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Eggnog Latte Sipdown (289)

This may not go well since I started by pouring a tiny bit of water into the steeper only to realize I didn’t turn the kettle on. So I strained it out and turned the kettle on. I then went about making my latte and just as I finished topping the strained tea with the milk/eggnog mixture, the timer for the tea went off. Which means I strained it before I should of. Just one of those days I guess.

I also made this just as our pizza arrived and I feel like this doesn’t go well with a Greek bruschetta pizza.

Thankfully after my first few sips, it’s good. Like last time, I still agree it’s more chai than butterbeer but this time around I’m getting butterscotch chai. Butterscotch and cardamom: it’s good but not worth the price I paid and definitely not butterbeer.

Sipdown (292)

This is better hot but honestly a solid mint tea any way. It’s got a clear and crisp menthol that pairs nicely with the touch of umami from the green tea base. It’s refreshing and just an all around nice tea.

I am really grateful I was able to share some of this tea with Courtney since while I enjoy it, I don’t reach for it often. I think part of the reason for that is that it doesn’t have a clear flavor profile. Everytime I have it, I need to look up what Copenhagen blends encompasses vs. a tea like Banana Pudding Black Tea or Salted Caramel Oolong. So if there is a particular flavor I want, this is not what comes to mind because the name doesn’t give me much insight into the blend. I guess that’s the power of a name.

This is one of my older teas now and thus it is something I am focusing on. Today I decided to make it iced and it is not my favorite way to have this tea. I am getting a creaminess from the coconut that is nice but that is largely overshadowed by a flat black base and strained fruit notes. There is punches of this astringent citrus and then some mango trying to push past the black base, but its being smothered. I don’t know if this is just the iced prep method or if my first time having this tea was fueled by excitement but either way I am dropping the rating from 80.

Eggnog latte sipdown of my first package but I have a replacement ready to go because I was not ready to say good bye. Unfortunately I didn’t want to open the replacement and this is a bit underleafed which is making for a thinner than usual flavor. Even still, there is a lot of nice pumpkin spice and cinnamon flavor. I am also getting a lot of the cream and vanilla. The black base comes through a lot too and I think that’s due to the underleafing.

It’s almost 1 am. I am listening to a lecture, enjoying a cheese plate and drinking this cold brew from earlier. The first cheese was quite nutty and seemed to latch on to the honey/wood notes of the rooibos base. The second cheese was a creamier cranberry goat gouda so it pulled out the orange notes, which were creamy and sweet instead of bright and sharp. The third cheese was also nutty like the first but much more creamy and it also clung to the orange. The fourth cheese was also creamy – this time its like a super high end baby bel or string cheese and again, it pulled orange. The fifth cheese is a spicy cheddar (that is actually spicy) and it pulls out the honey notes of the base. I have now run out of tea but have more cheeses so I guess I should try this experiment tomorrow with more tea. It was fun to see how different flavors brought out different components of the tea. With that said, there was nothing I would call mousse in this tea.

Sipdown (293)

This came to me from Roswell Strange like all the other Floragold blends. Thanks for sharing!

Today when I was trying to randomly pick teas, I kept getting either orange teas or teas with plum. I decided to steep this up and then because I had orange on the brain, I decided to finally try an orange Julius. My brother-in-law is out grabbing that now so I’m trying to squeeze in this quick note.

I liked the plum part of this. It was juicy and ripe and what I think plums taste like. I don’t eat them often so my memory of them probably isn’t accurate. The jasmine part ruins this for me though. It’s not terrible but the jasmine can be drying and I feel it detracts from the tastier plum notes, rather than complimenting them. Also as this cools, there is a sharp note that cuts right through the plum in a metallic sort of way and I’m not a fan.

Had this iced while enjoying some cheese. The two paired really well.

Talking with a sipdown group on Instagram inspired me to cold brew a tea. Someone suggested an oolong and this tea came to mind. It was a good suggestion because this is a really nice cold brew. I am getting a heavy sweetness, like a combination of fresh pomegranate and blueberry candy. It’s almost syrupy in how sweet it is but by no means thick which keeps it from being cloying. Thank you Roswell Strange for sharing this with me!

Matcha Latte Sipdown (294)

This one smelled really good and certainly has more mint than the caramint did, which I appreciate. It’s also chocolate-y but unfortunately the matcha all clumped together on top so I got a mouthful of powder that was very grassy. Still good to try and would have been better if I didn’t let it sit a bit. Thanks for sending this my way, Roswell Strange!

I made this the other day for someone and it caught my eye today when I was looking for a caffeine free tea. This is really warming and heavy on the spice but also a lot of hibiscus today that’s sitting on top of everything.