336 Tasting Notes
Ashmanra’s Sipdown Challenge | December 2023 | A tea with a red ingredient
This is a bit of a stretch, but I swear some of the freeze-dried plums in this blend look red!
For whatever reason, I could never get this one to work for me… it’s a smidge bitter and muddled. Which is a shame because it’s such a fun concept, and it’s just chock full of fruit pieces. Maybe I should have cold-brewed it or added some sweetener?!
2023 sipdown count: 57
Flavors: Bitter, Sour, Stonefruit
Homemade Advent Calendar from Arby: Day 6
This is a straight chamomile from London Tea Company, and I’m too tired to make a listing for it. XD It’s fairly mild, with just a bit of the mustiness I associate with chamomile.
I’m trying to calm myself because it’s been a stressful day in about a zillion ways aaand I’m prepping to head out of town for a long weekend. I can’t say the chamomile is helping, physiologically speaking, but it’s a pleasant nighttime cuppa nonetheless!
(Also, I just realized that the last time I used the Random Steepings listing was for… a chamomile teabag during the homemade advent swap last year. :D Funny!)
Homemade Advent Calendar from Arby: Day 5
Huh! This one is kinda wild. The ingredient list had me unsure what to expect. The dry leaf smelled… strange. Kind of like slightly stinky feet, but not aggressively so? Maybe feet that are on their way to requiring a good scrubbin’ but aren’t there yet. Brewed, the tea has a whisper of juicy, fruity bubblegum with a slight note of cream to buoy it. There’s also something sliiightly earthy or mossy. And it doesn’t smell like feet at all!
I don’t know how to rate this one. I’ll have to try it again before I can commit. But it sure was fun to try!
Flavors: Bubblegum, Creamy, Fruity, Juicy, Moss
Ashmanra’s Sipdown Challenge | December 2023 | A flavored black tea
I snagged this one from the Strange VariaTea TTB a few months back and I’ve really enjoyed it. It has such a delightful candy apple flavor! Not super sophisticated or nuanced, just… fun.
2023 sipdown count: 56
Flavors: Apple, Candied Apple
Homemade Advent Calendar from Arby: Day 4
A green tea blend came out of the box on my random pull this morning, and although I fully intended to drink it, suddenly it was 6:30 p.m. and too late for anything caffeinated. Soooo I chose this one instead.
I’m a sucker for all things creamy peppermint, and butter mints are very nostalgic for me, so this tea is always going to be welcome in my household! I’ve had this one a few times before and it definitely hits the spot. A very calming and pleasant nighttime treat.
Flavors: Creamy, Peppermint
Yum! I like Twinings’ Christmas candy cane mint blend (can’t remember the exact name at the moment), so this has got to be close and equally good.
I think it’s Peppermint Cheer?
My local grocery used to carry this and I was in love, and then they stopped, and then I was heartbroken.
Yes, Peppermint Cheer, and a good reminder to dig through my random stash (um, er…) stashes of bags, because I may have a handful left!
Ashmanra’s Sipdown Challenge | December 2023 | National Cookie Day: Drink a cookie-flavored tea!
My recent Simpson & Vail order added quite a few cookie-inspired teas to my stash, but none of them were ready for a sipdown. So instead I’m going cookie-adjacent with this blondie-inspired tea! I brewed up a nice personal pot using the remaining leaves and am enjoying it with some Biscoff cookies as an afternoon snack.
I still really love this one. It’s such a comforting, cozy cuppa. Today I’m tasting a bit of woodiness I didn’t notice in previous cups, which is a nice counterbalance to the sweet maple and apple notes. Just such a perfect autumnal tea. <32023 sipdown count: 55
Flavors: Apple, Maple, Smooth, Soft, Sweet, Woody
Nice! Mine wasn’t an actual sipdown. I am having to dig around to find things that are even close so I can get a few sipdowns in this month but I know I won’t make my goal for the year. I am closer and have cleared some of my oldest teas so that is satisfying!
It’s great to say goodbye to some of those old ones!
Ashmanra’s Sipdown Challenge | December 2023 | A tea you drank at the beginning of 2023
Oh, my. I’ve really fallen off on my sipdowns in the past few months. I’ve just been so incredibly busy. But! December actually promises to be a much less hectic month. I’ve got just 2.5 weeks of classes left for the semester, and that’s really my biggest timesuck outside of work/internship. I hope to enjoy lots of quality tea-drinking time in the weeks ahead.
