Old Barrel Tea Co

Sipdown! I overleafed the last cup I had of this as I was wondering if it would bring out the pumpkin flavor. Seems that it did the trick, but it is a bit heavy on the clove too. Not my favorite from OBTC but I’m glad I got to try. I do like the honeybush base, but not enough for a future purchase.

This base is a combination of green tea and green rooibos, which go together really smoothly. The flavor isn’t as special as I had hoped. It’s just a sort of fake red fruit sort of vibe. It’s not tart, but kind of candylike. It’s refreshing cold, but pretty one-note.

Subscription tea. Too much hibby in the first steep. Second steep is quite nice as the hibby is muted and the cinnamon comes through. Don’t need any more of this.

From the winter subscription box.

This sounded like a weird combination, but I’m mostly just tasting the coconut with a touch of cinnamon. And since I’m not a coconut fan, this is going into my rehoming box. It’s not bad though, it actually reminds me a little bit of horchata, but coconutty. There’s a distinct toasted coconut note to it.

Kinda strange to be drinking this tea in the middle of winter, but it was in the subscription box, so I’ll sip on it. It’s mango and coconut to me, seems like I should be looking at waves and a nice beach to drink this. It’s not artificial, but I’m not sure I’d buy a tin of it. Maybe I’ll add some black tea and see how it tastes caffeinated.

Sipdown! (24)

From the December subscription box. Not a fan of this one, and I’m sure that’s partially because Winter Cabin is my favorite tea from OBTC, and I’m grumpy that they mixed it with something instead of including it unadulterated, like they did the previous year (and the previous box with the fall seasonal tea, Pumpkin Pie Chai). Harrumph.

But I also feel like peppermint mocha and pecan pie just don’t go together, mostly because of the mint. Buttery pecan with mint just doesn’t make sense to me, and it doesn’t make sense to my tongue either. It’s not awful, just weird and discordant. The beginning of the sip is all buttery pecan, which goes well with the chocolate and coffee flavors, but then the end is all mint and it’s just weird.

The first time I brewed this tea I thought it was a bit muddled, this steeping session, I lengthened the steep time and it came out a bit better. I think I prefer each of these on its own (the coconut does go well with vanilla rooibos) than together. There is an apple note up front and a coconut finish, but they just don’t mesh well together. I’ll have no problem finishing this little tin, but not something I need to mix up on my own.

Subscription box tea. The pecan pie would have blended better with the vanilla rooibos in this box. Instead, it is blended with vanilla mint? The first steep was mostly pecan pie flavoring, which I love; and the second steep was more minty, and not a toothpaste mint, but they don’t really go together. It’s not bad, and I will drink it because I like the pecan pie, but the blend is a miss for me.

Sipdown! (5)

Teavivre’s dragon pearls definitely ruined this tea for me, ha ha. It has none of the rich cocoa notes that I expect, and instead tastes much more generic – very woody and earthy with a bit of a barnyard hay flavor. Not terrible by any means, but definitely not up to the standard I’m accustomed to when it comes to hongcha. This is why I only buy unflavored teas from companies specializing in them, ha ha… Yes, I am a tea snob. XD

Tea of the morning, from their winter subscription box. I was happy to see this in the box, because I love the version from Teavivre and was curious how similar these are.

Welp, seems not at all similar to me ha ha. It does have a thick and rich texture, but the flavor is totally different. Not really getting any cocoa notes, which are very prevalent in my preferred dragon pearls. Instead this is quite haylike, almost reminding me of an aged shou mei. Savory, earthy, and haylike without any sweetness to it. I admit, I am somewhat satisfied that I vastly prefer the Teavivre Fengqing dragon pearls ha ha… :P

Know how little sample packets sent by friends get woodged down in the bottom of a container? I un-woodged this morning! I am a roo lover and this mix of sugary, boozy flavors blends in nicely. A previous note from Michelle mentions that this resembles butterscotch. Absolutely.

Thanks Cameron for all these awesome OBTC teas to try!

I tried brewing this at both 190° F and 200° F and the cardboard mineral taste took over the flavour, but when brewed at boiling I found it to be much more enjoyable.

The cream flavour isn’t subtle, but also not right at the forefront. The orange flavour is much more subtle. The cream comes off kind of ‘mouth-filling’ foam almost? I’m not sure of the best wording to describe this. The second steep is decent.

1st steep 3 minutes
2nd steep 4 minutes, 30 seconds

Homemade Advent Calendar from AJRimmer: Day 6

AJRimmer is really spoiling me with this swap — I’m getting to try so many new-to-me brands I’ve seen on Steepster over the years but haven’t ordered from! And I was very excited to see this one; this flavor profile is right up my proverbial alley.

It’s giving me hot buttered rum vibes, but if you made it with bourbon and added some butterscotch sauce. Maybe a little too much butterscotch — it’s definitely heavier on that element. I like the rooibos in the background, but I’m not getting much of the pu’erh!

My second steep of this one was lighter on the butterscotch and just a lot gentler overall. The corn kernels (!) came through more strongly, probably because they’d been soaking in the damp tea leaves for an hour before my resteep! :D

This is from Cameron B!  Thanks yet again!  This is a cherry and rose flavored green tea that should also have jasmine.   I went real gentle on that first steep to not let the base take over for these flavors.  On the first steep, I’m really only tasting cherry, and it’s not really a good tasting cherry… more like cough drops.  I really don’t taste any rose or jasmine here.  It’s cough drops all the way. But LUCKILY also no notes of hibiscus here either.  So that’s a plus.  The blend sure does look beautiful in the tin though.  I’m usually a fan of whatever cherry teas Cameron decides to move along (there have been a few)…. but this one is only okay and not my favorite. 
Steep #1 // 1 1/2 teaspoons for a full mug // 30 minutes after boiling // 1 minute steep
Steep #2 // 28 minutes after boiling // 2 min

A flavored puerh first thing in the morning? I have some Scottish breakfast on deck as a backup. But this is earthy without being barnyard, a hint of chocolate without trying to be sweet, and a citrus note that is drowning in puerh. It’s not bad, but I prefer the coffee puerh from OBT. I might add some ginger next brew.

