Featured & New Tasting Notes

Sipdown

I am glad they put this in the tins advent this year because I really enjoyed it when I had the sachet advent, but there was only the one serving.

This time, Ashman and I both enjoyed it and neither of us felt that it needed milk to smooth it out or sugar to make it more interesting or tone down briskness.

It is a very nice Assam and goes well with breakfast, although I finished it off today with lunch and as an accompaniment to my “dessert” of two Lindt truffles.

Not sure where I acquired this bag, probably a TTB. This tastes like pepper? I shared it with someone who said it tastes like clove. We didn’t notice any orange, just a meh black base plus flavor notes that shouldn’t be there. It was drinkable, but really not great.

Ashmanra’s sipdown challenge – January 2025 Tea #5 – January 19 – World Snow Day – drink a white tea!

What a fitting prompt for the day – should be getting about six inches of snow today, which might be the most for the year yet so far which is unusual…  this is probably one of only two white teas I have with me, so this one it is.  It’s odd it is called a moonlight white, as it really doesn’t remind me of other moonlight teas I have had.  The leaves are much smaller — and sometimes I have to double check that it isn’t a green tea.   It really tastes more like a green tea.  Next time is a sipdown.

Sipdown 5 – 2025

Took me a few years to finish this off, but I do like it. Quite an interesting combination of jasmine and peppermint, that I liked drinking during the holidays.

Another from my recent order.  This blend sold me on VANILLA and this sold me on YUNNAN.  Yes and yes.  It definitely tastes like a tea that I would guess is Yunnan if I didn’t already know it was Yunnan.   It has Yunnan flavor notes.  Do I know what those are? no.  (I will say, the Yunnan leaf looks smaller than the huge Yunnan leaf in the Eggnog Yunnan blend, but that blend was YEARS ago anyway… so not really sure why I’m mentioning it here…)  I like that there is a variety of vanilla ingredients here: flavoring, vanilla beans and vanilla crystals.  I don’t think the cane sugar makes it overly sweet at all (I really just see an occasional vanilla crystal in the blend anyway).  It’s also not overboard on vanilla. I will say the second steep was probably a little too much at four minutes — the black tea became a little harsher for whatever vanilla remained on the leaves. I would probably stick with a three minute second steep next time.
Steep #1 // 1 1/3 teaspoons for a full mug // 19 minutes after boiling // 2 minute steep
Steep #2 // just boiled // 4 minute steep

I bought this at the DavidsTEA in Toronto! This doesn’t mix up smoothly in my almond milk. It was very clumpy. The flavor comes in waves. First it tastes like high quality hot chocolate. Then I taste too much beet. Then at the end I taste a hint of spiciness. It’s multilayered and interesting and rich. The most recent time I had this, I tasted more beet than anything. I’m not sure what that flavor is doing in there. It never mixes well, but getting a bite of powder really isn’t bad compared to getting a mouthful of matcha powder, so that part ultimately isn’t terrible. I would rate this way higher if they took out the beet.

— Color of liquor: Reddish copper brown

— Aroma: Slight muscatel, slight floral

— Flavors: Muscatel, slight cherry, slight astringent

About five years ago, I had a wonderful second flush Darjeeling from Goomtee Estate from another tea company that had an excellent apricot base to the flavor. I have been thinking about this tea and hoping to find one that is similar in recent pickings, so I thought I’d try this one purchased from Upton, hoping the terroir of the estate is what gave my previous tea that apricot flavor. This one is lacking the apricot base I was hoping for, but does have a pleasant muscatel flavor, with a hint of cherries. Astringency was low, but enough to give it character.

This is a nice enough second flush Darjeeling, but it isn’t what I was hoping for. I’ll enjoy the remainder of my order but will keep searching.

A sipdown! (M: 4 Y: 4) prompt: Your oldest green tea

A very focused tea to sipdown. It is rather old (about two years), but it never tasted good in the first place. It was somehow expected from me though.

It is very generic green tea, with lots of hay notes, and if steeped well (short steep and not boiling water), it was okay-ish. Very good for not tea-enthusiasts; for me it was just boring and definitely not tasting fresh green. Longer steeps leaded to mineral notes; and harsh mouthfeel.

11 tea bags finished within January, well that is an achievement to share.

