Tea Please

Made this one at the office earlier last week as an iced tea. It was so delicious and refreshing with the perfect combination of sweet syrupy lemon and sour acidity. Hard to describe the taste as anything other than just lemonade-like though: this tea clearly sets out to taste like something specific and it nails it. Exquisitely.

Cold Brew!

This was very good, and I’m happy to report that it tasted a lot like what I expected and wanted it to. I have a tea from Tealyra, called Lemon Lollipop, that I really adore and when I ordered this tea I was like 90% sure it was the same tea but I just wanted more of it, and was happy to support another black owned business through that restock. My thought now, though, is that there’s not the same tea but that they’re coming from the same supplier. The lemon flavouring is near identical and the ingredient cut sizes/visuals overlap too – but not perfectly. There’s little clusters of citric acid in this tea (similar to Lemon Smash from DT) and much large slices of lemon peel, and not nearly the same amount of candied fruit.

Basically, it’s a sweet lemonade/candied lemon type of flavour but also just slightly bitter/pithy which adds a nice layer to keep it from being too sweet/candied tasting or flat and one dimensional. VariaTEA wanted to know if it reminds me of anything specific, and I think the closest I could describe it to is probably a stereotypical Lemon Lollipop – like what the Tealyra blend is named after. There is something nostalgic to this profile though that feels more specific than that, but I can’t put my finger on it right now.

Anyway, happy to have lots of this on hand now! It’s a very nice lemon profile.

Strange VariaTEA TTB: Tea #5

I’ve had this tea once prior, but it was in a preportioned out sample that was only enough for a single cup – so when I saw that VariaTEA had included it in the TTB I wanted to take the chance to try it again since I now had more control over my ingredient proportions.

I think that this actually helped because I found myself enjoying this second cup just a little bit more than what I remember my first tasting like. It certainly had less of a bitter edge, and while I still find the chocolate flavour a little strange (waxy milk chocolate/chocolate liqueur vibes) the berry came through in a way I liked more. Very mixed berry overall but leaning heavier into that red berry territory – I felt like I got cranberry/cherry vibes most of all though. Reminded me of a 52Teas blend I’ve had recently, actually…

Glad I gave this one a second chance!

Sipdown (1078)!

I had this one on Monday or Tuesday – I can’t honestly remember which day because the week has blurred together so much. It was good, but not as good as I wanted it to be. I didn’t get any of the fun large cut ingredients in my sample that are in the product phone, and while I don’t know that the large dehydrated berry pieces would have made a big impact on the giant cinnamon stick might have.

It was pretty full bodied, with a more bitter dark chocolate note. I actually liked the slight bitterness because it differentiates this from the overly rich/sweet and sometimes waxy chocolate teas out there – it somehow also feels more authentic with the bitterness. Also means that it’s got the legs to stand up to milk! The undertone was more jammy blueberry, and it was okay but I expected the berry to have a stronger presence in the blend overall given the tea’s name…

Cold Brew Sipdown (281)

This one will be missed. It’s a delicious candy lemon cold brew. I’ve been drinking it throughout the day per today’s September Sipdown prompt.

This tastes so familiar. Not like lemonade but a lemonade candy perhaps. It is driving me nuts because it is something I have had before and I just can’t place it.

With that said, I really like it. It’s very refreshing, sour, and also sweet. I am having it cold brewed and enjoying it a bunch. Looking forward to when Roswell Strange tries it as well since she may know what it’s reminding me of.

Cold Brew Sipdown (1041)!

I have not forgotten about the many teas I have acquired from Black Owned companies this summer; but in this massive influx of teas that I’ve had I also haven’t been able to cycle through everything as smoothly/efficiently as I wanted to.

This was pretty nice for what was a very simple blend though! The dry leaf smelled like the rich, chocolate “Rum Balls” that my mom makes around the holidays – so, boozy chocolate. Steeped, it’s very sweet and chocolate forwards which is of course what you would expect from a blend called Chocolate Truffles. It has a hint of a boozy chocolate liqueur/sweet rum note, and is also just a touch fruity.

Not something I’d reorder, but certainly a pleasant brew!

Iced Tea Sipdown (227)

S is for…Strawberry Sparkling Wine

Check out the tasting note for the NecessiTea’s Strawberry Rose Champagne, which I also had today to compare to this one, here: https://steepster.com/rachel12610/posts/418162

Strawberry Sparkling Wine leans more into the wine side of things than Strawberry Rose Champagne. It’s not as sweet as Strawberry Rose Champagne. It is also flatter than Strawberry Rose Champagne in the sense of an effervescence that both teas manage to have to sell the “sparkling” aspect. This has strawberry flavour as well but its not as sweet and more closely reminiscent of the fruit than candy/jam. I doubt I would have noticed the difference not having them side by side since they are similar but this is definitely more subtle/less sweet.

Last night I asked my sister to grab a caffeine free tea that she thought would be good cold. She handed me this. I cold brewed it over night and have been sitting next to the cup all day. Drinking it now it is super sweet strawberry today.

I like this tea and it’s pregnant lady friendly because it has no hibiscus. I cold brewed it and after one sip handed it to my sister (the pregnant one. I am definitely not pregnant) and told her to try it since she’s been driving me nuts for a tea she could drink.

This tastes like strawberry and has a sparkling wine effervescence. Roswell Strange nailed it when she said Prosecco gummy bears from Squish because it tastes like that.

Sipdown (1028)!

