New Tasting Notes

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September Sipdown Challenge – a tea for which you are grateful

This is not a sipdown. This is a nearly new tin. I forgot what I had ordered from S&V and when I saw this I was really perplexed as to why I ordered it. I am so glad I did. I am mostly grateful to have found teas and tisanes without caffeine now that I have become caffeine sensitive. But I am grateful for this one because most of our caffeine free options are dessert blends or fruity blends and I really needed this for a night like tonight when my clenched jaw has inflamed my TMJ issues and I have a headache.

The others blends were purchased for fun evening tea and cookies or snacks with Ashman, but this one is a cup for quietness by candlelight with the windchime singing just outside my window.

It is lavender forward and the mint is just a slight cooling sensation and doesn’t take over the personality of the whole cup. Mild mint is very soothing and relaxing to me.

Hopefully once I finish this I can go to bed and fall asleep right away.

Sipdown! (30 | 345)

I quite enjoyed this one. It has a nice balance of woody rooibos with those earthy rooty flavors and spices. Ginger and cardamom stand out to me, which is ideal since those tend to be my favorites of the chai spices. Nicely grounding earthy notes from the chicory root. And I really appreciate that it doesn’t have added flavors, as I prefer my chai that way. Spice and cinnamon flavors are always so over the top to me.

Very enjoyable, and of course perfect for fall. Would consider ordering some of this one once (if ever) my cupboard gets more under control. :P

Ashmanra’s sipdown challenge – September 2023 Tea #7- September 21 – World Gratitude Day

I thought I’d throw this note into the abyss.  I hope the one person in charge of keeping Steepster going is having a swell vacation.  Anyway, I’m grateful for this tea during — from what I have heard — is chai day.  YES chai!  I’m especially grateful to this blend because it is a seasonal, therefore rare blend to get ahold of, especially if us in America don’t want to spend a ton of money just for shipping.  I can never tire of this blend!  Perfection.

Nice, tart and fruity

Tea from the hotel connected to the Hong Kong airport.

Not a bad work tea. Coppery and earthy, some malt with kind of berry undertone. Doesn’t get much bitter. Fairly smooth and full-bodied but without a low-down malty taste; rather bright. Could have used a little saffron to give more dimension.

This was part of the Cookie Box I ordered on whim, because who doesn’t like cookies? :P

It’s actually really good. I wasn’t expecting much, as I often find caramel teas disappointing, and this one has cocoa butter pieces in it, which I find weird. Luckily, it’s not that oily, and the caramel flavor is buttery and silky without being too heavy. I do get a touch of salt as well.

My only criticism is that I think it would be better on an oolong base, but still very enjoyable. I would consider ordering this one if I were in the market for a salted caramel tea. Not sure I will, just because it’s not a flavor profile that I would reach for often.

Sipdown! (29 | 344)

Finally getting back to these poor Bitterleaf samples that have been sitting, neglected, in my sipdown area for months. Poor dears… I think I just haven’t been reaching for my plain teas lately in general, probably because of all the fun new fall flavors I got.

Anyway. This one actually tastes a little bit like a sheng to me. Not fully, but it has a bit of that fruity funk to it that I don’t usually find in a white tea cake, along with a hint of bitterness. Otherwise, there’s that classic haylike white tea flavor, though here it’s a bit more barnyardy, like the hay has been sitting in a pile for a few days, rather than fresh hay. That sounds gross but it isn’t, LOL. More earthy/woody than fresh hay, is perhaps a better was to describe it.

A nice, grounding tea for fall. Very reminiscent of hayrides and piles of autumn leaves, with a hint of tart fruit.

Sipdown! (28 | 343)

So the name of this one sounds delicious. Sadly, I don’t really get much of the caramel or buttercream aspects. There’s a touch of creaminess from the coconut maybe, but I wouldn’t go so far as to call it buttercream. Mostly, this is a very anise-heavy chai. I basically just taste star anise with a touch of coconut and perhaps a hint of cinnamon.

It’s not awful or anything, as I do like anise, but definitely doesn’t fulfill the promise of the name.

My first thought was of some type of paste with a floral back tone. The leaves are a dusty, dark chocolate. The initial aroma coming off the leaves was fruity now it’s a bit more charcoal. The liquor is a beautiful amber color. Liquor aroma is choral, mineral, and slightly floral. The flavor is a smattering of charcoal notes, a bit of baked bread, and floral notes. The floral notes are a bit tropical with hints of jasmine but strong in gardenia. The minerality plays well with the charcoal. An interesting balancing act on the palate.

