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232/365

I’m continuing with my challenge (or trying to…) while I’m away, which means I’m writing these up as and when I can. I simplified things for myself as much as I could by buying a Varieteas box before I left – they’re a curated selection of 30 different teas, but all of them bagged. Not my usual thing, but useful in this particular set of circumstances.

My first pick was English Tea Shop’s Comfort Me. I felt in need of comfort this evening, after a long, trying day of travelling. It’s a blend of chamomile, spearmint, ginger, basil, vanilla, marjoram, amalaki and guduchi. No idea about the last two, but otherwise I’m on board.

It’s surprisingly heavy on the vanilla, with an edge of spiciness, and a background of chamomile. There’s just a touch of spearmint, which works really nicely with the vanilla to create a kind of butter mint effect. If butter mints were spicy, that is. I don’t immediately recognise the spiciness as ginger, although I suppose that’s what it is. I feel like I’m particularly sensitive to ginger and it doesn’t really bother me here, so that’s a bonus.

I’m intrigued by this one. I like it more than I thought I would, although I’m going to have to research amalaki and guduchi a little to find out what they are. Not tonight, though! Otherwise, glad to have tried this one.

231/365

I went back and forth on making this one into a lemonade, but finally decided in favour. I don’t know why I felt like it might not work, because it has lemon as one of its main ingredients. Maybe because it’s a rooibos? I did it anyway, so…

It’s…interesting. The ginger is pretty fiery, so there’s a really spicy kick throughout that’s pretty spot-on for ginger beer. Underlying that is sweet, creamy lemon, which reminds me quite a bit of Della Terra’s Lemon Chiffon. I guess it works with the ginger, but I’m finding I’m having to think about that – maybe it’s the creaminess? There’s the tiniest hint of lime towards the end of the sip, which is a actually what I like most about it. It freshens and brightens the whole thing to a surprising degree, given that it’s a relatively small flavour component.

I think it works as a lemonade, and although it’s obviously a fair bit sweeter than it would be in water, I don’t feel like it’s overpowering in any way. I found that some teas (like Strawberry Lemonade) became very candy-like with a sweetness that was noticeably heightened, but that’s not the case here. The ginger is really bold, and there’s a pleasing sharpness from the lemon/lime that somehow seems to keep the sugar in check – if you discount the creaminess. That’s the only thing that seems slightly off here, even though I’m 100% certain I’d like it as a standalone flavour. Everything else is bold and emphatically not-sweet, and then there’s this soft, moussy creaminess in the mid-sip that, while lovely, just doesn’t quite seem to fit in.

I think if you’re a ginger fan, you really need to try this. I’m not, but there’s enough lemon to redeem it in my eyes. Putting it in lemonade was probably a good idea after all, although I’m interested in trying it in water just to see. I’m also going to have to give some of it to my Dad, because I think he’ll really appreciate this one.

230/365

I made this one up as a “UV Unicorn” today, using Bird & Blend’s recipe. It’s 1/2 tsp of Ultra Violet matcha, mixed with 150ml of Blue Raspberry and poured over ice. I topped mine off with sparkling water. I wasn’t sure whether I liked it at first. It’s very green, both from the matcha and the Blue Raspberry’s sencha base, and typically cold matcha isn’t my thing anyway. It grew on me after a few sips, though.

The matcha provides the bulk of the flavour, and while it’s floral, it’s that unique kind of fragrant-candy kind of floral that violet has. If you’re familiar with parma violets, you’ll probably know what I mean. It tastes like those, only with an edge of something I recognise from other Bird & Blend matchas. I adds additional sweetness and is kind of mapley, and so I’m pretty sure it’s the carob.

The Blue Raspberry doesn’t have a lot of impact on the flavour. There’s a light raspberry flavour in the background (not so noticeably sour, this time!), and a faint hint of butterfly pea. Mostly, though, it’s violets and grass.

