6106 Tasting Notes
(DavidsTea 2022: 23)
2022 Sipdown 19/365!
Well… sadly, this tea was no longer good. It was a sample, stored in a ziploc, and almost devoid of flavour. Too bad, as I used to enjoy this tea and was hoping for a final bit of nostalgia, but nope. Unusual that a tea is so spectacularly tasteless!
(DavidsTea 2022: 22)
2022 Sipdown 18/365!
Didn’t even know I still had some of this tea! This is ancient, probably about 10 years old (not from the recent re-release of this tea), and was in a miscellaneous box containing a handful of DavidsTea blends and a couple Frank-era 52teas ones that are not accounted for on my spreadsheet. I never really cared for this; apple teas just generally aren’t my thing. However, it wasn’t too bad. Somewhat cinnamony and apple, but rather astringent, and a bit stale-tasting. If there were still DT stores near me, I’d have picked up 10g of the recent version, but alas. I know I don’t want 50g so didn’t purchase it.
(DavidsTea 2022: 21)
2022 Sipdown 17/365!
Mastress Alita’s Sipdown Challenge January 2022: Earl grey tea
Finished off a small sample pack of this tea (but I supposedly have another small amount somewhere). I like it, but I definitely prefer all of 52teas’ versions of earl grey creams. There’s just something about the DT earl grey and/or cream that I don’t love.
(52teas (Anne) 2022: 36)
This tea has a very prominent pecan aroma when opening the bag. It makes my mouth water; I must have some association of that flavouring with something really tasty (unsure what exactly). Irritatingly, I oversteeped the tea and I think the pecan ended up being a bit overshadowed by astringency (almost certainly caused by the oversteep), but the ginger/pear is still present, and quite lovely. The ginger, which can often be too punchy and dominant, is present but subtle, and the pear is juicy and sweet, reminding me of only a handful of successful pear teas I’ve had, and one ginger/pear one in particular – although I haven’t the faintest clue which one.
I would very much like to try this tea properly steeped, so hopefully I do better next time! I’m not 100% sold on the pecan here, but that could definitely just be user error.
(52teas (Anne) 2022: 35)
Just had a vietnamese salad with lime juice/fish sauce dressing; probably not the ideal choice to precede the drinking of new teas. Oops. However, this tea is darn good despite the compromised tastebuds. It really tastes like a banana muffin with coconut creaminess. Very smooth. Rooibos is inoffensive, and the flavours are well-blended and a good strength. I’m pleased/impressed.
(52teas (Anne) 2022: 34)
Wasn’t able to try this until now because chamomile, but I really wanted to. Turns out, it’s really tasty! I mostly taste vanilla/lavender/chamomile, not really any strawberry. I’m also now VERY sad that I didn’t try it sooner, because it’s, not surprisingly, sold out. (So uh, if anyone has a pouch of this and doesn’t like it… hi! :D) So yes, very delicious, and now I’m also sleepy and going to bed so hey, maybe it is also effective? (It’s also well past my bedtime (2:37am) because I decided to make crepe batter for tomorrow morning… priorities…)
ETA: Also, a very good level of lavender here. Enough to taste it, but unless you utterly detest lavender, it probably wouldn’t bother you. Another thing – with these three teas brewed up, (Crangerine Salad, Tangerine Cupcake w/Marshmallow Frosting, and this one), my living room smells so good my mouth is watering. Hoping that this may mean my tastebuds are back to working properly, too!
I am a BIG fan of Anne’s camomile blends. BIG.
Honestly, this is the first one I remember. I’ll have to see what else I have. I wouldn’t have likely purchased one outside of the sub box, as I don’t actually like chamomile in general.
I am thinking of the tastes of at least three good ones and I can’t conjure up the names at the moment.
Ligonberry chamomile cider from 2018, April Siesta from 2017, Golden Slumbers from 2020. And At Play in the Fields of Love which was a VIT created for a friend – I’m not sure if I did any others? Those are just the ones that come to mind immediately.
I didn’t know of or try either of those first two, nor “At Play…” but do have Golden Slumbers – it doesn’t stand out to me, but have no note for it nor any actual recollection of drinking it… and the flavour profile looks to be up my alley… so now I’m inspired to find it (shouldn’t be too hard).
Sidenote, this is why I now subscribe… I hate that there are teas I never even tried! Haha. Classic FOMO…
I don’t like chamomile either, but had “Blueberrie-zzz” as a freebie in a 52Teas order and really enjoyed that one!
Ooooh, I missed that one too.
Ohh – I forgot about Blueberrie-zzz – there’s probably a few other chamomile blends that I forgot about. I know that Frank did at least one or two as well.
(52teas (Anne) 2022: 33)
I’m trying to make an actual effort to temper my caffeine intake, especially at night… which means trying to get through some herbal/uncaffeinated teas. This one I was actually interested in trying, though; cranberry orange with green rooibos? Sounds promising! Turns out that it’s actually fairly tasty, too. Leans a tad towards bubblegum, but is more orange/tangerine, with a hint of what I guess would be cranberry flavouring. The base works really well here to add some depth and lightness, almost… hard to describe, but I feel like it conveys “salad” to an extent? Either way, quite a pleasant blend, and the second honeybush/rooibos that I’ve tried recently from 52teas that I’m actually enjoying.
ETA: Finished my cup cold in the morning: delicious. Resteeped and got more cranberry, less bubblegum: delicious.
(52teas (Anne) 2022: 32)
Review for the 2021 12 teas of Christmas version. This is really delicious. Pretty much delicious orange creamsicle (so rather plausibly a tangerine cupcake with creamy marshmallow frosting), and I regret not remembering how much I liked this one previously, because I therefore didn’t end up ordering extra. So I guess I’ll just have to savour it!
(52teas (Anne) 2022: 31)
This tea has a most interesting flavour, with the lemongrass and spicing that I can’t quite place. It does remind me of some European spiced cookies I’ve had in the past – I wouldn’t have thought lemongrass would be involved, but I’m not great at breaking down complex uh… compound? flavours. I do not taste plum at all, or at least, not in the plum flavouring way that I expect. An interesting blend.
(52teas (Anne) 2022: 30)
As honeybush teas go, this is pretty good. Very cozy, as the name indicates, and sweet but not cloying like many dessert honeybush teas end up (and no oily slick from sprinkles!) Each sip I feel like I taste slightly different spicing, which is kind of interesting. Not a repurchase for me but I’m not going to have trouble finishing this packet as it’s an excellent evening choice.
