Indigobloom

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Maple. Maple. Maple!!!
Yes, that is what this tastes like. Overwhelming much? ha!
With a good dollop of astringency on the side of course.
I also taste a hint of chicory, I think, but it isn’t overly strong like the creme brulee from yesterday. I added milk and some sugar, and had it with waffles this morning. Not bad!
One thing I didn’t like was the oily film on the surface of the tea. I could kinda sense the greasiness as well, in the mouthfeel. However I can deal with that, it wasn’t too offputting! In fact, I may grow to like it, I hope.
Thanks for hooking me up Kittenna :)

Oh this is odd. So very odd. It’s buttery in a strange no good way. Plus, I taste chicory or carob. I can’t really say much more about it because I couldn’t take more than a few sips. The remainder is still sitting downstairs waiting for me to dump the cup.

Verrrrry similar to Marshmallow Treat Genmaicha, only the marshmallow part tastes a bit burnt like after it’s been over a fire. I’m not so sure about chocolate or graham notes just yet. Maybe next time.
Sadly, for some reason, this doesn’t have nearly the same oomph. MTG rocks my palate! and here, I’m getting more of a gentle swaying (vs rocking).
Sure I’ll drink the rest of this down, but I suspect the MTG will go faster, even though I only have a third of a packet of SG!
Also, compared to Browncoat, I’d really have to do a side by side comparison. BG is slightly more biting, if I recall correctly, whereas the SG is milder overall but that’s the only difference I can discern without having them both in front of me.

I need to try this with milk, so I can get a true idea of the malted part! Without dairy, it’s ok. A nice refreshing drink! Very light and airy.

ETA: The chocolate is a bit fake, I can feel it tingling on my tongue and I really don’t like that sensation. It’s a cumulative effect, and reminds me of how I feel after drinking coffee. Errr, it makes my mouth numb. Okayyyyy so I’ll be giving the rest of this away, or rather sending it back to it’s previous home!

Apples: check!
Chocolate: check!
Green/Black tea: not so much in the first steep. Will see what #2 brings.

So the first part of the sip fills my mouth with apple flavour. Baked apples. And then as I swallow, I taste chocolate. Artificial chocolate, but it’s quite noticeable for me. I’m also getting some sort of caramel note.
Adding 1/2 tsp of sugar made things pop alot more. Before that, it was kinda muted but then I should have let the cup cool a bit beforehand.
Also, I need to play around with the parameters here, given that there are two types of tea in the blend. Next time I’ll try boiling, as recommended by DT.

Thanks to Sil for this sample!! It’s a backlog from ages ago that I completely forgot to log. Oops!
Anyhow, not bad for a random rooibos. The strawberry is very faint and slightly artificial, but pleasant. I was super sleepy so can’t recall more than that. I’ll have to rate it next time.
Thanks to Sil for the sample!! All the way from China :D

Well. I can certainly say I’ve never had an oolong like this before! It’s so… complex!
There is the standard heavy oxidized and roasted aspect that I get with most dark oolongs. Sweet notes of stone fruit and barley.
But then, well there is a creaminess I’ve never experienced before. Almost as if it’s a dark milky oolong. Or that deep sugary sweetness you get from milk chocolate, without the cocoa note that is. Just the tone of the sugar.
Hot, I can definitely understand the comparison to Brandy. I imagine if you drank them side by side, there would be many similarities.
Yep, this is quite good. I wouldn’t want it often, but then, I don’t have brandy much either!

Uncooked, stringy, starchy squash!! You called it Kittenna, yep, that’s what I taste. In the first infusion anyhow. At first I didn’t like it at all, but as the cup cooled I would enjoy one sip, and then not so much on the next one and so forth. So it’d get a 60.
Second steep is sweeter, a little more on the yam side, and mellower. The aftertaste lingers a little more as well. Rating: 72
Interesting indeed. Also, it reminds me of the Imperial Lotus rosettes I bought from Teavana last year, in the mouthfeel and aroma. I’ll have to make another cup soon and see if it’s as I remember.

