Teapigs

What I smell: lavender

What I taste: applesauce, lavender, chamomile

Notes: I love the simplicity of this chamomile blend! Lots of lavender (yay!) and a mellow sweetness from the dried apple bits.

Was cleaning out my cubby at work and found this stashed at the back! Def forgot that I brought some teabags with me to work. I also found a small bag od David’s Silk Dragon Jasmine in the bottom of my drawer hahaha

This tea tastes like a traditional straight green tea. Actually pretty good, it isn’t overwhelmingly grassy, but still has a great green tea flavor to it!

Sidenote: I cleaned out my desk, cubby, drawers, and past my keys to my backfill. I’ve been at the Grand for the past 3.5 years and now it’s off to go to the Boardwalk! I start at my new location tomorrow… excited, but nervous. I literally don’t know anyone over there so it’ll be nice to start fresh.

Nothing particularly wrong or off putting about this, but just not my cup of tea, so to speak. Not much flavor. Didn’t particularly do anything for me.

Nice nutty flavour

This was a limited edition Teapigs flavor for their tenth birthday and it just happened to be around at the time I was trying out some of their herbals a while back; I’m about halfway through my box of teabags (I really wish they had non-teabag options available because I’ve liked their teas I’ve tried and think loose leaf is a better bang for your buck, but since I’ve been packing for a trip, the teabags are handy for luggage, at least) but noticed I’ve yet to log this one yet. I usually drink it warm, but it’s been uncomfortably hot lately (consistently over 90F lately) so I cold-steeped my teabag in a glass mug of refridgerated water while I was packing my luggage, then came back to it later when the color looked a very dark marigold.

And I have to say, this tea is as pleasant cold as it is warm. Long steeps seem to do this tea favorably both cold and warm, to get a lot of flavor out of this herbal, and it’s one I like to just leave the bag in my cup as a result while I’m sipping. It has a pleasantly sweet, fruity taste, with a strong apple note, but there is a lot of sweetness in the blend, giving me more of a caramel apple appeal. There is also a red berry/strawberry flavor, that paired with the sweetness brings out a bit of a strawberries and cream taste. I like the slightly tangy fruity note with the sweet notes that really do read as a fruit dessert… it doesn’t really read as a specific fruit dessert to me, since I tend to pick up on different fruit flavors on different sips, but in some ways that adds to the appeal and enjoyment for me. I think I’ll miss this one when my box is finished off.

This also came in a Sips By box.
I think there are only three ingredients: apple, chamomile, and lavender.
Steeps an off-puttingly pale color, almost like no color at all.
Smells of lavender and chamomile.
Flavor is very bland and sort of vaguely sweet.
I left the tea sachet in for well over 10 minutes.
Color, scent, and flavor did not improve.
Overall, a very underwhelming and boring cuppa.
Sleepytime Extra is a better product.

Zippy citrus, mostly lime. Naturally flavored but not artificial tasting. Medium strong base. Good! I enjoy it and often have it in the cupboard.

Sipdown! 31/365

This tea was unlabeled in a baggie, but since it was a teabag and said “Teapigs”, and clearly looked like a lemon/ginger herbal, it was easy to find. So thanks MissB for this sample! It was pretty much exactly what one would expect from a tea with this name. Ginger and lemon (in the form of lemongrass). It’s not super strong, but I don’t think I’d want it to be, unless I was sick. Not my favourite, as I really prefer drinking actual tea, but at least it didn’t have mint!

Hot cuppa drank on the commute home from work.

This was interesting to me because it managed to be thick, and distinctly beet and hisbiscus tasting with out being too much beet or hibiscus. Not too earthy, not too tart. Just a nice balance between the two. Now, I also didn’t think it was something that really ‘hooked’ me in to wanting more – but I found it pleasant enough, and would drink it again if offered.

I might not be the best person to be the first to review this.

The instructions say to whisk the matcha with a small amount of hot milk. I have no idea what a small amount is, but I do my best with a bamboo matcha whisk and milk I heated on the stovetop. Then it tells me to top with frothed milk. I don’t have a frother, so I make do with whisked hot milk. It does not say how much to use, which really frustrates me. I need better instructions than that.

