Perennial Tea Room

Kelmishka Homemade Advent Day 7! I think grapefruit teas and I end up clashing, and it’s probably not their fault. This is a bit fake/cleaner-ish to me, unfortunately. I’m drinking it cold, and I taste something herbaceous along with the somewhat bitter grapefruit. I appreciate that it’s refreshing and different, but due to my preferences, one cup is enough.

2024 Holiday tea #1

Why NOT do some notes for whatever holiday teas I happen to have around at the moment? There won’t be as many as usual… It turns out I never wrote a note for this one..it was from the Here’s Hoping teabox eight or nine years ago. Yes, it still has the “don’t sniff too deeply” note that Inkling mentions in their note. haha! I think I originally thought it was too strong, but it has certainly mellowed with age. Leaving a lovely balance of spice and fruit flavor on a medium strength black tea base. Oh and there are sugar bits in the blend too.. and rose petals that seem to bridge these flavors well. It is certainly an acceptable blend at this point in time. The time for the note on this tea was now, I guess!

This is a sample that was sent in the box from Youngest – many thanks!

I didn’t add any of the Perennial Tea Room samples to my cupboard because they were large samples but still less than two ounces, so it felt like a cheat to call it a sipdown. This is a sample sipdown, however!

I do NOT like red rooibos, though I enjoy flavored green rooibos a lot. There was one from Lupicia that I liked called Caramel and Rum, I believe. I liked the plain one from Fortnum and Mason well enough, and ordered a tin of plain red from Harney which was a horrible mistake. Could not drink it. So I was a bit apprehensive and thought I might not like this at all.

But this one….right away the dry blend smelled like lovely caramel. After steeping, that is still the main thing going on. I do not get cappucino from this at all, but the caramel is so nice and the rooibos is very woody but does not reek of Robitussin like so much red rooibos does.

I enjoyed this very much and would be happy to have a cup with cookies or biscotti in the evening most anytime. We had lemon biscotti with it.

There were lots of flower petals in this, and I was surprised to find that although I detected no floral taste, there was a lovely floral aroma to the cup that I held close to my face just to enjoy sniffing that lovely aroma.

This is a sample sipdown and was in my box of tea from Youngest – many thanks!

As soon as I sipped this I knew I had had something almost exactly like it before. Of course! Cookie by Lupicia! And therefore the slightly fancier Christmas version, White Christmas.

Rich and creamy, almond and bakey goodness. Well worth a try. Very tasty and our big pot at breakfast paired wonderfully with food, as well.

This is a sample sipdown!

I regret that I didn’t save a teaspoon for gmathis because this is right up her alley. This is a tea that will boot you out of bed and out the door and quite possibly out of the county in the morning.

With food, it is simply a warm chestnut blend, but if you are not eating or if it is not actively washing breakfast down, it has some surprising heft. It isn’t as coppery as builder’s tea tends to be but it does have a lot of oomph.

June Sipdown Prompt -a tea from India

A gift from Youngest – many thanks!

This was my breakfast tea today, paired with a simple omelette of eggs, cheese, thyme, and pepper and a slice of toast with F&M Rhubarb and Raspberry Jam.

The dry leaf scent was quite nutty. Steeped twice and combined.

The color of the steeped tea was a gorgeous clear red. It really drove home why the Chinese name for black tea is red tea! With this depth of color…what would a single steep be like?

The first cup of tea was pure chestnut. Strong nutty flavor with a solid black tea background. As the tea cooled, the Assam really made itself known and all the characteristics you associate with an Assam breakfast tea came out – briskness, malt, and enough oomph to get you going. The chestnut stepped back a bit as the base took the forefront.

Sipping the very last of this after the meal, I know I would be tempted to add milk and sugar if I had this without any food at all, but as it is it didn’t hurt my sensitive stomach and was a nice, brisk breakfast tea. I bet it would make a great latte. I think that is my afternoon snack planned…

This is a gift from Youngest – many thanks!

Good strawberry black teas are a favorite in this house, but I am treating myself to a cup with cream puffs this afternoon as a little snack. Ashman won’t mind as there is enough left for him to have some, too!

The dry leaf aroma was so delectable when I opened that it derailed my plans to try others first. Pink peppercorns are so attractive in a tea blend and add a much better flavor for my palate than black peppercorns.

I am drinking this hot in spite of being out of doors all day with the neighbor’s puppy. Fortunately, Ashman installed two ceiling fans on the carport for me for Mother’s Day. (he can do ANYTHING.)

