August Uncommon Tea
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See All 63 TeasRecent Tasting Notes
Not only do my new neighbours have a regularly shrieking infant, noisily exercise at the crack of dawn on wooden floors in an old house, and see fit to position their television on our adjoining wall, but also they both charge and/ or leave their phones by the adjoining wall to ring, beep, and vibrate at all hours of the night. FML.
I, of course, am the complaining neighbour because I am the one who is repeatedly woken up and disturbed while they appear to be blissfully unaware, so I communicate politely when really I would like to rip their heads off and yank all of their electronics out from their sockets and hurl them from the window. Yeah, it’s really a challenge, really really a challenge to not go all up in their face because really what kind of moron do you have to be?
Right then. Whew. Had to get that out.
This is my cup of the morning after having been awoken at about three. I must have been woken before that as well because after the three waking, I wasn’t able to get to sleep for two or three hours or so. At this point, I don’t know whether it is the phone or the baby or both, but this being repeatedly awoken is torture. The carelessness and stupidity at fault is another layer on top.
I missed my yoga class to continue to sleep and still woke up feeling like hell, of course. Ouf.
Ahem, yes, about the tea. Roasty, toasty, cherrywood good. The slightest bit of coconut as it cools. This is only my first steep. More as things evolve.
Second steep. Far more coconut emerges in scent and in flavour. I am steeping in a clear glass canister and the leaves are so very lovely to watch as they begin to unfurl attached to their stems and teeny branches.
Third steep. Even more coconut as the leaves unravel further. The roastiness disappears slowly but a bit of heaviness remains.
Fourth and fifth steep. Some chocolate creeps in along w the coconut.
I suspect the tea had more to give, but I was on my way out to clear my head and calm down and decided to call it and toss the leaves.
Interesting procession of flavours. I am a bit curious as to what would happen further if I had continued to steep.
Thank you for the share, Dexter. I enjoyed it though at first I thought that the roastiness was on the verge of too much—just that line.
Sorry/not sorry for the rant.
Flavors: Cherry Wood, Coconut, Dark Chocolate, Roasted
Preparation
It’s really a shame once you discover that your relatively new neighbours have little interest in whether they disturb you or not by exercising at the crack of dawn on wooden floors in a newly converted open concept space in an old house. When as a neighbour you are already tolerating 24/7 of their infant and their other child. Yeah. Well then.
Sorry. Needed to get that out.
Selected this one from the bag that Dexter gave me when she was in town. I haven’t made up my mind beyond the fact that I like it and am enjoying it. It confuses my tastebuds a bit because it is much like a coffee-caramel favourite of mine except that after the very similar hit of coffee, instead of switching to caramel, it moves towards the slightest green of the mate.
Did I add my coffee-caramel favourite to your bag, Dex?
Thank you for this, Dexter. It is pleasurable, but currently not enough to take me away from this newfound understanding of my neighbours.
Brutal! I wonder if they’re really that ignorant that they’re making that much noise or if they figure so but just don’t care because they think the world revolves around them?
The latter. And because they are a “family” this should be ok. And because they have various issues that would make it impossible to work out in a gym or in any other way that would not disturb the person who lives beside them.
Oh yes, Entitled Family Syndrome. I don’t have to watch where I’m walking with my stroller, because I have a family. I don’t have to watch where my snivelling little kids are walking because it’s your duty as an adult to be everyone else’s eyes. I don’t have to teach my kids to refrain from shrieking for no reason at all because kids can’t help it. And so on and so forth.
Yes, thank you.
And yet they keep saying that they would like to have a harmonious relationship with their neighbours. Yeah, wouldn’t we all.
But gee, Evol, clearly you’re the problem if your neighbourly relationship isn’t harmonious.
That’s being clear. And yet in our harmonious communications, they are the ones who are annoyed at me bringing these things to their attention. Yes, things.
I don’t understand people like this. I guess they don’t understand the concept of empathy. How would they like it is someone else was doing all the same asinine things, plural, day and night? I doubt they’d be ok with it.
I have strong thoughts about AU’s marketing, but this is a sipdown and I want to get the tasting note down now. I’ll get into the marketing another time.
