Citizen Tea

2022 Sipdown 12/365!

Light in flavour, but actually pretty good. It’s reminding me of… that nut tea from (originally Teaopia) that I really enjoyed, name totally escaping me right now. It’s lightly chocolate, a bit toasty, and has just enough hazelnut. And now I’m craving nutella, again. (I had forgotten that breastfeeding cravings massively trump pregnancy cravings for me; I am wanting and eating ALL the things and nutella has come up more than once.) Simple as it is, I’d reorder this tea again.

Another SIPDOWN today

This one is older than I care to admit. It has to be at least 4 years old.. I think?
Anyways, I used my whole sample again, which made this one SUPER strong. DT teas need to be a perfect spoon (2.5tsp) for 16oz of water, but I’m noticing with other companies I don’t need nearly as much. Not sure if that’s a reflection of the tea leaf quality or what, but because I’m use to using so much, I ended up overleafing this one. I used the whole sample, and I probably should have done less as this one is crazy strong now. I had to add milk and coconut sugar because I didn’t like it straight up because of the way that I did it.

So, this one is interesting to compare to the last one I drank (DT’s Satsuma Spice Cake). This one has orange in it as well, but again, it is barely noticeable in this one. I really am only getting the spices out of it.

If I didn’t know about the orange and only took this one as a spice tea, I would probably love it, but expecting orange and not getting any, I don’t know if I really want to get this one again. It’s a very nice spice tea though.

SIPDOWN.

Again, I like this one, but I won’t be restocking it anytime soon. I’ve enjoyed it, it is a good tea especially if you like the nutty ones, but I’m not sure if it’s one that I would grab all that much. Glad to be drinking this one down.

This one is pretty good. I do like the nutty flavour to it. I don’t think I would keep it as a staple in my cupboard, but it is a nice treat.

This is a lovely blend that feels quite Holiday-appropriate. (I’m not sure whether it’s meant to evoke said season or not, to be honest!) The scent reminds me of those seasonal shops that (used to) crop up in North American shopping malls around the winter season, where upon entering one’s senses were assailed by the scents of cinnamon, apple, mulling spices, etc. Those scented baggies of pine cones? It reminds me of them – but without so much of the muskiness. (While the connection mentally of cinnamon and apple is there, the ingredients list neither, but rather orange peels, cloves, as well as peppercorns.)

Brewed up, the similarity remains, but is toned down to levels I consider much more pleasant. None of the flavours are at all sickly-sweet, as they can be with similar teas and with some of those shops, or candles – but the association is strong enough to give the impression of the holidays and those scents and tastes we’ve often come to associate with them. With a little milk, it’s subdued just a touch more, and the experience is one of a much more gentle impression, clear and persistent without getting lost, but without ever becoming too sweet, overpowering, or cloying.

There’s a little “oomph” I feel might be missing somewhere – this blend is lovely, but it doesn’t quite stand out either. It’s got charm but it’s almost forgettable – indeed, I had 50g of this hanging around my cupboard and it was only a similar tea running low that reminded me that I had this somewhere – if only I could locate it, it might serve as a good back-up. Maybe if the orange, for example, came through more strongly, it would have left a stronger impression – something to stand out and shine against the lovely backdrop of the rest.

When I purchased this tea, the sales associate instructed me to steep it with butter or coconut oil in order to activate the cannabinoids. I tried butter and steeped the tea by itself and drank it hot. The taste was literally just what you would think it would be- buttery grass. I love earthy and grassy green teas and oolongs, I search high and low for grassy matcha, but the flavor of this tea was too grassy even for me. I instantly started playing around to find a way to make the taste tolerable because I really wanted to reap the benefits. My first switch was from butter to coconut oil. The great part about coconut oil is that it adds in the coconut flavor, and as a lover of coconut, that helped a lot. If you’re not one to play with blending your own tea concoctions, this is how I suggest drinking this tea- in a teabag, with coconut oil, make sure the oil is put in the bag with the tea leaves and leave the bag in the cup while drinking.

Chocolate teas are generally pretty hit or miss for me, but this one has a decent enough chocolatiness , and a distinct toasty hazelnut flavor. My main problem was how weak it was. I used 2 tablespoons in an 8oz mug and it still tasted pretty watery.

I guess my previous cups of this were at work/unlogged. Ah well. It’s not a stellar tea; tastes a bit on the lighter side of what I’m used to from black pearls, although the familiar chocolatey, malty flavours are present. I only used 4 pearls, though, for an 8oz cup, so it might be a little underleafed (I have 5 pearls left for the last cup).

