Dollar Tea Club

Despite the word maple in its title, it was disappointing that I couldn’t taste maple in the tea. What I did taste wasn’t bad, however, it was just more “black tea” than “maple dream”. Not sure what I was expecting… something closer to a maple donut experience? Definitely didn’t get that and couldn’t really smell the maple either, dry or steeped.

Anyway, to prepare, I used a very small amount of the loose tea in the infuser basket of my 12 oz cup—lined the bottom of the basket. The instructions said 1.5 tsp per 8 oz, but I figured less is more as I find most teas too strong for my liking. I steeped the tea for between 2 and 3 minutes in just boiled water like the instructions stated. Despite the small amount of tea, the water came out a deep caramel/brown color.

The tea was definitely drinkable, as is, once it cooled down. Though it had a strong flavor, I couldn’t pick any specific flavors out. It was also a bit bitter for my taste, so I added sugar which brought the flavor more to my liking. I also tried adding milk-which was okay-but I think I preferred the flavor most with just the sugar. The website suggested trying milk and sugar in the tea, but said lemon and mint are not recommended.

Resteeped the same basket of tea to make a second cup. Same 2-3 minute steep time as before which left me with more of a dark amber color. Added sugar from the get-go this time, but didn’t bother with the milk. Again, nice tasting blend, but no maple flavor in sight. Perhaps I should have sweetened it with syrup.

Would I buy this again? Well, it’s not something I absolutely have to have, so I wouldn’t buy a big bag of it, but I would add another sampler pack to my shopping cart if it’s still available later on since I anticipate the sampler size lasting for several cups with my modest portioning.

Current cup count (12 oz) from 8g sampler size: 1 + 1 resteep. Still plenty of tea left in the sampler.

This is a nice roasted jade oolong with notes of roasted barley, orchid, minerals. Lightly astringent (probably because I over steeped this both times I made this tea) but pleasant.

Another sick tea Sipdown (211)

Sipdown (288)

This was much better as a tea lemonade. This tastes like peachy hibiscus with an apple-y aftertaste. It’s actually not bad and thankfully still no chamomile flavor.

This was a tea lemonade from earlier. I was worried about the chamomile in this one but it ended up being a nice afternoon drink. It was hot outside and this was refreshing, mostly due to the lemonade, I think, but this added a sorta peach sweetness. It was nothing so unique that I’d need more of this but I’m less scared of it now than I was before. Also, check out the photo of this tea lemonade (with a sneaky surprise guest) here: https://www.instagram.com/p/CBYsra2gkuG/?igshid=11sdvglymryxd

I really didn’t like this. I made it as an iced latte with chocolate syrup and whipped cream and even through that I just got heaps of low quality rooibos flavor. It was sweet and medicinal and bad. This got dumped.

Tea Pop Sipdown (269)

The weather has warmed up so a teapop seemed appealing. I was exploring through my teas and this caught my eye.

Drinking it now though, it’s not my favourite. I’m getting a lot from the base which is more grassy and not the best quality. The strawberry is coming off floral and when mixed with the carbonation flavor, it’s perfume-y.

We’ve made chocolate covered strawberry cream puffs and in order to incorporate them into my #365daysoftea, I pulled out this tea which seemed on the nose. See the pic here: https://www.instagram.com/p/B_TEFt8gJTO/?igshid=1xgkalfgt7kkr

It’s weird because this smells exactly like chocolate covered strawberries. It does have a strawberry with slight chocolate flavor. It’s quite nice and I didn’t anticipate it would be this accurate. You do still get a lot of apple flavor as well but if you can ignore that, it’s chocolate strawberry.

Sipdown (302)…not actually though since I decided to pass on the rest of this sample rather than drink it.

Tomorrow is my last exam and I have slacked on studying because its a topic I am comfortable with. However, I am trying to get in some last ditch studying today and pulled this tea out to help me push through.

Alas, this flavor profile is 100% not for me. Rosemary and mate are both not necessarily on my list of flavors I enjoy. Then apple and hibiscus add some fruity quality but nothing tasty or bold enough to keep my attention. It’s not bad but it’s also not for me which is why the rest is being passed on. It’s a bit like medicine in the rainforest tbh.

Cold Brew Sipdown (326)

Finishing up the last of the cold brew. It’s fruity with mostly apple and orange. Its fine but not worth having again.

