Featured & New Tasting Notes

Sipped this last night.

I enjoy elderflower and linden, so I found it quite pleasant. Those two were mostly all I tasted, though I don’t have a clear concept of what the other herbs in the blend (echinacea, plantain leaf, lady’s mantle) taste like, so it’s difficult to say what flavor they contributed. I do think this blend would benefit from a touch of mint or citrus, just to give a bit of a counterpoint in flavor. Still tasty and relaxing though!

According to my last entry for this tea, I’ve had it for at least 5 years aaaaaaand SIPDOWN! It feels like a slight cheat of a sipdown because I tossed half a serving of the crumbs at the bottom of the tin, but you can’t make a good cup out of that and that’s the story I’m sticking to.

This has been a solid tea to have in my cupboard and I have enjoyed it, but it doesn’t stand out enough in the sea of malty breakfast teas to buy more. I wouldn’t turn down a cup, but I wouldn’t go out of my way to source one either. In the malt I can find notes of light tobacco towards the end of the sip. It holds up well to the addition of cream to tone down tannins. It’s a decent tea.

Steeped a cup of this neglected tea this morning after I realized I’m out of Lupicia’s Cookie and saw they are sold out on their site. I swear I had backups…
Anyway… with a breakfast tea I expect bold flavors that stand up to the addition of milk. I tried that and had to sip half way through my cup to start picking up flavor that the milk diluted. I am getting a bit of candied orange and it reminds me of a lighter version of a Fauchon tea I love. I’m not crazy about this tea and wouldn’t order it again, but I’m enjoying this cup well enough.

Sipdown! (6 | 149)

Since I have some loose leaf of a similar blend now (No. 10), I figured I would finish off this box of teabags. I do notice a slightly papery note from the teabag today, not sure why or what I did differently. Still a nice, easy-drinking blend with a mellow twist of citrus. Will have to revisit this one in loose leaf form if I sip through that No. 10 and still want a restock.

This tea hasn’t aged a great deal yet, but it’s just as tasty as before. It has a complex aroma that blends fruity, nutty, and floral notes with hints of forest and sawdust. The taste is full and pungent. It is bit more on the savoury and bitter side, but also has a mild apple flavour.

The mouthfeel is very thick and oily, and the aftertaste very long and flowery with plenty of returning sweetness and various notes of spices.

It’s election day and I need something familiar and comforting to get me through the anxiety of the day. Since I can’t sleep through it, which would be my preference, I’ll caffeinate!

This tea is tasting like the same experience I had last time I had it. The fruity jam flavors have faded over time and I’m left with a cup of russian caravan. It’s still very nice, both warming and comforting, but has lost that magic I loved. Every 6 months or so I google AQ2T to see if Lauren has made a reappearance or come back tour and every time I’m out of luck, but likely won’t ever give up hope. I’m stubborn like that. It’s one of my better traits. ;)

Tried this with oat milk and sugar this morning, and it was much better. There’s a maple-y note to it, along with the rich toasted chestnut. I do still get a hint of that odd savory/herbal flavor, with the milk it leans a bit more toward fennel than dill maybe. It’s not a bad thing per se, just odd, and I mostly taste it in the finish. I assume it’s just part of how I’m interpreting the flavoring, since I’ve had plenty of their other black teas and never noticed it before.

I’m not sure if this is one I would reorder, since I happen to love Lupicia’s chestnut teas, but definitely a good one to have on hand for the colder months.

November Sipdown Prompt – a tea that reminds you of fall

I have been looking for the email telling me that this is back in stock as it is a seasonal tea. I got an email for fall teas and I checked and I did not see this one listed. Today I got curious and checked again, and there it is.

Now the dilemma is whether to hurry up and order before it sells out, or try to wait for the Christmas teas. They do have the Christmas Collection 2024 page up but it is still empty. Last year I purchased my Christmas teas on November 11, so I think I will take a chance and save Momijigari for that order. If I miss out, it isn’t like I have no other tea to drink…

This tea is my fall go-to to drink alone, because I adore it and Ashman said it was just okay to him. So this one is reserved for my tea alone times. It contains actual maple leaf, if I understand correctly, and has a delightful apple scent. It is so perfect as it is that I do not resteep this one, not even to combine steeps. I don’t want to decrease my pleasure in this one in any way, and the one time I combined two steeps the apple flavor was definitely diminished.

Love love love it

A tea from my blind Farmerleaf sheng shopping spree in the spring.

I was steeping 5 grams in my 125 ml gaiwan with steeps starting 10 seconds and adding 5 seconds increments. Quick rinse.

Oveall impressions are good, there is no astringency, mild sweetness as Marshall Weber notices. I am not that sure about apricots, but definitely there are some stonefruits in flavour. Not overly complex, but great daily drinker for sure. For that price, worth it. Surprisingly long mouthfeel.

This is pretty standard, but it’s a nice version of this flavor profile. It’s a little floral and a bit herbaceous. It’s refreshing cold, but not special.

I love a unique tea blend, and Piper & Leaf definitely have a nice variety of unique blends. So it’s been fun tasting through the couple samplers I purchased.
This is incredibly savory smelling. Smells like oregano soup. Not getting any spices in the aroma.
Tastes savory as well- I’m getting mostly oregano, with some of the dill and fennel. Just a touch of ginger/cloves. Really interesting and not something I’ll drink all the time, but it’s still enjoyable.

I am surprised to see my tasting note for this tea. Maybe the Italian text misled me and I just thought it’s something different.

