Peppermint Cream

Finished up the last of my most recent sample at work this morning, and admittedly this has grown on me over time. Either that, or it’s changed a bit since this sample and the one I tried last. Maybe both. There’s lots of peppermint, but it’s softened by the deep creaminess of the milk Oolong and it really does taste like it’s namesake. The chocolate is better than I remember, too.

Wowsers….this is super pepperminty with a gentle touch of vanilla resembling Twinings – Butter Mint. It looks like mostly finely chopped peppermint leaf (with some dust) and some small to medium sized Oolong balls amidst it.

The flavour is very mild considering it’s strong scent. In my first few sips it took a few seconds before any flavour came through and when it did I feel the strongest was the cocoa. It’s sweet but also creamy and very light. I wish the peppermint was stronger.

This blend is too mild, I may try and double the dose or the steep time for my next cup. So far this one is disappointing.

KittyLovesTea sent me a lovely package of teas… mostly Bluebird samples to try because I want that to be the ONE company I order from one time in 2014. (Yeah right.) I’d like to know what I like from Bluebird first! thanks so much!!

I wanted to try Bluebird’s Christmas Cake for Christmas day but a headache means I should have a mint tea. Well, this was a mint tea from Bluebird so I went with it. A second oolong blend in a row! I don’t try many of those. This is supposed to be at 194 degrees so the water was cooled for a minutes. This one is a bit odd tasting at the first sip. It tastes a bit like catnip smells (which is probably since catnip is a mint anyway). And the oolong is very vegetal…I’m surprised it’s a milk oolong. The hints of chocolate aren’t very creamy. Not bad, but it’s odd! The second steep tasted more like I thought it should. Not my favorite from Bluebird, but I’d love to try their amazing blends either way.

Sipdown

When B&B makes a blend, it’s either really good or really bad. This happened to be a blend I found quite lovely. I purchased a sample (20g) since I wanted to compare it with the Butter Mint. This was the better of the two since the Butter Mint seemed to have a lower quality of milk oolong (it often got bitter). This was far smoother in taste and texture, and it made for a solid cup – slightly sweet and creamy.

This has such a nice milky oolong scent in the bag! Once steeped, the peppermint is present, but not overwhelming. I get some of the cocoa notes adding depth. The added flavors don’t knock out or overwhelm the flavors of the oolong. I can still pick out the milky flavor of the tea and the buttery notes behind it. Enjoying this cup, but not feeling the need to keep it stocked permanently.

Funny that I didn’t pull this from an advent, given how much it makes me feel like I’m drinking a candy cane. The dry leaf has a potent mint chocolate scent. It’s much more subtle in the cup; instead of an overpowering peppermint, it’s as if I dropped a small candy cane into a cup of straight tea and let it dissolve. I get a little cream but no obnoxious sweetness. I don’t know if I’m noticing any chocolate in the flavor at all, honestly. But it is certainly a tasty cup!

I’m not going to rate this one because it is an old sampler, and I think it lost some of its flavor from sitting.

The peppermint is not as strong anymore, but it is pleasant with what I have. I added a touch of milk because of the creaminess of the oolong just to taste test and I like the silkiness of the addition after a few sips of it without any additives.

I do enjoy this one as a pleasant cup. Sipping this while watching the show, “The Jury Speaks”, which is interesting and something I’ll continue watching.

Homemade Advent Day 7
from AJRimmer
So after today I should be able to keep up with the advent teas and tasting notes. This one was on my wishlist so that makes me even more excited to try it. The sachet smells amazing almost like a really decadent mint cocoa. More mint than chocolate in smell though which is preferred anyway.

This one tastes just as good as it smells with creamy notes of buttermint and subtle cocoa notes from the cocoa shells. No need to add milk to this one since the oolong base is so smooth and milky. It’s reminding me of mint chocolate chip ice cream.
I wouldn’t mind ordering some of this. AJRimmer mentioned that she likes the sachets more than the loose-leaf so that’s something to note for a future possible order. (Update: This one resteeped well)

Bird & Blend Advent Day 18 (18-December 2020)

Yay! I’ve had this one sitting in my online cart for a while, just waiting for an opportunity to try it first!

I feel like this is a great creamy peppermint tea. The peppermint is mellowed out for a delicious creaminess that makes it just perfect — still cooling, but not so in-your-face.

The creaminess is almost candy-cane like, but not actually because there’s no cloying sweetness, which is just delightful. The cacao I get just sense a very subtle hint of it somewhere in the mix, but I’m sure it’s helping to mellow the peppermint and add creaminess, which is always appreciated.

I’ll just add that there’s a hint of pineapple in the background as it cools. I’ve had that with a flavoured oolong many years ago, but I can’t recall which one now.

I’ve saved our sachets for a re-steep, so I’m excited to see how it’ll hold up.

Pushing through the sipdowns today because I’m impatient to get my cupboard under 300 teas. It’s so close!

This came from the EU TTB and is the old blend with less oolong in it. There is a hint of creaminess from the base, but mostly it’s a peppermint-heavy herbal tasting tea. The mint is more sweet than fresh, probably due to the cocoa which comes through a tiny bit right at the end of the sip, as well as the use of the milk oolong. I’d be interested to try the new version which includes more oolong. I think it would give a more successful overall impression of a peppermint cream.

195/397