Featured & New Tasting Notes

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.

I always wanted to try this one, as I KNEW Lupicia would do a fantastic job with the pineapple. Thanks very much, Cameron B! I also remember Cameron sent over some other Lupicia barley teas years ago, and I loved those. From the first sniff from this teabag, it seems like REAL pineapple juice was just poured over this barley. The pineapple could not be more authentic. And then I just knew it would be so wonderful paired with the rustic, roasty toasty barley flavor. It’s so good. Now I want some of my beloved pineapple pizza. The second steep, I left the teabag in for quite a while, so it was more barley than pineapple, but that’s okay!

As others have, I received this tea from derk. Thank you! Based on the notes I’d read, I wasn’t sure what to expect, but it was on my wishlist, so I knew it would be good or at least interesting.

I followed Leafhopper’s preparation method, using the same water temperature and steeping times. The result? A truly wonderful tea.

A beautiful bouquet of floral notes filled my gaiwan. The tea had a smooth, creamy mouthfeel that lingered pleasantly. It transported me to a foggy autumn day, surrounded by yellowing leaves. I almost felt like I was in the mountains.

Each infusion was perfectly balanced, with a delightful floral complexity that was hard to pinpoint. Later infusions took on an intriguing, forest-like character, eventually settling into a simple, grassy note. Even in its final stages, the tea remained complex and special.

By the fourth or fifth infusion, the leaves had fully unfurled. I longed for a glass gaiwan to fully appreciate their beauty as they floated and expanded in the liquid.

This is an exceptional tea, without a single flaw. I’m so glad I had the opportunity to try it. I saved half of the 8-gram sample, eager to savor it again. It was the perfect, relaxing oolong to enjoy on a stressful day before a job interview.

A change in workplace will mean a move, but if I want to move forward, I must seize the opportunity. Of course, they’ll need to hire me first!

I never liked candy corn, so luckily this doesn’t remind me of it at all. It’s desserty, though I can’t tell exactly what it’s going for – I taste sprinkles? Maybe something like vanilla icing? I removed the marshmallows before steeping. With milk and sugar, this is quite nice! I like it best cold.

The black tea is pretty hearty. Comparatively, the peppermint is a bit mild, but I noticed it in the aftertaste. This is pleasant cold with milk and sugar, but I’ve had better versions of this flavor profile. Some sips are pretty candy cane -like, which is fun. Decently, tasty, though not special.

Sharedown

Gifted to the new padawan! This is a great tea and the flavor is spot on to the name.

I couldn’t resist adding in some teas to my Dammann Freres advent order, and I’ve been curious about this one since last advent season seeing y’all here on Steepster review it so it was top of the list for me in terms of new blends I wanted to try!

I have to say, it made a STRONG first impression. Still a very black tea forward cup, as is the case for the majority of DF’s blends of this style. However, it’s got such a crystal clear creamy yogurt-like flavour with a just ripe mango note – still has the faintest bit of that pine-y resin note but also sweet, smooth and refreshing. The undertones are a little biscuit-y and sweet with that macaron-like nutty confection note but it’s very subtle and I think just adds to the overall richness without this being heavy or cloying or too fruity.

My biggest concern with this tea before tasting it would that it would simply just taste like mango without that very needed creamy component, but that’s not the case at all. I’ve also actually had a non-stop craving for this since finishing my mug, which is a VERY good sign.

Sipdown! (14 | 143)

Just finishing off my 10-teabag sampler box, since I have loose leaf coming tomorrow!

Just a lovely eggnog-meets-pumpkin-pie tea that’s great with milk and sugar. It’s nice plain too, but even better with additions. It’ll be interesting to see how the loose leaf version compares, but I imagine it’ll be even tastier. :)

I finally overcame my laziness and sorted out my account again (I don’t usually use Chrome but Steepster seems to despise Firefox). So… Hi everyone! I hope you have all been doing well :)

It’s fall, which apparently means French teas. Also lots and lots of Earl Grey. I think I meant to get Thé des Sages (should have double-checked my Steepster notes before ordering), but this one is still alright! The bergamot note and general profile is very clean, bold, bright, and floral-fruity – even with milk. Truly the best of both worlds with that assam/yunnan blend as a base.

After a week of sweating and sweltering (we broke record highs twice), the temps turned authentically seasonal overnight and I woke up craving one of the fall teas it’s been too hot to enjoy. This came to mind first.

Some tea blenders don’t make much of a distinction between chai and gingerbread. The spices in this blend are stacked in a way that does make you think of cookies and soft gingerbread. A little orange peel tugs it even more in the pastry direction. Drunk with milk watching the sun come up, it’s just right.

This one smells just foul. Can’t describe it well, maybe a decaying hay or something? Maybe it’s the promised combo of vanilla and violet; but it just doesn’t work well in my mug.

But the taste is not that bad. While I never had a candy cane (it’s not a thing here), it’s something I am pointing on that the most. Peppermint and creamy vanilla and there is nothing like violet in flavour. It’s also very sweet thanks to all the licorice root used.

