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Tea #12 from HHTTB2

Ever had steamed green beans with slivered almonds and just a tiny drizzle of butter?

That is this tea.

Vegetal, slightly nutty, and sweet with a creamy mouthfeel.

Tea #12 from HHTTB2

I like seeing chunky pieces in flavored black teas. It’s like. Oh hey! This is what this is supposed to taste like. It somehow also reassures me that it’ll taste less like chemicals. And while that’s not always true, it’s still nice.

There are big chunky pieces of coconut and kiwi in this blend. As well as tinier shredded bits of coconut. And quite a bit of both, honestly.

In spite of all of that, the black base here is simply overwhelming. The black tea is strong and mildly astringent. The coconut lends itself to a thicker mouthfeel, but not much else. As it cools, there is a subtle, natural kiwi flavor that pokes through. Sweetener also helps it along, just as creamer seems to coax out the coconut.

I think, judging how the fruit flavors started popping in the tepid cup, maybe this would be better iced, and perhaps give a better balance of flavors.

Tea #11 from HHTTB2

Light tasting green oolong with subtle peachy notes. The peach is very delicate, but becomes more of a dominant flavor after the second steep. The flavor remains juicy and fresh, however, and never toes the line of gummy candy-like or cloyingly sweet.

I will note, however, for at least the first two, maybe three, steeps there was a dissonant peppery note to the oolong that while not off putting, isn’t exactly good either.

Tea #10 from HHTTB2

I brewed this with 1.5 tsp of tea to 2 oz of water. Then sweetened with a teaspoon of sugar and added in 6 oz of warm milk.

This is really, really smooth. Like liquid velvet smooth. The coconut is sweet and strong, and the spiced are refined. I’m not always really big on chai, but this is oh so good.

Tea #9 from HHTTB2

No berries. No cream. I actually didn’t taste anything past the rooibos.

A woodchip for you! A woodchip for you! Aaaand a woodchip for you! Everybody gets woodchips!

Tea #8 from HHTTB2

When this is piping hot, the strawberry flavor is pretty solid. It’s not terribly artificial, and nothing outstanding, but it’s a tart strawberry flavor that’s relatively true to strawberry and refrains from being candy-like. But as the cup cools, the plastic flavor creeps in until it’s pretty much all I can think about in the sip.

I’m breaking from the box to drink this because I mighta kinda sorta forgot I put this in the fridge to steep on Wednesday night.

Even so, it was still insanely good!

It’s a juicy honeydew with bright lemon notes. The honeydew surprisingly pops more in the cold steep and the lemon mutes. Which was pretty much the opposite of I was expecting. This might become my go to iced tea (at least while it lasts).

Also this is AMAZING:
http://www.google.co.nz/

Tea #7 from HHTTB2

Single estate Ceylon tea was my gateway tea to single estate Darjeelings. I know they’re not really anything alike, but it was kind of a ‘If these are that much better, I wonder what a tea I really enjoy is like’. And I’ve never really looked back. So drinking this now, is kind of like going back to my roots even though I’ve never had this particular tea before.

It’s a very light (tasting) Ceylon, far more delicate than I was expecting (but not in a watered down way). It’s just a touch brisk, with notes of orange and citrus. There’s a little but of floral sweetness I typically associate with Darjeelings. Very clean, minimal astringency, and super smooth. This was a really pleasant and surprising cup.

Tea #6 from HHTTB2

Oof! What a potently bergamot smelling dry leaf!

The wet leaf still smells very strongly of bergamot, but the liquor itself is very much tea smelling with a light berry fruitiness.

The base is robust and strong, but smooth. The bergamot isn’t the most prominent flavor, but it is potent and has a definite citrus bite. And the currant flavor is very good, and not fake. It’s a little like an E.G. with berry flavor. There’s no substantial lingering aftertaste note.

I added a tiny bit of Bailey’s Vanilla Brown Sugar creamer (because it sounded like the most amazing thing ever, and I pretty much begged Fiance to let me get it. It is also unfortunately nonalcoholic), and had a wonderfully decadent cup! It’s like drinking fresh berries and cream. The bergamot is more like citrus noise than a large piece of the flavor. But the tea is more than strong enough to stand up to the creamer and excel. The aftertaste now and incredibly lingering delicious berry happiness. Yuuuuum.

Tea #5 from HHTTB2

According to my friends, I may be insanely picky about my Darjeelings (PFFFT who am I kidding I absolutely am), but even without that kicking in, these leaves don’t look nearly as nice as what I’m used to. There’s also no information on their website regarding origin, so I’m guessing that this is a blend of several estates.

All that said, this turned out okay.

I used my typical Darjeeling parameters (below) and was greeted with a really delicate cup that wasn’t particularly Darjeeling-y. It has that lovely, kind of grapey-fruity, subtley earthy smell, delicately floral smell that I love, but the taste wound up being too much floral with a touch of earthiness and a metallic twang. This would actually be a good Darjeeling for people who don’t like Darjeelings, because the flavor is so light.