Not bad. A little fruity. I can taste the deep cherry note, and maybe some other type of fruit. The black base is nice!
Altogether, it reminds me of those red marshmallow Easter treats. Or maybe I just have the holiday on my mind. Happy Easter everyone! :)
And then, seeing as the sample was enough for just one cuppa, I made half with milk and shuga’, and it became even more candy like, the soft and fluffy kind that melts in your mouth. Not very malty but then it doesn’t need to be.
I only wish the notes were less muted. I mean, it reminded me of Marco Polo, but less pronounced and definitive in flavour.
Verdict: Decent!! A good tea, but it’s safely in the “let’s be friends” zone. Unless things change, there’ll be no undying love…
(errr I’ve been watching the Lizzie Bennet Diaries. It may have impacted the quality of my rambles)
Thanks to Nina’s Tea for the sample!

I thought I’d adore this!! but somehow… I don’t :(
Now, it does fill a gap in my tea cupboard so I’m not complaining. Much.
Bare, it reminds me alot of that blueberry green tea I tried the other day. I wonder if it was contaminated? I had them in the same carrier bag for a few days. Hrm.
Anyhow. With some sugar, I can pick out alot more of the lime note. And with some milk, it tastes just like key lime pie filling! with some Senna on the side, which is what I disliked about the tea which may have contaminated this one. Not bad, really, just not what I was expecting considering my love for Lemon Chiffon.

Had some of this alongside my Butterscotch Potion to see how it compares. Lowering the rating a tad because that little exercise put things into perspective for me. Here’s to fine tuning my rating system :)

Oh wow this is good. This is really good. Amazing even.
What a lovely surprise… as I was having a rather low/crappy day and this just made it so much better!!
I’m noticing an intense butterscotch note all through the sip and aftertaste, along with a slightly astringent white note. Also, it is very sweet, like eating a butterscotch candy. Seriously, I have that aftertaste lingering long after a sip. and now I’m sad that my mug is empty.
First infusion was beyond stellar. I’d rate it 95. Second was predictably weaker and less round in flavour so I’d go with 83… which leaves the true score somewhere in the middle! (since I can’t see a number as I move the slider).
There will be future orders of this. I am so in love, this potion has certainly worked it’s magic on me!

Interesting. But not quite what I was after.
I’ve been on the hunt for a delicious fruity green tea lately and haven’t had much luck. I want something with a berry tone, and I’d rather it not be sencha. Sadly, most fruity blends are sencha, because it pairs best with fruit tones! Maybe I’ll settle for a fruity tky, if I can find one?
Anyhow, this one is ok but a bit artificial tasting. There is definitely strawberry, and creaminess. Not to mention tons of sugary goodness.
I can definitely taste yogurt, which brings out a campino candy note that would settle any cravings if I had them :p
Overall… I wouldn’t mind having it around, but certainly not over another green blend so would have to drink down my entire stash and try most other versions first haha(nothing specific mind you).
Thanks to Sil for sharing her stash!

This isn’t terrible, but I couldn’t get much flavour out of the leaves. It was more generically sweet than anything.
I decided then, to add milk and see if that helped, but we were out! well, of dairy. We do have this amazing organic almond milk that Dad brought home,it’s super delicious!!(which we probably won’t buy again because it isn’t calcium enriched and is part of the reason I drink it, so I’m kinda sad about that! but, I digress)
Anyhow, it kinda took over most of the tea, but still paired really well and made it quite drinkable. In fact, I did get some baked cookie notes. I’d have another cup if I could!

Oh wow this is just as good as I remember. So yum.
Good to know that while my sample from ages ago is long gone… there is a cafe downtown that offers this for sale, a two minute walk from the main subway station in Toronto (yonge and bloor), AND attached to the Reference Library. Score!
Without any sugar or milk, it was sweet, fruity, and just the right amount of astringency. Also, it came in it’s own little bubble tea pot!
The only down side is that the steeping vessel… was a loosely woven cloth tea bag. Neat because I’d never seen that before but also a slight disappointment being that I’m silly like that heh.

