Indigobloom

I made this cold brew style today and accidentally steeped for 9hrs vs the 3 that I intended.
So while it isn’t exactly bitter, it’s not at all what I had hoped for. Kindof bubblgummy in that standard “fruit” tea way and a teeny hint of Cilantro… Boo!! that was why I commissioned the blend in the first place. I heart cilantro!!
Thus, considering those two factors, not to mention that iced tea is not my fave, this is most definitely on the MEH side of things, but oh well, I accept full responsibility for that.
One day I’ll try again, when I have the time to pay proper attention!! Or when we finally find room in the freezer, I’ll make it iced (double strength over cubes)

Hmmm. I never know how to brew multi-leaf blends! So strange. White and black! No shades of grey here hahahaa
So. The tea. At near boiling, this was interesting. Not quite up to speed for my tastes, being a little mild, so I added milk and honey. Much better! I can taste the white part, coming in as a high note astringency.
Next, I brought the temp way down to see if that changed anything, letting the cup cool for about a minute. Ewww. Do not like at all.
Would I get this again? I think so, one day. One of those comforting teas I could drink all afternoon, out of my pot. Not because I am in love with it, but because it’s naturally unassuming and not in your face. Though if I did that, I’d probably add milk and sugar for the first cup and then have the rest bare.
(backlog from last week)

Guess what arrived in my mailbox the other day?!? Surprise! :P
Anyhow. What a deelish tea!
I’m not big on dark oolongs these days, for some reason. Red robe was my fave for a long time… I kinda miss loving it. Sighs.
No matter, I’m really liking my cup! It’s creamy and I can definitely taste the strawberry and rhubarb influence, though I do wish it was a tad stronger.
Second infusion brought out more creaminess. Mmmmm. What a treat :)

Thanks to Sil via Lala for this sample!!
I’m not sure about this. Is it Sencha? I’m not a huge fan of the base. The fruity part is nice. Vaguely reminiscent of pear but there is a stronger overlying general fruitiness. I added a pinch of sugar to see if that brought out the flavours more, but alas it did not.
A rather familiar flavour to be honest. I’ve had something similar, somewhere, before.
Also, now that I am finished my cup, I’m feeling a prickly sensation. Whether that’s my dislike for sencha, or the power of suggestion, I don’t know!

I’m finding that this doesn’t mix with other flavours as much as I’d hoped. For some reason mixing it brings out a salty aftertaste. Strawberry, caramel and raspberry truffle so far. Very odd. Nor does it go well in smoothies. SO… I’ve been making it solo, or with almond milk, but my fave so far, hands down, is mixed in with some fruit, cereal, or chocolate bits, and vanilla yogurt!! Oh yeah baby. Those are some happy moments.

Holy hazelnut batman! I have only a minute to write this but oh man this is SO delicious. And I didn’t even have a chance to try it hot. Got stuck on the phone and by the time I got there it was almost iced haha.
There is a very deep, nutty flavour, accented by a light fresh note, like watercress. Slight astringency. I am blown away by the decadent lingering aftertaste. I feel as if I’ve eaten a hazelnut truffle dipped in champagne.
Wayyyyy in the background of course, there is a vegetal bean-ish taste. An odd combination, but it works!!
The second infusion should be interesting…

Thanks to Sil for this sample!!
It smells just like these Polish pretzel snacks I grew up on. Soon as I sniffed the cup, I knew it’d be tasty. Oh man is it ever a trip back to childhood.
Bready and sweet, this is pretty much a warm liquid pretzel (not the salted kind, obviously haha)
I think I oversteeped just a little bit, and despite that, I am in heaven.
Will be keeping my eye out for these packets at the grocery :)

It’s decided. I do not enjoy this tea. I can see how it tastes and feels like pudding, kindof. I guess. (grumbles)
The lemon version is so amazing. I wish I knew why I feel so differently about this!
I can drink this, if I need to. I mean it’s not a “wincing” tea, you know where you make a little face with every sip?

Speaking of teas with similar profiles(see previous note), I made a cup of Espresso matcha as a latte, and it turned out SUPER floral in the same way I find this one. Turns out the espresso one is floral only when hot and I usually have it in a smoothie or bottle shaken. Sighs. I really wanted my coffee/matcha latte!

