Featured & New Tasting Notes

For tonight’s round of “Dare Ya to Dairy,” a sample of a custom Adagio blend that is nearly identical in nature to Foxtrot, minus the mint, plus a little lavender. Contains both honeybush and rooibos, although I couldn’t distinguish between them, even before adding milk. If you like your herbals a little more floral, this might be for you.

I’ve been enjoying the plain cacao, but I don’t like this one quite as much. I taste the fruitiness and a hint of chocolate, but I wish the balance were different. It’s much better cold. Then you can taste the jammy strawberry paired with the pleasant chocolate. It’s good with milk and lots of sugar. It’s like strawberry chocolate milk.

The first time I had this, it was a bit too smoky for me. The second time, I gave it a shorter steep than recommended, which was much better. Then I could taste some fruitiness like rhubarb or strawberry along with the smoky base. But the smoke was much milder and supported the flavor profile well. It was quite pleasant with milk and sugar.

A sipdown! (M: 3 Y: 90)

Another tea from Courtney and I feel sad finishing this tea. As she wrote, it seems to be perfect for morning, breakfast tea. I would even say it’s a bit woody and malty… and if my understanding of Danish is correct, it says (in description), it is from Uva region… so no surprise I like it that much; considering Uva by Basilur… which I like for similar qualities. Maybe this is a bit higher quality… and loose leaf as the other one I tried just bagged.

Very good tea. Now I need to check out Uva region black teas.

This has so much rose in it that I assumed I would hate it. But Anne really knows what she’s doing! This is actually really nice! Granted, I did dodge as many rose petals as I could. I’m drinking this cold, and it’s a bit floral, but that background of black tea is so high quality and nice that I’m not even bothered. It all mixes super nicely with some sugar and milk.

This tea has been my new cold mornings hot cuppa tea, and I’ve really been enjoying it! It has a lovely chocolately aroma with syrupy fruity notes on the nose. Chocolate tea in general can be hit-or-miss for me, but thankfully this one has a very nice chocolate flavor that comes off fudgy rather than oddly artificial or alcoholic, and it blends well with the black tea base which gives some backbone with the mouthfeel and adds a little bit of malty autumn leaf flavor in the background. The berry flavor in this tea is a melange of raspberry, blackberry, blueberry, and cranberry, and I mostly taste raspberry, with some sips getting a little more syrupy cranberry in nature. I’m not tasting the cinnamon that is in the blend, though.

This is pretty smooth, even with a decent steep time, and gives satisfying hot cocoa vibes. The website recommends making a latte with it which I haven’t tried yet, but it is on my list. It’s pretty great just straight-n-plain without the need of anything fancy. I shared some with my coworker and she also loved it! I think this scratches the “chocolate+berry” flavor profile very well while being a bit easier to access (in the US) than, say, Lupicia which has high shipping costs from Hawai’i.

Sipdown! (7 | 150)

From the fall subscription. Trying to finish up these fall teas, as I know the winter box will be coming next month… ^^’

I liked this one more than I expected. I’ve had quite a few iterations of this sort of “mulled wine” flavor with hibiscus and spices, but this might be the best. Maybe it’s because it has some black tea involved, instead of rooibos or pure fruit tisane? The hibiscus is pleasantly tangy without being too much, and the spices are mellow. It’s heavy on the ginger and light on the clove, maybe that’s why I prefer this version. :P

additional notes: Why yes, I AM drinking this while reading David Copperfield on this windy day. I might not have sipped it since the first time I tried it. It’s still just okay…

Sipped this last night.

I enjoy elderflower and linden, so I found it quite pleasant. Those two were mostly all I tasted, though I don’t have a clear concept of what the other herbs in the blend (echinacea, plantain leaf, lady’s mantle) taste like, so it’s difficult to say what flavor they contributed. I do think this blend would benefit from a touch of mint or citrus, just to give a bit of a counterpoint in flavor. Still tasty and relaxing though!

According to my last entry for this tea, I’ve had it for at least 5 years aaaaaaand SIPDOWN! It feels like a slight cheat of a sipdown because I tossed half a serving of the crumbs at the bottom of the tin, but you can’t make a good cup out of that and that’s the story I’m sticking to.

This has been a solid tea to have in my cupboard and I have enjoyed it, but it doesn’t stand out enough in the sea of malty breakfast teas to buy more. I wouldn’t turn down a cup, but I wouldn’t go out of my way to source one either. In the malt I can find notes of light tobacco towards the end of the sip. It holds up well to the addition of cream to tone down tannins. It’s a decent tea.

Steeped a cup of this neglected tea this morning after I realized I’m out of Lupicia’s Cookie and saw they are sold out on their site. I swear I had backups…
Anyway… with a breakfast tea I expect bold flavors that stand up to the addition of milk. I tried that and had to sip half way through my cup to start picking up flavor that the milk diluted. I am getting a bit of candied orange and it reminds me of a lighter version of a Fauchon tea I love. I’m not crazy about this tea and wouldn’t order it again, but I’m enjoying this cup well enough.

