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This was a sipdown, and like lots of other “busy” teas, the last teaspoons are usually scant on whatever gave it the most personality. So the last cup was mostly hibiscus and chamomile. That’s OK, I was tired and fussy after a long day and I think the chamomile took the edge off some of that fuss.

I don’t know that I’ve ever had a citrus/oolong blend, but the fruitiness of the oolong in this bagged Bigelow version is a really nice frame for the citrus. Grapefruit and lemon are both in the ingredient list, but it skews grapefruit to me. Even with inattentive office steeping, there’s no bitterness in the oolong.

This afternoon pick-me-up was sponsored by Michelle, with my thanks! (And on the look-for-it-locally list it goes!)

This is not a new TeaMaze acquisition; it’s just a packet that woodged its way out of sight that I loosened while taking a pre-shopping inventory. My previous reviews were spring themed and at the time, my taste buds were craving the lightness of the green tea and lemongrass. A seasonal shift in thinking makes me notice the dried fruit first now—a little like the candied fruit Mom always put in her Christmas fresh apple cake. Was a nice accompaniment to a little bit of carrot cake. (Yes, I know. More pastry. I need to go walk it off, don’t I?)

I couldn’t find this listed on the Teamaze website yet, but if yesterday was an indication of how busy the proprietor has been, she’s been far too holiday busy to make updates! Constant traffic in her cheerful little storefront and she was hopping to take care of multiple to-go orders as well as answering touristy questions (“Do you have anything with caffeine here?”) and more informed ones for (ahem!) us serious shoppers who stocked up enough for the next three winters…

But I digress.

The scent of this one made it jump into my shopping basket. We’ve got a mild and slightly grassy white tea, white chocolate bits, and a little extra flavoring that makes me think of Carnation condensed milk. Steeped, it’s a little less sweet than I expected, but I think I like semi-sweet better than too much cloying sweetener. Next time, I will take care of that myself, perhaps with a teeny bit of milk and brown sugar.

In short, this is the white chocolate cousin of Sugar Cookie Sleigh Ride. A pleasant non-minty evening cuppa.

Thanks to AJRimmer, I’m having a little caffeine-free break from chores. Her original tasting note for Apple Empanda captures every mental note I was making to set down here. The apple and cinnamon mesh nicely with honeybush, the honeybush adds a nice little caramelly note, but I kept hunting and hunting for the crust. Not being a blender, I don’t know how difficult it is to replicate pastry, but teas that do so accurately are hard to find.

That said, this was still really pleasant, better with a snoodge of lemon pie and a piece of marzipan … we did a Branson holiday run yesterday and went just a tad overboard at Kilwin’s confectioners. (More shopping overkill confessions to follow.)

Did you ever see the Peanuts cartoon where Charlie Brown is sitting under a tree in autumn and “Whump!” all the leaves fall off at once on top of him? Our leaves whumped today, so I’ve been outside for Round 1 of mower mulching. (Round 2 is pending. We’re downhill from the neighbors. Their tree will whump soon.)

Anyway, despite the physical activity, it’s bitter and windy outside and this little concoction is warming me up inside out (thanks, derk!) I approached it very cautiously because of the hibiscus labeling, but the ginger and lime are the standouts here. Freshly grated ginger, not the spice rack kind, and the licorice is judiciously placed to soften the other flavors, not to goo them up.

I’m amazed that a tea laced with both of my kryptonites (hibi and licorice) is going down so quickly. Cup’s already half gone!

There’s really nothing to read here except my confession of abject failure. I was so excited to try this…took it to work (Mistake #1) and scorched it—kettle water was too hot. Bitter, bitter, bitter! Added a little honey, hoping to neutralize it (Mistake #2) and then all there was was a cup of hot bitter honey water.

Before trying to doctor it, I did get some hints of the lovely little fruity notes that I’ve seen in the other reviews.

Sigh. derk, dearest, I apologize for my sloppy mishandling!

Every time I turn around, someone has added another little something to the tea tables in my office and the one next door. This morning, it was a fresh bottle of honey, which was perfect in this little bagged tea. Between the sweetness of the honey and the bite of the turmeric, no moringa bitterness at all—just a sweet and peachy cup.

(News to me: looks like Basilur bought out Tipson a while back—I haven’t tried many of their organic/herbal blends, but a Basilur seal of approval, at least to me, confirms that Tipson stuff should be of a decent to somewhat-above-decent quality.)

I am now amply supplied with Winter Spice, thanks to a couple bags sent my way from ashmanra and a detour to a World Market on a run to see mom-in-law. Tonight’s nightcap was steeped in a cup of hot honeycrisp apple cider. The end result was delicious, but the honeycrisp is so strong and sweet that it way overpowered the subtleness of the tisane itself. No harm done, and plenty left to play with.

derk wrote such a well-crafted, detailed, accurate tasting note for this, I definitely can’t improve on it, but a few additional observations:

a) It holds up to my sloppy, ham-handed handling. That’s saying something for a (borrowed phrase) “snoot tea” :)

b) I would never associate menthol or cooling properties to an unflavored black tea, but it has and it does.

c) It just flat smells lovely.