BrutaliTeas

I really like this one. I’m so thankful for the minisample-now I’d definitely reorder some next time.

I was worried it would be too earthy and herbaceous, but even opening the bag, the earthy elements compliment the orange and the lavender very well. The cocoa beans actually prevent the orange and lavender tasting soapy which what I was worried about. The Pu-Erh is also not prevalent, with maybe a mushroom earth quality that is occasionally there, but it’s not forward in the taste at all.

Drinking it up 2-3 minutes ish western, orange and lavender are immediate in the smell followed by earth and chocoalte. Drinking it, Orange and Chocolate lead the start, and the end in the finish with a very balanced creamy lavender. The overall vibe of the tea tastes like a Terry’s Chocolate orange infused with lavender. It’s not too malty, and it’s not bitter at all.

I like floral and desserty teas, and I personally really like this one because it’s very balanced. I can see it being too faint for some people and the chocolate may not be forward enough, but any tea with lavender is going to be a hit or miss for people. It actually chills me out and I wouldn’t mind having some on hand.

I pulled this out a week ago when my friend Todd was visiting for the weekend; I have chronic migraine and kept waking up with my head being uncooperative, so I was hitting it with all the things first thing in the morning, including a stronger-than-usual hit of caffeine. I think this was the only “coffee tea” in my current cupboard that wasn’t an herbal substitute to coffee and would actually have the caffeine I needed.

It’s pretty good! I have been brewing it a bit stronger than I would typically brew blacks or mates, so that combined with the coffee beans does make it a little bitter, but that bitterness also just sells the coffee flavor, which is pretty prominent. I can taste a bit of vanilla on the backend, but mostly I taste the really sharp notes of coffee bean and the roastiness of the roasted yerba mate. Very nice for a kick-in-the-pants morning, or a drizzly rainy afternoon at work.

2024 Sipdown Challenge | April | A tea from a swap or a sample

Yikes, I haven’t written a tasting note in two months! I’ve been distracted by some life transitions — all planned, intended, and positive, but still, I’ve been working to rediscover my rhythm and balance. That leaves less time for internet stuff and more time for real-world stuff… which includes drinking tea, but not necessarily logging it!

Aaanyway, I finished this one a few days ago after grabbing it from a TTB last year. The first few cups had a lovely (if understated) cherry cola vibe laced with a bit of peach, but the final two cups were a bit lacking on the cherry flavor. Still yum.

2024 sipdown count: 15

Also bumping up this rating. Has become one of my favorite when in the mood teas. Have now sipped my last cup and will do a bigger order as this is a permanent keeper shelf item for now.

Nice chocolatey, nutty goodness with more sipping of this one. Indulged with a mystery book in a bath after a tiring day. Does make me remember I forgot my order of chocolate though

This was a letdown. The ingredients list has so much going on – pomegranate, raspberry, vanilla, caramel, bergamot – and yet I couldn’t pick out almost any of it in the flavor. I wouldn’t have even recognized it as an earl grey if not for the name. There is a subtle generic berry aftertaste, but I’m not getting anything else. The tea itself is fine. Just not anywhere near what I expected.

(This was part of the 2023 advent calendar that yes, I am still finishing, after basically neglecting advent season).

Almost done with this one – will definitely be a re-order later. The small chai or cinnamon (one or both?) comes through and it’s well blended still. Has held up with multiple sippings.

Second brew of a 3 cup pot was more yummy than the first sampler. Perhaps the name or the smell, reminds me of morning coffee a bit. Will likely be a keeper staple after out of the small size.

Another NO-keeper for me – I usually love Brutaliteas but doing a clear out of this one and The Tart of Ruin. There’s just something unpleasant and borderline bitter with both of them for me.

BrutaliTeas advent, day 8

This was a wild experience.

I notice the lime first in the scent. In the taste, the green tea is up front, followed by a slam of chili pepper that bites my lip. Then it settles into mostly coconut. Not really getting any lime, but this ingredient list suggests an awful lot going on. Spicy sour might be a great flavor profile; I don’t know about it in tea though!

BrutaliTeas advent, day 7

I wish I liked red rooibos so I could really enjoy this blend. It’s Nilla Wafers in a cup! Unfortunately for me, it’s a little like the Nilla Wafers have been sitting on a wet wood plank, absorbing the flavor.

I don’t know if I’ve ever had such a strong desire to eat those cookies as I do now.

BrutaliTeas advent, day 6

I came into this one skeptical. The name is fabulous, and now the song is stuck firmly in my head. I love smoke and love watermelon, but together in tea seemed… unlikely to work.

I like this a lot. The smoke is subtle, which helps it avoid overpowering the watermelon. I do actually get watermelon notes, and the fresh kind rather than the tart candy. Hibiscus and apple are both clear flavors as well, but whether it’s the lighter steep or the blend, they really let the namesake shine. As a huge fan of both fruit and smoky flavor, this is a winner I’m going to repurchase.

BrutaliTeas advent, day 3

Peach tea is another one of those favorite flavors that always makes me nervous, because it seems like everyone does one but not all of them are good. Thankfully, this one is definitely good.

