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Cold brewed. I enjoy the taste, but I honestly don’t notice any difference, flavor-wise, between this and Murchie’s “Pink Lemonade” tea, which I sipped down rather recently. The Murchie’s blend is all herbal, while this tea is on a white tea base, but I’m not really getting anything from either the flavor or body of the tea where the white tea is making any difference. Tastes like a hibiscus fruit tea, with a tangy and pithy/juicy citrus flavor, overlaying the tart hibiscus fruit punch base.

Between the two, I think I do prefer the fully-herbal Murchie’s blend, which was a bit punchier/authentic with the citrus. This blend has some lovely, huge hibiscus flowers (rather than just the cut/sifted petals) but was lacking the citrus chunks/peels and instead used strong flavoring on a weak white base. They do taste strikingly similar, but other than the increased weight from the ingredients, I think I prefer the chunkier and more natural herbal/fruit tea.

Happy National French Toast Day! Today the prompt is to drink a tea with flavor notes of a French Toast topping! I just decided to go with this tea that has “French Toast” in the title, which has been in my stash since 2018. I bought it on vacation to the Bay Area in California, which, back then, had several physical DAVIDsTEA locations. Now, all the physical DAVIDsTEAs in the US are closed. So… old tea, as per usual!

Still smells nice in the bag, though… like sweet lemon, and definitely cardamom. Brewed, it smells even sweeter, giving off a sort of honey graham cracker sort of aroma, as well as the citrus and cardamom.

Base has a malty/baked bread quality. The sip has a sweet cinnamon-sugar flavor, with a strong pop of cardamom that takes hold mid-sip and lingers on the tongue, but not in a spicy-hot way. There is a lemony note to the tea, which is amplified a bit by the citrusy taste of the cardamom.

It’s nice. The spice of the cardamom is smoothed by the sweetness leaving a nice cardamom flavor that doesn’t burn. I still enjoy the elusive 52Teas’ “Coconut French Toast with Cardamom Maple Syrup” more, though.

Happy (American) Thanksgiving! Today the prompt is to drink a tea with flavor notes of a favorite Thanksgiving dish!

Sooooooooo… I know what you’re thinking. Instant Thai tea packets?! I live alone, without any friends or family for states. I have a sister that lives in-state, and is only a 2 hour drive away, but she has worked management in retail for over a decade now, which means she can’t be seen, period, during the holidays. So this cultural idea of a big meal at a family get-together just doesn’t exist for me.

Being in this situation, I have to create my own traditions, and my Thanksgiving tradition is to buy GOBS of Thai food the day before when restaurants are still open, and just work my way through all the leftovers on Thanksgiving. Ergo, Thai tea is the perfect fit for my “favorite Thanksgiving dish”!

These have long been a guilty pleasure of mine. I shouldn’t enjoy instant tea as much as I enjoy these things. A combination of instant powdered black tea, sugar, and cream, this brews that classic, guady, 70s orange of Thai tea, and tastes really thick and creamy… like hot chocolate, only vanilla-flavored instead of chocolate. So indulgent!

I pulled this 2018 acquisition as my next caffeine-free nightly tea to work through. I’m surprised I haven’t tried this yet, as I love lavender-forward teas!

This is a very sweet tea! Not the puckeringly-sweet licorice root bomb that their “Spa Day” was, but enough that I question why they felt the need to add licorice root and stevia leaf to this one. I’m not getting a distinct flavor of either of those things, but the sweetness of the tea is pushing the vanilla flavor into a sort of “over-the-top” vanilla frosting note, and the rooibos base tastes like pure, golden honey. The lavender is absolutely lovely, giving the cup a lovely fragrance and plenty of lavender flavor (I find a lot of lavender teas are quite light-handed with it, moreso than I personally would prefer, and this is definitely in the camp of generous lavender). Sometimes I get a vegetal-bitter quality from lavender that is too strong or brewed too long, but thanks to the sweetness of this tea, I can leave the fillable teabag in the cup indefinitely and it nevers goes bitter.

It could do with a little less sweetness, but I’m happy with the flavor overall.

I’ve had this sealed bag since 2018, and have finally pulled it as my next “iced tea” sipdown. I quite like flavored whites and greens as cold brews, so that is how I’ve chosen to prepare this. It’s basically one of those “mixed fruit/hibiscus” fruit teas on a jasmine-scented white tea base.

I do get a strong “mixed berry” sort of aroma from the tea, but also the scent of grapes… which could be the jasmine, as I frequently read that note as grape-flavored. I typically vibe well with ye olde generic fruity hibi-hip iced teas, but I’m quite liking this one… I do taste blueberry and red berry and that tart fruit punchy hibiscus, but there is also a florality there which, combined with the fruit notes, tastes strongly of lychee to me. There is also a flavor that tastes like a combination of grape and plum, and there is sort of a citrusy, effervescent quality to the iced tea, which makes me think of the slight bite of either carbonation, or alcohol. There is a pleasant tartness left on the tongue after the sip which most people would probably be averse to, but I love sour/tart notes and am really digging it.

Enjoyable as is, but I’ll probably carbonate my next batch, since there is already a sort of “carbonated” quality to the tea from that sour/effervescent note… just seems like the right fit for a tea soda pop!

I reviewed this in the past, prepared as a latte on the stove, and it wasn’t nearly strong enough. Finally getting back to trying this again.

