6444 Tasting Notes
Sipdown (283)
Today’s #31daysofhallotean prompt is to combine two unlikely teas. Personally I don’t know if this combination is unlikely but I thought of it due to the latte I had the other day. I wanted a salted caramel latte but instead went with a banana pancakes latte when I realized I didn’t have enough of the former. Today I thought those two flavors could be good together so I gave them a mix.
They go fine together. Sort of a weird smokey caramel banana flavor. That sounds nice but it is topped by a metallic quality and the floral oolong. Underneath is a dense black tea, which I think is the “pancakes” coming through. It’s all a bit flat.
Like my last combination of cotton candy and lapsang souchong, I just can’t seem to get flavors to pop.
Sipdown (284)
This is one of the oldest teas in my stash, dating back to November 2017.
I had a warm cup of it last night and finished off the last serving today, though it got cold by the time I got around to drinking it.
It is definitely better hot. Smooth and milk. It also is nicely creamy without being an actual milk oolong.
I have been off pancake teas for a while so despite this being a banana tea by 52 Teas, it has sat in my stash sealed since December 2018. That is until I decided to use it for a tea latte yesterday. Initially my plan was to use Salted Caramel Oolong by DAVIDsTEA but I don’t have enough leaf for a latte. Upon that realization, I had to find something else and noticed this in the focus area. Since I intended to top it with caramel syrup and whipped cream anyways, it seemed like a good pairing.
I ended up topping this latte with chai sprinkles instead of caramel syrup. It was really tasty at first but I finished the toppings first and then it was mostly just pancakes with some banana flavor and a hint of maple from the sprinkles. It was creamy from the prep method but that pancake element, while amazingly accurate, is just not appealing to me these days.
Tea lemonade Sipdown (284)
This is ginger, then rooibos, then peach. All on a lemonade base.
I don’t love it but here the rooibos adds a honey that makes for an interesting transition flavor between the ginger and peach. The peach is what lingers and it’s actually an interesting balance between the more sweet/fake peach rings flavor and the hint touch of tartness of a real peach. I just wish the rooibos was less present.
Also, I don’t think I need more of this.
Apparently I added none of the Dollar Tea Club teas from April to my steepster cupboard, including this tea. So now they are added and I am back to 285 teas.
I pulled this tea out because there is another Instagram monthly challenge being hosted for October. The #septembersipdown challenge was great for getting me to drink teas I might not have otherwise had. I ended up finishing 39 teas, which was good progress. With that said, I am not as much a fan of the October prompts so I may casually follow along without committing to daily posts.
For the October challenge, called #31daysofhallowtean (hallotean?), today’s prompt is Fall Friday. Apparently Fall Friday is a series that this challenge’s host has been doing since August. I have seen it but unlike #teatogethertuesday, it was unclear what Fall Friday actually entailed. Today she had an instagram story saying that today’s Fall Friday prompt was Fall CHAI-day. And that is how we got to me pulling out this blend.
It is a unique take on a chai in the sense that it has lemongrass in addition to the more typical chai flavors. It’s not fully unique since I have seen this done numerous times before but also not your average chai. Personally, I find this feature to be a little annoying because in my mind chai should be made with milk but for some reason I am hesitant when I see “lemon” in the ingredient list…even when it is “lemongrass”. So I made this as a plain tea and fully expected to not really like it.
It’s ok. Better than expected. Nothing is really overwhelming, flavorwise, but it also isn’t a muddied mess of spice. It has balance of fresh and spice but in a middle-of-the-road sort of way.
