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Sipdown! (1 | 94)

A very enjoyable, woodsy, and mellow white tea. Love the refreshing cedar with the more earthy, autumn-leafy white tea. The elderberry is very subtle, but I do get a soft fruity note in there somewhere. Already looking forward to maybe trying Thésaurus’s holiday-themed advent this year.

Can’t believe it’s been almost 3 years since I kept this from the Strange VariaTEA TTB!

Sipdown! (13 | 90)

This one sounded interesting in theory, but was just okay IMO. Mostly it tasted like a mild lapsang, and the added flavors were very subtle (to me, at least). I always found myself wanting more bergamot and vanilla.

Sipdown! (12 | 89)

Just delightful. This strikes the perfect balance of sweet and tangy without needing any sweetener at all. I wouldn’t call it specifically guava, there’s definitely a strawberry flavor along with tart apple, but otherwise it’s a bit nondescript. Perfect cold steep for summer!

Will definitely repurchase in a larger size once I’ve sipped through my current cold steep stash.

Sipdown! (11 | 88)

Another Valhallow rehome finished off!

This one tastes very similar to Tochiotome Black to me, though I never did try them side by side. Very fresh and tangy strawberry flavor, as opposed to sweet and candylike. The base is smooth despite being mostly CTC. I also had it as an iced milk tea, which was delicious!

Sipdown! (10 | 87)

Finished off a smaller package of this that was generously rehomed from Valhallow, ty!

The Tochiotome series are definitely my favorite strawberry teas. Even though it’s the same flavoring, the black one is more sweet and desserty while this one comes off more fresh and juicy. Both are delightful!

Next up from my Murchie’s order! One of the many fruity black teas that I selected, this one was actually part of their Summer Fruit sampler, which came with 2 ounces each of Tuscany Orange, Raspberry, Strawberry, and Peach Rooibos. I was already interested in some of those teas, so I figured why not?

Sadly, this is just okay IMO. The raspberry is a bit hard candy-like. It makes me reminisce about when my grandmother lived in her own small apartment, and always had a crystal candy dish on her coffee table with ribbon candy, those sliced hard candies with the cute images inside (no idea what they’re called), and assorted fruit hard candies – including the raspberry ones, which were round and had the bumpy texture of a raspberry. I think they had some kind of syrupy filling too?

So even though this isn’t a fresh raspberry flavor (as promised), and has a bit of a chalky edge to my tastebuds, I still appreciate the memories it activated. Will perhaps try it as a creamy raspberry milk tea one of these days.

This was the main reason for my Murchie’s order. It’s a summer seasonal tea, and I love orange-flavored things. I will say, I became less excited when I saw that it also has spices in it, because why? They describe it as a transitional tea for late summer and early fall, but I guess I’m confused by that decision when they already have two other orange spice teas? So I hemmed and hawed on whether I even wanted it anymore, but ended up taking the plunge because retail therapy. I did remove all of the whole cloves out of protest! (Ashmanra will understand XD)

It is mostly orange, thankfully. I would describe it as being close to a true orange flavor, with just a touch of gummy orange slice and a bit of that essential oil sort of zestiness. The spices show themselves near the end of the sip, and the finish tastes very similar to their Christmas Tea (which is an orange spice black tea).

It does seem similar to Christmas Tea, though perhaps more orangey. I might have to try them side-by-side to remind myself. In any case, it’s nice, but definitely a fall-to-winter tea for me, and not a summer one.

Let me know if you have any recommendations for a nice, juicy orange tea, preferably without hibiscus or spices!

Just got my Murchie’s order, placed mostly because I was intrigued by the seasonal Tuscany Orange tea. I was in a fruity mood I guess, because I ended up getting three additional fruit-flavored black teas to try, this being one of them.

I have to say though, for something called “Lemon”, this actually just tastes like an Earl Grey. Maybe it’s the combination with the acidic base, but I’m getting more bergamot than lemon. Not that I mind bergamot or Earl Grey, but it’s not what I was expecting from this tea. Oh well! I’ll use it for lattes and milk teas.

Sipdown! (9 | 86)

A lingering mini tin from the spring subscription box.

I remembered enjoying this more previously, I’m not sure if it’s the particular mix in this tin, but it’s more rooibos-y than I recall, and I can’t taste the vanilla cake as much. Also the bee pollen is adding a hint of wet dog, which isn’t ideal ha ha.

I have a full tin of this in my cupboard, maybe I’ll have to make a cup from that one and see if I feel the same way about it. Leaving my previous rating for now.

Sipdown! (8 | 85)

From the April subscription.

It’s okay, mostly tastes like a harsh Chinese green tea. There are some beany and stonefruit notes, but it’s also quite earthy/strawlike, a bit smoky, and somewhat astringent.

Sadly, I am not getting this subscription anymore. For some reason, S&V started making 3 out of 4 teas unflavored in every box, and I am generally only interested in their flavored offerings. Oh well!