6106 Tasting Notes
Sipdown! 115/365!
Thoroughly expected not to like this one when I brewed it up this evening, as I had a vague recollection of it being overly gingery or gross in some manner. Apparently, I was quite wrong. It is delightful. Kind of a light, fruity, gingery chai. I’m not really sure I’m getting pear, but it is a floral sort of fruit, which is quite pleasant. The ginger is not overwhelming (I did keep it to a 2 minute or so infusion) – in fact, it seems very balanced with the other ingredients.
It appears to still be available, at least on the DT website, which is exciting – Roswell Strange, I don’t see a “discontinued” tasting note from you, so does that mean it’s a current tea? Regardless, it’s now on my list of teas to pick up on my next DT trip, which will be shortly. I feel like it would make a spectacular iced tea. Upping rating from 69 to 80 (though I will have to re-evaluate upon purchasing more, to make sure this wasn’t a one-off).
I don’t think I rated this highly enough. I’m currently enjoying a cup of it and it’s incredibly well-balanced and delicious. Perfect malty base tea, lovely creaminess from the coconut, exactly the right amount of bergamot. Maybe I just brewed it perfectly tonight, but it does truly taste like a London Fog made up with a dash of coconut milk. I could have done with more of this one, except for the whole coconut thing. But perhaps it will be reblended, and then I will have more. Mmmmm. Rating upped from 85 to 91.
This looks to be the first time I’m reviewing the Anne version of this tea. Unfortunately, I’m not nearly as big a fan of it. I’m just not picking up much in the way of flavouring at all, though the base is nice enough (bit astringent, I oversteeped). I believe I felt this same way when I first purchased it, as well, so it’s not age that’s the factor here.
I’ll let my previous rating stand for now, and will try this again in a more controlled manner (measuring tea, paying attention to infusion time) to see if I can improve it, but it’s sadly just not as good. (I believe there was a caramel/“sweet” flavouring that Frank used to use in many blends that is not used in Anne’s blends. Or it’s from a different source. Or something, as this is a recurring thing I’ve noticed.)
Lazy tea choice for the evening. I wanted a black and was in a rush, this was the first black tea I located in the straight teas bin. It hit the spot. So roasty and chocolatey. Yum.
As fate would have it, this is the other tea I drank this afternoon, when randomly pulling out teas from a bag I need to drink down sooner rather than later. A good choice for a comparison against DT’s Lemon Pound Cake, as it turns out!
The base definitely wins here (for me), because it’s a greener oolong and the “oolong-ness” comes out nicely, whereas the tea base is less prominent in DT’s (it’s also a more oxidized oolong). So depending on what one is looking for, that may or may not be a good thing. For the citrus flavouring, yes, this one is limier, but they’re fairly similar. Both creamy and delicious. DT’s probably wins there, but only because creamy lemon is slightly tastier than creamy lime, and the flavouring is stronger, perhaps because the base is also lighter.
Anyways, comparing apples to oranges here, really, but the 52teas version is definitely of higher quality, but flavouring-wise, they’re both quite good. I greatly enjoyed both cups today, while tiny baby fussed, and fussed, and fussed some more. Sigh.
ETA: Forgot to look for the glitter. Next time.
Sipdown! 114/365!
Well darn. Thought I had more of this left. It looks like it’s still available, so I’ve shortlisted it for a repurchase before it’s completely gone. Although my initial rating was mediocre, this one grew on me quite a bit. I do really seem to love creamy lemon/lime teas, and when paired with a nice base, they rate pretty highly for me (see: AQ2T Hot Cross Buns/the other similar one, 52Teas Sun & Cloud Mist, fluffy lime things from both vendors + Butiki, etc.)
Another time where I should have written something while drinking the tea, but didn’t. Suffice to say, it was creamy and softly lemony (well, the lemon is strong, but not pungent), and the base was a good choice. Upping rating from 73 to 81
Another tea from the Verdant subscription box from quite a while ago. Would really love to subscribe again once I drink down some straight teas, but that won’t be for a while…
Anyhow, this is pretty tasty. I should have written about it last night, when I was drinking it, but I didn’t, so all I can say is that it tasted like a Chinese black, very malty but thinner in mouthfeel than some blacks. Some sweetness. Overall, quite a lovely cup. It’s not likely unique enough for me to crave, but it certainly satisfies a craving for a good Chinese black tea.
I was hoping the odd smell was gone from this one, but it’s not really, as I had hoped. Oh well. Pretty meh cup of this today. I’m not sure why I rated it so highly, unless maybe I tried another batch which was better? Mine might still be best fit for the garbage.
ETA: Read my past notes and it makes sense – I changed my rating based on an Anne reblend I had, which was apparently quite good. I have no recollection of it, but tasting notes don’t lie. So to clarify, this particular note is for the Frank version, with which something unfortunately went wrong. Sad times.
Sigh. Dashboard is stuck again.
Stuck and missing random tasting notes I’ve written. This is frustrating.
I saw it on the wall in a local shop yesterday.
Also, I like this one a lot. (Unless they’ve changed the recipe since the one I bought.)
It’s still available in stores/online :)
I got some! But only a little since it’s still around.