Anyway, the matcha doesn’t smell like chocolate at all. It just smells like the ocean. That seaweedy generic matcha aroma. After the milk, I sort of smell chocolate, but it’s faint. The resulting tea is tan with green speckles on top. By now, the seaweed smells baked and toasty. The flavor sort of reminds me of Japanese snack mix. Sesame, roasted seaweed, and a creamy note that I guess is the faint chocolate blending with milk.

This isn’t the worst thing I’ve ever had, but I would definitely not buy it again.

Sips By Sipdown!

Been drinking this after dinner this week. I really appreciate lemony herbals these days, especially on chilly nights. I hope my next Sips by box has something caffeine free in it. They’ve been my main supplier of post-work teas lately.

Sipdowns in 2019: 13

Yep, an herbal tea at the end of the day has become a habit.

I’ve almost finished my Teapigs Pick ‘N’ Mix. I’ve got a little chai, a darjeeling earl grey, and this left.

I’m pleased by the sight of the little sachet full of lemongrass and lemon peel. Apparently there is licorice in this, too? I can’t taste it at all. What I mostly taste is ginger, followed by lemon. The ginger has a nice kick to it. Teapigs went surprisingly bold with it. However, the honey I added makes these flavors translate to “cough drop” for me. (Without the menthol, thank goodness.) This would be great if you were sick. You would actually be able to taste it as your sinuses cleared. So maybe it’s not something I’d reach for often at night, but I am still glad I got to try it.

…Oh. I thought by “Strong” they meant strong bergamot. Like Harney & Sons’ Earl Grey Supreme. When I opened the sample, I expected a powerful whoosh of bergamot… but barely smelled any even with the sachets right under my nose. Uh oh.

Turns out they meant that the black tea base is strong. Which it is. It brews up very dark and just looking at it lets me know I’ll need to sip this all day, not finish it before lunch like I usually do with my daily tea. If I’m not careful, this much caffeine can send me spiraling into The Upside Down of anxiety.

Steeped, I can smell the bergamot and it smells pretty high quality. And after a sip, I taste that it is. The exhale is fruity and bracing. This is much better than I expected, despite how almost coffee dark it is. Teapigs has not let me down. It’s a touch bitter, so I recommend adding more water than you normally would. Sure, I will be going back to my usual favorite EG, but I’m enjoying this.

This is from my Teapigs pick ‘n’ mix.

Mmm, apple cinnamon. One of my favorite flavor combinations. It’s hard to get it wrong. And of course, this tea doesn’t. However, the first thing I think of when I smell it steeping is Celestial Seasonings. Zingers in particular. I flash back to being 11 years old, reading at the kitchen table with my after school tea. My respite before homework.

With a little honey, this is lovely. It really does taste like apple pie. Smelling the sweet spice before taking a sip is pretty heavenly. I wish the spices were a tiny bit heavier, but that’s just me. The red apple flavor is natural and holds its own.

I’m really enjoying Teapigs’ herbal selection. I feel I’m starting to change my mind about herbal teas in general. Maybe their gentleness makes them interesting. I get a lot of caffeine during the day. It’s nice to come home and sip something warm that isn’t going to tense me up or make me nervous.

My first tea that is entirely lemongrass. It’s very pleasant.

Comes out to a nice yellowy green and leaves my mouth a little tingly. There’s something to be said about the simplicity of it. Just that clean, calming lemon taste. Refreshing and comforting. Reminds me of springtime…

Makes me want to try growing my own again. (My cat pulled up my last attempt.)

I got this in the Pick ‘N’ Mix box from Teapigs. Probably should have read the box’s description better. I didn’t realize that for each tea you select, you only get two sachets. That’s 24 sachets for $25. Not a good deal at all.

That said, I did end up with four sachets of this. After ice and milk, it comes out pretty generic. I can taste the peppercorns over the usual chai spices, I feel the burn, and it gives a nice caffeine boost. But I’ve had so many better chais than this. There’s nothing wrong with it, of course, it’s just overpriced for the amount you get.

Still, I’ll enjoy it. The cinnamon and ginger at least lend themselves to the fall season nicely. But I know myself and I know that chai in sachets isn’t the best for me. I need a bold experience, and that comes easier with loose leaf.

Wow, the reviews are all over the place for this one. Though it seems most of you didn’t like it. Also, I should note that some of this is 70% off at Teapigs because the batch expires this month. Just a heads up!

When I first smelled the sachets during preparation, I was underwhelmed. They didn’t smell like chocolate to me at all. More like raisins, I suppose. But when the water hit them, I could. It smelled like chocolate and… yogurt? But this blend is supposedly dairy free. Hmm.

