August Uncommon Tea

This is not quite what I was expecting. I really thought that the barley would add a genmaicha quality to this.
This is mostly pineapple with just a hint of caramel. Not getting much of the green base – which is ok by me. I like it, not as unusual as the other August Uncommon blends, but it’s tasty enough.

I got my August Uncommon order today. So excited. Their packaging is so beautiful – the tins are sealed with pop off lids. I got a free scoop and a little brewing guide book, there was also a handwritten note – I love personal touches like that.
IMHO all August Uncommon blends are a little unusual and this one is no exception. I can’t quite put my finger on what this is like. It’s a little smokey. It’s a little cherry. There is some bitter – kind of like dark chocolate but not quite. There are other notes in here that I can’t quite decide what they are. Odd but in an interesting sort of way. This is complex and balanced but still confusing somehow. I’m on the fence a little on if I “like” it. I feel it grow on me and it certainly is interesting enough to keep me coming back for another taste. Will resteep it to see how it changes.

LET IT BE KNOWN that I’m just here to post a note and then I’ll likely disappear again. Hello! Goodbye!

This tea. I’m blaming Dexter for this. But it was a free sample, so I suppose that’s ok.

It smells like cacao shells and pineapple when I sniff it dry. Really chocolatey and fruity. So nice. The most interesting notes are tobacco. So, for example, when you have a really nice pipe tobacco and it smells earthy and rich and fruity. Like that. Not like smoke. Tobacco as a perfume fragrance is never smoke. This is what it evokes. Vanilla and warm woods. Sweet fruits. Cacao shell (similar to chocolate, but not the same).

So good.

Steeped, and sipping it, the pepper comes out. It’s a really nice flavour. Still the vanilla and warm woods and juicy fruit, some cacao shells (but not enough for me right now… I find cacao shells smell more than they tend to taste), delicious black tea.

I’m having it with some milk, which might take down the pepper somewhat.

I really like this tea. I might be considering an order. Which is weird. Because I think I’ve spent $30 on tea in the last 8 months.

It’s like drinking brownie essence. Many thanks to hawkband1 for giving me a generous amount in her swap.

Sipdown (139)!

Finishing this one off with some added eggnog, just to do something different with it. It’s nice with the eggnog; everything is silkier and creamy and the rich chocolate notes which were borderline cloying to me before are a lot more muted now. I appreciate the subtlety of the cocoa alongside the warming nutmeg. The most interesting part is that the pineapple still comes though, and that IS sort of weird with the eggnog. But that sweet fruity pineapple note at the end of the sip? As weird as it is, I’m definitely digging it too.

In the end I decided not to order more of this when I placed my August Uncommon order for the Winter Collection sampler. Actually, I didn’t get more of any of the teas from this collection though I did HEAVILY debate Ventura Highway. Still, I had a really fun time exploring this tea and trying it three different ways. I feel like I got something new from it each time and that was exciting.

Cold Brew…

Copy & Paste is my friend right now ’cause I am HELLA sleepy.

- Strong tropical pineapple notes: almost candy like?
- Rich, smooth cocoa notes
- The pairing is nicer this time around since I’m expecting it
- Black pepper is light but present; tail of the sip

This is a queued tasting note.

Ok, so this is 100% the tea I was most excited for in this collection. I mean, it’s essentially supposed to be a softly smoked pineapple blend, right? Holy shit am I on board for that. I actually LOVE using Lapsang Souchong in cooking with foods that incorporate pineapple because that smoky sweet cross with the flavours is the BEST fucking thing ever. It works the exact same way that ham & pineapple does.

So colour me surprised by my first few sips of this…

I have to wonder if I’m evening drinking the same tea that’s been reviewed by others because I found the smoke/tobacco elements of this tea REALLY underwhelming. I barely got smoke notes at all! What was really impactful was the sweet, rich and smooth cocoa notes from the cocoa shells in the blend. I knew that they would be a part of the blend, but based on the marketing I fully underestimated just how prevalent those notes would be. I mean, they were fucking delicious but in a small way I felt a bit like they stole the thunder of the other elements in the blend.

