6106 Tasting Notes
Didn’t have much hope for this tea, as it smelled just like black tea in the bag. Smelled about the same brewed up, but there is indeed the barest hint of banana in the flavour. Judging by some other reviews, this is likely age-related, so I won’t hold it against the tea. What I will note, though, is that the black/mate base is actually kind of yummy – just a wee bit astringent but reasonably flavourful. Another tea in the “drinkable but no longer amazing” pile. Thanks to JoonSusanna (or possibly momo?) for the sample!
Out of curiousity, I just went to Compass Teas’ website to poke around and wow – the teas seem to be quite expensive ($12-14.50USD/2oz), with no cheap sampler options (“samples” are $6-7ish, no size indicated). Which is probably for the best, as I don’t need more tea, but also kind of disappointing, because I’d like to try some of these teas fresh.
Sipdown! 209/365!
This was a free sample in my Bird & Blend order – I don’t know if the samples are random or personalized, but the ones I got definitely matched the items in my order!
Anyhow, I like my EG creams to be as creamy as possible. Unfortunately, although this is definitely a smooth EG (not as harsh as their Lady Lavender!), it is just not creamy enough for me. A bit does come out when it has cooled, but I want more. I’m sure this would take to a splash of milk and sweetener very well, but given that it was a single-sachet sample, I won’t be trying that!
As an EG, it’s quite good – strong but smooth bergamot – but it just isn’t the cream EG of my dreams.
This was half price, so I picked up a couple tins of it for morning lattes (after reading Roswell’s notes about it). It’s probably not really worth it compared to buying plain matcha and making lattes myself, but the convenience factor got me. And luckily, it’s pretty good. Sweet and creamy, though definitely not as sweet as it could be, with a fair bit of green tea flavour. I used 3 perfect spoons (this might be the first time I’ve actually used one?!) in a 12-ish ounce cup, and it seems like the right amount. Might be able to use milk instead of water and stretch the mix a bit further, but I don’t really care that much. All in all, satisfied with this purchase (though even at half price, it’s quite expensive!)
Drinking this cooled; it’s better than when it was hot. It tastes like honeydew juice now, actually (maybe it was just that melon is weird hot). Maybe with a hint of lime? I expected to like this one less than DT’s other melon teas, but I might actually like it more, though it’s possible it’s just because it’s fresh. I’ll note, though, that the green tea is not noticeable at all, so it’s hardly worth bothering with.
Iced a pitcher pack of this today. It’s not bad, mildly sweet and fruity (pineapple most noticeable; I’m not getting any passionfruit), with just a bit of grassy flavour from the base. I was careful to steep it at 180 and only for 2 minutes, so it’s pretty smooth, which is nice. Doesn’t need sweetening, either, and is actually tastier when it warms up a tad. However, it’s pretty generic, and there are many other teas I’d prefer to drink, iced or otherwise.
The dry leaf now has very little aroma, but when brewed up there is still some lovely bright orange flavour. Not as tasty as it once was, but still good enough to drink!
I was just thinking of this tea shop’s Chagas and Chestnut blend. I don’t see it on their website. I asked them about it months ago and never received a response.
I’ve never heard of that one, but chestnut teas are so good! (I’m thinking Lupicia here, of course.)
Sipdown! 207/365!
One of the least offensive rooibos’ I’ve had, and one of the better teas containing mint. I actually might even like this one, although I’m not terribly likely to just want to drink it out of the blue (yep, still playing DT roulette). Definitely drinking it out of season, though…
Sipdown! 206/365!
Brewed up this morning for a tasty treat, though I should have added a splash of sweetener as well as cream (and milk would have been better, but we were out). I do enjoy the flavour of these barley teas! Thanks again for the share, Sil!
Made this into iced tea. Unfortunately, though I was careful to brew at a lower temperature, it was quite astringent. I tried diluting, and sweetened it, but the astringency persisted. We did drink it, but it wasn’t the best, and overshadowed any nice raspberry flavour that might have been there. I’ll try a shorter infusion next time, but I’m not sure if it will help.