Anyway, I first drank this tea back in February, so it seems like a good fit for this prompt! I really enjoy this one. There’s a lot going on, but that just means each sip is fun! :D
2023 sipdown count: 54
Flavors: Licorice, Licorice Root, Marshmallow, Root Beer, Sarsaparilla, Star Anise
Homemade Advent Calendar from Arby: Day 3
I pulled a caffeine-free fruity tisane from the box this morning and drank it this evening while taking a relaxing bath. :D I should note that the tea Arby sent is from Banff Tea, but the blend is pretty identical to this listing, so… I’m using it. This blend also has Saskatoon berries, but they’re not an ingredient on Steepster.
So this could’ve been fun and interesting if not for the hibiscus. It’s just so strong and tart! And it’s a shame, because I can tell there are some neat flavors here — the herbal blend reminded me of like, aromatic bitters or some kind of herbal digestif. Which is, generally, a flavor family I really enjoy… when I can actually taste the different elements.
I think I’ll try cold brewing, because I bet that will temper the hibiscus and let some of those other flavors shine.
Flavors: Bitter, Citrus Zest, Herbaceous, Herbal, Tart
Homemade Advent Calendar from Arby: Day 2
I really enjoy violet as a flavor but I rarely remember to dig out the one or two violet teas in my stash, so I was pleased when this one emerged as my random selection today. And I was equally as pleased once I steeped it up! It was straight-up violet at first, but as it cooled, a bit of creaminess emerged to round it out. I only got a hint or two of chocolate, but I think I’m OK with that. All in all, I enjoyed this one!
Flavors: Chocolate, Creamy, Violet
Homemade Advent Calendar from Arby: Day 1
IT’S ADVENT SEASONNN! My life is severely overbooked and the obligation to drink + review too many teas will stress me out, so I’m keeping it conservative this year: I did the Steepster homemade calendar swap and got the 52Teas 12 Days of Christmas box. (Aaand then I was #teafluenced by CameronB to pick up the adorable Tea Thoughts stationery advent, so that will be arriving soon.) But I love reading advent reviews and seeing what everyone’s up to, so I’m excited!
Anyway, day 1! Arby’s teas aren’t numbered, so I decided to pick randomly. (Although I did let myself choose a second blend when the first pick was caffeine-free… morning tea requires caffeine!) So now I’m starting with this very seasonally appropriate green blend.
The taste is a bit weak compared to the citrusy sweet scent of the blend, but it’s not bad. I’m not really picking up fruitcake vibes — more like a creamy citrus? — but it’s pleasant enough. Interesting that the coconut doesn’t really come through in taste, though it does provide that sort of creamy backbone. Then there’s a slight zing from the cranberries, though I wouldn’t mind those being a bit stronger!
Flavors: Citrusy, Cranberry, Creamy
How long did you steep it? Cold brewing is often a good idea, I find that it will soften any bitterness that I experience with a tea, but I didn’t get bitterness from this blend when I hot brewed so I’m wondering what your parameters were when you steeped?
Also, with just about any flavored tea, a teensy bit of sugar will often help define the flavors. The flavors are primarily soluble at the “right temperature” of water (which is why I recommend allowing a tea to cool for a few minutes, this helps the flavors “activate”). They are often also soluble with natural sweeteners like sugar or honey (although sugar tends to be better to bring out the flavors). I always test a tea with both sugar and without. When the flavors come out on their own without sugar, I make note of it in my testing notes (which can be found on the tea listing on my website under “serving suggestion”). Otherwise, I do make a note that a little bit of sugar will enhance the flavors. Generally, I only add a little less than 1/2 a teaspoon to any 12oz cup of tea, because I tend to prefer my teas unsweet.
I want to say I brewed it at 205 for 3 minutes, then let it cool a bit? I may have overleafed it because I wanted to finish the bag, though! XD
Hmm – well, it may just be that this flavor didn’t work for you. I’m sorry! In the future, if you encounter something that doesn’t work for you and you followed the suggested brewing parameters (which I believe you have here in this case!) a teensy bit of sugar may help to not only soften the bitterness but also help the flavors shine.
When I do my taste testing, I test first without sugar, and then I test with a little bit of sugar (usually a little less than 1/2 a teaspoon per 12oz of tea) – in most cases, this little bit of sugar will enhance the flavors because as I stated before, the flavors are both water and sugar soluable. Quite often, the water temperature will bring out the right flavor, but with some teas, a little sugar will help encourage it to be more flavorful. I haven’t tried other sweeteners (such as low calorie/sugar free options) because I simply do not like them, and in the case of aspartame, I’m allergic. So, I’m very thoughtful of when I sweeten, I don’t generally sweeten my teas. But occasionally, I’ll find something that is just a little bit better with a bit of sugar, this is generally with a dessert-y type of tea (because desserts are supposed to be sweet, I suppose!)
Aw, there’s no need to apologize! It wasn’t the most mindful brewing process on my end, honestly. I’ll try a smidge of sugar next time!