Moving on to the pineapple; even though I thought the chocolate was VERY strong and the smoke not strong enough I felt like the amount of pineapple flavour I got in each sip was perfect. I’d have loved to see the sweet, semi acidic pineapple juice notes contrasted alongside a different flavour than chocolate but this worked alright. It actually wasn’t long ago I reviewed Tea Taxi’s Recipe For Happiness blend and pointed out how I don’t view chocolate and pineapple as a natural pairing but this marginally changes my mind. In my opinion, the pineapple didn’t come off as floral like described by AU, though this works for me because I don’t think the combo of floral/pineapple/chocolate OR floral/pineapple/smoke would have worked. Something about that I think would have felt unbalanced or oddly contrasted. Finally, this one finishes off with a subtle black pepper tickle. It’s really the only “spice” element I got from the blend – but it was a nice touch.

Overall I DID enjoy the mug, but it wasn’t what I’d expected from it. I think I’ve found that a lot with this particular August Uncommon collection. It’ll be interesting trying this one again now that I have an understanding of how the flavour profile presents – I think that’ll make for a more pleasant experience/less perplexing impression.

Also, I’ve now tried all of the teas from this collection! Here’s how I personally score them…

1. Ventura Highway
2. Silencio
3. Dark Iris
4. Skylark
5. Days of Heaven

Right now the only one I see myself wanting more of is Ventura Highway. And, it appears that August Uncommon is gearing up to release another new collection so maybe I’ll grab some when I inevitably get samples of the new collection…

Cold Brew Sipdown (143)!

I mean not bad; a nice trio of lemon, orange and strawberry notes overall. I definitely enjoyed it a lot more hot and found it smoother and fruitier that way. As a cold brew it comes off a bit more bland/boring, and the green base is grassier.

Not one I’ll miss too much overall.

Still not crazy about this one, but I just finished a hot teacup worth of it and it was definitely an improvement. For starters, the strawberry and bright, juicy orange notes just seemed a lot fresher tasting overall – and I think the grassy green base was a bit more mellowed out. A good combination between delicate flavours and bright fruit notes, overall.

Song Pairing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FJ66D7TcEWU&index=2&list=LL1M1wDjmJD4SJr_CwzXAGuQ

Drank this one cold brewed yesterday.

I don’t know how I feel about this one? The flavour profile was actually really nice but I feel like the flavour pairings are kind of played out/not unique and I’ve really come to expect excellence in execution and unique bends from August Uncommon so it’s a little weird not having those expectations quite met.

The grassy and slight marine tasting sencha notes created a solid enough base to stack the other fruity flavour notes on top of, and the strawberry was definitely a star in this blend. It tasted so sweet, fresh and natural – I could almost see myself eating one straight from the garden or, at the very least, stealing one from a carton in the produce aisle of a grocery store. Really realistic, and by far the best part of the blend for sure. The other fruit notes actually felt underwhelming in comparison. For starters the orange/tangerine was pretty light and to my palate, at least, it read a lot more like lemon than what it was supposed to. Now, lemon is a great pairing with strawberry and actually with sencha as well – it’s just not what AU was going for or what I was wanting.

So I think I have to conclude that despite some really good notes and some much more disappointing notes this was pretty average overall. I’m sure I’ll enjoy the rest of my sample, but this is one AU blend I can thankfully not worry and wanting to restock in a larger portion.

Sipdown (162)!

Finished this one off a few days ago, actually. It’s weird; now that I’m not drinking a daily advent calendar tea I’ve fallen a little out of the habit of daily tea note writing. At least on the days I’m working both jobs, that is.

I feel like I’m finishing this one off on a sort of fickle note – I neither liked nor disliked the mug and that makes it a little challenging to form a solid opinion because I was already sitting right on the fence prior to this last infusion. The liquor was very cloudy, and the overall profile smooth enough if not a wee bit artificial/chemical.

Quite fruity overall: a due of peach and lime flavours in particular, although more candy like than realistic fruit. A little more tart than sweet, as well. For the first time, I felt like I was really getting strong notes of the rose as well. It’s come off as floral before; but this was just very distinct/fragranced and perfumey. Also, a touch toasy/roasty from the base. Again, like I’ve said in previous tasting notes, it’s just a weird mash up of flavours overall and a lot going on/to take in.