This blend tastes like sweet pineapple and lemon to me. I’m not picking up on caramel, pastry, barley, or the base tea. I’m a little disappointed that the sencha base is so thoroughly drowned out by the pineapple and lemon flavors. On the other hand, those fruit flavors are distinct, gently tart and not cloyingly sweet. I actually think this would have been delicious as a cold steep but I didn’t have enough leaf or patience left for it. It’s nice as a hot brew too, just nothing special.
Flavors: Lemon, Pineapple
I am interested in hearing about your thoughts on their marketing!
I am in complete agreement with everything you have said, and have only been able to justify purchasing blends when they go on sale.
Aww, it’s nice to know I’m not alone! I was a little nervous about posting it because we’re usually so positive but this really bothered me.
I think people should be able to voice their opinions without being dog-piled, so I’m glad you did. But I know how you feel. I tend to keep my mouth shut a lot haha.
Notably, I didn’t get dog piled on this one. That’s encouraging to me, and I hope it will it encourage you not to keep your mouth shut either. Opinionated tea drinkers unite!
I don’t know what it is doing outside, but inside it feels chilly and damp, which to me is the ideal weather for something smoky.
This is my second day drinking Outlaw from the sample that Dexter so generously shared with me when we met up for our city walk. Yesterday, the cups didn’t leave much of an impression. It was just kind of ok. Perhaps I had steeped too briefly. Today, however, boom—I am definitely enjoying this smokiness and the faintest whiff of cherrywood. Nothing froo-froo about this at all. A solid masculine tea. Love this.
Sometimes, it takes a few cups to find one’s way around a tea. Delighted to have another cup or two of this to enjoy.
Thank you, Dexter. Good call, this.
Flavors: Cherry Wood, Smoke, Smooth
Preparation
I really didn’t expect to like this tea. When first opening the bag and also during the first steep, it gives off a very, VERY strong scent of peaches. Not the actual fruit, but the kind of tart, sharply sweet smell of peach rings. (D even compared it to peach schnapps.) It took a moment for me to get past the overwhelming candy smell. It does, however, make a very nice cuppa.
The oolong base gives off a buttery, toasty flavor that’s not too strong. It’s mild but it’s decidedly oolong. There’s a sweet fruitiness about it that pairs well with the peachy tones and the light flavor of lime. Underscoring it all is a lush and creamy vanilla note that makes me think of whipped cream or custard. I’ve never had creme fraiche but I can imagine this is exactly how it tastes. It complements the other flavors very nicely. Try as I may, I can’t pick out pistachio at all and the rose acts as a barely present floral note in the background. (I’m thankful for that. I’ve never been a huge fan of rose—or floral based teas in general.) The second steep is more mild on the peaches with the lime and cream notes dominating. It’s a little like key lime pie, without the crust.
Overall good impressions. If you’re wanting something more nutty-floral, you may want to look elsewhere. I think I might restock this tea. The sample is not going to last long. (:
Flavors: Butter, Cream, Custard, Honey, Lime, Peach, Roasted, Vanilla
Wow, hi guys. First review in a long, long time.
I’m in the process of moving so I don’t have all of my tea gear with me. It’s the ol’ tap water in a microwaved mug method for me. (The horror, the indignity!) I got a few samples from AU in the mail recently and didn’t feel like hunting through my boxes and half-packed belongings.
I haven’t been drinking a lot of tea lately. This is the first tea order I’ve placed in…a year, at least. My honey is trying to lead a healthier lifestyle and this means more tea, less coffee. Sounds like a win win win to me. (: Gives me an excuse to drink more too! My tea stock has dwindled slowly down to one little bin of old favorites and random samples I still haven’t tried.
