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And another sipdown! :O Gotta make room for the 9 new teas/samples I ordered from H&S! And then I grabbed the sachet sampler, so… that’s a lot right there but I like surprises!

Now, on to THIS tea.

I can see this isn’t popular but I can tell you that when you make it as a pumpkin with a touch of brown sugar in it, it’s pretty phenomenal! The best part is that our fancypants coffee-machine at work does lattes, so after the tea brewed I just added the hot milk and OMG – yes!

It does have a bit of a banana taste too – which someone else pointed out. Strange, but I don’t mind.

Sample sipdown! (150)

I really didn’t order too much of this, but I was curious to see what it was about. I think what I’ve learned is that I’m not super keen on Keemun teas. Although the banana flavouring was very subtle and pleasant, the Keemun was dark and richer and tried to steal all the attention.

Maybe I’d appreciate it more another day, but there is a darkness lurking inside that I don’t care for today.

I’ve never had guayasa before but I decided to try this because it was on sale for so cheap! It’s odd. It’s very much like a honeybush tea, with notes of vanilla balanced against a little bit of lavender. Like the description says, it’s a soothing blend, yet it packs an energetic punch.

Well maybe that’s not apt. It’s more like someone quietly whispering in your head, motivating you to go out and get things done, and then before you know it you’re DOING ALL THE THINGS. Much better than an energetic punch.

So I drank this cup before I really got to log it or pay attention to the flavours. I guess I’ll have to drink it slower next time! It was a tasty cup, but didn’t wow me. That might not be it’s fault though – reserving rating for next time.

I cold-steeped this overnight, and drank most of it on the bus ride to work. The tartness in it reminds of pink grapefruit, and I get bits of that in the taste, as well as apple flavours. I guess I haven’t actually had passionfruit before so maybe if I had I’d identify this tea better.

It’s slightly tart, but manageable due to the cold-steep, although I’m sure a touch of agave would make it pop. Tasty, but not essential!

Another sTEAp Shoppe sipdown. (152) I think I’m going to be placing an H&S order tomorrow as my coworker is hooked (she bought a timolino after seeing mine, and now she grabs some H&S tea from my cupboard every day – I’m thrilled!). So anyway, it’d be nice if I could get to 150 before I place the order. Also, I’d like to get down to 140 or 135 before it arrives! Bwa hahah.

So on to this tea. I feel bad for sTEAp Shoppe – maybe I shouldn’t have had the Cinnamon Swirl Bread tea first as that one is SO GOOD. And even though this apple pie is good, it’s just not AS GOOD as that one. It was warm and apply-cinnamony, but not something I’d need to resteep.

So the samples were cheap and I went nuts. I even grabbed this even though I wasn’t sure about the cloves. I got it because it seemed like a festive tea similiar to some of the Christmas blends I’ve had.

I’m not a fan. The cloves are too strong, and it’s too tart with the cranberry and hibiscus. Like Sil says, it’s on the verge of something good, so maybe it just needs to be tweaked a bit.

I’m dumping the rest passing the rest of this sample onto Ozli, with love. :P (152)

So I have Caravan and Caravan Resurrected samples from Terri HarpLady and JustJames. Time to start comparing! (If there is even a difference? IDK)

Holy smokebombs Batman! This is exactly what I expected and feared from this tea! :P Maybe I shouldn’t have steeped it for 4 minutes, but I am drinking smoke. It smells and tastes rich and dark and tasty… I can definitely taste the black base under that smoke and I can tell it’s a quality blend even if I can’t identify it. Assam? Ceylon? It’s good. Very good. It’s assertive but smooth, and the smoke doesn’t threaten to rough up your throat.

The smoke itself though is sadly only something I can handle in smaller quantities. I’ll have no problem drinking 10 oz of this, but I don’t think I’d ever buy a tin of it as it would take years to drink 4oz. I think I’ll keep the Caravan Resurrected sample around as a treat through when I’m looking to get rocked by smoke. :)

Thanks for the sample(s)! Sipdown (153)

This is the best thing ever! Well, as far as banana teas go? (Have I had banana teas before? Maybe a bluebird one? I wish it were easier to search).

It’s similar to a banana chocolate smoothie, minus the artificial flavours. Obviously it’s not as thick as a smoothie but it does have a bit of thickness to it, which is probably partly because of the rooibos. I didn’t add any sweetener to it as it had enough to begin with. This is a pretty relaxing tea before bed.

ETA: I put the remaining 6oz in the fridge to cool and am enjoying it now. It’s not AS good as it was hot, but I am still liking it. Maybe if I’d cold-steeped it I’d like the cold version more.

I get plums and honey in this. And grass. And maybe a bit of malt? It’s really tasty, although I still prefer the Taiwanese Assam. I’m happy I grabbed some of this, and I look forward to getting a handle on this!