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Mastress Alita’s sipdown challenge Tuesday, June 1st: World Milk Day Tea #1

additional notes: Rather than go with the sipdown challenge idea of adding milk to a tea, I instead went to hunt down teas with ‘milk’ in the name!  This one surely works. It’s the first one I think of in my stash regarding ‘milk’.  And I’m also still amazed that this tea still tastes like cookies… it’s a Frank blend and somehow the flavor it still there.  I think cocoa nibs mostly work when you are aiming for a chocolate chip cookie flavor.  Somehow the nibs capture it more than any other chocolate ingredient.  Then there is a flavor that is most definitely something like milk, equally balanced with the cookie.  I’m sure this is more artificially flavored than what Anne uses now, so it might be tough to recreate it.  I will miss this when it’s gone.

I hope everyone had an enjoyable Memorial Day.  I was a bit hesitant with this one, but B&B sent me over a single teabag sample.  Any rooibos blend shouldn’t have anything resembling “breakfast” in the name!  Unless it’s what I imagine is for the very small market of people who do not drink caffeine at all.  Even then, I can’t really see how this is supposed to be a breakfast inspired blend.  So I steeped this alongside an actual black tea yesterday morning, so I’d actually be drinking a breakfast tea during breakfast but also be trying this “breakfast” tea in the morning.  What we have here is rooibos, honeybush, sunflowers and flavoring.  I can’t really tell what the flavoring is.  Is the name hinting at honey?  Reading the description later says yes to honey. Some sips it seems like a very mild sweet orange, sometimes strawberry, at the very end of the cup a biscuity flavor.  Not sure.  I intentionally went for a short steep to get as much flavor as possible without the rooibos drowning out the flavor.  Confusing all around.  It’s definitely not something I would seek out.
Steep #1 // 21 minutes after boiling // 1 minute steep
Steep #2 // just boiled // 3 minute steep
2021 sipdowns: 78

additional notes: It was cold today, so I thought it was a good day to revisit this one and see if it was as boozy when it was fresh. Happy to report, most of the booziness is gone… though still not quite the flavor I wanted for a SWEET POTATO PIE tea.

additional notes: Just steeping this one up a lot lately, more than any tea! It’s so complex – so sweet but lemon pithy. Hard to describe! but I’m addicted to this.

I got this a long time ago from Jake B!  Thank you!  This isn’t really labeled other than ‘chocolate oolong’ but I’m pretty sure it’s from Liquid Proust because I recognize his style of packaging teas.  And there are only 13 search results here for ‘chocolate oolong’. It looks like the photo too – a mess of chocolate colored everything.  I wish there was an ingredient list with this, but it looks like dark big leafed oolong with rooibos, assorted chocolate ingredients including flat little squares.  I wouldn’t say the flavor is drenched in chocolate – it’s almost like a berry flavor to me.  Probably the oolong coming through mixed with the rooibos tastes like berry to me? With an acceptable hint of roast from the oolong.  It is sweet though.  On the second steep, much more of the roast comes through.  With hints of rustic cocoa here and there.  I notice a few bits of apple in the steeped leaves now.  Third steep, not noticeably stronger flavor other than more flavor from the oolong.  It seems like a distant memory now that I was tasting berry in that first cup.  I definitely think using two teaspoons was the right idea. And it looks from other tasting notes this might be SIX years old now. I wouldn’t think this tea was chocolate focused during any of the steeps, but I do love Liquid Proust’s experiments. :D
Steep #1 // 2 teaspoons for full mug // 20 minutes after boiling //  2 minute steep
Steep #2 //  14 minutes after boiling // 3 minute steep
Steep #3 // just boiled // 6 minute steep

Mastress Alita’s sipdown challenge Wednesday, May 26th: National Blueberry Cheesecake Day Tea #4

One more tea for blueberry day!  Can’t believe it’s almost June already. sigh.  More spearmint and lime at this point, but that’s fine too.

Mastress Alita’s sipdown challenge Wednesday, May 26th: National Blueberry Cheesecake Day Tea #3

The newest blueberry tea for today!  Thanks very much, AJRimmer!  I am a little leery after that Berry Pudding disaster.  How could this possibly be cheesecake?  Again, the flavor is mostly rooibos.  But then a hint of berry, a hint of cream, but also mostly medicinal.  But again with the hibiscus.  You can’t just throw in hibiscus and call it a blueberry tea.   However, by the second steep, I’m mostly noticing strawberry!  So this seems more strawberry than blueberry!  Not a bad cup, but definitely definitely not what it should be.
Steep #1 //  1 1/2 teaspoons for full mug // 25 minutes after boiling // 2 minute steep
Steep #2 // just boiled // 3 min

Mastress Alita’s sipdown challenge Wednesday, May 26th: National Blueberry Cheesecake Day Tea #2

Going with the oldest and newest blueberry teas again today.  This is most certainly the oldest.  Next time sipdown.  The flavors held out so long, but not so much now.  But tea isn’t immortal and this one made it past its prime.   Tinge of syrupy maple left!  It was an honor to try this tea, so early in 52Teas days that it was still called Zoomdweebies! 

Mastress Alita’s sipdown challenge Wednesday, May 26th: National Blueberry Cheesecake Day Tea #1

Guess what!  I have blueberries and cheesecake on hand, so I will definitely be partaking in a dessert with the appropriate theme for today!  Nice.  Not much new to say about this tea, but how WEIRD is it that a tea called  Blueberry Cream has hibiscus in it?  Adding cream to this much hibiscus would most certainly curdle.  Bleh.  And it’s mostly hibiscus here.   Next steep session will be a sipdown. 

Happy Towel Day!  And this is the 42nd anniversary of The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy so that is something extra special.  This tea gets more and more magical every time I steep it up – the mint sharing with black currant with just a hint of sweetness from the gold bar sprinkles, shouldn’t work but does.  The look of the brew always gets me – murky with tinges of both green and purple with gold swirls throughout.  Raising the rating from 81. If anyone wants to rehome their pouch of this, I’d be up for a swap (in USA). I might watch the Hitchhiker’s Guide movie later… it has some bearable actors in it, so I don’t mind the movie.