That note is from 22nd January 2019. Now, it says “6 years ago”. Whoa.

Anyway, I have to agree with my past self. Unnoticeable green tea, fresh orange and little warmth… probably the ginger.

Perfectly suits “hot drink, called tea”. No flaws, but a bit boring.
Will I get more than 2 likes today? :)

Anne very kindly gave me a sample of this in a small order I recently placed. Definitely cola! Very mild cherry and almond.

This sounded interesting based on the description, but I’m mostly just tasting the Assam. There’s a hint of gunpowder I think, but the strong and malty Assam dominates. It’s not unpleasant, with dark caramelized brown sugar and raisin notes, but I guess I was expecting something more nuanced or complex? They claim it tastes like whole grain toast, but not really getting that at all.

Oh well, we’ll see if my opinion changes over the course of the 2-ounce bag!

Early grey isn’t generally my favorite, but I usually love the 52Teas earl grey blends. This is no exception. The slight creamy, custardy flavor of the creme brûlée combined with the bergamot is delicious.

I might be romanticizing it a little, but you know when you break out a seasonal tea that you haven’t enjoyed in months, and you think, “Well, hello, friend?” Enjoying a long-overdue catch up with this semi-sweet caramel treat, smiling with every sip. It’s not sticky sweet or sloppy buttery. More like a very light coating on a bowl of caramel popcorn.

I always wanted to try this one, as I KNEW Lupicia would do a fantastic job with the pineapple. Thanks very much, Cameron B! I also remember Cameron sent over some other Lupicia barley teas years ago, and I loved those. From the first sniff from this teabag, it seems like REAL pineapple juice was just poured over this barley. The pineapple could not be more authentic. And then I just knew it would be so wonderful paired with the rustic, roasty toasty barley flavor. It’s so good. Now I want some of my beloved pineapple pizza. The second steep, I left the teabag in for quite a while, so it was more barley than pineapple, but that’s okay!

As others have, I received this tea from derk. Thank you! Based on the notes I’d read, I wasn’t sure what to expect, but it was on my wishlist, so I knew it would be good or at least interesting.

I followed Leafhopper’s preparation method, using the same water temperature and steeping times. The result? A truly wonderful tea.

A beautiful bouquet of floral notes filled my gaiwan. The tea had a smooth, creamy mouthfeel that lingered pleasantly. It transported me to a foggy autumn day, surrounded by yellowing leaves. I almost felt like I was in the mountains.

Each infusion was perfectly balanced, with a delightful floral complexity that was hard to pinpoint. Later infusions took on an intriguing, forest-like character, eventually settling into a simple, grassy note. Even in its final stages, the tea remained complex and special.

By the fourth or fifth infusion, the leaves had fully unfurled. I longed for a glass gaiwan to fully appreciate their beauty as they floated and expanded in the liquid.

This is an exceptional tea, without a single flaw. I’m so glad I had the opportunity to try it. I saved half of the 8-gram sample, eager to savor it again. It was the perfect, relaxing oolong to enjoy on a stressful day before a job interview.

A change in workplace will mean a move, but if I want to move forward, I must seize the opportunity. Of course, they’ll need to hire me first!

I never liked candy corn, so luckily this doesn’t remind me of it at all. It’s desserty, though I can’t tell exactly what it’s going for – I taste sprinkles? Maybe something like vanilla icing? I removed the marshmallows before steeping. With milk and sugar, this is quite nice! I like it best cold.

The black tea is pretty hearty. Comparatively, the peppermint is a bit mild, but I noticed it in the aftertaste. This is pleasant cold with milk and sugar, but I’ve had better versions of this flavor profile. Some sips are pretty candy cane -like, which is fun. Decently, tasty, though not special.

Sharedown

Gifted to the new padawan! This is a great tea and the flavor is spot on to the name.

I couldn’t resist adding in some teas to my Dammann Freres advent order, and I’ve been curious about this one since last advent season seeing y’all here on Steepster review it so it was top of the list for me in terms of new blends I wanted to try!

I have to say, it made a STRONG first impression. Still a very black tea forward cup, as is the case for the majority of DF’s blends of this style. However, it’s got such a crystal clear creamy yogurt-like flavour with a just ripe mango note – still has the faintest bit of that pine-y resin note but also sweet, smooth and refreshing. The undertones are a little biscuit-y and sweet with that macaron-like nutty confection note but it’s very subtle and I think just adds to the overall richness without this being heavy or cloying or too fruity.

My biggest concern with this tea before tasting it would that it would simply just taste like mango without that very needed creamy component, but that’s not the case at all. I’ve also actually had a non-stop craving for this since finishing my mug, which is a VERY good sign.

Sipdown! (14 | 143)

Just finishing off my 10-teabag sampler box, since I have loose leaf coming tomorrow!

Just a lovely eggnog-meets-pumpkin-pie tea that’s great with milk and sugar. It’s nice plain too, but even better with additions. It’ll be interesting to see how the loose leaf version compares, but I imagine it’ll be even tastier. :)

I finally overcame my laziness and sorted out my account again (I don’t usually use Chrome but Steepster seems to despise Firefox). So… Hi everyone! I hope you have all been doing well :)

It’s fall, which apparently means French teas. Also lots and lots of Earl Grey. I think I meant to get Thé des Sages (should have double-checked my Steepster notes before ordering), but this one is still alright! The bergamot note and general profile is very clean, bold, bright, and floral-fruity – even with milk. Truly the best of both worlds with that assam/yunnan blend as a base.