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Sipdown! (8 | 460)

Really enjoyed this one. Actually, it reminds me of the Walking on Sunshine white tea that I had a few weeks ago, with similar lemon marshmallow fluff notes.

I will say, I almost wish there was a bit more bergamot here, as I feel like it gets fairly overshadowed by the other flavors. But it’s really more of a nitpick, as it’s still a lovely citrusy black tea with a creamy, sweet edge to it. The hint of lime adds a nice slight sharpness that brightens it up a bit.

Tasty tea!

Sipdown! (7 | 459)

This tisane is a blend of two types of chrysanthemum with honeysuckle flower. I generally enjoy chrysanthemum so I’m looking forward to it as a relaxing cuppa before bed.

Hmm, the front of the sip has a rather strong mustiness and papery quality to it that I don’t love. After that, it transitions to the more familiar softly sweet and slightly peppery yet chamomile-esque flavor of chrysanthemum. There’s a lingering aftertaste of soft baked bread. I think I pick up on a hint of the honeysuckle at the very end of the sip – there’s a more nectarous floral note that just pokes its little head out.

Even with the more mineral musty notes, it’s still very easy-drinking and I find my teapot almost empty already. I really do enjoy the chrysanthemum, but I’m not sure the honeysuckle is adding enough here to differentiate it from any other chrysanthemum flower tisane.

(Please note that my rating is only in regard to the taste of this tisane, I can’t comment on any potential health benefits.)

Sipdown! (6 | 458)

Wow, this seems to be quite a polarizing tea! Much lower rating than I would expect and a couple of very unfavorable notes ha ha.

I happen to really enjoy it though. The anise is probably the strongest spice, maybe that’s why it’s not well-liked. But there’s some cardamom and clove as well, and a nice sweet warmth from the cinnamon. The Darjeeling base is delightfully bready but not too thick or heavy. It somehow ends up being a somewhat light tea despite all the spices.

Anyway, I quite like it. I probably won’t reorder it though, just because the price is somewhat high ($17 / 57g) and I don’t love it enough to justify that. National Parks Dept., however, is a different story… ;)

Sipdown! (5 | 457)

Not expecting to love this one, given it’s mostly dried jujube and longan, which probably means it’s really sweet…

Okay, it is quite sweet. The jujube seems to contribute a honey-like sweetness that has a somewhat buttery, bready quality to it. Jujube is also known as red date, so I guess it makes sense that it’s quite sweet. I don’t think I can taste the longan, which has a similar flavor to lychee.

The ginger does add a nice spicy counterpoint, which helps cut the sweetness just a bit. But it’s still overly sweet for me. I can’t believe there was also a packet of brown sugar in the pouch, which I obviously left out.

(Please note that my rating is only in regard to the taste of this tisane, I can’t comment on any potential health benefits.)

Sipdown! (4 | 456)

Hmm nope. Mostly just getting rooibos and stevia leaf. It’s not horribly sweet, but there’s a lot of that papery sort of stevia flavor. Cinnamon is there as well, and reminding me a bit of Red Hots.

But mostly just wood shavings and stevia leaf. :(

Sipdown! (3 | 455)

Aww, a somewhat sad sipdown.

This is a delightful caramelized roasted chestnut black tea. There’s a creamy nuttiness paired with toasty notes and deep dark caramelized sugar. Such lovely depth of flavor, like in a high-quality praliné chocolate. The somewhat strong base makes a good foundation for the rich flavors, without being too bitter as long as the steep is kept fairly short.

As good as it is plain, this tea is just tremendous with milk, or as a milk tea. Such wonderful chestnut flavor! I’ll definitely be picking up some more of this one if it appears on the US website this holiday season. Not holding my breath, though…

Sipdown! (2 | 454)

Ooh I’m excited for this one, it’s always refreshing to have an orange tea with no spice in sight. I really enjoy more zippy orange teas, and oolong sounds like a lovely base for it.

Hmm… It’s a bit underwhelming for me, and not really what I was expecting. I do enjoy the orange part of it, though it does veer into Tang territory. It has a nice zestiness and isn’t overly sweet. However, the base is just too strongly roasted and it overpowers most of the orangey goodness. The two also don’t really meld well together in my opinion. Sometimes contrasting flavors can be nice together, but here the dark toastiness of the oolong just covers up the brighter orange.

Oh well! Not a bad tea, just not up to my expectations unfortunately.

Sipdown! (1 | 453)

So I’m not generally a breakfast blend sort of gal, but I just thought it was fun that this is named after Austin (where I live). And I do like black teas, so I gave it a go.

To be fair, this isn’t a blend, which makes it odd to me that it’s called a breakfast blend. It’s actually just an Assam. No complaints here, as I do enjoy some Assam teas. This one is surprisingly mellow with very little bitterness or astringency to speak of. But it also tastes rather generic. There’s a tad bit of raisiny goodness, but mostly I would describe it as “tea-ish”. Not sure I would be able to pin down whether this is an Assam or Ceylon tea if I didn’t already know the answer…

Anyway, it’s tea. Pleasant enough to sip on but with no real personality.

Sipdown! (43 | 452)

So this is an interesting one, a mix of popped coix seed (also called Job’s Tears apparently) and dried lemon slices. Oh, and there’s a packet of rock sugar, but I always just toss that part, because who wants sugar in an herbal tisane?

The coix seed tastes almost exactly like popcorn, and has a nice toasty edge to it. The lemon is surprisingly present considering there was just one slice in the bag. It has a lovely lemony acidity but isn’t too tart, and there’s some sweetness in it as well.

Another blend that sounds sort of odd but tastes really good. I would honestly consider ordering this one, it’s so unusual but is very soothing in the evening. I suppose I could try making my own version with popcorn as well…

(Please note that my rating is only in regard to the taste of this tisane, I can’t comment on any potential health benefits.)

Sipdown! (42 | 451)

Another tisane with a lot of rose, but I like it anyway! I guess real rose is different from flavoring.

I would say the rose and apple are both here in equal measure. The rose is lush and sweet, and the apple adds a nice contrasting fruity tartness that keeps it from being cloying. I’m not sure if the hawthorn is contributing to the overall sweetness or tartness of the blend, not knowing at all what they taste like.

Digging it!

(Please note that my rating is only in regard to the taste of this tisane, I can’t comment on any potential health benefits.)