On to the tea. This is so not what I was expecting. Like Dex, I thought the barley would give it a nutty, toasted genmaicha quality. I can’t really pick out the flavor on its own. The green tea doesn’t have a strong flavor of its own, either. Most of what I’m tasting is buttery, cake-like or donut-like pastry. It’s heavy but it’s smooth. There’s a lingering caramel sweetness. I’m a little picky about pineapple in tea and I prefer it blended with other strong flavors. (Butiki’s pineapple cilantro oolong was a good one.) Here the pineapple has a sour, kind of acidic quality that tempers the sweet pastry notes. It’s a little strong for me. I can see how others would love it; it’s like a pineapple-lemon pound cake. Dessert in a cup. The blend leaves a slightly sour, puckery taste in my mouth that I’m not fond of…so maybe I’ll try it with milk next time. Not as unusual as AU’s other offerings, but it’s alright. There are others I like better.
I’m a little rusty at this, so hopefully I did okay!
Flavors: Butter, Cake, Caramel, Lemon, Pineapple, Sour
GCTTB
Is it weird if I say this tastes like rye bread with seeds? Because it does. I see people put blueberry and yogurt as some of the flavors they taste but I honestly can just taste rye bread with seeds. Now if only I could toast this up with some butter and cheese like I used to get when I was younger.
Thank you Sil for the share. This was certainly a unique experience and one that was also a bit nostalgic so thank you for that :)
A tasty tea for a fun song! Thank you Roswell Strange for the share: http://sororiteasisters.com/2017/02/10/cocteau-from-august-uncommon/
Hello, Steepster, I am back from my vacation/hiatus! It was awesome to get away and see my family for the holidays, and also great to be back. :)
This evening I am drinking a new tea, one I pulled from the GCTTB. I couldn’t find much information about it on Steepster, only that it was a green tea, so I opted for less than boiling water, and steeped for only about 2 minutes. This one smells kinda weird: rather herbal and bitter, almost minty. Have no idea what to expect on my first sip.
I just looked up the tea on August Uncommon’s own website, and apparently this tea is with strawberries and silver linden. When I looked up that latter ingredient, I immediately get shown a picture of a large silver tree. Bingo. This is what I am smelling. I couldn’t place the aroma at first, but I would now say that it is very close to being a sharp pine-line smell. No sign of any strawberries so far. I didn’t have any pieces in the remaining sample (while they are shown on the tea’s picture on AU’s website), so I doubt there will be a detectable strawberry presence this time around.
The tea is not tasting as sharp as it hits the nose (which I am more than OK with). I was right about the strawberries: not to be found. This is mostly now a weak green tea with strong herbal notes. Not something I would drink again, but suppose it was an interesting enough experience. At least I learned what silver linden was.
This super-distinctive light tea is a weird delight.
It tastes like a county fair — a little bit of kettle corn; a little bit of salty, over-crisped chips; a little bit of wafted nuts drifting through the air into your nose.
It’s a gravelly voice, whispering.
It’s the setting sun over a carnival. The sideshow carnies are dancing in front of a fire. Spinning yarns about their lives before the circus.
It is outside in late summer.
This is a weird post, but this is a weird tea.
[ Edit: This tea started out as a 77, but the cup actually gets even better as it cools and I reach the bottom. So now it’s an 80. I might bump it up a few more points if I continue to like it in subsequent steeps.]
I’ve been spending the morning catching up on my Steepster ratings, which means you’re going to be seeing a LOT of posts below this one from my work with the Sororitea sisters. I tried to grab a snippet from each post which indicates the general feeling each tea evoked. (Or a snippet that I think is funny. I like to believe I’m funny.)
This post, however, is a full post. A STEEPSTER EXCLUSIVE, JUST FOR ALL THE FANS OUT THERE, Y’ALL. REPPIN’ THE ORIGINAL STEEPSTER.
I bought a bunch of teas from August Uncommon on a whim. I had a lot of overtime money from work, and hey, gotta blow it on tea. Better than, like, um, hard drugs or more shoes. Or whatever it is other people spend their money on. (I don’t know how “hard drugs” or “more shoes” were the first options that came to mind. Am I okay?)
There’s a part of me that felt despair about ordering from August Uncommon. Am I cool enough to be ordering anti-establishment, edgy teas? What if it turns out I really am just a tool of the system? The Celestial Seasonings of human beings? (Reppin’ some fine grocery store blends!)