Sipdown! (7 | 150)

From the fall subscription. Trying to finish up these fall teas, as I know the winter box will be coming next month… ^^’

I liked this one more than I expected. I’ve had quite a few iterations of this sort of “mulled wine” flavor with hibiscus and spices, but this might be the best. Maybe it’s because it has some black tea involved, instead of rooibos or pure fruit tisane? The hibiscus is pleasantly tangy without being too much, and the spices are mellow. It’s heavy on the ginger and light on the clove, maybe that’s why I prefer this version. :P

2024 sipdown no. 75

When I first steeped this, I found the strawberry to be juicy and very true-to-taste. I’ve never been able to re-achieve that in any subsequent cup, sadly. The pu’erh base comes across as earthy – not offensive, but not my favourite. Thanks for sharing Cameron!

Another from Cameron B!  THANK YOU.  I’m trying to write tasting notes for Cameron’s teas while they are new to me…  I really wanted to try this one! It sounded dreamy!  Unfortunately, this only works as a great coffee flavored puerh blend.  It’s really tasty coffee flavor.  But any banana bread notes are nonexistent to me.  If I ran out of coffee puerh options, I’d definitely stock up on this one for that necessary tea in my cupboard.  I’d just ignore the banana bread aspect that I’m very sad is missing.  Subtle notes of cinnamon and a little bit of woodiness from the rooibos.   Cameron noticed banana in the past, so I guess it has now faded!   But three very solid coffee puerh cups, if that is what you’re looking for.
Steep #1 // 1 1/2 teaspoons for a full mug // 21 minutes after boiling // 2 minute steep
Steep #2 // just boiled // 3 minute steep
Steep #3 // just boiled // 10 minute steep

This tea has grown on me as I steep it more and it cools a bit before sipping. Not much of an orange but more of a creamy oolong. For a flavored oolong I prefer Maya’s good morning oolong, but this one isn’t bad. Its a rolled tea, so a small teaspoon opens up and goes a long way. Second steep adequate. Don’t think I need any more of this tea in my cupboard.

Sipdown! (1 | 157)

Yep, first sipdown for the month lol! XD Hardly unexpected though.

I just got my winter OBTC subscription box, so I figured I would finish off this one last tea from the fall one! Really enjoyed this, Green Chile Biscochito is a favorite of mine, and the addition of more cinnamon really bumps up the cookie aspect. And I do think the woodiness of the rooibos goes very well with the other flavors. Perfect for winter, too!

As for the winter box… sigh. They did a sort of Mele Kalikimaka theme (they didn’t call it that, but that’s the vibe), which means half of the box is tropical and basically summer teas. I get it, they don’t want it to be the same every year so they come up with new ideas, but come on… Fall and winter are my favorite seasons, and summer is my least favorite! And no, I don’t really want a mango green rooibos in December! Obviously first world problems lmao, but I just thought I would whine a bit to my fellow teaholics. T.T

#OctoberTeas2024 Day 2 – “Something Green”

Forgot to post about this yesterday, oops lol. I went for double green, with green tea AND green chile! The regular Green Chile Biscochito is a classic from OBTC, but this version is from my fall subscription box and has their Horchata Rooibos blended in. I love how they blend their own teas together, it’s so interesting and I’m sure it helps a lot with having variety in the subscription year after year.

Anyway, this one is delicious for fall. I don’t taste much of the green chile, which is a shame, but the combination of the anise with the cinnamon and vanilla of the rooibos really pushes the cookie aspect and results in such a cozy, gently spiced brew with a soft licorice note. And since it’s only half red rooibos, it doesn’t taste too rooibos-y for me. Win-win! :)

2024 sipdown no. 59

Without additions: Those Hatch chiles POP. This is super tasty — very dark chocolate with hints of cinnamon and a smash of spiciness at the end of the sip that really stays with you.

With additions: The instructions recommended making this with cream and honey. I improvised with the creamiest milk I had and maple. I used about 3/4 mug of hot water and 1/4 mug of soy milk. It was super tasty, but the milk and maple definitely took over and the spiciness was almost nonexistent. If the spiciness had come through, this one would have been that much more amazing.

I may have to improvise with Cavalla and Trader Joe’s Hatch Chiles (from Kelmishka!) until this company ships to Canada XD.

Thank you Cameron for sharing another great tea!

I have grown fonder of this one as I’ve sipped down the mini tin. The acidic coffee is softened by the lavender and makes for a quite drinkable cup!

Subscription box tea! I am a big fan of the banana coffee puerh, so I figured I’d like this, and I did like the lavender crème brûlée, but I didn’t see a need for more of it in my cupboard. Maybe I should rethink that. This is a lovely cup of tea with strong coffee notes while it’s hot and nice creamy lavender as it cools. It makes me wonder what else I could add to the coffee puerh. Ginger? Chai? The second steep isn’t as good as the first, but still has a nice creamy lavender vibe. I will enjoy sipping down this tea!