Friday Afternoon

Had my musical characters mixed up—as I was steeping Herr Drosselmeyer this morning, I was actually envisioning smarmy “Uncle” Max Detweiler from The Sound of Music and thinking that this Darjeeling-heavy, wine-before-breakfast blend suited him nicely.

It definitely leads with the grape, but there is enough Assam to add a good, strong bass line and get your eyes open. Genießen Sie noch heute Ihren Tee.

Sipdown 37- 2021
Another black/green blend. Boo. This one really suffered from the steeping parameters that I decided to go with and it came out bitter. Apart from the bitterness, it’s coming across as an extremely average jasmine blend. Not really understanding how this blend relates to the name.

Sipdown 36-2021
This blend is so pretty- lots of lemongrass pieces, and plenty of bits of strawberry. Unfortunately, not a huge fan of the flavor. There’s a strong dried hay flavor that’s slightly bitter, followed by an overwhelming sweetness. I’m not getting any strawberry flavor, and just the slightest hint of orange. The sweetness is just way too much.

Sipdown 35-2021
This smells like an old, wet forest. Very much of a wet soil and slightly rotting greenery. Once brewed, this tea is black. Like the murkiest, dirtiest old bog water. I’m not getting any of the peppercorn flavor, instead it’s the same old, wet forest that I was smelling. There’s also a pretty intense sage flavor, which isn’t on the ingredient list. Quite an interesting tea experience, and not necessarily one I’d like to recreate.

Sipdown 32- 2021
Such an interesting blend! It smells extremely strongly of ground coffee, so I was worried. But, the flavor is so complex and intriguing. The coffee is definitely at the forefront, with the flavor of the chrysanthemum following. The chrysanthemum is actually reading as much more herbal than I would have thought, and is reminding me of French lavender. I’m not tasting any of the black peppercorn. But I don’t think it’s really necessary as the other flavors are a lot on their own. I’m unexpectedly loving this, and would consider repurchasing.

I loved the idea of large pieces of fruit leather being used to flavor a tea…I don’t think I’ve seen that before. Unfortunately, it just doesn’t really work. I’m getting a lot of the sulfur dioxide flavor, which isn’t pleasant.

This tea and I became instant besties yesterday. To the point where I’m contemplating an 8oz purchase of this tea. I know I know its sipdown 2021 but I’ve been looking for a black flavored tea that I could easily enjoy without worrying about the tea cooling and becoming bitter or accidentally oversteeping. This tea withstood it all yesterday and deliciously so. I literally almost took down an ounce of this tea yesterday (I was using the biggest teapot I own. Think it holds 40oz).

Bright pops of vanilla and almond totally make this tea taste very cookie like. I never really picked up on the orange notes but when they do show up, they will just add to this delicious ditty. Really delicious and simple but oh so good and comforting. By far the best tea I’ve tried from Friday Afternoon yet.

Looking forward to enjoying this tea on the long commutes coming our way with the kids going back to school next week. (We live about 30 minutes away from my kiddos’ schools).

Second go at this tea today and it is delicious! I cold brewed the tea for a few hours (should have done it longer but just used the leaves or rather should I say inclusions from earlier today), poured them into my SodaStream bottle, carbonated the tea and viola- I have myself an amazing sparkling iced tea with delicious fruity notes of blueberries, kiwi, melon and I’m finally getting the peach. The sugary notes have really stepped aside but that could also be because I am using the same serving from earlier. Still no sight of the black tea but there is seriously very little tea in this blend to being with.

Excited to try this again tomorrow to see if the fruit flavors are even stronger with a fresh serving.

Second tea of the day and I had to try this one because its an ode to David Bowie.

This tea is unique for sure. The inclusions WAY out weigh the actual black tea in the blend. I actually found myself digging through the pouch just to try and find more black tea. Blend has enormous blueberries and huge chunks of kiwi with cute sugar sprinkles.

Brewed hot, this tea was a shot of sugar. Couldn’t really get any other flavors and not really something I was enjoying. However, allowed to completely cool- this tea is amazing! Bright blueberry, kiwi and melon, almost reminds me of a summer fruit salad. Loving this tea now and am trying some out as a cold brew. I might have found a winner here.

Happy Friday all!

Still journeying into my Friday Afternoon order and this one I had such high hopes for.

My bestie is a HUGE Sailor Moon fan so I picked this one up thinking we might enjoy it together some day. But I don’t think that will happen. This is one bitter blend and I can’t figure out why. This tea seems to bring out all the wrong notes from the black tea, the grapefruit, and the rose-which is surprising because I love all three of those ingredients and have had similiar blends and adored them. One bitter grumpy cup and I’m not sure I will be able to finish. Maybe some sugar or honey might help change this tea’s mood/flavor. Will try again another day.