The flavor is… odd. Not what I was expecting at all. There is some weird fruitiness that reminds me of a Tootsie Pop sort of. Maybe I’m spoiled from tasting cacao teas lately, but this just doesn’t taste like real chocolate to me. It vaguely tastes like candy. Like super cheap “chocolate” candy. The black tea base they used kind of comes through, but not really. There’s just this yogurty tang to this…

Glad I just got a sample. No thanks.

Got this as a free sample in my Teapigs order. Yay!

From the yellow packaging and name, I got the impression that this would be some cheerful chamomile blend. But it’s actually a spiced, lemony apple tea. It’s lovely and burns a little in a satisfying way. Like gingery apple pie topped with lemon zest. Cinnamon, allspice, turmeric, clove, ginger, marigold and cardamom. That’s a lot of spice and I am here for it. Not enough teas use allspice, I find.

Anyway, this is a warming, comforting tea that’s perfect for fall evenings. It’s like a decadent spiced cider.

So… I used my first Sips By coupon code and got $25 off $50 + free shipping at Teapigs. I couldn’t resist after trying this. It was such a great deal, and enough tea to keep me busy (or asleep) for a long time. And it was so much fun racking up $50 worth of tea.

I chose 2 boxes of this with visions in my head of chilly nights and warm, lemony tea in bed. The only thing I’m disappointed with is the packaging. Once you open the bag the sachets are in, there is no way to re-seal it. So it’s into an old honey jar for these guys.

The remnants of Hurricane Michael are passing over us and it is very warm and rainy, so I made this over ice tonight. It tasted so clean and refreshing. Even cold, the chamomile and lemon balm are still soothing. And of course, you still get the lovely effects of the valerian.

Another from Sipsby. Aww yiss, valerian.

This is the third incarnation I’ve tried of this classic sleepy tea combination. Chamomile, mint, and valerian. Valerian teas always need something to cover up that sour, stinky feet smell. Some companies use lavender. But this company used lemon balm. Also very effective for covering up valerian. Especially with the blob of local honey I mixed in. The chamomile is very noticable in this tea, lemon brightening it up, and the mint on the exhale. It is very soothing. And the effects of the valerian… well, you can’t miss it. I’m not even halfway through the cup and my limbs feel heavier, my seat is comfier, my thoughts are a little slower.

Random, but part of me kinda takes offense to the part of the description about forest bathing. It’s a real thing and actually does help me deal with stress. Maybe keep an open mind, guys…?

However, it redeems itself somewhat with how crazy my cat goes when he smells it. Cats react to valerian the same way they do with catnip. And my gray boy wants to chew those sachets right up.

I adore this peppermint tea! It is the best one I have tried so far. It has a strong mint flavor and a sweet taste near the end which I am incredibly fond of! Best part? I got it for free with my PC Optimum points! Score!

Sampler Sipdown September! Yes, plain mint tea, the most boring choice for a breakfast tea ever. That said, right now I’m kind of glad I got this as a free sampler from a long ago Teapigs order, because I’m on day two of my migraine attack so I’m still still sticking mostly to soothing mint or ginger teas which settle the accompanying nausea. The stomach is actually feeling a bit calmer at the moment (though the headpain is much worse), but who knows, my stomach may be doing so well from finishing off my water bottle of Moroccan Mint tea overnight. I might try other teas later in the day if the stomach-beast at least continues to play nice.

This is at least a very nice mint tea; I remember revisting bagged Bigelow Mint Medley not long ago and was aghast at its red color from the amount of hibiscus added to what is advertised as a plain mint tea… and I’m one of those people that actually likes hibiscus! Just… not in my plain mint tea. That was such a turn off! I don’t mind a little citrus herb added to my mint tea, but otherwise… just no. And this is just plain ol’ peppermint leaf, straight up. Nothing exciting tastewise, but it certainly gets the job done when a strong dose of menthol is needed for the throat or stomach or for whatever else ails you. Mint is versatile that way. Since plain mint tea isn’t the most exciting thing to drink, I add a small dollap of lemon-infused honey, and that is actually quite nice.

These sachets come with nice leafy mint rather than mint that has been pulverized to a pulp, and were surprisingly full, too. Very flavorful. Sometimes you just need mint without the frills.