1711 Tasting Notes
What even is this?! There is some hibiscus in it, but not an obnoxious level. It’s sweetened with stevia, but doesn’t have the weird stevia taste that I find so distracting. It really does taste like a cherry cola! The lime leaves are an uncommon addition to a blend. I think I’ve only ever had them in an Arthur Dove tea, Fairytale of New York. This blend is so weird and I love it!
I bought this on a whim and I’m really glad I did. I wish I had gotten a bigger size. I haven’t found many tea blends from this company that I really dug, but they seem to be really good at tisanes. I hope they offer it for a while because I’m not ordering again until I go through the massive bag of Baby Spice that I got and I want more of this.
Preparation
Oh whoa! What the?! I’m getting sour notes hitting me on the start of the sip! I’m not sure how I didn’t log this one before when I got it in the mail. I have never had super stuffed french toast before, so I don’t have a comparison to base what I’m tasting on. The picture on the wrapper makes it looks like it is filled with cream cheese. Maybe that is what the sour taste is supposed to be emulating? It’s almost like hibiscus without the bite, but with similar mouth sensation. I get a little cinnamon and butter behind the sour and in the finish, but the sour is dominating and distracting. I’d love to have seen the sour toned down and a bready cinnamon maple combo amped up. Looking up recipes for stuffed French toast reveals that it is cream cheese filled, but this tea tastes more like it’s sour cream filled, which would be delicious if you had enough maple syrup to balance it. The more frequently I sip, the less I notice the sour. This is a weird tea! I don’t hate it, it has me intrigued, but I’m puzzled too.
I’m noticing a lot of the entries for Almost teas have the pictures broken on Steepster. I wonder what that is about.
Preparation
If the person who created the entry added a link to the tea picture instead of saving the picture and then uploading it to Steepster, then if the tea site ever changes that link (say, they discontinue a tea) the images become broken on Steepster. I’m guessing that is the case.
This tea company didn’t last long. It’s sort of a shame and makes sense. I loved the idea behind it, to recreate favorite desserts as teas, but the blends often didn’t quite hit the mark. They were also really pricey if you wanted to buy your favorites, so it makes sense to me that it didn’t last. I only got to try 5 of the 6 sets they sent out because for some reason they sent me a repeat of one of them. Now I’m going through the remaining bags and reliving a couple of misses, like this tea. It really is trying, but it falls so very short of the delicious raspberry caramel fudge brownie pictured on the wrapper. It’s a little soapy on the sip, then a flash of something bitter, then some flavors in the finish while I notice irritation building in my throat. I’m dumping this cup. I really wish they had found a different blender for this project!
Preparation
Advent Day 14, repeat of Jasmin Chung Hao
I went shopping for stocking stuffers yesterday at Lush. Four bath bombs later and my room smells overwhelmingly like a Lush store and not in a fun way. It’s more an invasive “you hugged someone with too much perfume on, some of which transferred onto you and now you can’t shake the scent” way. It’s unwelcome (even though I brought them into my house) and I’m going to have to put them in the basement.
That said, the scent in this room is muddling my enjoyment of this tea and complicating things. I could take my laptop and switch rooms, but that feels like a lot of effort while I plot my day. I am ever so slightly grumpy.
Preparation
My sister was manager of a LUSH store for a time, and employees got so many freebies and heavy discounts that her entire house was filled with LUSH products. It always smelled like a LUSH store in there, hahaha!
Advent Day 12
Okay… WHO was in charge at Fauchon of putting together this advent calendar? I need to do their job for them. Chai on day 10 AND 12?! Come ON! Repeats starting on day 12 is disappointing. At least it’s still fresh enough in my mind that I know better than to desecrate this cup with milk.
Preparation
The package for this tea was all in Japanese. When I used a translator app it said it was apple. I was thinking this was a very gummi candy like apple flavor, but when I went online I saw it is pear and muscat. That makes so much more sense! It smells just like fruity gummi candy and tastes like it too. The sip is a little lighter on the flavor, but is strong in the finish and leaves my mouth a little puckered. It’s decaf, so it’s a fun option to have in the evening. Scratch that… it’s low caffeine. Must have been another translator fail!
Preparation
Weird that this is listed as Yunomi brand tea when Azuma is the farm that produces and sells it. Oh well! I got this in a hojucha lovers collection at a stand outside a store in Kyoto earlier this year and am just now getting around to trying it. I’m on my second cup already, so I must be liking this quite a bit! It says on the package that it is for baking and lattes, so I prepared this in oat milk which is adding a creaminess to the cup. It has a nice smooth roasty flavor to it, maybe a little nutty. I can pick out the hojicha when I focus on it, but it’s easy to get lost in the comforting aspect of the overall cup. I could mindlessly sip on this all day!
Advent Day 12
I’m trying to figure out how I feel about this tea. It smells appley, but the taste is very dry, puckering and dusty. It is astringent. I get a little dusty apple in the finish, but not much apple taste in the sip. The flavors are flat. It’s a shame because there are really good apple flavored teas out there with bright vibrant tastes and so much pairs well with apple to make a more complex and interesting blend. I was hoping that my feelings would change as I worked my way through this cup. Sometimes the first few sips hit weird and then the flavors open up, but I’m more than halfway through this cup and that hasn’t happened. This is a big nope for me.
Preparation
Advent Day 10
A chai! Exciting after the straight teas! I’m feeling slightly under the weather. One of my not so tiny anymore roommates (aka kids) has been sniffling for a few days, so I may be fighting whatever non Covid crud they have. All that to say something spicy and warm to drink sounds lovely!
This is indeed a chai with the mix of usual chai spices. Clove and cardamon seem to dominate. Hard to pick out any cinnamon. It doesn’t have any peppery spices, which would be very welcome right now. It’s on a black base that rounds out and balances the flavors nicely. I’ve been drinking it straight so far. I do like chai with oatmilk and honey, but I just added that to the second half of my cup and the chai flavors in the tea aren’t holding up well against the additions. It was loads better straight. I would say this is a good tea with solid chai flavors. I’d happily drink it again if I came across it. I might even go for a second steeping today. I would not add it to my cupboard. It would have to be an exceptional chai for me to make room for more chai next to my beloved Zhi Tea chais which have enough kick to withstand the addition of milk and honey which in my brain is a large part of what makes a chai.
Ha I recently made an order to acquire a giant bag of baby spice as well :P
It’s the best pumpkin tea ever! When I’m sick I add some chili in my cup for a warming kick.