I really like this smooth yet not weak base. It is perfect for afternoon tea time. The peppercorns are more prominent than I expected but they are not too much. A little warmth, just as they described, and not a spicy heat. It reminds me of Sakurambo a little bit but with strawberry instead of cherry.

Very good!

ETA – Awesome iced!

Thanks to a mild case of jet lag exacerbated by Billie Eilish’s impeccable new album that robbed me of valuable sleep during my flights this morning, I am doing exactly what I intended not to do: cracking into yet another sample from my vacation loot, perhaps the most eagerly anticipated. Oh, lord it is worth it.

Almond Sugar Cookie commands my attention with such authority that I paused my music to focus on it. First and foremost, this decadent treat presents sugared almonds and vanilla in exactly the proportions you would taste digging into a sinful batch of – you guessed it – almond flavored sugar cookie dough. And it is specifically dough, because Cameron B’s description of “creamy” couldn’t be more accurately stated – the flavors come sliding in carried by a gentle, buttery sea. But I can’t stop there, because with it comes a nostalgic element that took me a minute to nail down:

Ice cream parlor.

The balance of flavors here perfectly collude to impersonate that plush creamery atmosphere, an incredible replication of the exact complicity that occurs between the sugary waffle cones and liberal scoops of cookies and cream flavor ice cream. Almonds, sugar, butter, batter, crushed Oreos, vanilla, and even milk comprise the flavor polycule of my dreams in this spectacularly crafted cup.

I need a Lactaid after writing this.

Wow. Wow! Wow.
When I picked this up, I chose it based on a preliminary whiff from the sample jar and, in conjunction with the name, was of the impression this was a straightforward pancake or sticky bun blend. Syrupy, rich, warm, nutty, and raisiny, I smelled everything I got from Tin Roof’s oatmeal raisin cookie blend and assumed this traditional breakfast in a cup was pieced from similar ingredients. However, peeking at the credits on the website, I am stunned to see that I was wrong. Now of course I am happily surprised to recognize this warm, toasty-sweet character is unmistakably chestnut. Still, the tea carries a golden lyons quality heralding the phantom presence of dates and sultanas.

What distinguishes this one from TRT oatmeal raisin cookie is partly the base. The malty assam really shines through with a little dryness despite the heavy smog of added flavoring and, notably, this blend leans into its nutty nature to derive its warmth as opposed to oatmeal raisin cookie with its spice. The comparability of the blends is simultaneously exactly what I expected and a pleasant surprise.

After 10 days of action-packed exploration, I have finally returned from my half-planned excursion through the wilds of Washington State and the Oregon coastline touring all things natural, historical, and Twin Peaks-related. Within minutes of walking through my door, I have already begun catching up on work from home and, of course, brewing the first of my haul in tea recovered from the distant western territory. Buckle up, Ashmanra!

I’m drawing my first cup from the sample of strawberry black tea I picked up in Seattle’s Pike Place Market area, and it smells rich with berries and cream. I don’t have a lot to say about this one, being a somewhat straightforward blend. The flavoring is strongest in the aroma, and the mingling of strawberry and black tea brings out an almost roasted quality to the fruit, the flavor of which is authentic and melds the qualities of sweetness and fleshy tanginess you get from the real deal. Smooth and quenching, it may not be a standout for any unique reason but it’s a solid cup and performs the role of the classic ably and to a good standard, which is a good omen for the rest of my samples.

Nice but nothing extraordinary. The peach sits nicely with the base (which is decently smooth) and tastes natural.

Day 19 of my Steepster homemade advent calendar from Kelmishka! I liked this one a lot! It’s very juicy and tastes like natural fruit rather than candy. I get a lot of orange and lemongrass, with some other citrus that’s probably the grapefruit. This is delightful both hot and cold. I appreciate that this stuck to being a fruit/flower/grass blend rather than trying to add a rooibos base, which I think really would have thrown the balance.

Here’s Hoping TTB

This tea actually had a note on it saying “Do not sniff too deeply upon opening”. Challenge accepted! But despite the dire warning, I didn’t find the aroma or flavor overwhelmingly strong. Basically, this is a glittery black chai with a hint of plum.

Here’s Hoping TTB

This is nice, but not the best Golden Monkey I’ve tried. The flavor is pleasant: light and sweet with chocolate and molasses notes. But it’s not as strong as I’d like and there’s a hint of astringency in the aftertaste that I’m not a fan of.

I picked up a sample of this at the Pacific Northwest Tea Festival. It’s a good winter spice tea with a hint of chocolate. I’d pick some up again if I com across it.

