277 Tasting Notes

So, this tea will be my “Tea from a Woman Owned Company” for this month’s Scavenger Hunt. I figured that today is a good day to fulfill this category since it’s International Women’s Day. :)

I really love how this tea turned out. The cranberry is bright & crisp – it really pops – thanks to, in no small part, the natural crisp, fruity notes from the Singbulli Oolong. The nuttiness from the chestnut essence (as well as the nutty tones from the Singbulli) are more of a background note, but I love the way the two flavor profiles play on the palate. It turned out WAY better than I anticipated.

Not a total sipdown for me, I still have enough for one more pot of this tea. I will miss it when it’s gone.

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Since this is the first tea that sold out from our 12 Teas of Christmas for 2021, I decided to drink this as a tea that is “discountinued/otherwise unavailable-for-purchase tea” on this month’s Scavenger Hunt. I could also drink this as a tea that makes me happy – it makes me very happy not only to drink it (I love this tea!) but also makes me very happy that it earned a spot in the box for 2021. I guess it could also be a tea from a woman-owned company.

I wrote about this tea not too long ago when I did the 12 Teas of Christmas countdown, so there’s not a lot more that I can say about this tea except that this is a sipdown, the last that I have of this tea.

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So, I hope that I found the new scavenger hunt list? Item #6 is “A tea flavored like your favorite pancake/waffle topping” & so I think this tea should be the obvious choice, right? And happily enough, I just reblended a small batch of this tea – a very small batch this time, because I want to actually test using the maple syrup crystals that I get from the maple cotton candy – so I plan to use some of this as my test before I actually release it to the website . . . in the meantime, some of the small batch is now available on the website – in other words, Pancake Breakfast is once again available – but in very small quantities!

So, this isn’t actually a sipdown because this is a “D’s Tea” but despite the well-meaning intention of the idea of a sipdown, as the purveyor of this particular tea, I think it’s one that you should keep in stock because it’s that good.

Also, this restock just so happened to happen on National Pancake Day. It’s actually just a crazy coincidence because I don’t keep up with those days, mostly because I don’t have the time or the organization within my chaotical mind to keep track of stuff like that. Maybe someday I’ll be all organized and up with stuff to be able to do that. But today isn’t that day. (I’m actually incredibly impressed with myself that I was able to get the Irish Cream tea out a month before St. Patrick’s day because usually, I’m like a month behind with stuff like that.)

So, anyway – I’m having fun with the scavenger hunt, even though I’m not actually doing a sipdown all the time. Thanks to Mastress Alita for the scavenger hunt prompts. :)

gmathis

Oh, I’ve been waiting for the new scavenger hunt! Haven’t been hugely active pursuing/reviewing them yet, but they are so much fun to read!

Mastress Alita

I put the new items up on the first post of the “2022 Sipdown Progress Thread” on the first of each new month. If I’m late feel free to poke me.

52Teas

Thanks, Mastress Alita! :)

Mastress Alita

Also, the prompts do come from those “weird holidays” for each month, so the National Pancake Day and pancake/waffle topping was not a coincidence. Last year the prompts were timed to the specific days and that just felt way too stressful for me so this year it’s just a “try to drink these things any time during the month.” And they don’t have to be sipdowns. Mine often aren’t. (I consider every cup of tea “progress towards an eventual sipdown” :-)

52Teas

LOL – but – with my D’s teas, any time I drink that tea, it leads to me blending more of that tea.

Crowkettle

I know it’s unintentional but the timing of this restock is extremely convenient for me. Wow. Thank you, National Pancake Day :)

52Teas

@CrowKettle – this was a really small batch – much smaller than usual – I will eventually reblend it again in the next couple of months, but this small batch was blended to hold us over while I’m playing around with the recipe a little bit. :)

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drank Alice's Tea by 52teas
277 tasting notes

For my final tea in this month’s Scavenger Hunt, this is my “Tea paired to a favorite Fairy Tale” – and while I know that Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland is not a fairytale, I still think of it as one because Disney kind of turned it into one for me. When I was a kid growing up in So Cal, I spent a lot of time in the Fantasyland area of Disneyland – a couple of my favorite attractions were the teacups & Alice in Wonderland rides (well, let’s be real, I loved every single thing about Disneyland, it was truly a magical place for a kid) – so back then, before I read Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland – I thought of Alice in Wonderland as a fairytale so I suppose I still regard it as such – at least a little bit.

I held onto a portion of this tea to cold-brew last summer but last summer was crazy and I forgot about cold-brewing it. So, I came across this small portion I had been hanging on to so I decided to cold brew it last night so I could enjoy it today.

It makes a really nice cold-brew. I like it. The jasmine is prominent, but the orange and apricot also come through nicely. I enjoy the way the jasmine and orange blossom play together to present a solid floral tone. This tea would not be for one who tends to shy away from floral teas, but for those of us who enjoy them, this tea is amazing. The cardamom comes together so beautifully with these flavors.

Not quite a sipdown just yet – I have enough for at least one more cold-brew – and maybe even enough for a small pot of hot tea with this one. I’m not sure if I prefer this one hot or iced. I probably prefer it hot, since that tends to be my favorite way to enjoy tea anyway – but it DOES make a really lovely iced tea as well.

Edited to add: I did it! I completed the scavenger hunt! :)

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I chose to sipdown this tea for the Scavenger Hunt category of “A Tea Flavored Like Your Favorite Muffin” – because 1) I don’t think I actually have a favorite muffin – I enjoy most muffins and/or pastries (muffins, tea cakes, coffee cakes, scones, biscuits, quick breads – I love them all) and 2) Orange Spice is one of my favorite flavor combinations & I think an orange spice muffin would be delicious right about now.

