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I made this earlier while baking snickerdoodles at home. It seems my brother-in-law had no idea what a snickerdoodle was because he kept asking me if they had peanuts in them. Since I thought they were something he’d really like, we decided to bake some. Our cookies were great. This tea not so much.

For me I think the maple syrup crystals sometimes bogs down the tea. It adds a sweetness but a sweetness that sort of sits on top of everything and keeps it all one note. While it was a cinnamon/maple sweetness, there wasn’t much more to it than that and it just seemed like it needed something to break through to round this out. It definitely did not taste like my cookies.

I put the rest of my bag into my swap box because realistically I either won’t drink this or I will literally only be drinking it to get rid of it. So if there is someone who would actually like this or would like to try this, I am happy to share.

Sipdown (315)

For some reason, I felt I needed a third tea while I enjoyed the Game of Thrones episode of Geek Steep. This is another gift from Roswell Strange (thank you!) but I pulled it out because I wanted a “red” tea since I knew they discussed the Red Wedding from earlier conversations with Ros. This is a rooibos tea, aka red tea, called Red Floral Tea. I felt this fitting because not only is it red, but florals in Game of Thrones is related to the Tyrells. Because of that, “Red Floral” had me thinking of Olenna Tyrell who is known for committing one of the most long-awaited murders in the show. And she does it in such an amazing way that really gives the fans what they have wanted for seasons.

Unfortunately, as much as I love Olenna, I did not love this tea too much. I maybe didn’t expect to overly like it because like Highgarden, it boasts floral flavors and those are not normally what I want to drink. When I drink this, I get a lot of the rooibos base, which for some reason is coming off with that weird lotion-y vibe that rancid coconut can have. Lotion-y rooibos and then sweet berry. And flowers. Touch of lavender soap underlying everything. Maybe that’s why I get lotion? Soap + floral + something else is reading lotion in my head.

Ultimately I don’t personally like this, but despite my description above which makes this sound terrible, its an alright cup. The berry notes are stronger than I give them credit for and while they aren’t the best berry notes in a tea by far, they help this tea out a bit.

Thank you Roswell Strange for sharing this with me but also thank you for providing the entertainment I enjoyed while I drank it!

Matcha Latte Sipdown (316)

This was another tea I picked to watch the Game of Thrones episode of Geek Steep. When I first started the episode, I knew I was going to pull out Highgarden but I also have gotten used to having my matcha each morning and I wondered if I had a fitting matcha for the show. I actually was looking to see if I had a rose matcha (I guess I had florals in my mind) but this caught my eye and seemed perfect. For one, it was a gift from one of the Geek Steep creators, Roswell Strange (thank you!! – I am loving exploring these matcha bursts!!), and also, “Winter is Coming” is probably one of the most famous lines ever uttered on the show.

For the matcha itself, it is a combination of chai and earl grey and honestly why? Both are pretty polarizing flavors and for me, I am quite picky with each separately, that the two combined on a potentially grassy matcha base does not seem like the best plan. Watching the episode it seemed more right though since Game of Thrones seemed to be pretty polarizing for Marika and Roswell Strange (i.e. right now they are specifically talking about their views of sexual violence on the show and both have interesting but different opinions on the matter).

So, is this matcha any good? The short answer is not really. It is better than I expected but sweeter than I expected too, which seems out of place. My first sip was a lot of chai spice with a sweeter and more floral bergamot flavor in the end. My next sip had more earl grey flavor, with the spices taking a back seat. Honestly both flavors aren’t bad as far as they go. The bergamot is pretty smooth and the chai spices are nicely balanced – I just don’t know if they should be in the same cup. Somehow the two components + the sweetness are sort of making me think of cinnamon gum and that’s not a flavor that should be coming from a matcha latte in my opinion. So this is better than expected and not necessarily bad but also doesn’t quite work in a way that I would want this again.

Is the Geek Steep episode good? Yes! This is one fandom I am familiar with and it is one that I know well. It’s interesting to hear the different opinions, especially on one of the most crucial moments of the show – The Red Wedding.

Sipdown (317)

I didn’t watch Geek Steep during exams because not only did I want to have time to pay attention to them but I also really wanted to take the time to pick a perfect tea. Interestingly enough, however, this is the tea that I got in my DIY advent the day the Game of Thrones Geek Steep episode came out. Now that I am revisiting the episode, it seemed to make sense to get this back out and finish it off while I enjoyed the episode.

This was an easy pick because it is literally a Game of Thrones inspired tea. Plus it meant I got a sipdown and could take something out of my overflowing one-serving box. This tea is floral, as to be expected, and I think I am getting more jasmine today than I did last time. It is making this more potpourri than the last time I had it and I am enjoying it a bit less. In fairness, I don’t think I was ever the target audience for this and the fact that I have had it before and didn’t immediately put the rest in my swap box says something.

I wanted a tea lemonade and while I considered exploring a new tea for one, I decided to go with a classic.

I was inspired by Cameron B to start drinking from my special box of older teas again. I took a break during advents but now to get back to working on those sipdowns. This tea is the oldest in my stash and 1/2 teas from 2018. It’s actually not a bad tea, just one I have overlooked time and time again for whatever reason. It has a nice blackberry flavor. There is an astringency in the base that does a good job of selling the liqueur aspect of a cordial, but I think that’s what keeps me from reaching for this more often.

Stovetop Latte Sipdown (318)

The best before date on this was early November or December of this year and while it is still very tasty, there is a touch of flavor deterioration. That’s fine though since it just means there is slightly less spice than there originally was, and there originally was a lot so its still very flavorful.

I am sad to be finishing this one because as far as chai goes, this is by far my favourite. It’s just the perfect balance of spice and sweet. And just so comforting on a cold and snowy day like today. It’s got the burn from the ginger and pepper that hits the back of your throat but the honey and anise keeps it sweet as well. It’s just awesome and I am sad that its gone and also sad that it seems Chaiwala has no boxing day sale. In fact, it seems most places aren’t having boxing day sales and if they are, they aren’t great sales.

So we had a blackout for 3 hours starting at 5:38 pm. I know that because that’s the time that was still on the stove when the power finally came back 3 hours later after we finished the dinner that my poor brother-in-law had to figure out how to cook without an oven. Thankfully we have a natural gas BBQ so he went out into the snow and cooked dinner that way. Of course we just finished the celebratory dessert lit by cell phone flashlights and portable bulbs when they came back on.

So with power comes a working kettle and tea. Plus a working frother and it is Christmas after all so an eggnog latte. I grabbed this tea because it seemed festive and though I have never had a yule log, this boasts flavors like chocolate, which tend to do well as lattes.

Drinking it now, its not bad. It is also not very interesting. Honestly, its a standard chocolate-y tea. The sort of chocolate that is like cheap quality milk chocolate that is neither as sweet or creamy as proper milk chocolate should be.

This just tastes like a genmaicha to me. Perhaps it is age since its a year old. I maybe get the slightest hint of a custard-y flavor but I am drinking this along side an eggnog latte and the main flavor in this one is the brown rice.