First tea of the morning while I grind on some data entry (Nutrition Facts Tables will be the death of me) this morning from home – chocolate seemed like a much needed piece of comfort and sweetness for the morning I expected to have…

I enjoyed this one – it’s not something I’d want to purchase a bigger amount of though. That’s primarily because I rarely feel drawn towards chocolate teas – especially more “plain” chocolate teas where I don’t have another flavour to offset the chocolate note. That said, I thought it had a nice cake-y quality and the dark chocolate felt natural without being too sweet or being oily/gross in the cup. It did have a bit of a chocolate liqueur taste too. What I actually liked most about it though was the hint of coriander mixed in – the subtle spice to offset the chocolate was such a nice, simple change of pace and elevated the cup a lot and went a long way to keep this from feeling flat to me.

Sipdown (1030)!

Sipped this down at some point during the first Steepster Freeze a week or so back…

I am what I call an “exploratory” tea drinker & part of that means sometimes eating the tea. I was very shocked when, prior to steeping this, I add a piece of almond from the dry leaf and it tasted very sweet and fruity, in a way that was almost like a strawberry hard candy! It was quite tasty, but it was like one of those moments where you accidentally drink someone else’s drink instead of yours and they’re drinking Coke but you were drinking Rootbeer – both are good, but tasting Coke when you expect Rootbeer is going to give you an initial feeling of “What the fuck is wrong with this!?” and revulsion because the flavour just isn’t right…

Steeped up, that intense candy like fruity sweetness actually carries through REALLY strongly into the profile of the cup. I suppose I can’t be upset that a tea called “Candied Almonds” tastes like candy, but it’s just such a different type of candy than what I would have expected from this tea. I like that strawberry/cherry type of note and I did taste some almond but it’s really different from my expectations.

Sadly this was a “one cup and done” type of sample – but I think if I were to drink it again knowing that I was going to experience that type of flavour profile that I would probably enjoy it a lot more. As it stands, this cup was fine once I got past the initial surprise of it all.

Cold Brew Sipdown (1026)!

This was very refreshing and chuggable, but one thing that really stood out to me is that despite the fact this is supposedly an orange cookie blend (even though I’ve seen it carried by other companies as an orange nut or a spiced orange profile) all I could taste when I drank it was a vaguely fruity bubblegum note. I guess it’s that combo of orange and spices? That can be a tricky balance. It was weird how much like bubble gum it tasted like, but I did still really enjoy it and if I didn’t know alternative vendors for this blend that are more accessible to me here in Canada then it’s a tea I would probably pop onto my wishlist…

Cold Brew Sipdown (1015)!

This is Forever Nuts – and I knew when I got the sampler that it was Forever Nuts from the ingredients list, but you can’t opt out of just one sample, so…

If you don’t know what I’m talking about, as has been pointed out here on Steepster many times before, Forever Nuts is a blend carried by many tea companies under different names and sometimes with very slight variations. I don’t believe there have been any variations made here.

I like Forever Nuts well enough, though it’s not my favourite. I did go through a “Forever Nuts” phase as I think many DT fans often go through. As a cold brew, the cinnamon and sweet roasted almond notes come through a lot, with just a bit of apple to round it out and sweeten it up. It tastes like an apple fritter or some kind of apple crumble. Very refreshing, easy to sip on, and not disagreeable at all.

Personally, I have amazing (and cheap) access to Forever Nuts whenever I want it just by way of working at DT so this isn’t something that I’d buy from another company. Just doesn’t make sense for me personally. I think the name here is really fun, though! I’ve never seen another company sort of take this direction for the blend, and I like it.

Cold Brew Sipdown (1015)!

Possibly my last tea of the night; I had a packed day so now I’m just winding down…

When I don’t think about it, this tastes like the Tuttie Fruity flavour of Jelly Belly candies, which I think are probably one of the more polarizing flavours. I know that I really like them though, so I’m enjoying that element a lot. If I stop and pay more mind to the flavours I’m experiencing, I feel like I’m getting a combination of strawberry, banana, coconut, and pineapple – with emphasis on the strawberry banana elements. Either way, it’s enjoyable but I do slightly prefer the “mindless” approach – sometimes I don’t like when my brain dissects flavours…

Cold Brew Sipdown (1005)!

Now this is the vanilla rooibos that I’ve been craving all week!

I ordered both of the sample packs from the Tea Please website, which are single serving samples of her best sellers and also her holiday flavours – I think this was in the top sellers pack? I was worried there wouldn’t be enough leaf for a good cold brew but this is delicious. It’s not very rooibos forward, but the main sip tastes like a wonderful mix of vanilla cupcake batter and creamy, sweet Funfetti icing. Only downside is that the finish is a little bit fondant-y – which is to say a bit of a sweet doughy quality. However, it’s still great overall!

Cold Brew!

Currently about two thirds of the way through this brew! I was a little light on the tea leaf, but it’s still really nice. This past week or two, my track record with eyeballing my cold brew measurements has definitely been a bit more rough…

Anyway, it’s strawberry forward in a sweet and summery kind of way with strong notes of prosecco to close out the sip. Light, fresh and kind of effervescent seeming. Reminds me a lot of Squish’s Prosecco (now named Sparkling Wine) gummy bears. I haven’t had those gummies in ages now, but they used to be a favourite snack back when I was working in stores with DAVIDsTEA (pre head office) and we sold them.

My tea stash is so large that I actually have separate drawers for my DAVIDsTEA herbal/rooibos tea samples and the herbal/rooibos samples from everyone else. By pure chance, the DT drawer is closer to my kettle so I often find myself pulling teas from that drawer when wanting an evening tea. So, this past week I’ve tried to make an active effort to grab from the other drawer instead – it’s actually led to me rediscovering some teas in my stash that I love a lot but haven’t had recently, like this one! Very sweet and juicy – it’s like the Squish “Prosecco Gummy Bear” candies but with a splash of syrupy strawberry as well. Really hits the spot as far as late night sweet fruity cravings go.