Sipdown! (27 | 342)

From Deb’s latest collection. I love the idea of this one – I drank and ate POG-flavored everything when I was in Hawai’i last year, and it’s a wonderful combination. Also, I adore guava-flavored anything, so I was excited to see guava flavoring in the ingredients.

However, this one falls short for me because of the rooibos. It’s too rooibos-heavy in my opinion, and the rooibos comes off quite medicinal, maybe because it’s combined with fruit flavors? It seems like more rooibos than black tea to me, although it’s not according to the ingredients list.

The sweet-tart guava flavoring with the orange slices is quite enjoyable, but the rooibos heaviness ruins it for me. Would love to see this one on a plain black base or even a green base though. :)

This really doesn’t have a lot of flavor. It was on sale and my tummy is frequently uneasy so I thought I would try it as an after supper cup. Nope. Not my thing.

Last Sips by tea for September!

This one was highly disappointing. It had a nice apple smell in the bag, but I’m struggling to find the apple when it comes to the taste. Mostly it just tastes like a roasted oolong, maybe with a tiny hint of apple in there somewhere. Not bad, just not the apple tea I was hoping for, especially when August is usually a bit over-the-top with their flavorings.

Time for another pumpkin spice tea!

This one smells pretty great in the bag – buttery and decadent, like pumpkin roll cake batter. However, I’m not finding it all that cakey steeped up. I definitely get the pumpkin spice, particularly the nutmeg, and there’s a bit of a creamy, desserty note going on. But I wouldn’t go so far as to call it cakey? I also can’t really taste the puerh, in fact it tastes like a rather light black tea base.

Somehow it tastes like it has a lot of flavoring, and a bit artificial, and yet it doesn’t actually remind me of cake batter at all. It’s almost more of an eggnog flavor, with the strong nutmeg? Anyway, I’m off to sniff the open pouch some more… XD

The TTB has arrived! So big, so many teas… no chance to try them all!
Tea #15

I think I have found great grapefruit tea…
but hard to get, indeed. It’s nice that it is available in the US Lupicia site, but still hard to get this to Europe. Oh wait, it’s on French site. I shouldn’t see that.

This is strong in grapefruit aroma, but sometimes aroma is all what tea is about. Luckily not this tea! It has got lovely citrusy flavours, especially the grapefruit. But I can see lemon mentioned by some. Green tea base is not so strong, but lovely too, a little grassy IMO.

Welp, I need more of this.

Tea number three from my September Sips by.

Wasn’t too excited to see this one in my box, it has hibiscus in it which sort of makes it another iteration of the “mulled wine” tisane. The ginger is very strong and spicy, which makes sense given it’s the first ingredient. I do taste a little bit of elderberry I guess, but mostly it’s ginger and hibiscus with subtle dark berry and cinnamon notes.

I feel like I’m always disappointed in elderberry teas, because I can never actually taste the elderberry clearly. Maybe I should be on the lookout for a plain elderberry tisane ha ha…

The TTB has arrived! So big, so many teas… no chance to try them all!
Tea #14

Okay, take houjicha and genmai… and you got Hifumi.

I won’t lie, I took this tea rather for it’s outer wrapping, but this profile souned good in early autumn afternoon. It was sunny, no cloud in sight, but it is getting colder and dark fast!

The flavour, for this unknown old, tea bag, is a bit vague. The houjicha is indeed giving roasted note, but in my opinion quite weakly and not much of toasted rice is present as well.

Sadly, all the flavours were a bit weak. That is the biggest dismal about this tea, but maybe I just needed to steep it long, though I have steeped it for recommended 2 minutes only.

This is pretty good. I’ve had this sitting my tea drawer for an indeterminate amount of time, so I think if it were fresh it would likely be even better. Of course, what better time of year to drink a Pumpkin Chai than now? Although honestly, I’m not getting a whole lot of either pumpkin or chai – again, could be because this tea is a few years old at this point. Overall the flavors are mild but pleasant, and the tea feels smooth, silky, and malty.

This blend is nice; it’s not a favorite but I’ll drink it. It vaguely reminds me of Paris by Harney and Sons because I didn’t pomegranate at all. It’s a shame, I like pomegranates. Though it has that touch of vanilla that Paris has but its just tannic and bitter, unlike Paris which is smooth and creamy.