I think I need to switch up the teas I had planned to drink today. (They were all Friday Afternoon blends)

Continuing my Friday Afternoon black tea journey. . .

Apparently either Friday Afternoon uses a lot of chocolate flavoring in their blends or that is just what I grabbed when I ordered from them. Last night I had an herbal blend from them that had sage, cocoa nibs, and a few other herbs that you would consider to be those sleepytime ones. (will add a note about that one shortly-part of my mystery sampler pack).

This one is a blend of black tea, chocolate flavoring, lemon verbena, and blackberry leaves. The few first sips were really nice- just pops of malt and chocolate. But sadly, I am not wowed. This could totally be my taste buds off too.

Wanted to love this tea but this first go is not what I had hoped. The puerh is really overpowering all of the other flavors which is disappointing because this tea literally smells like cherry coke and I was really hoping those aromas would translate over into the flavor profile or at least the cherry notes would punch a bit more. Will give it another go later.

I think this is the third time I’ve tried this tea and alas, I don’t believe this one is for me. Oolong, cinnamon, clove, natural vanilla flavoring. . . all of the flavors are there but they seem incredibly muted and it isn’t until the very last sip can I even detect the flavor. The smells coming from my teapot as the tea steeps smell amazing- clove, cinnamon, vanilla – but I don’t think the delightful notes my nose is picking up are translating into the same flavor profile. I’ve over leafed and over steeped and the results are the same. If the volume on the flavors was turned up just a touch, I think this tea would be amazing.

Another tea from my recent Friday Afternoon Black Friday order.

I wanted a tea to go with my PB & J for lunch and this one sounded like it would work. Black tea, ginger, sugar, natural vanilla flavoring. Sadly, I think this blend is just too sweet for me. I really dig the pops of ginger and vanilla I’m getting but this has almost a southern sweet tea vibe going on. I have a feeling this might be one to keep until spring and enjoy as a cold brew.

Happy New Year All! Hope everyone had a lovely holiday. I actually took a step back away from my computer to enjoy some solid R & R to get myself back on track.

My Friday Afternoon Black Friday order arrived yesterday and I was a bit giddy. First tea I grabbed to steep up was my sample of I’m No Prize- black tea with ginger, jasmine, cardamom and cinnamon flavoring.

First Sipdown of 2021 :)

Apparently this is called Blood Moon because it’s supposed to steep a red color. It’s a straight black Darjeeling, so it steeps more of a reddish brown…wouldn’t say it’s quite fitting of the name. As for the flavor- muscatel and floral. Quite a bit of astringency and dryness.

This really hit the spot this morning. It was just as expected, which was nice! Slightly grassy and vegetal, with a toasty nuttiness. Simple and satisfying.

I would never choose a de-caffeinated black tea on my own, but it came in a mystery sampler. Chocolate mint sounded particularly delicious tonight. Sadly something is just not working with this blend. The chocolate flavor is almost nonexistent, and what is there is thin, powdery, and flat. The mint is too sharp and seems to be fighting the little chocolate flavor there is.

Sipdown 6/31

Made the last of this as a teapop with pineapple sparkling water, which really works. The sugary fruitiness is mellowed out by the sparkling water, and works really well.

As beautiful and fun as the dry leaf of this blend is, I just don’t like the flavor. It’s WAY too sweet. The dried, sugar fruits really contribute to the visual appeal, but the sugariness overwhelms this tea. There is a bit of kiwi and melon that peaks over the sugar, but overall it’s just too much.

This is the tea that led me to Friday Afternoon Tea. A shimmery purple David Bowie blend? Count me in. Visually, this is one of the most appealing blends I’ve ever tried. The rainbow star sprinkles, the purple shimmer lustre, and the assorted candies fruit pieces all make for quite a beautiful blend. I can taste kiwi, blueberry, peach, and something melon-like. This tea is extremely sweet, and gives a bit of a waxy coating to the mouth (because of all of the sprinkles). Overall a nice, fruity blend. But, I wish there was a tang or some tartness to balance out the cloying sweetness.

The combination of sour cherry and anise taste like a Twizzler. Anise is hit or miss for me, but I really enjoy it in this blend. I think I prefer it when it’s separate from other warm spices. I can taste the cream flavoring as well, which smoothes out the cherry and anise.

I’ve been quite intrigued by this blend- gunpowder green tea, osmanthus flower, violet flower, and corn silk. I love violet, and the additional floral component of the osmanthus seemed like interesting additions to the roasted/smoky flavor I’m used to in a gunpowder green. Plus, corn silk? I’m not quite sure how these ingredients are related to an Imperial Soldier, or Star Wars at all really.

There is a mild smokiness, but the cup is mostly just hay. Definitely no violet (I’m realizing now that the violet flowers are likely just decorative). There’s a touch of osmanthus, but I have to really look for it.