ashmanra Send Message

This is a sample sipdown from a box of tea sent by Youngest – many thanks!

I have never been a rooibos fan but I was curious about this one and decided I needed a quiet and solitary cup of decaf before bed last night.

It really wasn’t bad! The bergamot wasn’t harsh and really tasted altered by the base, while the rooibos came off very woody which slightly offset the Robitussin taste. I had made the whole sample and decided to chill the rest, unsweetened, to have with lunch.

Cold and with food, I found that it left an aftertaste far longer than I liked. After the first sip, I decided to just save it to chug after the meal rather than altering the flavor of all of my food.

I greatly preferred the way it tasted hot. I can even see developing a real taste for this if one drink it often enough. It reminds me much more of the Fortnum and Mason plain rooibos tea than of Harney and Sons organic rooibos, the only two plain rooibos teas I have tried.

This is another tea that Superanna brought me from the trip to Marseille, and is the first one we tried because Superanna prefers green and white teas over black teas and all the rest were black.

The aroma of the dry leaves was vanilla and caramel. I keep it light when I steep and this was sencha so 175F and three minutes tops.

I liked it a lot more than other reviewers here. I thought the green tea was present but nit harsh, and the primary taste was creamy vanilla and caramel for me.

I sent a sample to my best friend because it seemed like a tea she would really love. I did advise steeping it at 165 instead of 175 in case the green might be a bit much for her, but she texted me that afternoon and said that I was right that she would like – she really loved it. I think I really had her in mind when I put it on my wish list, because I thought it would be a wonderful tea for the two of us to share on those precious occasions when we can get together for tea time.

August Sipdown Prompt – your poshest tea

I am not even going to pretend I know what defines posh tea or which of mine is the most fulfilling of that definition. I will, however, say that I feel super spoiled by this tea. Superanna bought it for me in Marseilles recently. The staff at the Dammann Freres shop there went above and beyond, even printing and attaching the labels in such a way that I could use them to label my tins at home instead of just sticking the label to the bags. She says the French may have been even nicer than the Canadians, and the Canadians “seemed about to burst into song” when she visited there.

This was so exactly what I hoped. Good black tea with a nice berry flavor, not red fruits or red berries masquerading as blackberry. Yes, it has some blackcuurant vibe and I love blackcurrant tea so that’s fine and I really rarely eat blackberries anyway so I wouldn’t be sure what they taste like in tea.

This resteeped more brilliantly than I would have imagined, so Ashman is getting it for breakfast tomorrow as well.

Another sample from Nicole’s big gift boxes – many thanks!

I made this to go with lunch, two steeps combined.

This is really heavy on the hazelnut and light on the chocolate. Ashman doesn’t like Harney’s chocolate flavoring, so of the two he would prefer this one. I didn’t hate it and I didn’t mind it, but it wasn’t special enough to me to purchase it.

Aroma of the dry leaf was hazelnut, same for the steeped tea. Amp up the chocolate, especially with a heavy hand dealing out cacao nibs, and you might have me on board for this one over Florence.

A nice enough tea, but no fireworks for me.

Another tea from Nicole – many thanks!

I made this to drink with lunch, and with the meal I thought it was very tasty. There is a lot of lemon aroma and taste and it went nicely with my turkey and dressing and spiced apples. (Stouffer’s, having frozen dinner today) As I drank it, it seems so mild that I thought I would probably never be tempted to make it with milk and sugar in a traditional chai style but just drink it plain like this. It was very nice.

After the meal, reading and chilling out, the ginger is much more noticeable. I am not a fan of much ginger. As a tea with food, this was quite good. As a stand alone, I would prefer something with less ginger but most people would probably like this just as it is.

This is another Adagio sample from the giant stash sent to me by Nicole – many thanks!

I had this was lunch, and honestly my mind was elsewhere so I wish I had another sample to try again. I DO know that I was worried about the fact that green tea is mentioned first and then black tea, because sometimes those two don’t play nicely in the steeping temps.

It was surprisingly smooth and flavorful, with no bitterness from the green tea and the black tea was not washed out from having been steeped cooler than usual. The chocolate flavor was somewhat mild, the rose was not cloying or overpowering, and the fruit flavors were nicely balanced.

It was a much better cuppa than I anticipated and I wouldn’t mind trying it again when I can really pay attention to it. It is a low caffeine option, which I sometimes need.

August Sipdown Prompt – Infinity Day: drink a tea you will love forever

How can I choose? There are so many teas that I want to always always always have on shelf. I am choosing this one because it is a type I will always love – strawberry (and fruit) black tea.

I think I first had this about eleven years ago. I believe ti was a gift from my son-in-law, who was not yet my son-in-law if I remember correctly. Superanna got me some more for Christmas last year.

Strawberry teas, whether black or green, are one of Ashman’s favorites. We have them for breakfast and snack times together but I enjoy them when I am alone as well. They always feel special.

This was in my big box from Nicole a while back – many thanks, Nicole!

My daughter brought me a Milka chocolate bar (Kuhflecken) tonight and I wanted something caffeine free to go with it. I have really enjoyed the cacao nibs in the Adagio blends I have tried recently so I thought I might enjoy the hazelnut and cinnamon here.

It is decent, but not something I will seek again and that is mostly because of my personal tastes. Hazelnut doesn’t always thrill me. There is some cinnamon in the aroma and honestly I am glad it isn’t a huge blast of cinnamon like in Harney’s Hot Cinnamon Spice, which is a bit much for me.

The hazelnut is the strongest flavor. I am not getting the orange or cocoa nibs listed on their packet, and that disappoints me because those are two of their flavorings I have enjoyed and have also enjoyed them together, for instance in Chorange. So hazelnut, hint of cinnamon, wisp of cream, and that is about it. Not terrible, but not one I would purchase. Glad to get to try it, though, and it went well enough with my chocolate bar.

Sipdown

This is one of the rare occasions where I drank a tea more with milk and sugar than without. This is my kind of chai, and cardamom really is the front runner in flavor and aroma here. I can just smell it now….It stays with you, that aroma.

This was an afternoon- keep-the-munchies-at-bay chai latte this summer, especially on teaching days when I couldn’t just snack whenever I wished.

August 2nd Sipdown Prompt – International Beer Day: drink a malty or hoppy tea

I once had a tea with actual hops in it. Finished that off a long time ago. As for malty, that is nit the profile I usually buy so I have no Assam on hand that I can think of. This will do! My best guess is that these African teas are probably Camellia Assamica varietal bushes.

I really dig this tea, and I love how fast it steeps because I do two steeps and combine at breakfast almost every time. They recommend 185F for 1-2 minutes and I go with 1 1/2 minutes.

It is silky in feel and smooth enough to not need additions for me, but strong enough for breakfast. Great with food. I made enough to ice and have it again (unsweetened) with lunch.

ETA: I think this was the best unsweetened plain black iced tea I have ever had.