Featured & New Tasting Notes

I stopped by a cafe in Brighton for a black sesame latte, and I bought this box of teabags. The flavor is mild and not tart. It’s pretty fruity and pleasant, if not super special for the price. I can’t tell what flavor this is distinctly, but it’s interesting!

I feel bad for neglecting this tea for so long. It was harvested in the spring of 2020, and soon we will have the spring 2026 harvests here. This tea from derk is finally finished. Thank you, derk!

I decided to steep all 5 grams in a 100 ml gaiwan using 90°C water, but I wasn’t focusing on how long the steeps were.

Maybe it wasn’t as floral as others had noticed, but that could be because of its age. Nevertheless, the tea was still full of flavor, though it was somehow hard for me to pinpoint the exact qualities. I liked it, though, and it was a great morning tea. I can definitely recommend it, even though my sample was six years old; because of that, I will refrain from rating it.

Good cross between sweet and tart, a pleasant surprise as it is a white tea and I don’t tend to enjoy white teas as much. I had picked it up at a market based solely on the smell, which is heavenly.

Another prescription from Michelle’s First Aid Kit for the Winter Blues, and welcome today: it’s sunny and deceptively cold. I tried this first straight up, then with milk; both versions are warming and a little anise-heavy, but not so much that it sticks to your tongue. Made a nice afternooner!

I mostly taste smoke. It’s not bad, but not my favorite sort of thing. In the resteep, I tasted a combination of smoke and coconut that was well-done, but not for me.

TTB tea!

I’ve been enjoying trying teas from the latest TTB round, but Steepster has been super sluggish lately!

Made this one as a latte (with oat milk) as suggested on the package, even though I’m not much of a tea latte person. It’s nice enough! Definitely heavy on the spearmint, with a bit of chocolate and just a little toastiness coming through. Personally I’d prefer it with less mint and more chocolate!

This is an Italian-grown tea (and yes, I mean the base tea!) with Italian bergamot. I expect the other ingredients come from Southern Europe as well.

The price was very steep; 20 grams for €12 was indeed a lot for me. However, I felt I just had to try an Italian-grown tea. This one contains real bergamot pieces, unlike many Earl Greys on the market.

I was welcomed by a strong, almost breathtaking scent of citrus. It had a slightly bitter, piney aroma, but it was definitely fresh. The leaves are long, not broken in any way, and almost glossy. Their color was dark brown with hints of a brighter hue.

I used only 2.3 grams of this blend for my Western-style brewing. I steeped it for only 3 minutes in 300 ml of water at a temperature of around 90°C.

The liquor has an almost bready aroma with malty notes — at least, that is what I could distinguish besides the bergamot. The citrus note is just as noticeable, again with the pine notes that were present in the dry leaf.

As for the flavors… well, this is one of the smoothest teas I’ve ever had, and probably the best flavored tea yet. It is mouth-coating and smooth, with just the right level of citrusy notes, a hint of bitterness from the bergamot rinds, and a malty base with honey notes.

In the end, I think this tea will sit right next to Persian Choice Earl Grey; both are great examples of how Earl Grey should be done. I guess using quality ingredients is the key.

Herbal and Decaf Traveling Tea Box, Summer 2025.
Pomegranate Blueberry (°Cold Brew). Basilur.
String-tag paper tea bag containing dry herbs in a foil sealed pouch. Prepared as directed: steeped in 12 oz. spring water at ambient for 8 hr. My first impression was positive, as I tasted the blueberries and pomegranate, even if only flavorings. The hibiscus was lurking and imparted a nice bitterness possibly accentuated by the stevia, which my tongue does not sense as sweet, and thankfully I did not detect any orange leaves. Sweetening with a spoonful of sugar didn’t really change the flavors but improved it to the extent that I just like sugar. I’ll recommend and rate as a 75.

This is intense. The sweet/honey pear flavor is so strong it comes off as sort of varnish/nail polish. I still kind of liked it when I looked past the nail polish intensity.

TTB! I can really taste the mango along with the green tea. This is pretty pleasant cold, though not special enough to seek out specifically. This is well balanced!

Sipdown of a comically old sample. I’m quite surprised that it’s still good! As soon as I tore the pouch open, strong scents of rum and caramel came bursting forth. In the cup, the sweet caramel note is stronger, but the rum is definitely still there. Such a pleasant cuppa for an evening of reading and curling up under the blanket.

Celestial Seasonings exploration continues with this blueberry blend!

