T2

Sipdown (2653)!

Finished this one off earlier in the week. It’s nothing to write home about as far as rooibos based vanilla blends go, but it’s also pretty solid too. Definitely a rich, cream-forward vanilla flavour with hints of caramel in the undertones. Technically not super “authentic” vanilla but more that custard or creme anglais note that a lot of people associate with vanilla thanks to things like ice cream.

I kind of despise the name of this, but I get that it comes from the fact it’s a blend of red and green rooibos as the base. I think incorporating the green rooibos was nice as it adds a bit of a lighter, fresher element for the richness to pop against. You still get the body and depth of the red rooibos though so it’s not thin feeling.

Wow, this was magical! I believe I split a T2 order with Sara to get this. I cold brewed it, and the water turned red right away! I still let it brew overnight. It’s a lovely holiday-tasting delight! It’s like all the good flavors of mulled wine, without the strong bite of the alcohol.

This would be great hot or cold, sitting in front of a video of a fire, while snuggling with cats!

Sipdown (2659)!

This was so familiar tasting and I really, really am struggling to place what tea I’ve had in the past that it’s reminding me of. It’s a very particular lemon note though. Bright, yes, but also quite sweet and almost sherbet-like. There’s a note of apple here and some supporting lemongrass, but that lemon flavour just really shined and was mighty enjoyable.

Sipdown (2660)!

I thought this was a sachet but it was actually loose leaf tea just in the overwrap that T2 usually used for sachets. Anyway, I’m currently sipping on this mug and it’s really enjoyable. Though the hibiscus is strong it’s not unpleasantly tart and is instead contributing more of a berry-like brightness that works really well with the sweet, soothing floral rose.

The overall profile is very slick and syrupy with a round and coating feeling on the mouth. Honestly, I think it’s the exact right amount of rose. Not perfuming but with a strong enough rosewater taste that the hibiscus doesn’t drown it out. I could see it working very well chilled too, were this not a sipdown. Simple, but if you’re not adverse to either the rose or hibiscus/rosehip flavour I think quite well balanced.

I might be wrong, but I think this is a pretty old/discontinued T2 flavour but I found a sachet of it at work today in the back of a drawer (along with a few others) so I figured I’d try it. A little bit of old tea never hurt anyone, right??

Honestly, it’s pretty good for being God knows how old. The lemon is stylistically very sweet and candy-like instead of something more natural and either pithy/acidic. Very much channeling lemon flavoured lollipop or gummy bear kind of vibes but in a pretty soft kind of way. Despite the candy-type flavour it’s really light bodied and delicately flavour. Unclear if the tea was always like that, or if it’s age.

TTB tea! This is quite hearty! With milk and sugar, it was one of the better breakfast blends I’ve had in recent memory! It definitely does best with a short steep.

TEaTiff. TTB.Artifical flavoring _. I hope this doesn’t give me a headache. The dry aroma reminds me a bit of an Earl Grey but sweeter and with a slight lemony and metallic tone. The blue cornflowers are quite pretty with the dark brown, lightly twisted tea leaf; despite the fact that they do nothing for the flavor. The wet leaf is unique. The bergamot has disappeared and been replaced with a light liquor note. Cherry liquor. Also some cream and a hint of bread. Flavorwise… it’s okay. Woody with some citrusy notes. Interesting to try one but not one that I would buy myself. In fact, I would not because of the artificial flavoring.

TeaTiff TTB. Think I oversteeped it. The bitter notes are a bit too strong to be pleasurable. I alo enjoy astringency but there is a certain point when it becomes more of a nuisance in the mouth. Will retry after dropping off the kids. Thus far though notes are woody, tannic, and slightly metallic. Perhaps it is just this sample I am tasting but I don’t find it to be likeable. If given the choice if tea or no tea I’d drink it but it makes me wonder if this sample has been corrupted.

Just marking a sipdown here. Technically I didn’t finish this, my partner did because I super did not enjoy it. He would add soy or oat milk and agave and found that this smoothed out the flavor (but in a lot of ways he’s not as sensitive to flavor as I am).

My body is being extra rebellious today. I do not appreciate this; I indulged the need for rest and recovery yesterday, but I’m still in pain and now I’m just annoyed. There are things I wanted to get done today besides being stuck in bed or on the couch! Ok, thanks for letting me complain, and I promise it’s relevant to this tasting note.
I wasn’t in any condition to make my own tea and I wanted something anti-inflammatory, so I asked my partner to make me some ginger tea. What I meant for him to make was the Harney Ginger Lemon. What he actually made was this, which is kept in a repurposed, relabeled Harney tin directly above the Ginger Lemon. So I take a sip and immediately think “oh no what happened.” He confirmed that he made this and didn’t even know we had the Ginger Lemon! Complete facepalm moment. I’m making the best of this unpleasant (admittedly not the end of the world) situation by at least making a tasting note.
If you haven’t figured it out yet, I do not like this tea. Maybe it’s the carrot. Maybe it’s the licorice root. These are ingredients that I have enjoyed just fine in other blends but something just feels off about the specific combination and ratio of ingredients here. I would swear there’s stevia in here if I didn’t know better. Plus this blend has ginger in the name, it’s the second ingredient, but I have never found the ginger to be particularly noticeable – it’s drowned out by that unusual sweetness. But my partner doesn’t mind this blend at all and is always surprised by the vehemence of my reaction, so YMMV.

