ashmanra Send Message

January Sipdown Challenge Prompt – National Hot Tea Day: drink a tea that is close to a sipdown

Next pot is a sipdown and I have never made a tasting note on this one. I will miss it. I will probably order this or something close to it once I life my buying ban.

This is a breakfast tea for me. I am now out of Premium Keemun Hao Ya from Teavivre and will finish this by next week. I have Queen Catherine for those mornings when I want an unflavored black tea with a little heft, and now I have a couple of teas from Rare Tea Company that will do well for breakfast but they are in somewhat small amounts.

I liked this one, and found it delicious without milk or sugar, having that lovely raspy cocoa feel (though not chocolate in taste) that I think of as a breakfast tea that gets my attention and is somewhat palate cleansing without being brisk.

I am having another evening tea from Martin – many thanks!

The name translates to blueberry jug, I believe, but I thought it tasted a bit more like light cranberry! It does not taste like a hibiscus hammer hitting me in the head.

I have had bilberry flavored matcha before and I think the hibiscus is making this a bit more tart, but not too tart for me. Enjoyed with the last two Marks & Spencer chocolates that I bought before Christmas and a small cup of Chex Mix, for the ultimate taste extravaganza of sweet, then salty, then tart, then sweet…and so on.

A lovely evening snack. Thank you, Martin!

Sipdown!

This tea was actually in a pouch within a pouch and was mislabeled. I took it out thinking I was going to have 2007 Loose and Luscious from Mandala but found this inside, fortunately before steeping. It was a happy discovery as this tea is perfect with my lunch of miso soup on a gray, chilly day with tomorrow looking like high winds and pretty bad storms.

There is absolutely no bite in this tea. It is a really easy drinker.

Another evening tea from Martin! Thank you!

I usually prefer rosehips to hibiscus and I like ginger as long as it isn’t too hot. This tea hit the spot really well. It is tart enough to be interesting without being insufferable and making me throw in sugar and stick it in the fridge, and the ginger warmth JUST warms and doesn’t burn. I am hoping the ginger keeps us from having any issues tonight from the pizza we ate!

Thank you, Martin! I think this makes sample sipdown number 5 for the year so my sample box is looking really good!

Sipdown!

Although I have had quite a few sample sipdowns this year, this is my first official sipdown. Maybe, just maybe, if I don’t buy any tea myself, I will reach my goal of 65 teas in my cupboard this year. I am thrilled that all of my oldest teas that were past or near their “best by” dates are gone.

This was my first Teeccino, I think, and it was sent by gmathis. My little grandsons love it as well as several other flavors. My DIL had tried the reverse psychology thing of giving one of them a sip of coffee because they would clutch at her travel mug so and it backfired. They loved coffee and once stole a WHOLE fresh travel mug, downed it, cried for more, and spent the next few hours running in caffeine crazed circles while also crying that they were not being given more coffee. This was when my son reached out in desperation and asked me to please order the coffee flavored drink I had brought for them to sample.

I am definitely not a coffee lover but I really, really, like this. I think Mocha is my favorite with Vanilla Nut and Hazelnut tied for a close second. Thankfully I have a pouch and a half of Mocha left.

January Sipdown Prompt – a grocery store tea

Ashman and I have been having a caffeine free cuppa most nights here lately. Today my bestie came over and she had just bought this at The Fresh Market. She left a couple of bags of this tea with me. Neither of us love red rooibos but we both enjoyed Caramel and Rum by Lupicia so we thought this one might be okay.

I am happy to say that while it is not a tea I will run out to buy, it is not bad and I am enjoying my cup well enough. Instead of tasting just like Robitusson, this is woody. This is like those wooden spoons they gave you in primary school for eating ice cream. Ashman actually loved the taste of the wooden spoons (???) but I did not. The richness of the vanilla flavoring is making this cup nicely palatable, though.

How lovely! Ashman and I are enjoying having a caffeine free cup each evening together thanks to these teas from Martin!

Once again we have a cup that is full of flavor! It has the tart fruity taste of real freshly squeezed oranges. The hibiscus lends just the right level of tartness. It doesn’t taste like a hibiscus tisane with some orange flavor hiding in it. It tastes like orange flavored tisane. We enjoyed this hot, and I bet it makes a wonderful sweet iced tea in summer.

Thank you, Martin!

I don’t know what else to say but that this is one of the best fruit tisanes I have ever had.

Hibiscus makes me reach for sugar and I don’t really even bother with hibiscus except iced and very sweet. I thought tart just really wasn’t my bag.

This is tart without puckering and really full flavored, and is the most palatable tisane of this type I can ever remember tasting. I have absolutely no need of sugar with this. This is delicious.

(Ashman said it is delicious with lemon biscotti! I made a cup for him as well.)

Thank you, Martin!

January Sipdown Prompt – a blend made in another country

I received a surprise package from Martin recently! I didn’t translate the tea name first – Martin already told me these were caffeine free – and I picked this one randomly.

I really liked the aroma and picked up rose right away. Funnily enough, I had just pulled a chocolate from an M&S box and it was Turkish Delight so I had a theme going.

I love this! This is way more rose than chamomile and that suits me very well indeed. The chamomile stays in the background. The rose is so sweet and lovely, and I am a fan of floral tea!

Thank you, Martin! It was a delicious tea!

January Sipdown Prompt – a CTC tea

This tea has really grown on me. I first purchased Cookie for Ashman because he loves cookies more than Cookie Monster loves cookies. At first I only liked this tea as a latte. My tastes have changed a bit since trying Teeccino and other dark and toasty tasting things.

This is the amped up holiday version of Cookie, just as Jingle Bells is fancy Muscat. I had it with lunch and decided to have it plain and I am glad I did. It was perfect – no milk or sugar needed, although it does make an awesome latte.