6444 Tasting Notes
Today’s battle is between two chocolate-ish green teas (sorta): this tea and Mocha Matcha by DAVIDsTEA. Check out the tasting note for that tea here: https://steepster.com/rachel12610/posts/416153
I have actually not tried this tea yet so I was excited when I realized it was one of the random picks made by Roswell Strange.
In recent years, I have decided that even when I love a green tea, I don’t really reach for it often. When picking teas for myself, I usually go to my black tea drawer first or my caffeine free drawer if its late or I just don’t want caffeine. Due to that, I have stopped looking at the pages for green teas and white teas and oolongs on websites because I know its unlikely I would work my way through a lot. That said, sometimes flavor combinations catch my attention enough that I decide to take a chance on a tea despite the base and that’s what happened here. Weird that it did too because I am also hesitant with both chocolate and pear teas since both are difficult to get right in tea. Not sure what happened here but I ended up with 2 oz of this tea regardless.
On first sip am I happy I have 2 ozs? I am not sure. It actually nails pear. Sweet but subtle pear which is pretty true to the fruit. However, with the pear is a weird sort of top note and a touch of cocoa underneath – cocoa, not chocolate. The top note is sort of this artificial/chemical sort of twang. I am not quite sure how to describe it. I don’t love it but the pear is nice enough that I am powering through the mug. Also, I don’t know if anything screams cake to me or if its just sort of sweet pear and some chocolate.
I like mocha matcha as a latte and I am wondering if I should have made both these teas as a latte. Instead I made both plain because I thought that would make for a better comparison – win or lose though, I am interested in trying this as a latte since that might help with the twang…or it could drown out the pear. We shall see…
With all of that said, as a plain tea, this one just squeaked ahead slightly.
Made this as a latte. I think it’s better as a latte than a plain tea. The latte method sort of dulls out the base and brings the spice blend together in a way that’s not muddy. This sort of has a spiced orange cookie vibe to it. It’s good but not something I need more of once I finish the teabags I have left.
This is the second tea in battle oolong. The tasting note for the other tea, Milk Oolong by Asiatica, can be found here: https://steepster.com/rachel12610/posts/416111
This is a very different oolong when compared to Milk Oolong. Both are good in their own way though. Where the Milk Oolong is focused on the milk component, this is focused on the muscat. That grape flavor builds on the base tea, which like the Milk Oolong is floral but neither coppery or drying. So both are very good. This is a little darker in flavor since grape is a little heavier and more syrupy than milk. Again, this battle boils down to my mood I think and both options are good.
I ended up flipping a coin because they were close and I was indecisive. Milk Oolong won.
Today’s head-to-head battle is a battle of the oolong teas: this tea vs Muscatel Oolong by Lupicia. Both teas in this battle came from Roswell Strange so thank you Ros for both and the fun chance to get to compare them!
This one I have had before. I recall being slightly disappointed by it because I compared it to other milk/cream oolongs that are much sweeter and more creamy. Today, however, this is really good. It’s so smooth and definitely creamy, it just is not like a vanilla custard – which is why I preferred the other milk/cream oolongs. The base is a bit floral but its not coppery or drying at all so I don’t find it detracts from the milk component of the oolong.
Both were basically on par. It came down to a coin toss and this tea won. Check out the tasting note for Muscatel Oolong here: https://steepster.com/rachel12610/posts/416114
Turns out I did not add this tea or any of the teas from my December My Tea Box subscription box to Steepster. So this has now been added so I can talk about how it compares to Bird and Blend’s Mulled Cider. Check out the note for that tea here: https://steepster.com/rachel12610/posts/416046
The two teas are honestly pretty similar in flavor. Like either could substitute for the other. If I really had to pinpoint a difference, I would say the Bird and Blend version is a little heavier on the clove and spice while this rests more on the apple and other fruits in the mix. This tea has cranberry and elderberry in the mix, which the Bird and Blend does not. The cranberry is a nice addition for sure as it builds on the apple to make it a more rounded fruit flavor that ties better with the hibiscus. The elderberry gives a nice berry top note that is not too sweet and steps in nicely to replace the citrus top note of the Bird and Blend version. Also, this blend does not have ginger in its ingredient list while the Bird and Blend one does. That said, the ginger doesn’t come through much in the Bird and Blend tea so its absence isn’t really standing out here.