TTB tea! As this cools, the flavor comes out, and it’s really quite decent! I wasn’t sure what flavor this was supposed to be. The bag mentions floral flavors, but it’s a little fruity for me. With milk and sugar, this is quite enjoyable cold! It reminds me of a dessert we would eat when we were younger – frozen blackberries with sugar and cream on top.

Homemade Advent Exchange Tea #15

This made a lovely breakfast tea with my bagel. I was surprised about how creamy this was with the aromatic vanilla. I got some toasty notes and lots of tannin, but not as strong as most breakfast blends. I did not get any smoky notes like other people, but I added a bit of vanilla soy milk and it might have muted this a bit. I did not realize this blend would have smoke notes so I did not think to check for it.

TeaTiff TTB #6

Interesting to me that T2 has so many teas with “breakfast” in the name that are flavored and this one is their traditional unflavored breakfast blend! It wasn’t anything special, but a solid classic breakfast blend that takes milk well.

Inkling Advent Day 20. The first time I had this, it steeped up a little thin and not flavorful, but luckily Inkling gave me a lot of this one, so I tried again with more leaf! Now I taste a lot of apple skin flavor plus some powdered cinnamon. It’s a bit tart, and I wish I could taste more flavors that reminded me of a crumble other than the cinnamon!

“Teas I drink in a day Friday 12/22/23” #2

MUG: David’s Tea winter/holiday themed color changing Nordic Mug, Fox and a few of the winter scene change with the hot water / 16 oz
STYLE: hot & plain
DRANK: morning/mid-day at work
NOTES: sipdown #6 for December

I was almost done with this 100g packet/box from T2 [have a bunch more in my stash I’m sure] but have been slim on official sip downs for December (will + a bunch of “XP” to this month after TTBs and gifting etc). I strongly leaved two hot/plain cuppas in a row, because why not drink a tropical fruity tea (pineapple/coconut + green) hot. I drink what I feel like, even if weird, so this was what I felt like. (and it would have been too much work at the office to use the 3 PS or so as one iced tea). It did the job but probably should have made the effort to make one iced tea because I over leafed both cuppas (made one, drank then repeat) and didn’t drink fast enough either time so they were just like a lukewarm/cooler cup anyway.

I love DT Nordic Mug in size since I like to drink big mugs of tea. I am not always a big fan of the color changing because I need things to be versatile like if I need to microwave or something. But I think this one was from my days of DT casual/super part time employee, because I don’t think I have the lid for this one. I brought it in from home a week or so ago because for past year or so I have been using one holiday themed glitter glass Nordic mug at my desk and I have 432854205842549 mugs so might as well get on board and not just hoard.

EDIT: Instagram post, pic 2 is mug & packaging and 6 is picture with teas 4&5, @teawithjann vlogmas playing, snacks from @dessertbydeb box that arrived that day, and one my kids (my kitten Sherbet, one of my two girls): https://www.instagram.com/tiffanydrinkstea/p/C1Mj4I1Odn7/?img_index=6

Inkling Advent Day 15. This was pretty refreshing cold – a mix between coconut and fruitiness. The coconut was slightly too far gone for my taste, but I shared with a family member who didn’t mind.

Inkling Advent Day 13. I’m glad Inkling gave me extra servings of this one! I love how much vanilla is coming through in the flavor when I drink this cold. The black tea is pleasant and hearty enough, and milk really helps make this a creamy, tasty cup. If I were at home, I’d make myself another cup of this right away!

Inkling Advent Day 10. This green tea is pretty mild with no bitterness, which I always appreciate. I can’t tell what flavor it’s supposed to be. My partner guessed peach, and that sounds the closest. It’s refreshing cold, but not something I would buy myself. I’m glad to get to try so many T2 blends in this advent because I only had the chance to order from them twice.

Weak – I need to use two tea bags, whereas I use one PG Tips teabag.
Strange flavour.
In all a poor experience

Inkling Advent Day 4. The chocolate flavoring is a bit alcohol-heavy, but I added extra milk, which balanced it out. It tastes best cold. Not my favorite or least favorite chocolate blend, but somewhere in the middle. I wish I tasted some caramel!

Homemade Advent Exchange Tea #2

1 sachet in 450mL hot water. Steeped ~3-4 minutes and added a dash (~1 tbs) soy milk.
2nd steep same parameters but left the tea bag in while I drank it so it steeped much longer.

This tea reminds me so much of Lupicia’s Caramel and Rum rooibos! I get a lot of vanilla and caramel in this one, along with the typical honey sweetness + woody minerals of rooibos (which pairs really well). I don’t taste any dried fruit or dates but it’s still an excellent blend. Second steep was a bit weaker but still excellent.

TTB tea! This is interesting! I can taste both the cucumber and something fruity that sort of approximates mango. This ends up light and refreshing, not tart at all. The second time I had this, I tasted mostly almost pickle-y cucumber, and I wished for a bit more balance. The cold resteep was tasty.

TTB tea! The jasmine is super strong, and I taste a bit of fake candy pear beneath that. This one is pretty refreshing cold, but a bit too strong on the floral aspect, whereas I would have preferred more fruit. I still enjoyed my cup!