I almost like it. I don’t think I’d rush to make this particular recipe again, although there’s nothing intrinsically bad about it. I actually think it’s a pairing that’s well thought out – both teas have floral elements, the sourness of the raspberry is balanced out by the candy-like sweetness of the violet, and they both have green bases so everything hangs together around that central similarity. It’s maybe a bit over green for my tastes, but I can still appreciate it. I definitely want to try this matcha as a latte, though (maybe even an iced latte…), since the thought of liquid parma violet is really quite appealing…

I like that Bird & Blend are becoming more experimental with their matcha flavours. Ultra Violet is part of this year’s spring/summer Curious Matcha collection, and I’m looking forward to trying the others on the strength of this one.

229/365

I’ve been curious about this one for a while, but if I’m honest it was a combination of the name and the aesthetic that finally made me cave and buy it. It’s so pretty – rainbow indeed! I steeped this the way I usually would a herbal, which is 4-5 minutes in boiling water, and then realised that the pouch suggests 10 minutes. I took a sip, found very little flavour, and put the leaf back in. This is one that needs a lengthy brew time to really come alive.

And come alive it does. The overall flavour is quite herbally, in a “wildflower field” kind of way. Sort of floral-ish, but with a more savoury edge. In amongst all that are little sparks of brilliance – a soft lemon creaminess, a hint of cooling mint, a touch of sweet, tart fruitiness. It’s the kind of tea that seems to change with each sip, giving the impression that there’s always something new to taste or discover.

I’m drinking this one during the day, but I think it’s the kind of blend that would be well suited to evening or bedtime drinking. It’s soft and fairly subtle, sweet-ish but with a slightly herbaceous quality that stops it from feeling overdone. It’s probably not unique enough that I’d rush out and buy more (although it doesn’t contain chamomile, so I guess that’s a point in its favour), but I’ll enjoy having it around for a while. Did I mention that it’s really pretty?

On another note, I had my appraisal today, during which my line manager basically disagreed with everything I said, and then told me quite plainly that he takes me for granted and relies on my experience to make up for his lack of it. So I told him I’ve been offered a new job, and I figure this whole enterprise was worth it just to see the look on his face. This place are going to be in the shit without me, and it’s finally come home.

228/365

Back to my (diminishing) stash of SBTs! This one called to me most of those left, being the only fruity option. Something about hot weather requires berry tea, I suppose, or at least it does in my estimation. I gave this one the usual treatment, except that I let the water cool for a while first until it was around 180. I always worry that these will turn out bitter, but somehow they never do. I took the bag out after 2.5 minutes, but I could probably have steeped it a bit longer and it would still have been okay.

In flavour terms, it’s your standard mixed berry. It reminds me a little of 52Teas Razzleberry, although maybe a bit less sweet. It’s hard to pick out specific flavours since it’s kind of generic “berry” and a bit muddled for all that, but I’d probably go with raspberry, blackberry, and maybe blueberry. The green base is pleasant – smooth and not too grassy. I’m sure it would have worked equally well on the black base SBT originally used, but a change is no bad thing. It’s pleasant and refreshing, and makes for a solidly pleasing iced tea.

I should probably add that I feel disposed to be positive about everything today, since I found out yesterday afternoon that I have a new job!. The pay and terms are only a little better than those I have now, but the real satisfaction for me is that I’ll be leaving a job and company I’ve come to abhor, and my new job (while fairly boring) sounds like a whole lot less hassle. When I list the things I won’t have to do/put up with anymore, it’s more than worthwhile. It honestly feels like 10 tons have been taken off my shoulders, and I am so looking forward to making a fresh start.

227/365

Tea lemonade! I liked the idea of elderflower and lemonade as a combination, and the fizz seems to be in accord with the “prosecco” aspect, so…why not? It’s the first time I’ve put an oolong in lemonade, though, so I guess we’ll see how that turns out!

In practice, I don’t think I’d actually know it’s an oolong so that’s okay! I had visions of vegetal/mineral lemonade, but it actually just tastes like lemonade. The elderflower really shines, which was what I was hoping would happen. It’s sweet and distinctive, with a lingering aftertaste – just like elderflower cordial, but fizzy-ish! It’s a little bit tart from the rosehip shells, but I actually think that helps to set off the delicate, jewel-like richness of the elderflower. It’s a great contrast. Lemonade might not be prosecco, but the carbonation helps with the illusion. The lemon works, too – it’s all so bright and fresh tasting, just perfect for summer.

I’m glad this experiment worked. It’s one I’ll probably be repeating before summer’s over!