Though I usually make chai as a latte, I brewed it this time hot and plain, and it’s already a vast improvement from what I remember. The base tea is a lovely sweet vanilla/honeyed cream, and there is a nice amount of spice without the tea being bitey. Mostly it is that peppery/citrusy taste of cardamom, with maybe a little pepper or ginger pop at the end of the sip. The rose is present but not strong or perfumy; it’s a soft, sweet floral that, mixed with the vanilla, really brings out a wildflower honey note. Rose and cardamom is a natural pairing, and this is really quite nice.

I think the sweeter vanilla black base makes this one not quite bitey enough to suit adding milk really well, though perhaps using more leaf than I’m used to for a latte could improve it. But I am really digging this as a hot tea with no additions, which will probably be my preferred method for this one going forward. Raising rating!

Another of the teas I received back in 2018 from Meowster’s cupboard destash… thank you, Meowster! I think this tea is from 2016, so it’s quite old at this point, and I’m expecting flavor degradation as a result.

2.5g steeped in 350ml 195F water for 3 minutes. I am getting a very pleasant aroma from the steeped cup; a rosy floral, citrus, and a sort of honey graham biscuity note. On the mouth, I’m tasting a strong wet autumn leaf flavor first, with a hint of cucumber/melon, and subtle rose and lemon note, and a somewhat biscuity aftertaste. The flavors do feel a bit muted, but this is holding up much better than the Malabar Estate Java OP Clonal I sipped down recently. I’m actually surprised this many notes are still presenting in this tea after so much time.

This is quite nice, I can only imagine how great it is fresh!

Happy National Absurdity Day! Today the prompt is to drink your strangest tea blend.

I think this tea is probably the most off-the-beaten-path tea I have, as it uses a lot of savory herbs that I personally don’t really get in my tea blends, like rosemary and thyme. A blend of black and pu’erh for the base, with juniper berries, black currant, rosemary, and thyme, the aroma of my steeped cup is spot on for a forest of cedar and pine. It’s a little tickly on the nose, but pleasant.

On the sip, I’m getting a very forward pine tree flavor, which I really like. I was a little skeptical because of the herbs used (I have memories of a tea with rosemary and sage getting very savory and hard to sip) but a gentle hand must have been used here, as they are blending with the juniper note very well to add a somewhat brisker pine note, and the lingering rosemary aftertaste makes me think of sap. There is body to the tea, but it is hard to taste any base flavors beneath the strong pine flavor; a touch of musty earth, if you really reach for it. I only started to taste a subtle black current note as the tea started to cool down, which hits the back of the throat at the end of the sip. It goes nicely with the juniper notes, and I wouldn’t mind if it was a bit stronger or popped a bit more.

I didn’t really think I’d like this one much going in, but I’m really digging the strong pine flavor. I really need more juniper-forward teas in my stash.

Pulled this as my next nightly herbal to sip down, as this is so old it is still in Bluebird Tea Co. packaging. The fillable teabag steeping in my cup smells lovely; a sugary-sweet cinnamon note, candied nut, apples, and just a slight wiff of nutmeg.

Tastes really lovely. Sweet spices and a lot of honeyed nut notes, which are probably enhanced by the rooibos base. I get a little vanilla but it needs to be stronger, to really get that sort of cream cheese frosting note. The carrot flakes don’t really add that certain rooty flavor you’d get from actual carrot cake, it does have spot on sweetness and spices. I think the next time I’ll make it as a latte with vanilla almond milk, to push the creaminess/vanilla more.

Happy Hug a Musican Day! Today the prompt is to do a tea/musician pairing.

I know it’s crazy, but I actually don’t listen to music often. Not that I don’t like it, but when you’ve had constant migraine headaches for around two decades, you kind of adapt to having quiet spaces. I’m coming off a COVID-booster triggered migraine that just lasted me two days, so I’m not particularly in the mood to put on any music right now, either.

But I am a fan of Symphonic Metal, and picked this tea because I felt the robust Yunnan black and the sweet and delicate floral rose sort of represents that juxtaposition of the metal instruments and the classical instruments coming together. Even the rose itself has a sort of duality to its imagery of being beautiful, but also covered in thorns. It just seemed right for a musical genre that is a mashup of older and newer musical styles. (My favorite group? Within Temptation, but I’m a fan of Nightwish, Lacuna Coil, and many, many others!)

This dragon ball was a (now very long-ago) gift from Derk; thank you Derk! I steeped the whole dragon ball in 500ml 205F water, let it steep for 3-4 minutes (using a chopstick to help separate up the ball about halfway through), and then strained into the cute little black cat teapot my mother gave me as a housewarming gift.

The steeped tea smells glorious, of honeyed cream and roses. On the sip, I’m getting warm cinnamon bread slathered in honey, and a strong, sweet floral rose that is lacking both the “peppery” note I often get from rose and also any “perfumy” qualities. The tea is silky smooth, but a touch drying after the sip. Some sips I get just the slightest hint of a citrusy note, which is equally smooth and pleasant with the other flavors, and a non-descript fruitiness left on my tongue after the sip, which I can only describe as “sort of grape, sort of cherry, not really either.”

I haven’t had a rose black tea in a while as I continue to make strides on my “all-sipdowns-no-new-orders” mandate, and am finding that sweet floral/Chinese black combo is something that I’ve missed dearly, and is really hitting the spot!

Thanks again, Derk!