ALMOST sipdown. I was so close. Gah!!! that is a frustrating feeling, when you dump tea in your infuser fully expecting to be done with it, and then realize that ooops… yeah there is still another cup or so of leaves in there. And that was after I made one for Dad as well. Who btw, loves Darjeeling, apparently!? He always lets me choose for him, and I know his tastes well enough so usually garner a thumbs up. Except this time that is, when he said that it was “wonderful”!
Not bad, considering my sample is nearly two years old now. Next time, I’ll give him a fresh first flush. I’m getting giggly just thinking about it. Yes yes I know, I am a tea nerd.
Anyhow, on another note… I’ve noticed that when I steep multiple types of tea at once, or throughout the day, I somehow end up choosing teas with scary similar profiles.
For instance, the rose congou I drank earlier (an actual sipdown, but I didn’t log it because it’s kinda embarrassing that I’ve had it in my cupboard for so very long!) has a rather unique taste, a floral one at that. Meanwhile, as I sip this darjeeling, I noticed that it’s rosey as well, though less so, and I psyched myself out for a moment thinking that I was actually drinking my second infusion of the coungou!
This seems to happen more often than not lately. Every time, I pick teas that I think are different enough to provide variety, and yet… well, they end up surprisingly NOT very different at all. Hmmm.
As I said before, yes I know I am crazy.

Hmmm. Still getting those pesky floral notes.
Well it doesn’t help that my infuser fell into my mug. An extra large mug… which I accidentally used in the wrong cup and had to add extra tea at the last second! yeah, not my finest moment.
Anyhow! It’s pretty great cooled down, as well as hot. But… my inspiration for writing this today? was that I discovered something about Brandied Apricot Upside Down Cake Honeybush (wow. say that five times fast!)
Turns out… it goes really well with peanut butter and honey on toast. Yep, go figure.
Now, I’m not sure if the food pairing is a honeybush thing, or specific to BAUDCH. I’ll have to experiment and see! Hmmmm.
Based on the food pairing class I took a few weeks ago, I know that the items you are matching up should be of equal intensity in flavour, but varying texture. So that makes sense. I’ll have to look up my notes to see what else I can apply here :)

Disclaimers: 1) based on previous notes from other samples, I know this has lost some flavour. 2) I fully expected to hate this one, given my experiences with cherry and vanilla lately. I just want a cherry tea!!! sighs.

That said, I was surprised. After brewing up a cup, I don’t mind it! I mean, the flavouring is pretty weak, but that’s ok, I knew that going in.
The cherry is really mild, but the part that I like is the creaminess. Yep, I can actually taste some sort of icecream element in there. So much so that I, felt it didn’t need milk. A lovely surprise indeed. What whaaaaat ;P
Now don’t get me wrong, this isn’t something I’m keen to have in my cupboard or anything. I prefer my cherry tea to have more oopmh, like cherry pie.
Still, I wouldn’t turn a cuppa this baby down!
Thanks for sharing a sample Kittenna

No No No… (for some reason I’ve got an earworm to the tune of Rehab today)
Anyhow. I was so excited to try this! Then I opened the packet and… it smelled like vanilla??? not in a good way. Such a turnoff.
Thus, I tried adding milk and sugar, and that made it barely drinkable. Finished my cuppa but I’m not sure why…
Bleh. I guess I don’t like the DT caramel flavouring then huh! :(

Yum yum! I needed something strong to cut through my flu buds, and this was it! Though I don’t think it deserves the super high rating…. hard to say if that’s because of the tea, or the devilthing causing my aches n pains

I had a cuppa this today. It was really odd. But, I have allergies/the flu or something nasty that’s opened up the gateway for a devilthing to take up residence in my throat. Sometimes it tickles me, so that I cough, and other times it just plain hurts. Ah well.
Back to the tea. Well it was certainly not what I expected. It was savoury?! like soup broth. Salty, with a bit of pepper and maybe onion or garlic. I’m sure that can’t be right, so I’ll wait on a rating.
When the cup cooled though, it tasted much more vegetal. Not anything like the “bamboo” I get in my thai food though, for what that’s worth!

This wasn’t all that memorable. Fruity, sure… a little tart… and I’m positive that there was a nice mango tone in there, I just didn’t find it to be a juicy mango.
Also, I was doubly positive there was some hibiscus in my infuser, and I could certainly taste something sour… but I don’t see it in the ingredients. I’m not impressed. On the other hand, I didn’t hate it so that’s a plus!