This tastes a bit like cotton candy. I removed the butterfly pea flower of course. This is light and not tart, just marshmallowy and a little fruity. I’d consider buying a bigger bag! It’s not like many other teas I’ve had.

— Color of liquor: Lighter brown, like a bourbon

— Aroma: Petrichor; slight floral; slight muscatel

— Flavors: Petrichor; dry leaves; astringent; slight muscatel

This tea while steeping has a slight floral and muscatel aroma to it, along with the stronger petrichor aroma in front. The floral aroma doesn’t translate into the flavor, but instead has strong petrichor and dry leaves flavors in front and a slight mineral flavor base. There’s an even stronger astringency: this is not a neutral tea, which is exactly why I like it. I followed the recommendation and kept my steeping under my usual four minutes, and am glad I did — otherwise, this could’ve easily turned bitter. The leaves were more broken than I expected, which is another reason to keep the steep time low.

This is yet another excellent example of a Kangra black tea that I intend to keep well-stocked, as Kangra black teas have become my daily go-to teas.

This is best with a longer steep and overleafing. It’s still a bit light/thin, but I find the flavor direction quite fun. It’s not tart, so it doesn’t really remind me of grape juice. Maybe it’s more like grape candy or a Crystal Light sort of flavor?

Sipdown

January Sipdown Prompt – a tea you plan to buy again

This is Ashman’s favorite tea in the whole Fortnum advent every year. When I saw how much he loved it, I drank other teas and saved it for him because there are only a few teas that elicit such a response from him.

For this reason, I plan to add a whole tin to my next Fortnum order and I am considering getting the wooden caddy of special Darjeeling as well.

The special one seems to change occasionally over the years and the current offering is Badamtam First Flush FTGFOP1. Does anyone have experience with these two teas or something similar enough to give an opinion as to whether he is likely to love the more expensive one? It is possible that the very characteristics that make it unique and desirable to some people will have the opposite effect. They speak of it being high grown and having notes of minerality, whereas they describe the one we have here as smooth and drinkable.

More expensive, finer, more nuanced, more layers – may not translate into “preferred by every individual.” For instance, I prefer middle to low elevation teas from Sri Lanka because the highly desirable (to some) high elevation teas like Uva Highlands and Lover’s Leap are a bit too sharp for me. That could be the case with this tea for Ashman. Decisions, decisions.

I guess if I buy it and he doesn’t like it, at least we have a cool wooden caddy.

Sipdown

I thought this might be in the running as a replacement tea for my daughter who loved only London Cuppa, but she found it to be just okay and prefers a couple of other teas we have tried. Still nothing has caused her eyes to light up but several have been drinkable to her.

I really like this one. It has that rich TEA smell that grabs you at breakfast time, but doesn’t have to be tamed with milk and sugar, although it does take additions well. It resteeps for a combo pot pretty well, too.

Yesterday I got a package from derk with plum jelly that she made herself with her very own hands and I was totally stoked! I got up and made fresh biscuits and instant (expired- it’s fine) bacon while my daughter made eggs and we had a nice brekkie together. The jelly was soooo good. There was tea in the package, also, but I had promised daughter we would have Queen Anne together before I knew about the tea, and besides, I am saving it to drink with my bestie when she comes as she doesn’t drink black tea anymore! So….perfect!

Thank you, derk! I love it!

I don’t like alcohol, so I’m relieved it doesn’t taste too much like that. The base is also a little strong, almost like green tea, but I guess green rooibos has a similar vibe. I drank the whole package without forming too strong an opinion. I guess I thought the base overshadowed the flavors this time. I would have liked more strawberry or bubbliness.

Sipdown

This was really lovely today and the lavender was stronger than last time I served it. I just wish it didn’t have licorice root, not because I don’t like the taste but because I have had blood pressure issues in the past and don’t want to risk it. Yes, I know it PROBABLY takes a lot of licorice root to affect blood pressure, but I prefer to sweeten my own tea as I choose, and I almost always choose not to sweeten at all.

This is one of their better teas, IMO.

So yesterday I had dental surgery – a root tip extraction from the tooth I broke earlier in the year and a bone graft. Lots I can’t do in the next 48-72 hours including spitting, swishing, rinsing, drinking from a straw, consuming ANY type of alcohol/spicy food, etc…

Honestly I was mostly just really, really tired afterwards so I went and got my prescription (a fancy kind of mouthwash I need to use for the next month) filled and bought a bunch of smoothies/drinks that I can have for something quick and easy and dentist approved for the next few days. This was among the mix, and the first thing I drank when I got home. Probably my favourite Mateina flavour – it’s bright and zesty from the yuzu but also has a thick and jammy raspberry note that’s so saturated and flavourful. Really refreshing!