The dry leaf within the teabag smells very sweet and almost candy-like. Makes me think of these blueberry fruit jellies that are sugared on the outside that I get from a local market sometimes. Steeped the aroma is almost intoxicating. Super jammy in a way that really reads like the filling of a blueberry pie fresh out of the over. Definitely had my mouth watering…

The taste is okay. It’s definitely tart, and the hibiscus in the blend leads the sip pretty strongly. However, that jammy sweet blueberry note is still there underneath all of the hibiscus twang and acidity. I wish it were sweeter, and more “round” feeling on the palate instead of sharp. However, I think maybe a lighter steep time or added sugar could help get it there. I also think that the more bright/tart and juicy blueberry flavour would translate really well to iced tea. I just definitely wasn’t in that mindset while drinking this one after smelling that pie-like steeping aroma.

Sparkling Tea – Hibiscus Mint by Bare Bones Beverage Company

Date: 21 January 2026

We went to World Market over the weekend, and I snagged a few discounted snacks and beverages. This was full price @ $3.99 USD, which seemed a bit high…I finally tried the can this morning and was immediately hit with bitterness and astringency – tasted like dirt and burnt flowers. I tasted zero mint!
20/100

This has the weird fruity flavor like the pumpkin rooibos chai from Adagio has. I just wouldn’t call this chai. It’s weirdly fruity and meh.

A flavor combination I usually love sadly ruined by far too much stevia :(. I couldn’t finish the cup.

This one is from Cameron B – thanks yet again! The leaves here look like very long sencha that has been roasted. (Look how much I know about Japanese black teas. har har.) The scent of the leaf is roasty, and the flavor is roasty, but also very light, like a Big Red Robe oolong (have not had one of those in ages). The lightness means I am bound not to be a huge fan of this one… I am not really one for light flavored black teas, or for roasted flavors. And I also agree with Cameron’s flavor notes of oats and straw. When it cools, it takes on a tangy fruit flavor, maybe tamarind. (The description says watermelon FWIW, but I don’t agree.) And when even cooler, maybe mint? Or maybe I was just outside and it just seems like a mint effect… The second steep gets a LITTLE darker/deeper, and also not astringent, which is a good thing.
Steep #1 // 1 1/2 teaspoons // 20 minutes after boiling // 2 minute steep
Steep #2 // just boiled // 4 minute steep

Coconut is the strongest flavor. I also taste the black base and a small amount of spice. It’s pleasant, but I prefer a spicier chai.

Bird & Blend Gourmet Tea Club for January 2026. I’d forgotten I’ve tried this one before; apparently I really liked it as a latte. I do remember enjoying the sticky chai version as a latte just before Christmas, so that kinda tracks. Anyway, I made this one up just as a normal cuppa today; just over 1tsp of leaf (large-ish mug for work!) brewed for 4 mins with a generous splash of milk. It’s good; really captures the digestive biscuit flavour, with a nice amount of chocolate also. I note that I wasn’t the sold on the chocolate aspect last time, but I would imagine this blend has been refined a little over the years because the tea I’m tasting today is pretty spot-on accurate photorealistic chocolate digestive. As I love a biscuit tea (my current adoration for the Yorkshire Tea ones is high!) I can safely say it’s one I would definitely repurchase. Glad I’ve reacquainted with this one.

Herbal and Decaf TTB, Summer 2025.

I only have one more tea from this teabox to try. I have all the tea together in a box to send out, but organizing the next round will need to wait until my husband has a job again as money is pretty tight right now. He is in talks with two different companies, but it is always frustrating how long the process takes.

Sip down

Date: 17 January 2026

Over the past few days, I was sick with bronchitis, so I was drinking everything with peppermint or spearmint to help with breathing. This was one of the few teas that made it through my rotation, and it helped quite a bit! The peppermint/candy cane flavoring is very ‘artificial’ in the way it’s likely an oil base – very intense – and it numbs the tongue a touch.

Dug this one out to sip on it some more, and… oooohhh, it is so nice to enjoy the fresh peach flavor whilst snow swirls outside! Prepared as directed, but enjoyed it more than they promised!
ETA: 3 days later and I’m sipping this again, and tonight I’m noticing the subtle influence of the rose petals. What a terrific blend, with juicy peach, a note of rose, and great oolong base. Lovin’ it!

Sipdown

January Sipdown Challenge Prompt – a tea you prefer plain

I drink virtually all of my tea plain but I chose this one because chai usually has milk and sugar added.

It is a nice blend with the spices and flavors I like. I don’t love chai with turmeric and lots of black pepper. This is much better for me.

additional notes:  This is one of those ultra comforting cups.  For example, blizzard times.  I just love this one. I’m so appreciative that Anne recreated one of my favorite blends —  Black Silk Chocolate Milk.  Not sure how it could be this similar, if it wasn’t exactly the same recipe, but it WORKS.  So very delicious.  

Herbal TTB! I mostly taste a powdered ginger flavor plus a squeeze of orange. The orange lingers, which is nice, but I feel like everything could combine more smoothly. The ginger actually ends up pretty spicy!