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This coconut tea came to mind since its from 2018 and mostly I was just worried about this being rancid. Thankfully its not. However, with age, it also is not much else. It’s some coconut and a bit of baked bread from the black tea base. So, coconut cream puff? No. But it’s not bad. I’ll be having this again shortly though just to finish it off since time is not on its side.

Sipdown (317)

I got this in a March 2018 SipsBy box and it just never seemed like something I’d like so I kept looking it over. It also is meant to put you to sleep and I usually noticed it midday when I wasn’t looking for that potential effect. Then, when I did want a sleepy tea, this never came to mind. Unfortunately, this has been overlooked so often that it’s passed its best before date (January 1, 2019) by more than a year.

After making Night Owl though, which is supposed to be highly caffeinated, this caught my eye. I highly debated about just taking the sample and passing it on since the ingredients of Meadowsweet, Catnip, Thyme, Lemon Balm, Calendula, Heather, Valerian have absolutely no appeal to me. Curiosity got the better of me so I begrudgingly brewed up a small cup. It’s fine and almost minty with some nice lemon but the other more herbal notes are definitely not for me as I suspected so the rest of this is being passed on.

Sipdown (318)

When I did my inventory, this was one of 5 teas from 2016 aka one of my oldest teas. 4/5 of the teas had best before dates and of the 4 dates, this was the one that had the earliest best before of August 2018. So, it went on my list of teas to drink.

This evening I decided I wanted a latte and I honestly believed this would have coffee beans and have that sort of chocolate or vanilla coffee profile. I guess I thought it was named “Night Owl” because it helped keep you up at night. However, this actually is a mix of black tea, elderberries, hibiscus, and raisin. Honestly that could explain why I haven’t reached for it all these years. Nothing in that ingredient list is particularly appealing on its on so as a combination, its just a mix of meh,

I went in not expecting much and I came out not really sold on it. It is potpourri like because there is a floral/dry that pops up mid-sip and follows through into the aftertaste. I do get some raisin if I look past the astringency and a dark berry kind of not but honestly, it’s a mediocre black tea at best.

I made this as a matcha milk in my sister’s hot choc and froth machine. Unlike my milk frother, there is no option to froth and keep the milk cold so it was a warmed matcha milk which still worked quite nicely. This really does taste like vanilla cake frosting and while it can separate out slightly and be a touch chalky in the finish, the cup up until that point is worth it.

Grandpa Style Sipdown (319)

I was too lazy to actually watch timing while making this so I decided to follow Roswell Strange’s lead and have this grandpa style. I took a couple sips while listening to my lecture. However, I remembered I hate that because I hate having to filter the leaves through my teeth. So when I stopped listening to my lecture, I decided to strain out the leaves and just drink this normally.

The one nice thing about this is it doesn’t get bitter or astringent from oversteeping. It’s smokey, which I wasn’t expecting, but from my old tasting notes it seems like I’ve experienced that before. It’s sweet too, honeyed with some stonefruit. It’s okay and I feel like the hotter sips were better than the sips I am having now that it cooled.

Cold Brew Sipdown (321)

Breaking my lemon streak with a cold brew of this tea from Roswell Strange, thank you! It is tart, but nicely so, as I listen to an Administrative Law lecture and attempt to be somewhat studious.

There is no pie aspect but cherry is strong. It’s refreshing and if I were ordering from Floragold, I might grab this. Though it’s not earth shattering. Still makes for a nice cup though.

Sipdown (322)

This is one of the older blends in my stash that came to me via my swap with Evol Ving Ness back in 2017. It seems like I have never really loved it and this cup is no exception. It just seems to lack flavoring which is leaving me really underwhelmed. It maybe has some cinnamon but that’s faint. It could be age so I am not going to rate this one but I also will forget about it really soon. Thank you Evol for sharing though since it is always nice to get to try new things.

Apparently I was craving lemons yesterday when I decided on my teas for today seeing as this is the third tea today and it is the third with a lemon component (Frozen Raspberry doesn’t itself have lemon but I know it is made w/lemonade).

This is ok. Sweet. Sorta creamy. Mostly lemongrass. I have one more serving left and once I finish this off, I won’t be buying it again. It’s not bad by any means but I can get better interpretations of this flavor profile more easily accessible such as the Lemon Cream Rooibos from the Tea Haus in London or Lemon Meringue from Tealish in Toronto. If I want this, I’ll likely grab those instead. However, if this is more easily accessible to you, it is not a bad option.

Sipdown (323)

I took this teabag and another from work last August and have had both rattling around in my stash since then.

It’s weird because I actually don’t ever drink tea at work. Even when I make tea and take it with me to work, I don’t ever end up actually drinking it other than maybe a sip at the end of the day. If I were to drink tea at work, I feel like it should be caffeinated ones so I guess that’s why I brought home the only two teas I wanted to try from the offerings in the office, both of which are without caffeine.

Yesterday, I was going through my inventory and decided to pre-decide teas to drink today since lately I’ve been finding I stare at my tea drawers, get overwhelmed by my options, and then give up and walk away. This was one of the ones I picked since it would be a sipdown.

It’s fine. Just fine. Decaf is never great (with the exception of Harney’s Vanilla Comoro) and this is no exception. It’s sort of ginger, without the burn. It’s sort of lemon-y but in a lemon pledge sort of way. And its got a random sweetness to it I can’t pin down. So I guess by “fine” I actually mean it’s not particularly good which becomes more and more clear as I drink.

This and Peaches & Cream by Sloane Tea are the two teas my sister owns. Compared to my 320something. DAVIDsTEA won her over on this one with their tea lemonade recipe. Alas, she was prediabetic and now being pregnant, she has been told to be extra careful of her sugars. So, when I made her this tea, I told her we were sharing the 16 oz to limit her lemonade intake.

It does make for a nice raspberry lemonade flavor. Sometimes a touch too sweet given the added sugar but that’s why it pairs nicely with lemonade. This is not something I need to own but a cup every now and then is pleasant.