My first pick from my samples was “The Metropolitan,” which according to August Uncommon’s site, “feels like sparkling conversation on a city terrace.” It also (among other things) tastes like “neroli flower.”
I’ve never had “sparkling conversations” on city terraces (REPPIN’ THOSE ‘BURBS), or tasted a neroli flower. But I enjoyed this VERY STRONG brew. If you want an end-of-day wind-down, this isn’t for you.
It’s mostly a very tart fruit/berry flavor with with citrus notes and spices. It doesn’t back down.
If I were going to liken this tea to a movie franchise, it’d be The Fast And The Furious.
Vroom vroom. Caffeine + a low tolerance for sweetness.
PS — How many things did I “rep” this post? At least three things.
BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOORRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRIIINNNNNNNNNNNGGGGGGG
this was a free sample that i picked up from AU and honestly, no matter who i steep it, i might as well just be drinking a chamomile tea. There’s no sense of any other flavours coming through on this – and there’s just a whole lot of chamomile and more chamomile.
Final Count: 61
dexter sent this one my way and i’ve had it a couple times now. I’ve come to the conclusion that this one isn’t for me. It’s a lovely moonlight tea, but it’s not strong enough for me. Light hay taste even though longer steeps and subsequent steepings. thank you so much for letting me try this one dex!
Sipdown (218)!
Finished this one off with a spot of honey. I have to say, adding that honey definitely resulted in the most pleasant cup of this that I’ve brewed up yet. Something about this in general just hasn’t sit right with me, but that honey really sweetened up the plum notes and allowed them to take center stage. The bergamot was present and complimentary and for once the clove was pushed way to the background. I think the clove has been the biggest source of conflict for me in this blend and without it I just got to enjoy a smooth, and exotically fruity cuppa.
I don’t intend to have any further exploration of this tea – it just didn’t work for me as a whole. I’m really pleased to have parted in a positive way though.
Song Pairing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5BhXpD6cxfM
This is a queued tasting note.
Very floral and lavender-y with strong, brisk bergamot notes and then undertones of both the plum (semi-sweet) and clove. I still think that the flavour notes of this tea are a little cacophonous but it’s growing on me slowly but surely.
Slowly is the key word, though.
First tea of the morning!
This is my first day off both jobs in… ages. Like, literally over two weeks.
So the plan for the day is basically just to enjoy as much tea as possible and relax. Sounds easy, right? Well – I’ve pretty well been confined to my room literally all morning because our new roommate hasn’t moved his stuff over yet, so he slept on the couch last night. Which is connected to the kitchen/main living space. I was trying to be polite and not wake him, but by noon I’d reached the point where I felt it was an appropriate enough time of day I could move about and not be an ass for doing it.
So I started by making myself, and him, a cup of tea and then making us each a bagel with maple chevre and some cubed pineapple. I was hoping the soft sounds of my making breakfast in the kitchen and the aroma of fresh food/tea would wake him up. No such luck; it’s now an hour later than when I’d initially made breakfast/tea and his food is still sitting on the kitchen counter untouched. Oh well, I tried.
The tea was actually pretty good though! When I first opened the sample packet like a week ago to smell it the aroma actually made me feel pretty uneasy/sick so I waited to try it and thankfully it sat well with me this morning/early afternoon.
I was SO excited for this one when I saw it announced for this AU collection; I’m not the world’s biggest bergamot/EG fan but I do have a soft spot for flavoured Earl Grey. I will say both the plum and clove, which are the extra flavours in this EG, come through quite strongly. However, do they go together is the more important question. The answer to that question is… kinda?
It’s just weird and slightly spiced but not really? Also, with the strong bergamot notes and the plum there was something sort of perfume like/chemical to the combination that seemed just a touch off to me. However, that said, whatever caused that seemed to calm down as the tea cooled, and the flavours came together a bit more smoothly overall as well. It wasn’t bad overall; just a little disjointed as a blend. I loved the clove flavour, though!
Flavors: Bergamot, Cloves, Floral, Lavender, Perfume, Plum, Stonefruit
Cold Brew Sipdown (121)!