Not my favourite or least favourite offering.

Goodbye, vagina tea.

So, I definitely oversteeped this one when I was cooking for the DAVIDsTEA staff meeting/potluck yesterday. This lucky tea got well over ten minutes of solid brew time. It didn’t get bitter or astringent though; instead it just got quite roasty and really intensely lime flavoured. Not bad; and a nice contrast to the peach I’ve gotten from this thus far.

Also; I think I’ve finally shaken the vagina tea thing! Hooray for that!

Just got home from supper out with my old roommate Shauna and her boyfriend; they actually picked the pub we went to and it was really, really nice there.

I ended up drinking a lot so I’m just a little drunk at the moment – but SO worth it. One of the pub specials for cocktails is called a Lemon Meringue Pie and HOLY SHIT it’s good. But almost kind of evil in how smooth and easy it goes down – I was like four in before I realized the alcohol was hitting me really quickly. I almost ordered their version of Blueberry Tea as well ‘cause I saw it was on their specialty menu and I wanted to compare to the Blueberry Tea I had yesterday, but they were actually out of Orange Pekoe so they couldn’t make it. That just means I have to go back there another time, though…

This is probably gonna be my final tea of the night; I made myself a very small teacup of it when I got home just ‘cause I set it aside before I went out in the afternoon not realizing I’d be back so late and if I don’t make it today I’ll be sad ’cause I really wanted to see how it holds up hot.

I have to say that overall I think it’s better hot than it is cold brewed but I still find it really weird too. The peach is so strong though that it almost negates the other odd flavour pairings and what the peach really reminds me of is when, as a kid, you’d finish off a bag of fuzzy peach candies and then “drink” the little sour sugar crystals from the bottom of the bag. I can’t be the only one who did that, right? But it’s the same intensity with that same really bright and almost sort of shocking vibrancy of sweet and tangy.

The rest of the flavour notes are sweet and borderline creamy pistachio and a touch of a soft roasted note/feel. I don’t think this is nearly as floral hot. That, or I just didn’t get a lot of rose petals in the leaf I used. I can’t really remember what the ratio of stuff I measured out looked like, to be honest.

Marginally bumping my rating up – but in a cautious way. A part of me wonders if the improvement in tonight’s teacup has anything to do with the light buzz I’ve got going on as well.

This is a queued tasting note.

“Feels like Georgia O’Keeffe Flowers…”

So, I read that an knowing what I know about Georgia O’Keeffe’s artwork the only thing I could think about the entire time I drank this cold brew was vaginas. Now, there’s nothing wrong with vaginas – I have one myself that I’m pretty content with. However, that’s just not something I want to constantly be thinking of while I drink my tea.

Vagina tea… Vagina tea… Vagina tea…

But I mean, that aside – it was also just a weird blend in general. Mostly, it was very very peachy in a way that was both pretty natural tasting but also sweet like peach candies; namely Fuzzy Peaches. Apart from that very ‘loud’ top note, this was supported with sweet, nutty pistachio notes and a bit of a perfumed tasting rose note. It didn’t taste bad, but the flavours just clashed a little bit. I think maybe the peach and rose would have been ok, or just the peach and pistachio but all together the juxtaposition was mostly just confusing. I feel like it might be smoother prepared hot, though.

But even if it flowered together better as a hot tea there’s that one big mental hurdle to get over first… Vagina tea.

Sipdown (156)!

It took some added honey to make the amount of chamomile in this blend tolerable for me, but this is finally a sipdown. I’m so sad that I actually sort of started to dislike this one even more each time I had it – but that rhubarb just kept slipping even farther away from my grasp/tastebuds each time!

At leas the chamomile is doing it’s thing though and making me super drowsy! I can tell already that I’m going to sleep so soundly tonight! And on that note…

Off to bed I go!

Too. Much. Chamomile.