That gave me the energy to make it a few hours after getting home, but I fairly quickly crashed out and ended up just sleeping for a bulk of the day.

The second half of 2024 and moving into 2025 has been tough. I lost my sense of self, my sense of humor, hobbies, interest in tea. Everything has been off-center but my boyfriend helped me from shifting too far into the gnarled grip of depression.

It took me six months to finally sign up for the 6-week course at the lumber yard-converted-to-studio-space, but on Wednesday, I had my first introduction to pottery outside of making one lonely and lumpy pinch pot tea cup in an Environmental Lit class in high school (I didn’t realize until years later how much that class effected the trajectory of my life). Starting off with another lonely and lumpy pinch pot, I felt the slow release of all the stress and struggle that was trapped in my body. I felt true calm and freedom for the first time in months. I can’t wait to go back next Wednesday.

This tea, like the process of molding clay with the hands, aids in shifting the self into a centered state. So grateful to be able to experience its unwavering character with each bowl.

A sipdown! (M: 3 Y: 3)
I assume this was one of the teas that ignited my love for Georgian teas. I decided to buy this, with no or very limited experience with Georgian teas, especially different ones than black.

And well this tea delivered!
Today I prepared last 6 grams that I had in sealed wrapper for long time and apparently the best before day was the last day of 2022, so… yep, old! Especially for white tea! Vendor have still some available, but there is no harvest year mentioned.

Those 6 grams I have used in my teapot, used 90°C water and steeped for 2-3 minutes.
Naturally, it used to have much more flavour; but nevertheless there are notes of meadow flowers with flax notes.

Also the texture used to be more thick. But on the other hand it was light-feeling tea; good for evening, easy to drink even for not so experienced tea-drinkers as my family members.

Happy to have it finished, but sad to call it sipdown. Should I buy another 37.5 grams? Maybe one day… or other white from this region. Afterall, I still have some from the group buy that I organised!

Advent tea! Sweet tea with a slight chocolate aftertaste. The puerh base makes it savory and salty. I would probably overleaf a cup, especially in the morning like I am drinking it now. That may bring the chocolate out? It is an easily drinkable cup and I would add it to an order.

Ashmanra’s 2025 Sipdown Challenge: A leftover advent tea

Hehe, what an excellent prompt! This is from last year’s 52Teas box. I spent quite a while waffling about which tea to make this afternoon and ultimately selected this one.

I’ll stick with my rating from last year. I’m still not getting much of the caramel popcorn flavor, but that could be because I’ve been sick for nearly a week and I think my sense of smell (and taste) is shot. Still, I’m really appreciating the briskness of the base today — it’s making me feel a little more alive.

2025 sipdown count: 2

I see I never wrote a note of this, that’s rather surprising, but well here is the note:

I was in a mood to prepare a tea in a pot again, mostly because I was feeling cold all day somehow; and I wanted to had more than a single mug. This particular batch is from Autumnal Flush 2023.

So yep, I prepared 8 grams (or 6 grams? I don’t remember!) in the pot and used 85°C water. I wasn’t paying much attention to the scents, but taste was very nice. It was delicate herbal, creamy and smooth, with notes of hay, cut grass and citrus peels.

The liquor is very bright with green-yellow hue, very clear and there weren’t any dust in cups. Either the strainer is very fine or there is no dust in the tea.

Advent tea! This has an ok strawberry note, but it smells more like strawberry than it tastes like strawberry. The finish is astringent. Might make a nice iced tea, so I’m confused as to why it’s in a holiday advent. Not something I need to try again.

Had to get a sample of this to try, because I love cranberries and cranberry-flavored things.

Sadly, this tastes more like a cherry lozenge than it does like cranberry anything. Extremely medicinal cherry candy flavor with a very powdery undertone and a light hibiscus tartness. Nope, nope, nope!

Sipdown 1 – 2025

Finished this off this morning. Chain drinking cups of tea and worrying about the surrounding fires. Luckily we are not in immediate danger, but watching so many communities around us burn is pretty devastating. I hope everyone in the LA area is staying safe.