I set this up to cold brew last night and even then it smelled sort of waxy and artificial. Today that is coming through in the taste with a lot of acidic apple and some citrus. It’s tolerable and I’ll likely finish the cold brew today but I won’t be seeking this out again.

Sipdown (331)

Honestly, I have had several renditions of Rocky Horror Spice tea and they are NEVER good. EVER! This is no exception. It tastes like dirt while also being astringent. It’s a big no for me. So big in fact I dropped some of the leaf (by accident) and tossed the rest (on purpose).

Sipdown (334)

This is a generic red fruit tea. Strong hibiscus flavor. Hint of waxiness. It is something I have had before numerous times and its never impressive or exciting. It’s fine and it’s caffeine free thus hydrating. While I will have no problem drinking this tumbler full of this iced, I also am totally fine with not having this again as well.

In completely other news, sometimes I get stressed with the “would you recommend this tea?” question. This particular tea I would not recommend since it really is nothing special, but I wouldn’t actively say not to have it. So sometimes I feel bad in this situation saddling a tea with the big red “Not recommended” box or whatever it says on a note since that box seems like it would turn people away. So would I recommend this tea? No, because I likely wouldn’t think about it and I wouldn’t claim it was that great if asked but it’s not so bad that if someone finds themselves in possession of this, they should throw it out or try to get rid of it. Alright…that’s my rant.

Strikes a good balance between sharp ginger and sweet peach. It smells like there’s freeze dried peach pieces in it, although there aren’t. The calendula petals slip through into my teacup and are honestly kind of nice to eat. However, the base is rooibos. Fortunately, it’s not a bad one, but it’s also not a good one. It adds a slightly medicinal note to the brew but is otherwise unfelt on the tongue. I do, however, notice its tiny, lightweight flecks escaping containment and forming a mound in my cup. I’d score this higher if it were on, say, a base of bai mudan.

Sipdown (338)

This months Dollar Tea Club delivery was definitely not my favourite. It included Earl Grey and this tea, Licorice Roll. Both are flavours I really don’t care for but decided I should at least try them. The Earl Grey I was able to use up in one go for a latte but I made this as a plain tea and went into it planning to give the rest of the sample away. So, needless to say, my expectations weren’t high here.

I will say this is better than expected. It’s definitely licorice, which means it’s not for me, but it’s not overly sweet and the touch of base that comes through blends perfectly with the flavour. It’s smooth and nice. Even still, I won’t reach for it so the rest of this is off to Sil.

Latte sipdown (341)

I used the whole sample for a latte and this is a whole lot of nope. Very nope. This is the harsh earl grey teas that make me think I hate bergamot. I’ve found some earl greys I like, most by 52 teas, but this is definitely not one of them. It’s smooth until nearing the end of the sip where it seems like someone rubbed bergamot scent oils on the sides of my tongue. It’s like something that should be sold at Saje and run through a diffuser as opposed to a beverage.

So, as a tisane, this is wrong. However, as a broth, this is fine. It smells and tastes a lot like a lemongrass-forwards curry. You get some lime leaves as well, despite there being no lime, and a little ginger. Bit of turmeric on the bottom. Not as much as you’d expect looking at the dry mix, which is extremely yellow, but some. There’s a sharp, floor cleaner like element to the smell of the stuff, as well, that fortunately dies down over time. The scent of ginger and turmeric takes some time to get out of a teapot.

This didn’t taste as strongly of licorice as I would have liked, and has a creamy-oily mouthfeel I couldn’t get into. It would’ve been okay as a light anise-cocoa nib beverage if not for that misfortune.

What is happening? I don’t bloody know. This tea really comes out of left field. I assumed it would be a chai type option, because I didn’t consider what the ‘natural flavors’ would add to the equation. It does indeed smell exactly like eggnog with a splash of rum and spices in it. 100%.
But does it taste like that? No. 0%. What it does taste like, 100%, is a cinnamon poptart. Spot on down to the icing. And, it turns out, the experience of slowly drinking a cinnamon poptart is high on my list of great times. It doesn’t make sense! I don’t care!
This can be resteeped without loss of character or quality because despite containing black tea, it never makes itself heard.

I am so used to cherry teas being a bright pink/red but this one is not. It is yellowish like a lot of herbals or even green teas. Yet, despite the color difference, this smells so much like all the other bright red/pink cherry teas.

Tastewise, it is herbal-y with some cherry flavor. It is like if someone dropped a splash of cherry onto herbal meds. It is soft herbals but still more herbal than fruity and definitely not what I hoped for when I brewed the mug.