Good Tea Good Day

Sipdown! (5 | 494)

Didn’t even notice that I still had one of these packets left still! This one looks to be mostly rosebuds, sadly for me.

Actually I’m surprised how much of the flavor is the rosehips. They add a tart fruity note that’s quite pleasant. The rose is also quite strong, of course, but at least it doesn’t taste like perfume. There’s a strong musty note? I guess it must be from the apple blossom, which I haven’t had before. I also taste a slight bitterness at the beginning of the sip.

Obviously not a favorite for me, being so rosy. But it’s drinkable and the tart rosehips are pleasant enough.

(Please note that my rating is only in regard to the taste of this tisane, I can’t comment on any potential health benefits.)

Sipdown! (10 | 462)

I was excited to try this one because I love both pear and osmanthus.

I’m not sure how I feel about it though. It’s very sweet because of the pear, and osmanthus has some sweetness to it as well. I think I would like it better if I had used more water, as the flavor of the pear overall is very, very strong.

I do like the combination of the honey-sweet dried pear with the nectar-sweet osmanthus though. I should be on the lookout for osmanthus tisanes, as I really enjoy the flavor of it and it evokes pleasant memories of Japan. :3

Sipdown! (7 | 459)

This tisane is a blend of two types of chrysanthemum with honeysuckle flower. I generally enjoy chrysanthemum so I’m looking forward to it as a relaxing cuppa before bed.

Hmm, the front of the sip has a rather strong mustiness and papery quality to it that I don’t love. After that, it transitions to the more familiar softly sweet and slightly peppery yet chamomile-esque flavor of chrysanthemum. There’s a lingering aftertaste of soft baked bread. I think I pick up on a hint of the honeysuckle at the very end of the sip – there’s a more nectarous floral note that just pokes its little head out.

Even with the more mineral musty notes, it’s still very easy-drinking and I find my teapot almost empty already. I really do enjoy the chrysanthemum, but I’m not sure the honeysuckle is adding enough here to differentiate it from any other chrysanthemum flower tisane.

(Please note that my rating is only in regard to the taste of this tisane, I can’t comment on any potential health benefits.)

Sipdown! (5 | 457)

Not expecting to love this one, given it’s mostly dried jujube and longan, which probably means it’s really sweet…

Okay, it is quite sweet. The jujube seems to contribute a honey-like sweetness that has a somewhat buttery, bready quality to it. Jujube is also known as red date, so I guess it makes sense that it’s quite sweet. I don’t think I can taste the longan, which has a similar flavor to lychee.

The ginger does add a nice spicy counterpoint, which helps cut the sweetness just a bit. But it’s still overly sweet for me. I can’t believe there was also a packet of brown sugar in the pouch, which I obviously left out.

(Please note that my rating is only in regard to the taste of this tisane, I can’t comment on any potential health benefits.)

Sipdown! (43 | 452)

So this is an interesting one, a mix of popped coix seed (also called Job’s Tears apparently) and dried lemon slices. Oh, and there’s a packet of rock sugar, but I always just toss that part, because who wants sugar in an herbal tisane?

The coix seed tastes almost exactly like popcorn, and has a nice toasty edge to it. The lemon is surprisingly present considering there was just one slice in the bag. It has a lovely lemony acidity but isn’t too tart, and there’s some sweetness in it as well.

Another blend that sounds sort of odd but tastes really good. I would honestly consider ordering this one, it’s so unusual but is very soothing in the evening. I suppose I could try making my own version with popcorn as well…

(Please note that my rating is only in regard to the taste of this tisane, I can’t comment on any potential health benefits.)

Sipdown! (42 | 451)

Another tisane with a lot of rose, but I like it anyway! I guess real rose is different from flavoring.

I would say the rose and apple are both here in equal measure. The rose is lush and sweet, and the apple adds a nice contrasting fruity tartness that keeps it from being cloying. I’m not sure if the hawthorn is contributing to the overall sweetness or tartness of the blend, not knowing at all what they taste like.

Digging it!

(Please note that my rating is only in regard to the taste of this tisane, I can’t comment on any potential health benefits.)

