Sew Geek

Latte Sipdown (1329)!

This was a gift from Sew Geek over on instagram – it was one of two samples she sent from her “The Untamed” fandom mini collection. I haven’t seen the Chinese drama series that this is based on, but I did enjoy the other tea inspired by the series that she sent.

The dry leaf of this one smelled quite good! Much more of a malty black tea aroma than a Chai one, with whisps of vanilla. It’s a mix of CTC black tea and rooibos, which is interesting to me – I definitely expected full bodied and intense but I like the idea of the rooibos with CTC because I feel like the rooibos will natural sweeten and balance some of the astringency and bitterness that comes with a CTC black tea.

In all honesty – I made this as a latte and it was disappointingly boring. The black tea malt and grain flavour is very strong and I like how bold it is, but it was also quite flat and lifeless. Other than thick intensity, there was an overwhelming lack of much else. Creaminess, aside from mouthfeel (because of the milk) or sweetness from the vanilla would have been nice or more of a warming spice note – but I didn’t really get either of those. It was just… too plain.

I enjoyed both of the other teas from Sew Geek that I tried (especially the Supernatural one) but this just didn’t seem to be up my alley, unfortunately.

Geek Steep S1E14 – Princess Jellyfish

Cold Brew Sipdown (1260)!

Firstly, a big thank you to Sew Geek who is an instagram follower of our podcast account who very kindly sent us some fandom tea samples to review! When we decided on doing Princess Jellyfish for one of the podcast episodes, I knew immediately that Pistachio Icecream was going to be my pairing for the rewatch, and also that whatever I drank during recording would HAVE to be something super fandom-y and fun!

Well, as it turns out, during the time of recording the episode it was the week of the series finale for Supernatural – so this was just great timing! If you’re not seeing the connection for why I would want to do something fandom related (aside from us being a podcast that celebrates fandoms), you should totally listen to this week’s episode! Spoiler alert though; it’s because the thing that basically all the main characters in this anime have in common is that they are all MASSIVE fans of different niche interests/hobbies/fandoms and a huge reoccuring theme is this celebration of our unique passions and how our interests make us beautiful.

Hence fandom tea!

As a tangent – I just, knowing the plot of the Supernatural series finale, realized that there’s some dramatic irony in the name of this tea in. Of course, the pie tie in was already an inside joke/gag – but… next level, now.

Aside from all of that, I just really nice to point out how incredibly delicious this tea was! I had it cold brewed, and it was so rich and sweet. It’s a rooibos blend with caramel and apple and it may, legitimately, be one of the best caramel apple teas I’ve ever had. More than that, it might be one of the best caramel teas I’ve had in general. The flavours were just so on point that several times during the recording of this podcast episode I wanted to stop the conversation and comment about how fucking incredible this tea was. Juicy, crisp red apple, sticky and gooey medium bodied caramel, just a bit of red fruit and nuttiness from the rooibos.

I. Was. In. Heaven.

Much like Dean.

Okay – that’s my last pun, I will see myself out now.

Our Website: https://www.geeksteep.com/ (This week I wrote the blog post!)
Our Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/geeksteep/

Listen to us on Buzzsprout:
https://www.buzzsprout.com/1286036/podcast/website

DB topic:
https://steepster.com/discuss/42133-geek-steep-a-new-tea-and-fandom-podcast

Cold Brew Sipdown (1120)!

Big thank you to Sew Geek over on IG for sending this tea along with three other fandom blends for Marika and I to try on our Geek Steep account! This was officially our first “PR Tea” package for the Geek Steep account! Very cool milestone!

I’m finishing this one today while working on tasting notes and snacking on some Pandan ice cream from a local creamery. As I said in a previous tasting note last night, it was a long week for me. I worked late every day this week, and didn’t have much time for much of anything else. I took a personal day today, and now I’m enjoying getting to work on tasting notes at a much more comfortable pace…

I’m not familiar with The Untamed, the fandom this tea is from, outside of knowing its a Chinese TV Drama that revolves around I believe two main characters? The namesake of this blend being one of them. I love when teas introduce me to new fandoms though!

I feel like the name of this tea must be an inside joke/fandom reference that I’m not getting; but regardless I don’t find the tea boring at all! It’s the rare feat where a white tea has both a dense and jammy blueberry compote flavour while still maintaining its delicate, crisp and refreshing white tea base – with notes of cucumber skins, timothy hay, and clotted cream. It all works really well with the icecream, which is also creamy but more of a sticky rice starchy creaminess with hints of coconut.

Only downside? It’s a chilly day already and cold brew and icecream have me swaddled in big fluffy blankets to keep cozy!