Evidently, also not a good tea for early in the morning because that dreaded chamomile will make you sleepy all over again…

This is growing on me as a ‘pacifying’ before bed sort of tea, but the flavour still is missing the mark. In fact, I found that I got even less rhubarb in this cup than the last. But holy shit did it knock me right out.

Pros and Cons…

This is a queued tasting note.

First to review, eh? I think this might be my first herbal from August Uncommon as well. I don’t think they’ve made a whole lot of herbals/tisanes in general though, have they?

I think the descriptors for this one sound amazing: rhubarb jam, custard, pie crust…

I would very happily drink a tea with that flavour profile. Besides, in general anything rhubarb usually sounds pretty good to me. A herbal rhubarb tea that isn’t tart!? Oh boy! So yeah, basically a very promising sounding tisane in general. As promising as it sounded, though, I don’t think it really lived up to my expectations for it.

Don’t get me wrong – the rhubarb notes totally came through well enough and were delicious. They came through in sweet, jammy flavour ‘whisps’. Unfortunately, I found that the chamomile dominated most of the cup and masked most of the ingredients in the blend, especially the lemon verbena which I didn’t taste at all. Personally, I DO NOT like the taste of chamomile at all and so it really tarnished my impression of this one.

Also, definitely didn’t taste custardy or like pie crust.

But not bad. It’s just not in any way what I expected it to be.

This is a queued tasting note.

Sipdown (151)!

I wish I had taken jot notes during this Gong Fu session but we were also playing a big family game of Monopoly so multi tasking by playing and steeping was enough of a challenge without throwing in note taking. I lost the monopoly game, badly, by the way.

I think I got around ten infusions from the last of this leaf – wasn’t counting but I know it was a pretty lengthy session (by my standards) so it would have been roughly around there. Overall, I liked this one Gong Fu quite a bit. I don’t know that this prep style totally fits in with the way this tea has been marketed and that overall aesthetic feel. I mean, a tea inspired by Ventura Highway seems to be quite distanced from more traditional Chinese brewing methods. But the flavours worked and that’s the most important part, in my opinion.

Overall flavour notes throughout the session were sweet lemon curd/pie filling, sweet grassy notes, vegetal snap peas, crisp fresh air, and floral notes of orchid and lily. The lemon was the strongest note apart from the overall grassy/vegetal base note combo that was lightly present in each infusion. The lemon was stronger and more vibrant but didn’t have the same overall, stretched out presence those notes did because the lemon was a top note that faded into other notes. I think that sort of crisp, clean air sort of note contributed to a very clean, well rounded flavour profile overall and it strongly reminded me of both Spring time air with fresh grass, dew and blooming flowers but also pure ‘mountain’ type air. REALLY refreshing on the whole. Floral notes emerged later into the session, and more so in the finish than anywhere else. They were a nice touch.

I think this is something I could very well be tempted to order again if I were placing an August Uncommon order anyway and it was still available – but also I don’t know that it’s something I’d seek out were I not ordering already anyway. Still – very happy with each experience I had with this one.

This is a queued tasting note.

So far I’ve tried three out of the five teas from August Uncommon’s Spring/Summer collection and right now this is my favourite of the ones I’ve tried. It’s also the only “pure” tea in this collection – take from that what you will.

While I was tempted to brew it Gong Fu I ultimately decided that was probably not how AU imagined people to be drinking it. AU is very artistic/poetic with how they market their teas and I greatly love that approach as I generally tend to view tea as a more artful experience than a precise process. Not that there’s anything wrong with Gong Fu: I still love brewing Gong Fu style BUT I think doing this one Western and looking for more aesthetic flavour descriptions honors the tea a little more… if that makes any sense?

This was just so clean and clear cut flavour wise: I thought the top notes were perfectly sweet and captured the taste of lemon curd in the same way that you’d get from a home baked lemon meringue pie made by your grandma or a cupcake with lemon whip frosting sold in that quaint “passed down generation by generation” bake shop on the corner of the street that still does everything by hand.

Body notes were really clean with fresh and crisp grassy note that make you think of summer time picnics or road tripping with all the windows rolled down on a beautiful, breezy day mid June. The finish was playfully floral and lingered lightly on the bed of my tongue. Honestly, it was just a REALLY nice cup.