Sipdown! (38 | 447)

So this is mostly just very sweet. I’m not surprised, given it’s a mix of three different dried fruits. There are some nice honeyed notes and some grainy, almost buttery bready notes. Not sure if that’s from the jujube or something else, since I’ve never had it before.

Anyway, very sweet. I would like more goji here for the tartness. As-is, it’s mostly just sweet on sweet.

(Please note that my rating is only in regard to the taste of this tisane, I can’t comment on any potential health benefits.)

Sipdown! (36 | 445)

Getting back to these single-serve traditional Hong Kong herbal medicine tisanes, because yay easy sipdowns!

This one is a mix of osmanthus, chamomile, jasmine, and lavender flowers. I’m not always a big fan of lavender, but I do enjoy the other three ingredients so I was excited to steep this up as my bedtime brew this evening.

The front of the sip is mostly lavender and chamomile, and has a more savory feel. But the osmanthus starts to appear midway through, and by the end my mouth is coated by its nectarous, honey-sweet flavor. I’m not sure I can pick out jasmine specifically, perhaps it’s melding into the osmanthus a bit.

For me, there’s a touch too much lavender, and it doesn’t really fit in with the other soft and sweet floral notes here. It comes off a bit soapy. But I do really love the osmanthus, it’s almost juicy in flavor. I know I have another blend from this company that’s pear and osmanthus, so now I’m excited to try that one!

(Please note that my rating is only in regard to the taste of this tisane, I can’t comment on any potential health benefits.)

Sipdown! (4 | 413)

I steeped this one up in a glass teapot so I could see all of the pretty flowers blooming and floating around. It’s a mix of rose, calendula, and jasmine.

We all know I’m not a rose lover, but I actually find it much more palatable when it’s actual roses instead of flavoring. It’s light and fresh instead of perfumey, and has an almost creamy quality. The jasmine is milder, but adds a nice lush and exotic quality. There’s a light, clear sweetness like cool spring water and honeysuckle nectar.

Overall, it’s a soft and sweet floral infusion, and I’m enjoying it much more than I expected. It’s not something I could see myself purchasing though, as rose still isn’t a favorite for me. But I’m impressed by how much more I like this compared to other rose teas.

(Please note that my rating is only in regard to the taste of this tisane, I can’t comment on any potential health benefits.)

Sipdown! (3 | 401)

Okay, so a friend of mine on Instagram received a sampler from this company for review, and I was so intrigued by the ingredients that I had to order their sampler for myself. It’s a Hong Kong-based company focusing on traditional Chinese medicine-based herbal tisanes. Now, I’m not personally interested in the wellness benefits (if any) of the blends, but I just found the ingredients so interesting and the packaging so pretty that I couldn’t resist! The tisanes are packaged in individual 500 ml servings in clear bags so you can see all the large and pretty whole fruits and flowers inside. So here we go!

I chose this one randomly tonight, and it contains chrysanthemum blossoms, dried goji berries, and dried longan fruit. I followed the instructions and rinsed the ingredients first before steeping for 20 minutes. My teapot of choice is slightly smaller than 500 ml, but I figured it was close enough and I really wanted to use a glass teapot with a built-in strainer so the fruit and flowers were free to float around. It’s crazy how much the longan plumped up! I’ve never had longan but it seems quite similar to lychee, which I love.

So, on to the taste! The chrysanthemum is definitely the dominant flavor here. I’ve had the pleasure of trying a chrysanthemum tisane before, and it has a very unique herbal-grain-hay-peppery sort of flavor that’s difficult to describe. Perhaps a hint of cooling menthol as well? I don’t get much tartness from the goji, but I definitely taste the dried longan’s syrupy sweetness. Really, it’s actually a bit too sweet for me, it’s amazing how much natural sugar the longan fruit contributed. It tastes as though I added a very mild honey.

Overall, I’m enjoying the pot as I relax this evening. It’s not something I would drink regularly, just because it is a bit too sweet for me. I do enjoy the interplay between the honeyed notes and the slightly savory chrysanthemum though. Happily I have some chrysanthemum samples from Teavivre to content myself with!

(Please note that my rating is only in regard to the taste of this tisane, I can’t comment on any potential health benefits.)