Thanks to Raritea and Sil for this sample!!
It’s… well it’s certainly interesting. I get where the muffin part comes in, though I don’t feel its unique. Something about this profile is annoyingly familiar! Where do I know this taste from??? It’s bakey and sweet, and even a little savoury. I feel like there is salt in there, like you would get in an actual muffin. Still, I know this taste… and it’s gonna drive me nuts. Le sighs…
Anyhow, I noticed a hint of blueberry. And by hint I mean very faint! In fact, I’m sure I wouldn’t have pinpointed it if I hadn’t seen the tasting note. It is definitely there, once you know to look for it of course.
Overall, a comforting cup, but not something I’d be willing to keep in my cupboard.

Sample sipdown!! yeehaw :P
Hmmm, I don’t mind this at all, for a green. I’m very picky about my green teas…
The dry leaf aroma, as Sil mentioned, is intoxicating. I wish I could have a perfume like that! Very fruity, like stewed plums. Compote anyone? Steeped, not so much, unfortunately.
No matter! The flavour is pleasant. Definitely plum like, in a natural and subtle way. With a little sugar(1/3tsp), that part emerges a bit more… moving from slightly tart, to that same stewed plum profile from the dry leaf.
The green tea part, well I like that to! It has a certain bubbly like effect on my tongue that I am getting a kick out of. That must be the guayasa!
Funny, when I first sipped, I was immediately reminded of a rather similar tea… Ume Vert, from Lupicia. But then as I got through my cup, I noticed a few differences, despite the fact that my Ume sample was gone eons ago. shrugs
So overall: Yum! I’d buy more, one day.

Awwwww nuts! ;)
Yep, I can definitely taste the Walnut here. It’s mighty good. The coconut is there to. The pair seem to get along well together. In my mind, they have a rather similar mouthfeel so perhaps that’s why?
However, I’m not so sure i like the addition of pineapple. It lends a fruity aspect that I feel just doesn’t belong. Also, there is an odd stale note/scent. Often, I notice that with nuts in general, so don’t go by my note. People tell me they don’t taste it when I often do so it might just be my wacky buds.
Anyhow, I like this tea! Of course it is making the roof of my mouth a little raw so I’m not sure about a second infusion :(

I love this tisane!!
Hot, it’s a cup of soothing creamy orange yummy. A little rough on my throat for an herbal, but then it IS lapacho and I figure there is no way around that.
Cooled down to room temp, it looses most of it’s punch. Maybe next time I’ll add a dash of sugar and see if that holds better, because I was so looking forward to having this iced over the summer, or as a popsicle.
So here is my rating…. Hot: 85, Cooled: 65 Overall: 75

I actually remembered to sift today. More often than not I forget.
Only I used a different bowl since my regular one was in the dishwasher, and I think it made my matcha taste mucky a little. Still tasty overall, but it kept settling on the bottom and I could feel the sediment when sipping. Oh well, lesson learned.
Note to self: do not use glass bowls when whisking delicious caffeinated beverages!

I really like this one. I was shocked!!
Hot, it tasted a bit vanilla like so I became a bit wary. Then I added some sugar to make the berriness pop a little and ho! it worked!
There is a drying effect, sort of like what you get with cassis/berry wine. Not that I really know what black currants taste like, just the alcohol derivation.
How fun!! and yes, I am exclamation point happy today!!!
Thanks to Sil for sharing with me. Maybe one day I’ll pick some up.

Thanks to Kittenna for this sample!
I can definitely taste the hazelnut here. Well, maybe more like the hazelnut filling you get in chocolates. Or a creamier version of nuttella!
Will resteep and write more later.

Thanks to Kittenna for this sample!
I enjoyed this cuppa. Personally, I’m not huge on vanilla flavouring but every once in awhile it really hits the spot.
This tea was pretty smooth and creamy with a touch of something extra that I can’t quite identify, something that seemed to bring everything together, and iron out the vanilla/black tea wrinkles for me. That must be why… If I was going to reach for a vanilla tea again, this would be it. That said, I don’t plan on keeping any in my cupboard. It’s just nice to have once in awhile :)

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