Tea and Scones

2023 sipdown no. 36

Thank you Kelmishka for sending so many 52Teas for me to try!

Wow, this is so tasty! It’s really reminiscent of another tea, but for the life of me I can’t put my finger on which tea that is. There’s a definite citrus flavour, orange with a creaminess. Bordering on orange blossom. There’s hints of dried fruits as well. The entire cup comes together to create a fruit scone-like flavour.

12 Teas of Christmas- Day 1

I’m only doing 3 tea countdowns this year. I really need to get my stash under control, and I’m about to go on a trip that’s going to be very tea-filled, so didn’t want to overdo it with the advents. But, I can’t resist the 52Teas countdown.

This is so tasty! Bright, juicy oranges and a touch of sweet/bakery notes. Definitely a high note to start on.

12 Teas of Christmas: Day 1

This morning I woke up incredibly congested — one of just a few lingering covid symptoms. I was so excited to start the 52Teas countdown, though, that I made a pot of this one and hoped for the best. Unfortunately, I was SO congested that I could barely taste or smell the tea beyond a faint whiff of citrus. insert crying face emoji

I resteeped it a little later after my head cleared and I could detect more flavor, but I don’t want to rate it based on this suboptimal drinking experience. I’ll wait till I use up the pouch instead.

Sigh. :(

1st Tea of Christmas 2022

Mmm, this one reminds me of “Tangerine Cupcakes with Marshmallow Frosting”, from last year – a tea I adored. Cue orange-y citrus, creamy vanilla, undertones of sweet baked goods, and a hint of malt. The additions of a honey note, jam-like raisins, and the buttery finish give the overall impression of citrus-fig jam, clotted cream, and buttery hot scone (the black tea malt flavour is the “tea”, in the “tea and scones” lol). It’s a lovely blend and I’ll probably rate it high when I’m done my pouch.

As an offside, I have to laugh that all three of my advent selections today are earl-greyish citrus blends. Not complaining though. Citrus is life. Also, I desperately need the caffeine today.

Sipdown (347)

I really thought I would like this one and I guess I was expecting something different because when I drank this I sort of had a “huh, that’s different” reaction.

It could be my fault since I overleafed this. Also, it was a sample from an old order in 2018 so it is an older tea. On top of that, the package says to refer to the website for brewing recommendations which likely would have been helpful if I tried it right away but that information doesn’t seem to be available anymore. I resorted to my usual and steeped this for 2.5 mins in 200F water.

The tea isn’t bad per se but its muddled for lack of a better word. There is distinct flavors such as some citrus and some raisin that seem to be fighting to come through the medium-bodied base tea. The base is just bolder than I’d like and a bit drying. There is a slight pastry note here to but its just not coming together for me.

I wanted to like this. I really did. But this tea is a miss for me. Thankfully there are countless other 52 Teas that I love.

At first, I didn’t think I liked this tea. It has a strong flavor that I thought was bitterness, but it’s really just that deep tasty tang from the raisin. The second steep tasted exactly like the first. It didn’t need milk. It was so bready. What a great tea – definitely one of the best from the mystery bag!

I don’t think I’ve even had this one before let alone reviewed it. So here we go
I’m not gonna lie, this stuff smells great in bag. I’m getting a sweet raisin smell with black tea background.
Brewed 4min at 212F, 2 tsp to 16 oz water
Taste plain is… Hmm, that actually isn’t bad at all. I’m getting that raisin and fig flavor to it along with the black tea base. I am going to try to put my usual 52 teas single splenda in it to see how that effects it. MMMMM, now the raisin/fig is sweet and really There. It’s kinda drowning out the black tea flavor now. I’m also getting a bit of what I think might be black currant? Hard to say. I’m eating dinner with this (Mac and cheese w/ chicken) and it’s kinda skewing it. Overall, I would recommend this tea. If they ever re-blend it, go try some. It’s pretty tasty.

Adventaggedon Day Fourteen – 2/6

In the past I’ve had multiple “12 Tea” advents, so I’ve kind of bounced back and forth between the two during advents. This year I only have this one, so I think this is maybe my first time actually doing this advent on the actual intended dates!?

I know I’ve had this tea in the past, but I didn’t remember it super strongly. When I cracked open the bag and smelled notes of sweet orange it was different than expected, and I made a last minute pivot for how I was originally going to steep this tea = opting, instead, to make it as a very large Western teapot. It was very smooth with a profile that I would describe as marmalade first and baked goods second. Just a little raisin-y and malty. The orange note is also almost equal parts sweet and sort of pithy rind.

In my head this really fits an image of a traditional scone just slathered in freshly made marmalade or of a more “boutique” scone with an orange glaze on top and some fresh zest. Both are really delicious.

Today’s Advent Photos: https://www.instagram.com/p/CmKhQbAOFKi/

Song Pairing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6lkc5iHcSpo

This was today’s daily sipper.

I got the grape aroma as soon as I opened up my thermos. At first, I thought I put in the wrong tea because of it.

Although the aroma was of strong grapes, the flavor was not. The notes I got were citrus, orange, dried fruit… Fruity in general, and raisins with honey notes. My favorite part was the oats notes (rhymes lol). The after taste stayed with me long after the sip. It reminded me of a good bowl of fruit oatmeal. It was sweet, creamy mouthfeel and smooth. I didn’t get the scone-like essence or hint of cream flavor as I had hoped though. Enjoyable though. :)

Swap Sample Sipdown! (45)

From Kawaii433!

This is a very interesting one. The steeped tea has a somewhat grapey aroma, which worried me a little bit.

Luckily, it tastes much closer to raisin than grape. This makes perfect sense to me, since my favorite scones from my local tea house are currant scones. There is also a soft and sweet orange zest flavor that goes quite well with the raisin, which is rather sweet and rich-tasting. I also get a nice pastry sort of note that really sells the scone angle.

I like this much better than I expected… The raisin is very enjoyable, with its dark, almost molasses-y notes. I dig it.

Looks like there are still some tasters in stock… :P