6444 Tasting Notes
Sipdown (272)
Sil stopped by this morning to do a tea exchange again which is probably why one of the teas she gave me in our last exchange caught my mind today. Also, the mix of rooibos and black tea, which usually I would not care for, appealed to me today because it split the difference between caffeine and the hydration of a rooibos.
This one has a great caramel flavor, though I think I prefer the caramel flavor in their plain Caramel tea vs. this one. Both are nice though. The rooibos comes through slightly in flavor, which takes away from this one for me. It does have a creamy element though, which adds to it. So overall it levels out and I am grateful for the chance to have tried it. Thank you Sil!
Roswell Strange was right when she said I would not be a fan of this one. I’m not. I think I had it before because the package was open but if I did I did not write a note. It’s very rooibos forward with a lot of hibiscus. It’s not creamy. It doesn’t scream Berry to me. I’m passing the rest on.
This one did not appeal to me at all when I saw it in my My Tea Box subscription. Its a green tea with mango and a bunch of herbs. Not really my thing but I figured I should at least try it. Sipping on it now, its fine…better than expected, but still not a favorite. I am tossing it into the TTB.
As for what its like, its got a generic fruitiness to it. It has rosemary, which smelled fairly strong but it rather subtle in flavor. I am happy about that but I suppose others may be disappointed. The base does not contribute much. Instead its a light fruity sweetness with some herbs running along side the fruit. Nothing is too in-your-face and for those that enjoy herbal flavors in their tea, this might even be quite nice.
Sipdown (275)
Thank you for the share Roswell Strange. As far as detox teas go, this was pretty enjoyable. I was a fan of the berry flavor. However, being branded as a detox tea really kills it for me. I am happy I got to try it and it certainly surprised me but I am also okay saying good bye to this tea.
Stovetop Latte Sipdown (276)
This went awry. First I poured milk on the counter when attempting to start making this. Then I poured the chai on the counter when I attempted to strain this. The moral of the story is I should clearly be using a pot with a spout on it…
This is smooth and sweet. If I didn’t know better, I would think it had rose, except its not overly floral. Cardamom is also very present which provides a nice foil to the sweeter notes. Stovetop is definitely the best way to go about these Vahdam chais.
Sipdown (278)
I had a part of the other giant cookie today so I decided to make a plain matcha in honor of #matchamonday but being aware I was about to be in flavor overload. Check out a picture of the cookie/matcha here: https://www.instagram.com/p/CMu9KZWB0oH/
Unfortunately, I don’t actually enjoy plain matcha that much and this is no exception. This is bitter and while I hoped for the best, its too grassy and I am not a fan. It could be me. It could be the matcha. Either way, I was happy to try this and I am super grateful to Roswell Strange for sending this my way (thank you!!), but I do not need more of this.
This was part of the sub box and while it sounds good in theory, I’m reminded again and again I don’t like lavender in my tea. I made this as a latte, as recommended. My milk didn’t froth properly but it ended up being okay for the latte. I love the smell of this tea but it tastes like soap. No cocoa, just soap. This got tossed into the TTB where hopefully a lavender lover will find and enjoy it.
I tried this one tonight as well. It’s too much lavender for me. :(
I still find it so weird that my palate changed from lavender = soap to lavender = delicious. Either way, this is definitely only a tea for those who really like lavender.
Lavender is definitely a strong flavour!
Usually lavender is far too light in teas for me. I’m one of those people that can happily put plain lavender buds in water and steep-and-drink.
I saw Kittenna pulled this out for National Fragrance Day and thought that was such a great idea since it smells amazing. However, I wanted to drink it side-by-side with the Dammann take on the same profile. Check out the tasting note for that tea here: https://steepster.com/rachel12610/posts/416694
The interesting thing to me about these teas are how they both capture the same flavor while being drastically different. This tea is a lot heavier/syrupy and more in-your-face vs. the more light and subtle, but still flavorful, Dammann tea. It’s a stark contrast between the European attitude and the North American one.
This tea is sweeter. It leans more on a caramel candy which is sweeter and chewier than just the flavor caramel. Because of that, the oolong is present but comes second to the flavors. This is less so the case with the Dammann tea where the oolong and flavor are more balanced, perhaps with the oolong being slightly more of the focus. Granted that’s reflected in the very naming of the teas as well seeing as Dammann puts Oolong first whereas this tea is Salted Caramel first.
Both are good in different ways and I think as a plain tea, I prefer the balance of the Dammann tea. That said, the stronger/bolder flavor here, makes this better for a latte as it can stand out among the milk.
Nice, I didn’t have any of the other salted caramel oolongs left for a comparison (I’m 99% sure both have been sipped down). However, my first impression of the DT version was definitely SWEET. I think your two notes nail the comparison on the head, though. As much as I like the DT version, the DF version is likely better because it relies less on the sweetness but was still decadent.