When putting together my song pairing I was so tempted to go with a Chainsmokers song because they’ve been SO BIG lately and I love them a lot; I thought that their music would match the clear cut vision that August Uncommon had when describing this tea. Which, I should add, they did perfectly. But I couldn’t find something that sat quite right…

And so this was the pairing I went with: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gMNQYI9uuEs&list=WL&index=3

It’s not The Chainsmokers – but I think the breezy, summery vibes and sweet, playful tone of the singer’s voice fit just as well if not better than The Chainsmokers would have. And I think it honours to aesthetic nature of the tea – which is how August Uncommon chooses to market.

Mmmm, this was so good. The chocolate wasn’t that each kind of chocolate, it was more the darker chocolate that I enjoy. It was sweet enough that I didn’t have to add any sweetener (which I don’t like to add anyway).
Nutty, chocolate tea…how can you go wrong?
If I ever order from this company, this tea would certainly be on that list!
Thanks to whoever added this to the Canadian Travelling Tea Box!

Sipdown (150)

So my awesome tea twin, Roswell Strange, sent me a package with tea and song pairings. I was so excited when I received it a few days back but only now got a chance to sit down and actually listen to a song and appreciate the moment.

This company and band are both new to me so I was really intrigued about what my tea twin had in store for me. However, apparently there is a bit of a learning curve when it comes to tea and song pairings. I put the song on and immediately thought I had to drink the whole tea in the 5 minutes. Of course, when I started drinking, it was too hot. I decided to let it cool and then in my usual fashion, started doing a thousand other things and then realized the song finished and two other songs had played. So, I went back to the song, made sure the tea was an appropriate temperature, and tried again.

The second time around, things went much better. I did have to resist starting my note while I drank, which is what I normally do, and instead focused on the music and tea. I let the two consume me. My goal going into this was to try and determine why Ros picked this song for this tea and with this particular pairing, it did not take long. The two are so smooth. There is a sweetness to them that is peaking through and yet there is a smokeyness floating above it all. In the song, this came through as the low almost whisperlike singing that is comforting yet also just a bit haunting, especially when layered atop the soft, mellow music.

As I drank, I couldn’t help but think this is what I think scotch would taste like. Now, I have never drank scotch (so don’t get mad at me if you drink this and it tastes nothing like scotch whatsoever) but a lot of people close to me love it. My brother-in-law recently got into it because he said it tastes like burnt caramel. One of my best friends drink it because she likes the smokiness. Both elements are present in this tea, all floating on a smooth black base, hence the comparison.

I could see both this tea and song being enjoyed on a sort of quiet, drizzly night. Just relaxing and enjoying the calm.

Thank you Roswell Strange for the tea and music suggestion. I enjoyed both quite a bit and the experience was a lot of fun. I look forward to drinking the others and seeing how they work with the music.

Song pairing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5soixb2U6xM

I’m enjoying my staycation so far; I’ve got a handful of different things planned throughout the next seven days but today is all about tea, being lazy, and reading comics…

So, I combined those things into some sloppy Gongfu with a standby favourite Moonlight Pu’erh – in fact, possibly the first Moonlight Pu’erh I ever tried? It’s easy to steep, so forgiving, and has some lovely flavour notes. The tea is sweet and medium bodied; pleasant white peach meets fresh cream, cucumber pulp, & straw. Very easy sipping!

I combined this with a new Flash comic – I’ve never been a DC fan but something about Flash speaks to me more than other DC heroes so I decided to dip my toes in, so to speak, and see if I can get into this comic. Not that I needed a new series to get hooked on, but, well… Oops.

I also had some slightly under ripe tamarillo near the end of my session. It was the first time I’ve tried one and I found it had a bit of a guava/tomato/melon type of flavour, with a little bit of mild sharpness/dryness. It was actually a good offset to the sweetness of the white tea, with it’s peach and hay notes. Not a perfect pairing, but not half bad either.

Photos: https://www.instagram.com/p/B8_5LXvgnJe/

Song Pairing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aDeNQNtW1f8