I’m not sure if it’s the power of suggestion, but I just read a tasting note mentioning cigars, and I swear I also tasted a bit of that acrid, ashy taste as well (not really in a bad way). Not bad, but I’d probably go for a different version next time. I think YS and Teavivre both have black pearls; likely many other companies as well.

I can’t help but wonder if the selling point for this is more so the ‘novelty’ aspect of drinking hemp tea or if it’s the supposed wellness/health benefits?

I mean, it’s got to be one of the two because I find it impossible to believe that someone would be into this for the taste alone? It’s like a sour, grassy/spinach-y hay taste that is so, so unpleasant. More tolerable as it cooled down; but still not good. But hey, it’s another number on the list of things I’ve tried!

Iced Tea Sipdown (551)!

An easy sipdown, and one more tea under my belt. I have high standards for blueberry black teas – they tend to be some of my favourite flavour pairings. This one wasn’t great though; very astringent with an almost bark-like black tea flavour. It had very little blueberry flavour to it, even after I added a pump of agave to the last half of it to boost up the fruity aspects. I did very little, apart from mellowing some astringency.

Boo.

Tastes mostly like licorice and peppermint. I will enjoy my cup but I am glad it was only a sample.

There were tiny bits of this tea and it got through my Davidstea filter which is usually pretty good at keeping stuff inside it. I do not like the taste of this tea.

The herbal taste is strong with this one. Too strong for my tastes-glad it was a sample and I do not have to drink another cup of it.

I am definitely tasting mostly mint in this blend followed by a hint of licorice. I am loving mint and licorice together. I am also discovering that I am a huge fan of herbal teas. This one is a part of their Wellness tea blends.

When I opened the package, I was hoping for a nice pina colada scent. Instead, I got a big whiff of cranberry (which is weird because it is not listed in the ingredients list). It also tastes a lot like cranberries with coconut. It is so bitter too. This has got to be the worst Pina Colada tea that I have ever tasted.

I am really loving herbals lately and this one doesn’t disappoint. I am tasting mostly licorice and peppermint (a lovely combo together in my opinion). I can also slightly taste the green tea (decaffeinated btw). A lovely blend of ingredients in this cup of tea.

(this review is for the iced tea pitcher pouch)

About 20 minutes in a 1.5 L container. The teabag pouch was about 2-3 times larger than most teabags, and you could tell it had brewed up something wonderfully flavourful because it smelled like berries and juice.

The primary taste is the fresh strawberries. It tastes like a strawberry smoothie-very bright and no artificial taste. The hints of basil are well hidden, and the tea is flavourful (tea flavour) but not very green/grassy. For people who like fruity iced teas but hate hibiscus, this is a good choice. I didn’t expect to like this blend, but I actually love it.

This was pretty good as a latte. Got a faint banana flavor mingled with a slightly stronger chocolate and rooibos taste. It cut down the sweetness of the rich chocolate I had with it so that’s a plus. I think this tea would have been awesome if the banana and chocolate flavors were more intense than they were in this cup.

This is a mild chai-the spices are so weak. I will finish my cup but I am so glad this was a sample pack and I used it all up to make this latte.

Definitely vegetal with a nice soft yet delicate base. Not as crisp as white peony, but there is a slight clear mineralish tinge that I really enjoy. Definitely a mood tea. I quite enjoyed this. Only two infusions and I forgot to write down my notes.

Also, the leaves were made dragonwell style, super flat and long. Very pretty!

After my bad experience with the David’s tea version of Keemum, I approached this tea with a bit of wariness… I find they can be boring, for my tastes sometimes and others they really hit my sweet spot. This time? Perfection.
Complex, bready, malty, noms.
I made it through six infusions, combining two at a time in a large mug. The last two were pretty weak so I let it sit there for an hour. End result? weak… but the aftertaste of sweet molasses is pretty awesome.

Extra peppercorn in my spoon today. Love that fizzy aspect. I’ll miss this one when its gone!! I think that one ingredient makes a big difference. Odd, as I thought the lemon aspect was more important. go figure :P

A pleasant although not remarkable tea. Slight lemon tang. The tiny bit of green tea comes through as a nice base to give it all some depth, which IMO is the best part. It might go really well iced, or cold brewed!

I wouldn’t say this was peach. Apricot, I think. A bitter aftertaste, but not thick like an overbrewed tea. Not sure I’m the biggest fan. It just doesn’t speak to me :/