Sipdown! (6 | 149)

Since I have some loose leaf of a similar blend now (No. 10), I figured I would finish off this box of teabags. I do notice a slightly papery note from the teabag today, not sure why or what I did differently. Still a nice, easy-drinking blend with a mellow twist of citrus. Will have to revisit this one in loose leaf form if I sip through that No. 10 and still want a restock.

This tea hasn’t aged a great deal yet, but it’s just as tasty as before. It has a complex aroma that blends fruity, nutty, and floral notes with hints of forest and sawdust. The taste is full and pungent. It is bit more on the savoury and bitter side, but also has a mild apple flavour.

The mouthfeel is very thick and oily, and the aftertaste very long and flowery with plenty of returning sweetness and various notes of spices.

It’s election day and I need something familiar and comforting to get me through the anxiety of the day. Since I can’t sleep through it, which would be my preference, I’ll caffeinate!

This tea is tasting like the same experience I had last time I had it. The fruity jam flavors have faded over time and I’m left with a cup of russian caravan. It’s still very nice, both warming and comforting, but has lost that magic I loved. Every 6 months or so I google AQ2T to see if Lauren has made a reappearance or come back tour and every time I’m out of luck, but likely won’t ever give up hope. I’m stubborn like that. It’s one of my better traits. ;)

Tried this with oat milk and sugar this morning, and it was much better. There’s a maple-y note to it, along with the rich toasted chestnut. I do still get a hint of that odd savory/herbal flavor, with the milk it leans a bit more toward fennel than dill maybe. It’s not a bad thing per se, just odd, and I mostly taste it in the finish. I assume it’s just part of how I’m interpreting the flavoring, since I’ve had plenty of their other black teas and never noticed it before.

I’m not sure if this is one I would reorder, since I happen to love Lupicia’s chestnut teas, but definitely a good one to have on hand for the colder months.

November Sipdown Prompt – a tea that reminds you of fall

I have been looking for the email telling me that this is back in stock as it is a seasonal tea. I got an email for fall teas and I checked and I did not see this one listed. Today I got curious and checked again, and there it is.

Now the dilemma is whether to hurry up and order before it sells out, or try to wait for the Christmas teas. They do have the Christmas Collection 2024 page up but it is still empty. Last year I purchased my Christmas teas on November 11, so I think I will take a chance and save Momijigari for that order. If I miss out, it isn’t like I have no other tea to drink…

This tea is my fall go-to to drink alone, because I adore it and Ashman said it was just okay to him. So this one is reserved for my tea alone times. It contains actual maple leaf, if I understand correctly, and has a delightful apple scent. It is so perfect as it is that I do not resteep this one, not even to combine steeps. I don’t want to decrease my pleasure in this one in any way, and the one time I combined two steeps the apple flavor was definitely diminished.

Love love love it

A tea from my blind Farmerleaf sheng shopping spree in the spring.

I was steeping 5 grams in my 125 ml gaiwan with steeps starting 10 seconds and adding 5 seconds increments. Quick rinse.

Oveall impressions are good, there is no astringency, mild sweetness as Marshall Weber notices. I am not that sure about apricots, but definitely there are some stonefruits in flavour. Not overly complex, but great daily drinker for sure. For that price, worth it. Surprisingly long mouthfeel.

This is pretty standard, but it’s a nice version of this flavor profile. It’s a little floral and a bit herbaceous. It’s refreshing cold, but not special.

I love a unique tea blend, and Piper & Leaf definitely have a nice variety of unique blends. So it’s been fun tasting through the couple samplers I purchased.
This is incredibly savory smelling. Smells like oregano soup. Not getting any spices in the aroma.
Tastes savory as well- I’m getting mostly oregano, with some of the dill and fennel. Just a touch of ginger/cloves. Really interesting and not something I’ll drink all the time, but it’s still enjoyable.

I am surprised to see my tasting note for this tea. Maybe the Italian text misled me and I just thought it’s something different.

That note is from 22nd January 2019. Now, it says “6 years ago”. Whoa.

Anyway, I have to agree with my past self. Unnoticeable green tea, fresh orange and little warmth… probably the ginger.

Perfectly suits “hot drink, called tea”. No flaws, but a bit boring.
Will I get more than 2 likes today? :)

Anne very kindly gave me a sample of this in a small order I recently placed. Definitely cola! Very mild cherry and almond.

This sounded interesting based on the description, but I’m mostly just tasting the Assam. There’s a hint of gunpowder I think, but the strong and malty Assam dominates. It’s not unpleasant, with dark caramelized brown sugar and raisin notes, but I guess I was expecting something more nuanced or complex? They claim it tastes like whole grain toast, but not really getting that at all.

Oh well, we’ll see if my opinion changes over the course of the 2-ounce bag!

Earl grey isn’t generally my favorite, but I usually love the 52Teas earl grey blends. This is no exception. The slight creamy, custardy flavor of the creme brûlée combined with the bergamot is delicious.

I might be romanticizing it a little, but you know when you break out a seasonal tea that you haven’t enjoyed in months, and you think, “Well, hello, friend?” Enjoying a long-overdue catch up with this semi-sweet caramel treat, smiling with every sip. It’s not sticky sweet or sloppy buttery. More like a very light coating on a bowl of caramel popcorn.