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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!

Sipdown! (7 | 84)

Woohoo, another 4-ounce tin down! All of my tins from S&V have made it into my box of oldest teas, which just goes to show that I can’t get through 100+ grams of tea in a timely fashion. Sadly, they only offer these national park teas in a 4-ounce size… :|

Anyway, I enjoyed this one! I wouldn’t call it a must-have, but it has such a pleasantly rhubarb-esque tangy fruit flavor to it, along with a touch of earthiness. I love rhubarb, so that probably explains why I enjoy this tea. I don’t know that I’ll reorder it, given the 4-ounce minimum… I really wish they would add 2-ounce bags for this series.

Sipdown! (6 | 83)

Finished off this delightful infusion from Murchie’s, which really does taste like carrot cake IMO. Even though I’m not a rooibos lover, I think the base here works well because of the addition of green rooibos and honeybush. It certainly doesn’t have that traditional rooibos woody/medicinal flavor. It’s sweet but not overly so, and has nice subtle warm spices with a touch of cream cheese creaminess. I’m not a fan of chocolate chips in tea, but there don’t seem to be a ton included here, and they also don’t melt all that well, so it’s not an overly oily cuppa.

I made a Murchie’s order a few days ago, as I want to try their summer orange tea, and another bag of this made the cut!

I am ashamed to admit that I have had this tea in my cupboard since it was released (around December of 2022 I think) and had still never tried it until today… Oops? Nazanin has just released her third tea blend (Joon), and I think that was probably on my mind as I was selecting my first tea of the day.

So obviously, it’s been sitting around for almost 2.5 years, so the flavors are probably more subtle than they originally were. But I can still taste the citrusy bergamot, a touch of rose, and subtle cinnamon. It’s a very nice if somewhat unexpected combination – I don’t know that I’ve had cinnamon with bergamot before, though Prince Vladimir’s clove is pretty close. The cinnamon also gives it a lovely sweet aroma. Thankfully the rose is gentle enough that I still enjoy it, even though it’s not a floral that I generally like.

It’s a very aromatic and refined black tea blend that I could see being lovely for the afternoon. Someday soon I’ll have to order a new bag and actually drink it while it’s fresh, heh!

I recently added a random weekly tea selector to my spreadsheet, which chooses two random teas when I reset it for the week. This is one of the two chosen for this week!

I haven’t had it in ages, so it was fun to see it come up. Full-size teas that I’m not actively trying to sip down tend to get neglected in my cupboard, at least until they’ve become old enough to make it into my oldest teas basket LOL. This is pretty close actually, being from fall 2022.

Anyway, I really enjoy this flavor combination. The oolong has both fresh green and toasty grain notes, and strikes a nice balance of the two. The blueberry reminds me of the dried version that I used to enjoy in Blueberry Morning cereal, and is quite sweet with a syrupy, concentrated quality. I do taste a hint of banana, but it’s mostly adding creaminess. Still reminds me of some kind of blueberry granola!

Sipdown! (5 | 82)

Wasn’t a big fan of this (and it looks like I’m not the only one). I find it a bit harsh as green teas go – it does have some beany/vegetal notes but there’s also a lot of mineral and smoky flavors going on, and a bit of astringency. It’s also a bit bland overall?

Was interesting to try, but it’s not one that I would repurchase.

This reminds me a bit of their Hawaiian tea series in that it’s definitely tropical but a bit difficult to pick out the individual flavors. Apparently it’s supposed to be mango and pineapple with “other fruits”. I do get something mango-esque, though it also leans a bit more toward peach IMO. Not sure I can taste pineapple, but there is a slight tang.

I think this is one that would be nice as a milk tea, as the base is quite strong and has CTC leaves included. I’ll have to try it that way soon!

Sipdown! (4 | 81)

Making good progress on sipping through my matcha stash! I think after this, I have two more small Obubu pouches and then one bigger pouch of something from Naoki.

Anyway, not much to say about this one specifically – I drink all of my matcha as iced oat lattes, so there isn’t a huge difference between the different Obubu ones. They are all smooth and flavorful, with a nice fresh/grassy quality and an undertone of umami. This was no different, and made for a delicious latte!

Sipdown! (3 | 79)

Cold steep. Really enjoy this one for a hibiscus-heavy, refreshing fruity blend. It’s quite tangy from the orange and passion fruit as well, so I do add a bit of sugar to the pitcher to balance it a bit. Perfect summer infusion, and one that I will probably reorder in the future. Though I think once I get through most of my current cold steep stash, I might try S&V’s fruit blends next…

Sipdown! (2 | 76)

Cold steeped the rest of this, and it was fairly decent. Nice tangy but not overwhelming berry-hibiscus pairing with just a dash of floral. I did pick up more of a powdery flavor than in the hot steep though, which was not my favorite.