A sample from Miss B. I think all of my recent tea orders might be waiting for me when I get home, so all the more reason to work on some samples today! I think I’ve only tried maybe one or two Thai-style teas before, although I tend to enjoy them. Usually it’s coconut that sets a thai chai apart for me, but I don’t see a lot among the dry leaf here. There’s some black tea and some rooibos, plus dried ginger root, orange peel, the odd fennel seed…It’s not giving much away at the moment! I used 1.5 tsp for my cup, and gave it 4 minutes in boiling water. It brewed up unexpectedly dark, so I added a decent splash of milk. Milk and chai make me happy anyway!

To taste, it’s noticeably a Thai blend rather than Indian, but I’m finding it hard to put my finger on exactly what makes it that way. It’s sweeter, even without any added sugar, and there’s definitely some coconut which gives it both a tropical edge and a distinctive creaminess. I’d say there’s also quite a lot of fennel seed, because there’s quite a well defined aniseed flavour, and that’s helping with the sweetness too. I can taste cinnamon, and a touch of ginger in the aftertaste, but they’re not particularly prominent. I’m thinking that even the rooibos is helping the effect a little, giving is a lighter, woodsy-tasting base rather than the thick maltiness of a more traditional chai blend.

I’m enjoying this one, and it’s nice to be reacquainted with a Thai chai! If anything, it’s reminded me how much I’ve missed not having one around for the longest time. I’d quite like to try adding coconut milk to this one, just to see if I can amp up that aspect a little more, but I suspect the sample will be gone before I get around to doing that! One for the future, maybe :)

Another sample from Miss B, and a delicious one it is! I think I’ve only tried a couple of “sugar cookie” blends before, and neither particularly stand out in my memory. I think it’s at least partly because sugar cookie is such a mild flavour anyway – although distinctive in its own right. This tea captures the flavour perfectly. The initial sip is sweet, smooth and creamy, with the almond emerging in the mid-sip and a sweet biscuit flavour running throughout. The almond isn’t harsh or overpowering in the way of marzipan, but soft and almost candied in flavour, just as you’d expect. The end of the sip features slightly malty, brown sugar-like notes. Deliciousness in a cup!

1 tsp, 3 minutes, boiling water. Splash of milk.

A sample from Miss B, and my first cup of the morning. I used 1.5 tsp for my cup, and gave it 3 minutes in boiling water, no additions. It certainly smells like lime, but sadly it doesn’t really taste like lime. There’s a mild sourness that’s vaguely reminiscent of citrus fruit, and a really rather nice creaminess, but other than that I’m not getting much from this one. The black tea is smooth and silky, which is nice, but I wanted lime and I’m not getting it. Sad face.

The grassy floral notes in the scent of this tea were amazing in the store so I had to buy it. I’ll have to revisit this one again as I feel that the steep I did following the instructions wasn’t quite as good as I was hoping.

I’m not really sure of whether this is a tea of the Perennial Tea room or one of their teas that they buy in bulk from other companies. Either way it’s an interesting tea. Might be good with some wine added. It says 3 minutes for steeping but I had forgotten I was steeping it (my daughter was not wanting to eat breakfast) so I ended up steeping it for about 10 minutes. Surprisingly, it has no bitterness. In fact I think it’s quite good. The spices definitely have a bit more kick then they probably would of at 3 minutes. Actually, the more I drink it the more it reminds me of a chai.

Sipdown!

Thanks MissB for the sample! I had this last night while I watched a movie. It was a lighter Thai tea and to truly bring out the flavours I added some honey and a splash of almond milk. Generally I’m not a fan of adding any dairy (or in my case “dairy”) to my teas, but the only exception to that is Thai and Chai teas. I found this one to be light in taste with no noticeable specific spices, just a conglomeration of them as a whole. It was alright but I prefer something with a bit more heft. I do appreciate the chance to try it though! :)

Thanks so much for the teas, Nicole! I got an awesome package just for shipping and I super appreciate it. If it wasn’t for such nice Steepsterers, I wouldn’t have been able to try nearly as many teas that I have. It says something when I mostly organize my teas by who has sent them to me… and I can usually actually remember WHO sent them to me! :D

The leaves here lead to a lovely dark amber brew. It’s light for a golden monkey – probably the lightest one I’ve ever sipped! The flavor is more like one of those teas that are all golden leaves – like Yunnan Sourcing’s delicious Imperial Mojiang. The flavor isn’t chocolate at all but a light molasses/honey/maple syrup maybe hints of stone fruits. So delicious. Two excellent steeps.
Steep #1 // two teaspoons // 10 minutes after boiling // 2-3 minute
Steep #2 // just boiled // 3-4 minute