226/365

This came as a free sample with my last Leaves of the World order, and to be honest I didn’t have the highest expectations. It’s rooibos, for a start, and chocolate flavoured. Neither of those things tend to be my favourite. In practice, though, it’s actually pretty good. I get orange first, and while it’s a little reminiscent of fizzy vitamins I do get “jaffa cake” from it. The orange in jaffa cakes seems pretty artificial to me anyway. I also get dark chocolate, and for once it doesn’t taste watery. I don’t think it’s trying to be particularly strong or prominent, though, so maybe that’s why. It lingers nicely in the aftertaste, and it works really well as a backdrop for the (much stronger) orange. The rooibos base is also pretty well behaved. It’s a little woody, but not metallic or brassy in the way that rooibos sometimes can be.

I liked this one a lot more than I was expecting to, and now I kind of want to try it as a latte…

225/365

Got to have flapjacks for breakfast, right? It was also an easy thing to pull out this morning, so maybe just call me lazy. I’m happy to be on safe ground with a ripe pu’erh, though; somehow I just feel like I know where I am with those. Raw is still a little scary!

This one is pretty much as I’d hoped. It’s on the sweet side right from the first sip, with some really prominent and distinctive dried date notes. There’s very little earthiness; mostly, this seems to be about rich sweetness and dark, dried fruit flavours. It reminds me a little of sticky toffee pudding, without the sauce! In texture terms, it’s really smooth and almost oily; it feels like it ought to leave a residue, but fortunately doesn’t.

This one’s really easy to drink, and pleasingly different from most of the ripe pu’erhs I’ve tried recently. It holds up well, too, as you’d expect. I’m still loving the coin format (like I said, I’m lazy), and I feel like I might have found my pu’erh happy place in White2Tea.

I’m on holiday for 2 weeks at the beginning of July, so some of these might come with me. I’m not sure how I’m going to manage my challenge during that time; either take a break or carry enough samples and note everything down, I suppose. TBD! For the moment, I’m going to go back to enjoying this one.

224/365

This one is interestingly described as an “organic vegi infusion”, but what I love most about it is that it’s the cutest shade of pink. I do love a good pink tea. This one reminds me a little of Bird & Blend’s Beet It, although I think that’s a sweeter blend on the whole (at least as far as I can remember.) I’ll have to renew my acquaintance with that one at some point.

This one is pretty savoury; I get quite a lot of carrot, initially, and then the sweeter earthiness of beetroot. There’s a touch of sage, and just a hint of spiciness. There are a few fruits among the ingredients that I would have expected more sweetness from – blueberry, pineapple, mango – but they don’t really seem to have any impact on the overall flavour. It’s not a sweet/fruity blend, and I don’t think it’s supposed to be.

As to whether I like it…I guess, kinda? I don’t mind savoury tea, and there have been some I’ve really enjoyed, but I suppose it still seems like a bit of an alien concept. This one has a combination of ingredients that work well together, but I think it’d be better suited to autumn/winter drinking. I might revisit this one later in the year, when I can imagine I might have more appreciation for it.

223/365

This was my second watermelon tea of the week, and the second that was slightly disappointing. Bird & Blend’s tasted to me mostly of pineapple and coconut, but this one is mostly liquorice and mint. It reminds me very strongly of Teapigs’ Liquorice & Mint blend, in fact, which I dislike intensely. There is a little watermelon here, mostly in the mid-sip, and it is sweet and watery in a way that’s refreshing and pleasantly flavour accurate. It’s totally surrounded by the heavy dankness of mint on one side, and the intense sweetness of liquorice on the other, so that the overall effect isn’t particularly one of watermelon.

I made this one as a cold brew, and I think that was probably the right way to go. I don’t think it would be any more successful brewed hot, but I’ll give that a try in time just to see. Maybe I should put this one in lemonade? Or try and make an actual sorbet with it?

I think I can see what T2 were trying to achieve. Given that the flavour is watermelon sorbet, it’s like the mint is providing the coolness and the liquorice the sweetness. I get it, and I think it’s quite clever, but I don’t think it really works. Both of those flavours are far more powerful than the watermelon, with the result that it just seems to get squeezed out.

Are there any really good watermelon teas?