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Over leafed this a bit in a successful mission to sip down this sample that VariaTEA sent my way. I think I like it better this time. It is super buttery with an almost thick feeling. The coconut seems to blend into the buttery taste and not stand out much on it’s own. The maple crystals aren’t distracting in here like I found them to be in a different DBD blend. There is something in the sip that starts off like it wants to be tart and then quickly changes it’s mind and disappears. I still don’t get the toffee notes. I feel like buttercream frosting would have been a better name for this, especially if there was vanilla in there. Or maybe a pun off of Paula Dean’s apparent tendency to drink melted butter? Man I’m glad her window of fame has appeared to come to a close. It was a little jarring seeing her super excited intense smile all over the place for a while when you weren’t expecting it! Teeth so white and glowing you know she never drinks tea. It’s unnatural to not drink tea. Just can’t trust a smile like that. ;D
Back to this cup of tea… It has a nice long buttery finish to it which I like and might be my favorite part about each sip. I’m not getting rooibos standing out at all which I appreciate. It’s a good cup that I’d have again if we crossed paths, but not something I’m moved to buy.

I wish we had the ingredients listed here because I can’t figure out what I’m tasting. This tea isn’t on the website anymore and my purchase didn’t come with an ingredients list. I can see that there are lime leaves (that like to sink below the top layer of tea in the tin and hide) and peppercorns. This is my second time having this tea and I think I steeped it a little too long/high temp because it has a harsh edge that wasn’t there the first time. Maybe I’ll try 200 at 2m next time?
I woke up with the Pogues stuck in my head this morning. I then went down a 5 minute rabbit hole on the Wikipedia page for Fairytale of New York, the song this tea is based on (which is what prompted me to buy it) and wow there is a lot of info on it! Also read the lyrics which I hadn’t always caught. It’s a little more gritty than I remember or than the music suggests and I’ve listened to it multiple times while drinking this cup. I’d describe this tea as having a gritty edge too. I’m not sure what I’m tasting, but I keep coming back to turpentine being the best description which sounds really gross and isn’t how I mean it. It just has this edge to it that I can’t pinpoint. I don’t know if it’s the lime leaves that are giving it an almost piney flavor, but there is something fruity in it too. Cherry? Visually the tea looks very Xmasy when you scoop it. The green from the lime leaves pop up among the little red peppercorn balls. There is a little bit of tartness in the start of the sip that changes into fruitiness and the finish has a nice light smoke to it. Looses a little something when it cools, so I need to remember to not let the cup linger. It’s such a strange blend and I kinda like it.

This tea is my choice for National Compliment Day!

This is one of a couple teas that I keep hidden in the back of my cupboard so if one were to be selecting a tea to have, this would likely remain secreted away. It’s one of the teas I have a hard time finishing because I don’t want to say goodbye and one of my two favorite AQ2T blends. I love banana flavoring and that includes in my tea. I also love smoky teas. This blend does a really good job balancing the smoke with the banana. The cognac notes seem to tie everything together. The start of the sip has a slight tart imbalance to it, but that passes quickly. The finish is all mild smoke that I find comforting, especially on a rainy day. This tea is around three years now and I seem to remember the banana being more present in the past. I’ll have to see if I can find a way to recharge the banana to bring it back to it’s former glory because holy hell I love this tea! <3

Holy hell this is brisk! I wanted a kick in the butt this morning and this tea was the right choice for the job! It was so full on that I opted for cream and sugar, which seemed fitting for an Irish breakfast tea. It’s so good. Very malty, the cream takes the edge off the brisk, the sugar brightens it all up a bit. I’m really enjoying this cup. I do enjoy having a good breakfast tea in my cupboard. I long ago finished up my MF French Breakfast, so it’s nice to know I have this to reach for instead. I think this was one of the two teas I double bought in Ireland (remember back when we could travel internationally? :(… ) because the company does two different brand names for it’s teas sold through other retailers vs. what is sold in their tea shops. Glad I like it enough to have it around for a while!

Having this hot tonight or at least it was hot before I lost an hour online looking at bird and bunny videos. Sometimes you need something fluffy to soothe the soul! I’m liking this hot. It has that cooling mint flavor with darker chocolate like notes behind it. It’s slightly sweet. The rooibos isn’t too prominent, which I like. This would be a nice one to have around for an evening cup.

Sipdown!
I’m excited to have this out of my cupboard. I loved the idea of a creamy lavender frosting tea for the evening, but I never really warmed up to it. It still has that weird stevia taste. I wonder if the pineapple was candied with stevia. I also wish there was a little more going on with the buttercream part. It is creamy-ish, but it’s almost like they were relying on the pineapple to carry that forward. The sip is sweet and slightly tart and the finish is all lavender and a little creaminess that changes to a sour flavor which eventually fades away and then I’m left with just the lavender. Glad it’s gone.

This definitely has a raspberry scent to it. The flavor is kind of flat. There are a lot of base notes without the high notes that convey fruits and berries. Maybe it’s the chocolate flavor that is making it flat? I can pick out the raspberries, but it’s not the bright almost perfume like flavor that I’ve had in french teas. The raspberry is reminiscent of AQ2T blend with raspberries, but I don’t recall which one. I recall liking that blend, but this one feels more clunky and unharmonious with the flavors. The sip starts out flat, then is tart for a second, the flatness dissipates in the finish where the berry comes out with a little chocolate. Not into this.

Another fun smoky blend! I love The Specials and Halloween and used to have a lovebird named Ghost, so all signs point me to this tea! I was trying to listen to Ghost Town while sipping this, but the song ended and the next few came up that were much more danceable. I need energy and movement right now. The smoke of the lapsang makes me think of campfires, open spaces, mist and solace. The coconut adds a hint of cream which I can imagine being foggy and ghost like. I’m not sure what else is in this blend, but I really like it! It’s smooth with light creamy smoke, balanced well and a consistent flavor from sip to finish. This is making me crave the fake bacon salad topping I make with liquid smoke and coconut shavings and eat by the handful!

I am not the person to be reviewing this tea! The hib is in effect! I smells just like mulled wine, minus the alcohol. It steeps up a very deep purple red. There is a some fruit at the start of the sip, orange flavors, then there is a dive into the metallic tartness at the back of the sip and as the tartness fades the spices kick in in the finish, clove dominating. If I drink it too quickly an alkaline flavor starts to build up in the finish. I think if the hib were dialed back to half strength I’d be into it. I get why the hib is there to create a mulled wine flavor and it really does remind me of mulled wine, I just have a hard time getting into the tartness of hibiscus.
I added some sugar, one of the three ways I can deal with hib (moderation, cold steeped or sweetened) and it really changed the cup for me. The sharp edge of the tartness is gone, but the alkaline taste in the finish is stronger. It also better resembles the sweet mulled wine I’m familiar with. I think this blend is well done and would be loved by someone with an appreciation of hibiscus.