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This was my final attempt at using the vanilla oat milk. I just mixed some of this matcha and the oat milk but the oat flavor is too much so this got dumped. As did the rest of the milk.

I moved this tea and Golden Arrow into my swap box. They are older teas (November/December 2017) and in larger amounts and I just don’t think I will drink them. This was given to me by Sil as it was a full size package of tea given to us as a sample in our joint order. It’s fine but boring and as far as oolongs go, I find if I want a plain(ish) oolong, its a milk oolong that I am craving. This is not a milk oolong so I just never reach for it. As for Golden Arrow, I could only buy large packages from August Uncommon and I thought I would like it more than I do. However, I have a lot of teas and I would rather spend the time drinking those before they get too old than trying to finish these for the sake of finishing them. If anyone has any interest in either or both of these teas, let me know!

Latte Sipdown (267)

This was a very custardy latte. With a lot of coconut flavor. Some maple in the sweetness so it all flavor notes present and accounted for. With that said, coconut and custard are the two that really stand out.

Cold Brew and Plain Tea Sipdown (268)

So today’s #31daysofHallotean prompt is the tea you’d drink if you could only drink one tea for the rest of your life. I couldn’t pick a specific tea but if I had to, I could probably be ok just drinking black teas. That said, this is not a black tea. It is an old tea that I decided I would finish off by comparing a cold brew of it with the hot tea. And, I set up the cold brew before I realized what the prompt was. So, I have had predominately black teas today but this is my exception and its so I can stick to my plan of having at least one tea from my sipdown box of teas from 2017 each day until I finish them.

This particular tea is another from Evol Ving Ness. Thank you and I hope you are doing alright since its been a while since we have seen you on the site!

I started with the hot tea which had cooled by the time I got to it. It has a generic fruity flavor to it and it’s got a grassy green tea base. Neither of those things are at all unique in a tea, nor are they really that interesting to drink.

The cold brew is more of the same. It actually might even be more grassy and drying. This one just isn’t for me. And it seems I have had it before and didn’t love it. Still, it is always nice to revisit things since tastes change so thanks for that chance, Evol!

I came into this not knowing what a honey butter cookie is and thinking it sounded really good. And then I was pleased to read that even when Anne made this, she didn’t know what a honey butter cookie was. So it’s nice I am not alone there.

Because I didn’t know what a honey butter cookie was, I didn’t know what to expect from this tea. Also, I kept reading this as cookie butter, which I have had and is definitely not what is being emulated in this cup. But, because I was thinking cookie butter, I was expecting more of a sweet cookie butter-like punch of flavor. This tea is not that. It is softer and less an explosion of flavor, like a butter cookie.

It does have sort of a butter cookie vibe to it. Also a little underlying citrus I think. Maybe getting a touch of honey but that is more a honey note that you get with a black tea than the actual flavor of honey (hopefully that makes sense to people who are not me).

Thank you for sharing this one, Evol Ving Ness! I had it iced today with our steak dinner and was worried since a lot of people said this was very floral, like potpourri. However, this sample is almost 3 years old in my stash, plus however love Evol had it before that and maybe age helped it mellow out. It’s floral but floral the same way lychee is, not overly floral. And the black base tea is a little sharp which dials back the floral nicely. It went surprisingly well with the meal because it provided a sweet counter to the savoury food.

I brewed it for 2 mins and 45 seconds in 200F water.

I made this and drank it rather quickly just before heading out for a walk. It was nice but also a touch coppery/astringent.

Sipdown (269)

This tea has always been a decent cup but nothing beyond that. It is just sort of a solid option but a boring one. So while each cup I had was enjoyable enough, I am also perfectly content saying good bye. Thank you teakruthi for the chance to try it!

This smelled awesome but I made it as a latte with the vanilla oat milk and that flavor just took over. The oat reads cardboard to me and that just ruins it. This got dumped but I’ll be trying the tea again.

At least it looked pretty: https://www.instagram.com/p/CGwIzVqgymK/?igshid=1aey0i01oeui5

I think I’ll make a matcha milk with the oat milk and that’ll be my last ditch effort to see if I like it. Otherwise the rest will likely be dumped.

I have 6 teas from 2017, this being one of them. I gathered them all into a box and decided that before I can enjoy my other teas, I will have to have a cup of one of these teas. This particular teas I have a lot of so it will take time to work through. Figured I would get started.

This tea is fine. Smokey and leathery but fine. It doesn’t have much going on beyond that though. Perhaps its age is at play. Though the last cup I got toffee and that’s not happening here. Honestly, this may find its way into my swap box since it’s alright but I just don’t really want to drink that much of it…