The ingredients list is long and includes such a variety of fruit I was surprised: apple, orange, strawberry, mango, pineapple – but I really do get the flavor of peach first and foremost. It’s well-balanced with the black tea and doesn’t give me the artificially sweet vibe of so many peach teas. I drank it hot but absolutely want to revisit it cold.

BrutaliTeas advent, day 2

This was an interesting tea. Caramel is a favorite flavor of mine, but I worry when I see it in tea – it doesn’t always come off well. This was sweet and warm caramel, but not cloying or artificial. Ginger and cinnamon also came to mind. I enjoyed that I could still taste the tea itself through the flavoring, even as it cooled. I’m not sure I noticed anything that reminded me of pumpkin or the other standard pumpkin pie spices, but I’d be willing to give it another shot.

BrutaliTeas advent, day 1

The scent is rose and strawberry when dry, but the strawberry disappears when steeped. The rose scent is strong enough that it’s surprising the initial flavor is a slightly fruity black tea. The rose comes back at the end though, and it lingers. This is lovely hot, though less enjoyable the more it cools.

I’m a floral tea fan and love rose in particular, so this is a win for me. It’s not an exciting blend, but it is absolutely a pleasant rose I’d come back for.

While I like this blend, I was rather disappointed by it; I like a lot of Brutaliteas blends but this one hardly tasted like a blend and more like a genmaicha (I know genmaicha is technically a blend but you know what I mean). While the genmaicha aspect is nice and cozy, I’m not getting much raspberry or rose if at all. I was super excited for this one because I love strawberry genmaicha blends like the Toast and Strawberry Jam one that Dessert by Deb had a while back. Now I’m kind of glad that I only got a sample of this one.

Update***

When it cooled completely, I faintly got the berry but still no rose, rating remains the same.

Strange VariaTEA TTB #22

Based on the ingredients list, I was expecting this to taste like Nutella. To my surprise, chestnut comes through way more strongly than the hazelnut…and I’m not mad about it! TeaSource’s Roasted Chestnut is one of my all-time favorite blends and this is really reminding me of that one. The chestnut definitely predominates, but I also taste cinnamon and perhaps just a hint of banana. Not sure it’s really reading “crepes” for me, but it’s sweet and nutty and rich and I’m guessing it would be delicious as a latte!

Unfortunately still not a big fan. Added some more water and watched the steeping. Not horrible too flirty with bitter and tartness for me.

A fun, almost astringent, fruity black tea. I’m not actually a huge fan of tart and this doesn’t go overboard at all with it for me, so I think they did well with a pleasant balance. The raspberry is brighter than “puckery” and the almond in the background is always a nice touch to black tea when it’s not too artificial or heavy. So far have drank a few cups and will mark this one as a keeper, almost done with my one ounce order.

Strange VariaTea TTB #1

I haven’t done a TTB in ages, so it was so fun to dig into this one!

I love smoky teas and I love marshmallows, so this was an obvious first pick for me. Unfortunately, I didn’t get much of either flavor in this cup…it was just a smooth, slightly sweet black tea with the tiniest hint of smoke coming through in the aftertaste. A pleasant enough cup, but not quite what I was hoping for.

Sampled from the Strange VariaTea Traveling Tea Box

There is a particular nut flavoring frequently used in tea that is VERY specific, yet I can’t really describe it. I just know it when I smell/taste it. And this blend has it! It’s not bad or anything, just very… specific.

I didn’t really get crepes (or anything bready/baked) from this one. And I can’t decide whether I liked it overall! But I was glad to have tried it.

Cold Brew Sipdown (2563)!

This was pretty good! Cinnamon is the first flavour I picked up on while drinking this, but not hot and spicy or even necessarily super sweet cinnamon – more a gentle and woody cassia note. It’s very quickly followed up by crisp red apple and a hint of red fruit that reads like cranberry. More on the mellow and refreshing side despite it’s very autumnal flavour profile. Sweetness level very in check, and not super tart either.

I might consider a reorder of this, but only if I was ordering around Fall or Winter. It feels a bit too seasonal to justify going out of my way to order otherwise.

Cold Brew!

…as you may notice in a second, I drank a lot of teas from Brutaliteas today. They just have too many blends that are too perfect for Halloween. Honestly, that probably could have been my whole day of tea drinking.

I drank this one with my watch of Rocky Horror Picture Show. I really miss going to see the University of Regina’s yearly play of it each October so this was a bit of wish fulfillment for me. Plus, it’s just a blast to sing along with. I’m sure there’s probably somewhere in Montreal that does a showing of it in October/on Halloween – but I have yet to find it. At the very least, I’m sure on of the many drag bars probably cover some of the songs.

This tea was weird but good. The weird part was that it felt like someone was constantly toggling a switch where one sip with be bright and tangy/tart with distinct notes of cranberry jelly and crisp green apple. The next sip? The switch would get toggled and it was like red hot cinnamon with baked apple. A constant back and forth between the two. I loved the more Autumnal lean to the profile though, and the fruitier notes worked so well with the camp of this infamous musical. It was a fun pairing!

Tea Photo: https://www.instagram.com/p/CzE927Gulv0/?img_index=1 (4th Pic)

Song Pairing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x92ccvZCzlg

Again, technically more paired with the whole musical – but I do love this song.