Sipdown: Day 2 and this is the sample to which I must say goodbye.

I have a problem using the last bits of good tea samples. Because if it is a good tea, I want to make sure I always have it on hand. If I only have a cup or two left, I don’t drink it up, I save it. After all, if I drink it, it will then be gone and I will be sad.

But I simply cannot fail in my decupboarding adventure on Day 2! No! If I’m going to fail, it will be after a long and arduous attempt, a mere three feet from the peak of Mt. Everest, not before we even leave base camp!

And with that determination in mind, I used my last bit of this to make a travel tumbler full of tea before heading out for Mt. Everest Costco. I was daring and used no additives. (Because that’s intrepid explorer-types roll, you know. Without sugar.) It is a rare tea that can stand up to travel tumbler abuse additive-less but this one performed swimmingly. Oh, there was a moment I held my breath when I could only slurp tiny amounts (it was very hot, you see, and we hadn’t brought a medic so I had to be cautious) and the taste was coming across somewhat bitter. I began to fear that the tumbler had defeated this tea. But the tea pulled through and, once it cooled and I could sip without fear, the taste reverted to normal yumminess. In fact, I believe it responded well to the travel tumbler challenge as it was bolder and stouter than before.

So two thumbs up for this intrepid tea sample as it successfully conquered my travel tumbler, even though it ultimately perished in the attempt. To those I must decupboard, I salute you!

Wow – sweet sweet sweet with a hint of spice. It tastes like I just made chai using the stovetop method – which means, rich, creamy and sweet. And I mean really rich. The sweet creamy is the strongest flavor so it’s more sweet than spicy so those that go for strong chais might be disappointed but as for me, someone who enjoys sweet and milky chais, this is pretty cool!
(Pics: http://www.flickr.com/photos/aug3zimm/sets/72157625259950135/ )

Very rich and chocolaty. It’s citrus and chocolate but it’s not like a chocolate orange – it’s got a fuller flavor that makes it scream fancy, sophisticated chocolate. It doesn’t scream Earl Grey to me but has a nice citrusy flair that I really really like.
(Pics: http://www.flickr.com/photos/aug3zimm/sets/72157625259950135/ )

I wouldn’t have pegged this as jasmine but there is certainly something soft and sweet and floral about it, especially in the aftertaste. Rich and creamy. Not overly tea-like but a very pretty chocolate and I like it.
(Pics: http://www.flickr.com/photos/aug3zimm/sets/72157625259950135/ )

Mmm, very pineapple-y but more dessert or mixed drink pineapple-y than fresh pineapple-y because it doesn’t have the tart bite, maybe from the passionfruit? I don’t really pick out something straight passionfruit-y, more of the pineapple, but it’s very sweet and fruity. It is all creamy and smooth and sooooo tasty. Not overly tea-like but as a chocolate, it is fantastic.
(Pics: http://www.flickr.com/photos/aug3zimm/sets/72157625259950135/ )

Wow. I mean, wow. Rich – insanely rich and tarry and smoky. The smoke is strong enough that it is definitely the stronger taste compared to the dark chocolate, but the two flavors pair together to give really heavy richness. Wow. Probably more tarry of a lapsang than I normally go for and it reminds me a bit of a bacon-flavored chocolate bar I had, but the richness is pretty fantastic. Totally and noticeably ‘tea’.
(Pics: http://www.flickr.com/photos/aug3zimm/sets/72157625259950135/ )

Very different – thick and grassy and heavy, like a super-rich green tea ice cream. Not very sweet (well, it is but compared to the whole truffle idea – ‘not sweet’ in the same way that green tea ice cream is more heavy/dark/grassy than sweet) but very realistic and obviously green tea. Very tasty. I would love to have a container of these for chocolate treats. This one is the most noticeable ‘tea-infused’ of the truffles.
(Pics: http://www.flickr.com/photos/aug3zimm/sets/72157625259950135/ )

It’s The Final Sipdown: Day 1 and this is the one I’m decupboarding. The smell is truly overpowering and makes me fear the first sip, but the taste is much better. It’s sweet and fruity and sweet. And possibly even tea-like, which is always nice for a flavored tea. I can’t say it is something I’m going to seek out in the future because it’s a bit too flavored and fruity for what I normally go for (and I have a mental block with flavored non-blacks), but I think those that enjoy fruity flavored teas would enjoy giving this one a home.