Honestly, either way, you get a spiced yet fruity drink that would keep you warm on a cold night and satisfy a mulled cider craving for sure.
This is not part of Mastress Alita’s sipdown challenge tournament but I noticed I had two Mulled Cider teas (this one and Hot Mulled Cider by My Tea Box) and decided to try them side-by-side to determine which is better.
This one I have had before and enjoyed. When put next to the My Tea Box tea, I noticed it had smaller ingredient pieces and more spices. It also brewed a brighter red/pink than Hot Mulled Cider and was a touch cloudy vs. the other which is more clear.
Today this is a lot of hibiscus and clove. The apple and cinnamon undercuts the hibiscus tartness though and sort of lingers just under the surface. It also has a citrus top note that sort of perks everything up. It’s fruity. It’s spicy. It’s a good alternative for mulled cider. That said, a good alternative to this is the My Tea Box version. My tasting note for that tea can be found here: https://steepster.com/rachel12610/posts/416047
This tea vs. 52 Teas Chocolate Éclair for today’s battle. Check out the note for Chocolate Éclair here: https://steepster.com/rachel12610/posts/416040
Chocolate Eclair is a little more complex but does capture eclair nicely. This, on the other hand, is a simple marshmallow black tea. However, what it does is deliver marshmallow black tea so perfectly. A little sweet. A lot fluffy. Plenty smooth. Tiny touch of breadiness and malt from the base.
These teas are a close call and honestly I think it all boils down to the mood I am in – do I want chocolate more or do I want marshmallow? Today, I am feeling marshmallows over chocolate so What the Fluff took the win. Both are great teas though.
Today’s teas that are going head to head in my sipdown efforts are this tea and What the Fluff, another 52 Teas blend. Check out the note for that tea here: https://steepster.com/rachel12610/posts/416041
I paired the teas together because they are both dessert inspired and they are both teas I really enjoy by 52 Teas. Because of that, I was confident that paired with any other tea, they would both automatically win. So, I thought it would be fun to put them against one another and decide which of the two I prefer.
This has more cocoa flavor than my usual cups of this but its still really nice. It really does capture éclair but with the additional cocoa, this is more like an éclair filled with chocolate cream. And its not a sweet milk chocolate, but specifically cocoa. I guess I was craving sweet though because the marshmallow squeaked ahead today and I think that was purely based on my mood.
Thank you Sil for sending more of this my way!
Latte Sipdown (291)
This was always alright as a plain tea and while coffee teas always go awry for me as lattes, I wanted to give this a try. It’s actually pretty good. I always worried about the rooibos base because that seems to be what causes issues, but as a plain tea the rooibos wasn’t problematic and same goes for the latte. This is a lot of mocha flavor but with vanilla notes as well. The sweetness of the maple comes through nicely without being overly maple. I think as a latte this actually captures tiramisu well and I regret not making it this way from the start. It’s a great goodbye though and I’ll be upping the rating from 61 slightly.
Second tea of the battle of the caramel teas. Check out my review of the other tea, Caramel by TeaG here: https://steepster.com/rachel12610/posts/416011
This one and the other are actually quite similar. This one, however, has a bit more of the black tea base coming through. I don’t love Bird and Blend’s base, though its not bad so it doesn’t ruin the tea. What it does do is take away slightly from the caramel notes at times. Other times it heightens the caramel. Honestly it was a close call but with the base peaking through, it can get a touch astringent sometimes and that’s why this one lost.