This is the last that I have of this tea – so it is indeed a sipdown. It’s so tasty – bright orange notes, pleasant spice notes. Warm & inviting, not overwhelmingly spiced but nicely balanced with the sweet & juicy orange flavors. I think I might put this on this year’s poll because I wouldn’t mind seeing it brought back for the holidays this year.

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This is my “Taiwanese Tea” from the Steepster Scavenger Hunt.

Last night, I stumbled across this tea as I was sorting through some things in the kitchen cupboard. This is old – from just before I took over 52Teas, but it was still in a vacuum sealed pouch so, I kept my fingers crossed in the hope that there would still be some flavor left in these leaves.

And there is some flavor here, but not nearly as much as I would have expected from a top quality Li Shan Cui Feng. It’s definitely showing it’s age here, so I’m not going to fault the tea or the tea vendor for the lack of flavor – it’s totally my fault – it got lost in my cupboard. :(

For the flavor that is here, it’s smooth, creamy & sweet with notes of vegetation. Hints of what I would expect from a Li Shan – just not enough of it – due to the age. This is a sipdown though & finding this tea was a timely find if for no other reason, than it helps me on my scavenger hunt.

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drank Coconut Kiwi Green Tea by 52teas
277 tasting notes

For my Steepster Scavenger Hunt entry “A Tea with a Name that begins with a periodic table abbreviation” – I selected this tea. (Co = Cobalt) I cold-brewed this tea overnight, and it is fantastic. The green tea base is a blend of Chinese Sencha & Yun Wu – and the sencha melds really nicely with the coconut to provide a lot of creaminess. The Yun Wu adds a nice vegetal note that compliments the sweet/tart kiwi.

This is a sipdown for me as the cold-brew took the last of what I had in my pantry of this tea. I will miss it, but I have so many teas that I think I have something in my pantry that will comfort me.

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drank Breakfast in Bed by 52teas
277 tasting notes

So, for my “Tea that I would happily drink everyday” from the Steepster Scavenger Hunt, I decided to go with this tea. It is one of my all-time favorite teas. I have been blending this tea for well over fifteen years now – I started blending it back when I was still blending & selling teas as LiberTEAS & I’ve reblended it as the Mad Tea Artist of 52Teas at least three times. To brew this tea tonight, I had to open my very last pouch that I have of this tea – so, I may need to reblend this one within the next year or so because I can’t be without it too long otherwise I miss it.

This is a blend of black teas (including a rose congou), rose petals and buds, cinnamon & vanilla beans. A fairly simple combination, to be sure, but it’s one that works so beautifully. Tonight, I’m having it as a latte – and it’s delightful as a latte. It’s delightful straight. It’s delightful iced. It’s one of those teas that makes me happy when I drink it.

I could happily drink this every day.

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I’ve been saving a small amount of this tea to cold-brew. When I saw that this month’s scavenger hunt specifies a “grapefruit tea” I decided it was time to take that tea that I was saving & cold brew it. It’s a little cooler than I like for a cold brew tea, but it’s still very refreshing. The grapefruit comes out stunningly well when it’s cold brewed. It tastes so much like a grapefruit, if I were blindfolded, I’d think I was drinking grapefruit juice (not that cocktail stuff, but the kind straight from the fruit!) The grapefruit is super-juicy & a little bitter (the kind of bitter that goes with grapefruit) & it cleanses the palate nicely (which was very welcome because I had a mochi donut – which was delightful but I was ready for a clean palate).

The brulee isn’t as strong when it’s cold-brewed so I brought those flavors out a little bit with a drop of honey & it’s SO GOOD like that. I also added a half a pinch of salt to it to soften the bitterness of the grapefruit.

So, I’m halfway through the scavenger hunt, I might – (might?) – accomplish this list this month. I only have five days left though – so we shall see. This is indeed a true sipdown because this is the last of this tea that I have in my pantry. Goodbye, delicious, refreshing tea!

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So, interestingly enough – I don’t get tea gifted to me. Nobody ever gifts me tea. Tea ware, yes, I do get tea ware gifted to me from people on occasion (but not nearly enough) – but people who know me best are under the assumption that I “have enough tea” as if that’s even a thing that is possible. I mean, yeah, I do have a studio that’s full of tea – and a kitchen that is more tea than any other type of food – but, is that enough? No, no it is not.

So, I’m going to consider this tea (a tea I gifted to myself) as a tea gifted to me on the Scavenger Hunt because otherwise, I would not be able to fulfill this particular category in the scavenger hunt because as I mentioned just a moment ago, I don’t get tea gifted to me.

Even though I do have a lot of 52teas varieties to choose from, I don’t think I can consider those teas that I’ve received as a gift or even gifted to myself. It might be a stretch, even with my ability to justify all kinds of things. One tea that I rarely skip in the morning is my my morning Matcha.

Matcha is not a tea that I work with in the tea studio because flavoring Matcha is a huge undertaking and I don’t feel it would be a sound investment for our brand. It’s expensive, it’s messy and it’s a lot of work & I don’t see a lot of return on the investment of money, time & effort.

Anyway, this is the Matcha that is currently on my pantry shelf – so this is the tea I grab nearly every morning to start my day. I love it. It’s so vibrant, smooth & creamy – and delicious. I’ve repurchased this Matcha several times now, it’s my current favorite. And since I don’t generally get tea gifted to me, I will consider this to be a “Tea Gifted To Me” from the scavenger hunt. :)

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52Teas offers you high-quality, hand-crafted, small batch artisan tea blends – a new flavor every week!

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Full Disclosure: The individual operating this UserID is the Mad Tea Artist who creates these blends every week. I’m aka LiberTEAS. I took over the 52Teas brand from Frank of Southern Boy Teas. I’m keeping both accounts active at the present time because I still have some tea reviews to post and I didn’t think that I should do that as 52Teas!

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