2036 Tasting Notes
Sipdown no. 2 of October 2019 (no. 101 of 2019 total, no. 589 grand total).
I took the last of this to work for a couple of days. I really didn’t do it justice. I’d been off for a couple of days and my routine was messed up, so one of those couple of days I forgot to drink this until late in the day. By then it wasn’t terribly hot, even in the thermos, and it is much better hot than cool.
I agree with my original statement that it is a nice change of pace, though I don’t think I’m as enamored of it as I was at the time I wrote my original note. I’m on the fence about changing the rating and there is a sort of uniqueness that gets it points. So I’m staying put.
Sipdown no. 8 of September 2019 (no. 99 of 2019 total, no. 587 grand total). A sample.
The last of my backlogged sipdowns from September. Alas, I missed the mark again, but only by two this month. Now that it is getting cooler, we’ll see what happens.
It really is quite nice for a flavored earl grey, but it isn’t my favorite creme version. Hence the rating. I can’t really improve on the original note except to say that while it remains a solid earl grey creme, I have had others since the original note that I liked better.
Sipdown no. 7 of September 2019 (no. 98 of 2019 total, no. 586 grand total).
I made the last of this cold, and it is surprisingly pleasant that way. I worried that the rose would be soapy, but it wasn’t.
My impressions of it hot can’t be improved upon in the original note. Though I do think it grew on me a bit over time.
Sipdown no. 6 of September 2019 (no. 97 of 2019 total, no. 585 grand total).
As a cold tea it was a little more tart than I was hoping. I did enjoy the last couple of spoons hot. See original note for hot experience description.
I have to say that a lot of these David’s fruit blends seem similar to me. I think that’s because I drink them infrequently and not back to back, so I’m just remembering generalities from past tastings while I’m drinking.
Sipdown no. 4 of September 2019 (no. 95 of 2019 total, no. 583 grand total). A sample.
Wow, this was one of the very first loose leaf tea samples I acquired about 10 years ago! I am not sure how I never got around to drinking it all before, particularly since the tin is so small. My only explanation is that I likely hoarded it because I thought it was good.
Believe it or not, it was still good. I took it to work a couple of days last week, brewed Western, and that was enough to polish it off. It was toastier than my initial description seems to indicate, but nutty was still an apt adjective.
Feels nice to clear the decks, even though I’m nostalgic about this one.
Sipdown no. 2 of September 2019 (no. 93 of 2019 total, no. 581 grand total).
Made the last of this as a cold brew. Because I didn’t have enough to make a full pitcher, I eyeballed the water measurements for a half pitcher.
It’s unclear to me whether my impression of this as weak, not sweet Kool Aid was because I got the measurement wrong or not, but it wasn’t a great cold brew. No. 2 initially said he liked it, but later tried to put sugar in it, and when that resulted in something disgusting gave up.
I’m bumping the rating on this one down. It’s not bad, just not anything special compared to the myriad other fruit blends I’ve had.
Sipdown no. 1 of September 2019 (no. 92 of 2019 total, no. 580 grand total).
I seem to have a fair number of fruit blends and herbals at the lower end of my rating scale still in the cupboard, so I’m taking steps to clear some of those. I made this one into a cold brew for the last bit.
It’s nice cold. Both kids quite liked it. No. 1 said it tasted “like Indian food” — I am not getting that, though I think the juxtaposition of the mint with the tartness of the gooseberries may explain it.
Every time I drink a non-tea tea, I think pretty critically about whether I should boost or drop the rating. This one seems to have the rating right. I wanted to rate it higher because I love the idea of gooseberries (and I don’t think I’ve had another with that as an ingredient) but the overall flavor, while pleasing, isn’t enough to invite a boost.
