Bird & Blend Tea Co.

I was looking forward to try this because of the name but I am underwhelmed. Very astringent and tannin taste. It’s smells nice but no amount of milk can save this tea. Let’s just say it’s best to keep this tea on the secret sale as it doesn’t really live up to the hype.

This one worked for me better than expected. Nice with honey to bring the mint and jasmine together. Even without honey, this tea actually did not clash in the way I thought it would. Will have to write more notes on it.

Okay, I’m being a picky jerk about this one. It’s really tannic and easily bitter with boiling water. I only did this for a minute and it’s still to heavy on the tannin for me.

The cream and bergamot ratio is good, but the aftertaste is something I really don’t like. I’m going on full teasnob with it. It needs cream and sugar. I wouldn’t be so bitter if I didn’t pay six pounds for it. I could have gotten Harney and Sons for much cheaper at this rate.

Advent Day 24

I have no idea who Carrie Hope is, the collaborator on this tea. It is supposed to be sparkly, so I dug out my glass travel thermos. It does have some blue sparkles in it, but not much and I have to have it held in a sunbeam to see it. There is a little hibiscus present, but the liquid is just the palest of pink, so I have hope. It smells like lemongrass, which must be the lemon myrtle. It tastes lemony and has that slight bite provide by an appropriately small amount of hibiscus. It is said to contain vocal soothing herbs. It’s a good blend with lemon at the center. Not exciting enough that I’d stock it, but fun for a cup.

Advent Day 23

Playing catch up here. No info on the website for this tea. It’s a cinnamon rooibos and it smells very strongly of cinnamon. It tastes very strongly of cinnamon as well. Almost (but not quite) enough to hide the rooibos flavors. There is a slight spicy sensation left in the finish. A bit like melted Red Hot candies without the intensity of all that sugar. This is nice, but it is reminding me of another tea I have enjoyed with so much cinnamon that my stomach would get cranky. I’m not likely to finish this cup because of that, but I will get a few more sips in before I abandon it!

Advent Day 22

It’s a rooibos. I get some of the caramel flavors, but can’t pick out turmeric. Not bad for a rooibos, but I am not it’s intended audience.

Advent Day 19

My cup has cooled now. I think this tea was a little more exciting when hot. It has a light lime flavor and a good amount of mint. Not a knock you out level of mint, but enough that you know it is there. I’m feeling like there is something that is trying to hint at being sweet. A little bit of green tea under it all. Mojitos are a summer drink to me and making it into a warm drink for the winter is messing with my understanding of the universe a bit. I think I would like it better cold steeped in the summer.

Advent Day 17

This… yes. I really enjoyed this cup. It had such a warm baked flavor to it. In my morning haze I didn’t realize it was ginger until I reread the name. It’s a baked ginger… like banana bread kind of baked, but with ginger. I had no idea that there was a thing called gingernut biscuit, but I wonder how it compares to gingersnaps. I over steeped this tea and it was very forgiving. I tried for a second steep and got a not too bad, but lighter in flavor second cup. I’m into this tea.

Advent Day 16

The days have just been flying by this month. I get to the end of every day and feel like I didn’t do much with my time until I go back and break down my day: yard work, processing persimmons for drying, unpacked and set up my casting equipment, cast. I need to be a better cheerleader to myself because I am using my time better than I give myself credit for!

First sip was “Oh wow!”. The creaminess of the coconut pairs so well with the milk oolong. It looses some of that magic if I sip too frequently, maybe my tastebuds need a moment to reset. The finish is a lovely creamy oolong as well. I get zero flat flavors in here. My brain kept reading the name as “coconut milk” oolong as opposed to a milk oolong with coconut flavors, like somehow they infused coconut milk into the oolong in the processing. Then as my brain woke up a little more I could understand it was the latter. The coconut doesn’t mask the milk oolong flavor either, they are in such a nice balance with each other. The coconut almost amplifies the oolong. I’m going to have to resteep this one because I have drunk down this cup fast!

Advent Day 15

Hibiscus ruining another cup for me. The tea wasn’t even that red, so there wasn’t as much hib as in other blends, but I got that murky alkaline taste and was done. :/

Advent Day 14

I’m behind a day! Yesterday I woke up to the electricity out, the attic leaking and a storm storming before a planned outing for a friend’s birthday. So a hectic morning with no way to make hot water and start my day sensibly with a cup of tea. Morning Kick would have been the perfect sentiment for a tea yesterday.

This cup has lemongrass flavor with some ginger in there and maybe a hint of mate. It tastes like an herbal cup. It was easy to sip through and I’m hoping it gives me a little kick to help start the morning.