Brought this one in to work and shared with coworkers. We played a guessing game, of sorts, with the flavour notes and ingredients so see if they could blindly identify any of them. My assistant manager did the best and was able to name both the ginger and orange. No one got the sage, which is the other key player here. A few people guessed ginger pear…
I really enjoyed this one cold brewed though; I felt like the earthy/spiciness was still present but the brightness of the orange was more the focus point of the sip. If we weren’t going into spring, I might be tempted to order more of this. I don’t see it being something I’d reach for often Spring/Summer though.
One of my favourite things about Christmas is family board games…
Thankfully this Christmas has been filled with many! The first one was called Urban Myth; and this was the tea I made for while we played…
It was nice drinking this one in more of a conscious state; I feel like a got a better grasp on the flavour distribution. Mostly, I think this is warming, but spicy ginger notes primarily but it is softened by some sweet mandarin top notes which fade into a more mellow undertone throughout the body of the sip. The finish is quite licorice root-y. Which is alright, I guess…
Overall; I’m not mad at this blend – I think if I was a bigger fan of ginger I’d be all over it. As it stands, I think it’s a little bit too spicy for me to want to have it around in a larger quantity though. As an occasional tea? I can get on board with it.
As for the game…
It was pretty challenging overall and most of the questions/statements were not obvious. The deciding question/statement for the game win though? President Barrack Obama is a Muslim Radical. Like; of all the stupid things to be the deciding question/statement. I think it’s pretty obvious that this one is obviously a myth; and my mom would agree because she took the game since this was the most obvious of all the things we’d come across…
D’oh.
This is a queued tasting note.
Made this one hot during a lazy afternoon last week where I was just kind of lounging around the house before work. Sort of in and out of napping, sipping away at a mug of tea in between drowsy minutes lost…
I don’t remember a whole lot about this one because I was so out of it/tired – but from what I do remember I think the ginger was pretty strong, but balanced out by the sage and then with a lighter orange like flavour in the finish. Or something like that? I liked it well enough, but I’ll need to revisit it when I’m a bit more put together.
Sipdown (610)!
I actually liked this last cup, but I know it’s not representative of my experience with this tea as a whole. At least I know better than to revisit this blend again in the future as I’ve proven to myself over and over again now that it simply isn’t consistent in terms of flavour.
Flavors: Caramel, Lemon, Pastries
Once again, not the same buttery toffee pineapple taste I remember from the first batch I bought of this – this time it was a more sour/tangy pineapple with notes of tart apple/grassy green tea. I think that’s roughly what it tasted like last time I drank it too? So again, not sure why it’s changed SO MUCH from initial sample to the one that I reordered. Different lots/batches!?
Not bad – just not the familiar flavour I want.
Loved this one so much when I first had it that I bought another sample size of it.
It was very disappointing to me though, and didn’t taste anything like I remembered it tasting. Like, I 100% would have thought that it was a different tea than what I had bought the first time. I had added milk too, because I was expecting something like last time I had it – and milk ended up being such a bad choice with how it ended up tasting. It was just so bright and fruity with very distinct orange and lemon notes that were juicy, and tangy and… not what I wanted.
Where’s the soft, supple buttery toffee quality!? GAH! Not happy.
Crossing my fingers for better cups in the future.
Don’t let those rotten neighbors ruin your health and wellbeing, Evol. Call the landlord! You can’t go on like this!
“Sorry/not sorry for the rant” – I like that! ;-) Hope you find some peace in your day. Is it possible to put some sound barrier like cork on the adjoining wall?
Aww no, you know it’s bad when you’re already having to miss yoga class due to unnecessary stupidity.
You describe this tea so well. It sounds like you enjoyed it more than I did!
Awww, thank you, guys. I appreciate your kind words and support. All this is giving me a good idea of what the future will be like living next to these people. Cork! I had never considered that as an option. I’ll look into it. It would work with my colour scheme, so if it is affordable, it might not be too disruptive.
Oh, boy. I am no stranger to bad neighbors, so I feel your pain. Good for you for being so polite. I know all too well that tooth grinding urge to shriek and kick something. Preferably him.
hehehe, thank you, Maddy. I know you understand. And yes, a good swift kicking would do me a world of good.