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Sipdown (228)

As I was pulling out 2018 teas to go into my focus box, I noticed this just had one teaspoon so might as well finish it off. It’s about time apparently because while this smelled delicious and flavorful, it’s mostly just floral from the oolong. Green/grassy and floral with a touch of savory.

Sipdown (229)

This is cinnamon-y but not much else is going on. I blame age b/c this is from 2017. It is not bad but this was never a favorite so I am okay to say goodbye.

Sipdown (230)

Thank you for sharing, Sil. I pulled this out because it seems like my focus box is getting empty so I am adding all the 2018 teas to it.

This is ok. A lot of cacao. Honey. And honeybush. It’s nice enough but not anything special and I am fine saying goodbye after just this sample. There are better chocolate honeybush teas in the 52 Teas inventory.

Sipdown (231)

My giant Dammann Freres advent calendar arrived today and so in order of its arrival, I am finishing off (what I believe to be) the last Dammann tea I had in my cupboard prior to the order’s arrival. To be extra festive, I even had it in a Christmas-themed mug. Check out the picture here: https://www.instagram.com/p/B372an1hEat/

This tea’s best before date passed in April of this year but it is not bad. It is not great either but that’s likely my fault. I don’t hate the base like I sometimes do in fruity French teas and I think that is because the fruits in this, i.e. plum and fig (which may not actually be in the tea but something tastes like it), tend to compliment that more dark/flat base tea (sorry if this is not making any sense). Essentially this is generically fruity but not in a bright or sweet sort of way. It is more dried fruits-fruity, a little less sweet and slightly passed its prime. Again, that latter part may because the tea is past it’s best before date.
I also get some creaminess which was unexpected. I think that is the vanilla coming through.

Voting Day!! It took me almost an hour but I did it. Never has the process been so slow so I blame London. It is done now and I have since returned home and made a latte. Unfortunately that didn’t go as planned either since the milk didn’t seem to want to froth and then I waited too long and the whipped cream melted.

So now I am drinking the maple themed latte in honor of the election but similarly to Adagio blends, I feel like the base used by this company is low quality because the teas I have had from there have all been sort of muddy. A lot of maple flavor but muddied maple.

Sipdown (229)

This was the second oldest tea in my steepster cupboard based on the recently added sorting and it comes from Roswell Strange. This blend is so old, it was sent to me in either 2015 or 2016 as part of the package of teas to be had with certain songs. The song she recommended for this blend is “One Day I’ll Fly Away” by Nicole Kidman in Moulin Rouge.

Bit of a disclaimer – not only is this tea old but it may be overleafed and I got distracted ordering clothes online so by the time I started drinking it, it was cold. Essentially this sample wasn’t treated well so if this note is talking about a garbage tea, it is likely my fault and not a reflection on the tea.

So while this has what is clearly a nice vanilla note to it, that pairs well with Nicole Kidman’s smooth and soft voice in the song, there is just too much lavender for me :( I think the lavender probably stands out more b/c it is cold. While I can definitely see where Roswell was going when she paired this tea and song, I treated this too poorly for it to be an enjoyable experience. Nevertheless, thank you Roswell Strange for the share!!

Sipdown (230)

I get spice in the back of my throat and a red fruits flavor. Nothing special but perhaps that is age. That means this sipdown came at a good time. Dropped from a rating of 80.

1. Does anyone else have problems posting on the discussion boards? I have found it takes forever to post and then usually I get an error message or it just times out without posting. That goes for updating my posts as well which is annoying seeing as a couple weeks ago I went through months of bills to update my spending for 2019 and realized this weekend it didn’t take.

2. I don’t think I actually wanted tea tonight so much as I wanted a hot beverage for a Tim Tam Slam. This seemed like it would serve that purpose well. It did and now I am sipping on this very banana-y tea. I quite like it actually. I could do with less of the white tea base but I guess it is light enough to help the banana come out.

3. Does no one else have this tea? Or is there another page for it?

This is a sweet rooibos. Not bad but nothing special either.

I took one sip, tasted stevia and dumped it. A shame because it smelled awesome.