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STTB

I haven’t had this in my cupboard for a long time. It smells better than I remember, actually. Brewed it cold, added ice. A nice coconut-y and tropical iced tea.

STTB Tea

Strong black base made primarily of a Chinese black tea. Smokey bourban, but none of the vanilla and caramel I was promised by the seller’s description. No sweetness at all.

I enjoyed this chai blend. The anise is quite strong, but IMO that makes it better. I brewed this strong and then added a touch of soy milk to smooth it out. The black base came through nicely (it was a fairly bold and strong base that complements a spicy chai well) but the spices really tied everything together.

STTB Tea

1 ball in 450 mL water, 80-85 degrees C water, oversteeped (total over 30 minutes)

I actually planned on keeping this because I enjoy this herb (jiaogulan). However, this is one of the worst cups I’ve ever had and I only got a few sips in before I had to dump it. Now, I /did/ oversteep it (~30+ minutes) but the water wasn’t particularly hot. This is like a cup of concentrated bitterness with way too much sugar added. I would never add this much sugar to a tea, especially a herbal that tastes pretty good on its own. At first you get a very sweet mouthful (basically sugar water with a faint herb flavour) and then it hits you. This might be the most bitter thing I’ve ever had. It seems fine at first and then you have this overwhelming bitterness that you can’t get out of your mouth. If you’ve ever had bitter melon then you know the taste I’m referring to.

Either my taste buds are off or this tea is a travesty. I’m also really sensitive to bitterness but this is crazy.

One of DT’s best blends. I brewed this strong (~45 minutes) with a touch of vanilla soy milk and this is one of the best cups I’ve ever had. Very thick and creamy, like custard or whipped cream, rich, desserty, and naturally sweet.

Samuari TTB Tea

This is a standard black tea, sometimes similar to what I keep in my tea cupboard at all times. The tea is described as “well rounded” on the package, which I think is accurate. Some dark chocolate (cocoa) notes, some mineral/wet rock (Earthy?) tones, a good amount of tannin. No bitterness. The brew is fairly thick, but not sweet. Certainly a lovely, reliable tea for when you don’t feel like anything fancy.

I’m tasting no wine, apple, or cake. No idea what is happening in this blend, but I get an overwhelming “artificial grape” flavour. Think jumbo grape freezie or that grape scented window washer fluid at gas stations. My immediate thought from both the dry leaf and the brewed cup is that it reminds me of gas station soap (but in a good way). I LOVE artificial grape, but it has nothing to do with tea (especially a cake flavoured one). Have you ever had a grape freeze gatorade/powerade? It tastes a lot like that but without the sweetness. There is also a floral element that I don’t think does with the idea of wine or cake.

So, I’m not giving this a good rating since it fails to deliver any apple, cake, or red wine even though I actually enjoy the smell of it. This would work as part of a fruity iced herbal like “grape freeze” or something like that.

This makes for a nice coldbrew. The main tasting note is rose/floral. I don’t associate rose with a fruity cocktail but it wasn’t totally unwelcome-just unexpected. I didn’t get much gredadine or citrus, no pomegranate or real fruit taste at all (just some generic fruitiness). The white tea was suprisingly flavourful and actually added to the complexity of the tea. I would have been a lot more into this blend if it was called something different.