Scheherazade Send Message

300/365

It was a bit of a surprise when I noticed I’d reached 300! I’m surprised how quickly time has passed this year. This one isn’t particularly significant, except in that it’s the perfect choice for a Friday. This is part of Bird & Blend’s store blends collection, and is the tea for Manchester, being a blend of honeybush, yerba mate, chamomile, bee pollen, and lemon. This isn’t a combination I’ve ever come across before, but it sums up what I need today pretty perfectly; energy, and relaxation!

Yerba and chamomile seem an odd pairing, but they actually work together reasonably well. There’s an obvious harmony between the chamomile, honeybush and bee pollen, and lemon fits in pretty well with that flavour profile as well. In practice, I couldn’t really taste any lemon – I mostly get honey, but something beyond that also. Something less sweet, more floral, perhaps even a little bitter? It’s a hard one to describe! The yerba is a little jarring, and seems to heighten the bitterness to a certain extent, but I actually don’t mind the combination as much as I thought I would.

My only real complaint about this one is that it’s a little powdery, and the bee pollen has a tendency to sink to the bottom. It’s enjoyable, though, and certainly an unusual blend! I’ve not tried anything quite like this before, but I’d happily drink it again!

299/365

The last of B&B’s recent fairytale collection, and another I had to try just because of the name…Beauty and the Beast is one of the best Disney films – although my own preference is for the old animated version, and not so much the newer remake. That’s the power of childhood influences!

This one’s a blend of four black teas – Sri Lankan, Kenyan, Keemun, and another unspecified Chinese – which I feel is unusual for B&B. Kudos to them for working on their bases, though, because that was one of their weaker points until recently (at least when thinking about their black blends). This one’s rose flavoured, which is pleasant but perhaps not particularly unique. I feel like B&B have released a fair few rose blends recently, and the novelty is wearing off a little. It’s good rose, though – not too floral or perfumey, and almost verging on crystallised. Nicely sweet, anyway. I’m reminded, as I usually am with such things, of turkish delight.

While the flavouring is pleasant, the base teas are really the star. The keemun is particularly notable, being nicely jammy and adding an almost “dark” (I probably mean treacle-y or that it reminds me of molasses…) edge which is a nice contrast with the lighter, sweeter rose. It also sums up Beauty and the Beast pretty nicely – isn’t it nice when a thing comes together?

Glad I tried this one.

298/365

This is the last of the teas from the Magic Potions sampler, and is a blend of Adagio’s Pumpkin Spice, Vanilla, and Caramel with (apparently) added apple pieces. I wasn’t expecting a lot, for some reason, but I was actually pretty impressed with this one. It has a nice, soft pumpkin spice flavour – although more spice than pumpkin, as is usually the way. The clove and cinnamon dominate, but in a pleasing way – they’re not jarring or out of place. The vanilla and caramel help, I think – they’re very smooth and creamy, and they help to give the overall profile a bit of a lift. They certainly add a sweetness that would otherwise be lacking. I can’t taste much in the way of apple, but that’s a pretty minor complaint.

I like this one. It makes for a really enjoyable autumnal cup, and is a nice twist on plain pumpkin spice. I have a feeling it would make a decent latte, but at the moment I’m happy with it just as it is!

297/365

This is a long-time favourite of mine, but today’s cup was probably the best I’ve had in a while. It was seriously creamy, with a strong (but sweet) raspberry flavour and lots of vanilla. There was a hint of coconut in the background, almost as if it had been stirred through the buttercream in an actual victoria sponge. If ever a tea tasted like cake..!

I feel like B&B might have made some adjustments to the base over time, because I remember from previous cups that astringency could be a bit of a problem. There was definitely less tendency towards that this time – after three minutes, the liquor was noticeably lighter than it used to be. I could have increased the brew time, and it would likely still have been okay. Maybe next time!

Seriously, though. If you want a tea that tastes like cake, this is it. I’ve increased my rating a bit because the base seems so much better this time, but it’s really always a good ’un!

296/365

Another of the Twinings Cold Infuse blends. This one isn’t quite as unique as the other two were, but it’s very juicy! It reminds me a lot of Ribena, but I’m guessing it’s a bit healthier. There’s lots of apple, which is a big plus in my book. It’s just in the right side of candy-like; sweet, but still distinctively apple-y. It’s definitely green apple, too – there’s a nice sharpness to it that contrasts well with the sweetness.

The blackcurrant is second in terms of prominence. It adds a slightly sharp tartness that works well with the apple. The whole thing is rounded out nicely by the blueberry, which is really very subtle, but there in the background if you’re looking for it. It adds an edge sweetness and works really well with the other two flavours. It’s super fruity, super juicy, and just all round nice. Glad to have tried this one.

295/365

Another of Bird & Blend’s autumn collection, and the one I was most excited to try. Partly because chai equals autumn, but also because it sounds like an interesting combination (and one I’m sure I’ve not come across much before…if ever, now I think about it!)
Most of the usual chai suspects are present and correct – ginger, cinnamon, cardamom, chili – with the addition of cocoa shells, and (of course!) the Taiwanese milk oolong base.

