A Quarter to Tea

I was really craving a hot chocolate, but I also really wanted tea so I made the recipe below with the last of this blend:

https://www.cookclickndevour.com/chocolate-tea-recipe-cocoa-tea/

It was so good. I topped it with homemade whipped cream and it was so cozy. I couldn’t say which flavors were from the tea or the cocoa, but it was delicious and that’s all I really care about at this point.

This is very light in flavor and now I find myself wishing I’d used two teaspoons instead of one. I was hoping for more of that fudgy flavor that others mention in their notes. It’s a little bitter, a little chocolaty, and there’s also some coffee in the mix. The stout does come through and it does have a touch of dryness as promised, but there isn’t any brownie for me. I’m not giving up though. I’ll try again with an extra scoop next time to see if that will add more to the flavor.

Sipdown (312)

One 2018 tea down, one to go. I have 3 days to finish that one off to start 2021 with a cupboard of teas from 2019 or more recent.

This tea was always nice. Just not one I would pick over my many other options. That’s how it ended up being one of the older teas in my stash. It’s just not something I ever reached for until I was sort of put in a position (albeit by myself) to drink it. It has great blackberry flavor. And the slight astringency that usually reads alcohol in this tea is not at all present in this cup. It’s a nice way to end off and say good bye.

I was inspired by Cameron B to start drinking from my special box of older teas again. I took a break during advents but now to get back to working on those sipdowns. This tea is the oldest in my stash and 1/2 teas from 2018. It’s actually not a bad tea, just one I have overlooked time and time again for whatever reason. It has a nice blackberry flavor. There is an astringency in the base that does a good job of selling the liqueur aspect of a cordial, but I think that’s what keeps me from reaching for this more often.

I was really excited about making this as a tea lemonade earlier today. Probably about hours ago. But then it has just been sitting next to me all this time and I only just tried it. Thank goodness the DAVIDsTEA tumblers keep things cold forever since this was still icy. However, I didn’t really enjoy it much this way. It’s fruity but in a way that conflicts with the lemonade rather than working with it.

Not sure how many years I’ve had this hiding in my cupboard without having made a tasting note for it! I think I’ve tried it mostly in the evening when I’m less likely to write up my tea. I dumped the rest of the bag of this in a pitcher and put it in the fridge to steep overnight and am having it iced now. It’s an interesting combo with the chocolate and lavender. Something about it is really perfumy tho, even the chocolate seems more like the scent of chocolate than the taste. Like scratch and sniff stickers? Almost soapy which is never a good association with tea. Maybe I can get the tiny roommates to drink this so I don’t have to feel guilty dumping precious AQ2T!

Trying this one again for National Pizza Day! It pretty much tastes like pizza sauce, so it seemed like the perfect fit. It has tomato in it, so the sauce base is there. On top of that there are herbs that hit me like oregano. I think it works better as a pizza sauce tea than a bloody mary tea! It’s a little more enjoyable with that mindset, but still not a tea I enjoy. This being probably my least favorite AQ2T blend. Maybe I should pick a second tea for pizza day. One that I like. :/

This tea is so weird. I love trying weird teas, but this one isn’t for me. It is strange and savory with an herbal mix that I can’t place. Oregano? Thyme? It reminds me of pasta sauce with only a hint of sundried tomato. I’m having it over ice and I imagine having it hot would be more reminiscent of Italian cooking.

I was really playing around with the idea of cold-steeping this one, but after reading some of the tasting notes I decided against it. I’ve never had a betty, but I’m guessing it’s like a slump or a cobbler? That sounds like my kind of dessert, and since it’s fall the cranberry and brown sugar are calling to me.

As it steeps, I smell lemon – it’s refreshing but also reminiscent of a hospital waiting room somehow? I don’t really know how else to describe it. It doesn’t smell like lemon cleaner or disinfectant as some citrus flavorings do, so that’s not it. I’ll have to think on it.

The liquid is a lovely apricot color, though there is a bit of a film on top. The taste is exactly like the aroma. I added a little light brown sugar as my sweetener today to see if it might boost that flavor, but it really doesn’t change anything. Honestly, this isn’t great. The lemon flavor is strange and the cranberry is nowhere to be found.

STTB Tea

This is a vegetal (bai mu dan?) white based tea with a subtle but not unpleasant base. It is lightly floral (rose) but that is quite subtle. I made this cold (450 mL water, ~25 minutes) and enjoyed it. The vegetal quality reminds me of cucumber and lettuce.

A little light/weak, strong chocolate aroma in the dry blend. Whole coffee beans. Are these for flavor or appearance? How can a whole coffee bean give flavor in a 5-minute steep? Enjoying the roasted qualities of the oolong with the chocolate.

Herbaceous, though not necessarily basil. Hmm.

This tastes exactly like Carmex smells, which isn’t an entirely bad thing, as I love the smell of Carmex. I’m really enjoying this, and I tend to dislike peppermint teas, so I’m quite happy to have found one to enjoy (even though I can never purchase it again). Considering that it’s a few years old, I’m also impressed that the flavor does not seem to have faded at all.

Still delicious after all this time. This is one of the few teas I have that doesn’t have a purchase date on it, so I’m not even sure how old this is. Still holds up though.

My last note said that I oversteeped, so I cut the time a bit. The resulting cup was delicious. It turned out much better than I remember/thought it would be. I’m not normally a fan of lavender, but it really works here. I’ve had other EGs with lavender that I didn’t like, so I’m not sure what the difference is. I can taste it, it’s noticeably there, but it’s not soapy or overwhelming. This blend has definitely withstood the test of time.

The lavender is the strongest aroma and flavor, even overpowering the bergamot. It came out a little bitter, so I may have steeped too long. I still have a few more cups of this one left. It’s flavor has held up all this time.

Teapop Sipdown (285)

With this tea gone, my cupboard is now from 2017 or later. That’s a good feeling at least.

I get a lot of sweet cranberry flavor a la cranberry pear. It’s juicy and delicious and definitely the main flavor here, matched only by the carbonation flavor of the sparkling water. Basil is more fleeting. In fact, I can’t really find it and that could be because of age or because the cranberry is so strong.

This is the first tea I tried from the Reddit traveling tea box. The flavor is mostly licorice-like, which I didn’t expect. It looks like it’s four years old though, so it could have lost its flavor. It does have a decently pleasant taste, but it’s not super special tasting. I would never know it’s hojicha. I wish there were more carrot/spices/pumpkin/cake!