Advent Day 13… and it’s a Friday!!!

Happy Friday the 13th! I have no idea who Ruby Granger is, the collaborator for this tea. I had to look on the B&B website to find out she is an influencer on tiktok and youtube. I’m trying really hard to stay off social media because my feed is overwhelmingly negative and it sucks time away before I realize an hour has gone by.

While sniffing this tea I keep trying to find malty notes. I don’t know why my brain wants to go there, but I’m not finding it. I get a hint of creamy coconut and something that makes me think mellow warmth, something cozy. Is this what a warm library smells like? Is this what aging books smell like? Something like chocolate in the scent, but not quite. When sipping I can pick up a tiny bit of the roasty hojicha. It’s very mild. Maybe the tiniest bit of malt at the back of the sip with that aging flavor in the finish. Some sips have a ghostly showing of coconut rounding any edges. It’s funny how much the name is making me try to connect the flavors to an old library. This is a tea I’m having to concentrate on. If I didn’t I think I’d just mindlessly sip it because it is so subtle and there is nothing trying to jump out and grab your attention. It’s a fun experience, but I’m left pondering how I feel about the tea.

Advent Day 12

Steeping up very red and I’m hoping it’s beetroot related. Nope, hibiscus. This had a citrusy fruity flavor in the first few sips and smells like strawberries and lemons, but it changed over to that gross hib tang in the start of the sip and then alkaline at the back. Very unpleasant, but it’s what I’ve come to expect in blends that have hib in any amount above the most miniscule. Hibiscus is like my cilantro. This tea is not for me!

Loved this one! Will definitely be purchasing more. Advent 2024

The rose was over-powering and very perfume-y. Not a big fan. Advent 2024

Advent Day 8

I swear I’ve had this tea before, but I thought it was smoke and roses. This cup is not smokey. It’s got rose for sure, but there are other flavors in the mix. I swore I tasted Makrut lime leaf along with cinnamon and maybe a hint of lemongrass. It tastes very similar to Dozy Girl with that Turkish delight like flavor. It’s interesting and I’m on the fence on if I’d order it or not, but I will certainly enjoy the rest of this cup!

Advent Day 8

This smells a little malty and like chocolate. The flavor seems really light on the sip. The coconut comes through as creaminess, but the cocoa part is pretty muted. I do like the malt flavor. There is something in this that is irritating my throat and it has a slick of oil on the top. I’m trying to ignore it, but between the flavor being super light and the tea causing irritation, I don’t think I’m going to finish this cup. Next!

I liked this more than I thought I would. I’m usually not a fan of plain black tea, but this was really smooth and enjoyable with milk.

Advent Day 3

It’s late and I’m tired from picking persimmons all day. I’m forgetful, easily distracted, plunked the bag of this in my cup, set a timer, walked away and totally spaced that I had something steeping. I think it’s been sitting 30m or more, but it tastes more than fine. It has that soft mint flavor that you associate with the buttermint candies. It tastes like a there is a little vanilla to round out the mint. It’s almost slightly sweet. I like this one!

Advent Day 2
Earl Grey Creme? No. Nooooowah! Someone mixed up the teas. I bought two of this advent to give one as a gift and will have to check with my friend on her tea for today. The box for today says EGC, but there is zero EG here at all and the tags on the bags don’t have the tea name on them. This tastes like a breakfast tea. It’s malty and a little tannic. Slightly brisk, but no bite. It tastes like I should be having this with creamer. Once added it proved to be a solid cup of breakfast tea. Not special enough that I’d replace my cupboard favorites with, but good enough to drink again. I hope the EG shows up later in the month. I’m tempted to look through the other days of tea and see if a breakfast tea has EG in it.

Sometimes when I take the first few sips of a tea the flavors will hit harshly. A few sips in things seem to mellow and I’m left with a nice cup. That didn’t happen with this tea. I steeped it for 3m and every sip of the first 1/4 of the cup were bold and overwhelming. The rose dominated and was so overpowering that it was bitter. Once I put some milk in it all changed! The rose instantly mellowed and the cardamon came out. There is just the hint of it maybe thinking about pepper notes and then that fades. I like rose and I love cardamon, so this was an intriguing tea to try despite the fact that a lot of B&B’s black teas are a miss for me. I’d wager that with the addition of some sweetener this cup would make an amazing chai. I’ll have to try it on the next cup, but this one is almost done. Glad I took the gamble and added this to my order!

I used way too much tea the first time I made this and thought I hated it. Decreased the amount the next time and it was as bad. Not a favorite, but not bad. I definitely wanted more of the buttery flavor to come through.