I made a few cups of this the other day, so I could grab a baseline for comparison with the S’mores and Marshmallow version. It does not fare well iced. But… It has mellowed out considerably since I first tried it, making it drinkable, or atleast something I wouldn’t be ashamed of serving to guests! Thus, I’ve bumped the rating a tad.

Do. Not. Like.
All I can taste is some sort of artificial, biting, cloyingly sweet and very odd note. I think that may be the Senna leaf, as it’s the only ingredient I don’t know the taste of.
Senna, I believe, is dominating the entire cup. Nope. No blueberry, tea of any kind, or any other note is around. Ok well maybe a hint of blueberry but it’s really hard to find!
ETA: I gave the rest of my cuppa to Dad and he thought it was some sort of ginger cherry blend! and that it’s really weird.

I had trouble eking flavour out of this. I measured it out during our swap day and there was no more than 8oz of water in my cup so what gives? Hmph.
That said, what I did get was some seriously delicious pineapple and oolong. Love loooove the base.
If I knew the lack of flavour was a one time thing, I’d actually make an order for it… I’ve now discovered that I love pineapple oolongs! albeit strongly flavoured ones.
Thanks Kittenna and Sil for the sample!

Thank you Raritea for sharing your Berry Good with me.
I quite like this. Super berry to the rescue!
A little too much hibby but then what else is new… and I can hardly taste the puerh in the first steep, if you don’t count the pinch of fishy scent which I only noticed when piping hot. Overall, it was much better in the second infusion. I heart berry teas!!
I’d have to try it again to get further into detail, as this is a backlog. and a sipdown (which I am totally claiming even though this hasn’t yet been added to my cupboard!) :P

Ok I really like this. Really!! So fruity and refreshing. I can’t taste the puerh at all though (thumbs down for me, but great for beginners). It’s tart in the perfect way to. For once hibby doesn’t rule the camp! As for specific notes, I’d have to try it again. But… I know I’d love it iced. I could guzzle pitchers worth.
Thank you Artp for the sample, I really appreciate it! In fact, I may go out and buy some, which is saying something… cuz I rarely do that. Well, I rarely have the opp to buy something. Err that is assuming they haven’t discontinued it. Fingers crossed

Hmmm. It seems 3 min was too much. Better stay with 1-2 min!
Too thick and not enough berry goodness. Good to know :)

This is a very comforting tea. I can picture myself drinking it cozied up with a great book and nothing but crackling logs in the fireplace for music.
At first, I didn’t like this at all. There is ALOT of astringency going on. That’s what I was worried about. Ack! Most chocolate teas I’ve tried are naturally sour and require a good dose of sugar for me to consider them palatable. In my head, that sour/bitter note of dark chocolate is transferable to tea so it kinda doubles down on that effect.
Of course, this is no exception. But… the chocolate part is so appealing that I’m willing to look past that. Realistic chocolate at that! I’m surprised, since I see barley bits listed in the ingredients and barley is very hit and miss with me.
Anyhow, milk is optional, though I am sipping the rest of this cuppa ala dairy. I prefer it this way, reminds me more of a hot cocoa. Also, the milk reduces astringency somewhat, as it creates a bit of a milk chocolate effect. So… while I may have come around somewhat about this blend, it isn’t that “perfect chocolate tea” I’ve been searching for. shrugs
Final verdict: Yum yum!

Whao, Monk’s blend in disguise much??
This is one of those teas I love the theory of, but when it comes down to it? Ehhhh not so much.
Maybe it’s because I had a nasty experience with the Teaopia version a few years ago, and I’ve been traumatized.
The first few sips were great. Cherry cordial and creamy vanilla. Oh yeah it was tasty! but… then the memory association kicked in and I dunno, it just didn’t sit right.
So I won’t rate it, being that my thoughts are completely all over the place. Bah!
That said, it was very smooth and flavourful, and I thought the base black was great…