I brewed my first cup as per B&B’s recommendation, and it comes out pretty light and mild. It’s deliciously creamy, and I love how that works with the chai flavours. It’s pretty much a match made in heaven. In terms of spice, I can taste mostly ginger and cardamom, plus a touch of chocolate. Nothing much else comes through, but that’s a minor criticism given that it’s delicious anyway. The milk oolong is definitely the star here, and it deservedly so.

I’m tempted to fiddle around with leaf quantity or brew time a little with future cups, just to try and bring out the chai spices a little more. If this is as good as it gets, though, then I’m happy anyway.

294/365

This is another from Bird & Blend’s recently released Autumn collection, and one I was pretty intrigued about. It’s a blend of three black teas – Assam, Kenyan, and Sri Lankan – and cream/honey flavouring. I looked at the ingredients list, and decided to add milk to my first cup since there was nothing that really suggested milk/cream already in there, but that was a mistake. Upon trying it, I figured adding milk had washed it out, but it still came across as a decent breakfast blend – very similar to B&B’s Great British Cuppa, if you’ve tried that one.

I made up a second cup shortly after without milk, but sadly it wasn’t much of an improvement. It’s slightly sweeter than you’re average breakfast blend, perhaps, but not in a way that would make me think it was flavoured if I didn’t know that to be the case. It’s malty, as you might expect, but also slightly astringent. There were no real honey and/or milk/cream flavours to speak of.

I’ve got enough left for a few more cups, so I’ll fiddle around with my parameters to see whether I can coax a better cup out of the leaf I have left. I’m kinda disappointed with this one, though.

293/365

This is another I’ve tried before, although a fairly long time ago. Somehow, it never quite seemed to live up to my expectations, although I like the idea of an orange/citrus flavoured black tea in theory. It sounds like it should be a really good thing.

The base tea is Ceylon, as it used to be in pretty much all of B&B’s blends. I feel like they’ve improved that in a lot of places now, but perhaps not here…

The orange is pithy rather than juicy, with absolutely no sweetness of the kind I’d typically associate with a mandarin (and mandarin is one of the flavour references for this one in the description). The whole thing leans a little too much towards bitterness for my liking, although that’s just my personal preference.

This is an okay blend; certainly drinkable, but not one of B&B’s best in my opinion.

292/365

Another of Bird & Blend’s Fairytale Collection, and probably the one I liked the idea of least. It’s purple, though, and who doesn’t love a purple tea? I was actually surprised that it came out purple, since it’s butterfly pea flower that does it and that usually comes out blue. It looks good in bright light, if a bit murky.

Colour aside, I have to admit that my expectations weren’t high. The main ingredients in this blend are hibiscus, rosehip, apple, aniseed, and liquorice. Some of my arch-nemeses in there! I’m now on my second cold in three weeks, though, so the liquorice doesn’t seem like a bad idea. I know I’m ill when I’m making statements like that! Seriously, though, my new colleagues must think I’m a sickly thing. I don’t think they’ve seen me at my best for a single day yet, since I just seem to be bouncing from one cold to the next and I know I look tired and run-down. I keep wanting to tell them I’m not like this really, but I think they’ll see that for themselves once I’m back to normal…if that ever happens!

So I wasn’t expecting much from this one, and then I realised it smells like vanilla cake batter. More to the point, it tastes like vanilla cake batter. I don’t get where that’s coming from, since none of the ingredients even remotely suggest that to me, but there it is. The liqourice adds a degree of sweetness, although it’s not overpowering or cloying in the way it sometimes can be. I also feel like the butterfly pea flower is pretty subtle, too, which isn’t always the case. Even the hibi and rosehip aren’t too sour/tart, which is a rare thing in my experience. This is one well-balanced blend!

Despite my misgivings, I actually quite like this one. It’s an interesting flavour, and clearly well put together. The only thing I don’t really get is the name – what have mermaids to do with any of this?

291/365

I think in the past I’ve felt a bit indifferent about this one, probably because it’s lacked the fruity flavour it promises and has a tendency to become astringent. I figured it was time to try it again, though, and so I picked up a sample with my last B&B order. It’s one that’s always sounded appealing to me. I mean strawberry and papaya combined with EG? Yes, please!

This one is milder than I remember, so maybe some tweaking has occurred since I last tried it. I drank two cups today, and astringency wasn’t a problem at all, although it does brew up pretty light and probably wouldn’t hold up to milk particularly well. The bergamot is fairly subtle, too, which is appealing to me as I’m not a huge fan (despite that fact that I like EG quite a lot…)

The strawberry flavouring is just about discernable, but there’s no papaya to speak of. This sample is fresh, too, so this should be as good as it gets. On the whole, I have to conclude that it’s nothing amazing. It’s nice, but that’s not really enough these days. I’ve left my rating as it is/was – 60 – because it’s okay, but a bit blah, and not very inspiring.

Gotta revisit these things, though!