Happy to try this (as every tea), but nothing I would buy a box of. Not only because of the scent; but also I just don’t need any detox teas. Anyone knows what artichoke is good for as a tea?

Sipdown! (10 | 139)

Finished the last little chunk of this sample off after packing some up to send to a tea friend.

This is just a lovely no-nonsense, super forgiving, easy-drinking white tea that is packed with flavor. Nice satisfying and soothing notes of hay, oats, and autumn leaves, along with tangy apricot leather and a honeyed sweetness.

Would definitely consider picking up a cake of either this or Moon Waffles, but let’s be real, I’d never drink it all LOL. But will certainly reorder some in the future!

additional notes: Just saying the name for this is just so spot on for this entire blend. It STILL — all these years later — just reminds me of the filling in a maple Russell Stovers candy. So good. One of my top blends from 52Teas and there are SO MANY favorites.

I have received (actually bought) a bunch of Italian tisanes from a tea bag collector friend. It has been a while. While the box wasn’t big, I hardly finish some blends. But today, I decided to try one of those sleepy blends (there are many chamomile blends). This contains no chamomile and I decided to have a relaxing tea; while other family members have requested Shanlinxi by Bok (received from Leafhopper — they love it!)

This blend contains a herb I never had before. For ingredients see description; but the herb I mean is California poppy (Eschsholtzia californica Cham.).

The blend doesn’t smell too bad. But after suggested 5 minutes steeping time, the flavour is somehow generic herbaceous (not a surprise though), with bitter finish. That’s strong flaw, however I managed to drink it all; I just expected some orange fruit flavour as orange is there. As there is no licorice root, it’s not sweet at all.

Fine herbal tisane, now I wonder how sleepy I will be and if I sleep well.

Had with oat milk and sugar this morning, and it was lovely. I still think it’s more of an eggnog tea than a pumpkin one, but yummy either way!

I had a Murchie’s cart all ready but hadn’t quite pushed the button yet, but they marked their fall teas (including this one) down by 40% this morning, and the 2-ounce size of loose leaf was already sold out when I looked. So I ended up panic-ordering 4 ounces instead ha ha, and will definitely be willing to share the extra if anyone is interested! :P

Sipdown

October Sipdown Prompt – a tea with an unusual name

This was sent to me a while back by Nicole – many thanks!

Looking at the ingredient list, I decided this was one that would probably be too floral for Ashman, so I saved it to drink by myself. I am surprised there is black tea as well as oolong in here. They are definitely light.

I liked this tea much more than I thought I would, as I thought it would be chamomile heavy and while I WILL drink it for the benefits, it is not a favorite. This tea has tons of floral flavor so it is well named, but the chamomile is very nicely accompanied by the lavender and rose. Those are the florals I taste in order, although the chamomile may be leading more in smell than taste.

The oolong is stronger than the black here and gives the cup a nice base so that you don’t feel like you are drinking a plain herbal tisane.

Got more teas in from Murchie’s, woo hoo!

Unfortunately, this one is disappointing to me. Steeped plain, I didn’t taste any maple at all (though I could smell it). With oat milk and sugar, I do taste a touch of maple. It’s just odd to me because their other maple teas are almost too maple-y for me. As far as the spices go, I mostly taste clove, which happens to be my least favorite ha ha. There is cinnamon and a bit of ginger as well, but mostly clove. It ends up almost reminding me of an orange spice tea.

Bah! I feel like I’m crazy, because other reviewers mention it having a lot of maple… :|

From Cameron B!  Thanks again!  I figured I MUST write a note for this one before autumn is done and gone.  Hopefully not for a while yet. The leaves are looking gorgeous.  The description has me double checking if I have the correct tea!  It mentions spices, and I really don’t think there are spices here.  When they say pumpkin, they might mean an occasional pumpkin seed.  Otherwise, there might just be an occasional bit of carrot.  I think it’s funny the description warns there might be celery here.  That would be a new tea ingredient!  The flavor to me tastes more like a subtle cocoa.  Maybe this is the base tea?   Sometimes I taste pumpkin seed.  hmm.  I wonder if the creators of this tea actually tried it? I don’t think it is what they were going for.   I get nothing of cinnamon, caramel, pumpkin, carrot, spices, as the description notes.  It would be lovely if I did! 
Steep #1 // 2 teaspoons for a big mug // 20 minutes after boiling // 2 minute steep
Steep #2 // just boiled // 3-4 min

Ugh, I had too much leaf for one mug and not enough for two, so I made a giant mug instead and this ended up being an unexpected sipdown. On the up side, I did get two steeps out of it. I’m a huge fan of 52teas’ marshmallow flavor. It doesn’t disappoint here, either. The combo of creamy marshmallow + sweetness + roasty hojicha makes this a really cozy fall blend. I fell asleep drinking my second mug and it tasted great as an iced tea in the morning, too.

Thanks to Daylon R Thomas for this one!  I have had this one a couple times but never wrote a note.  But then I felt bad about that, because I shared some with Michelle but haven’t even written a note yet for a tea Daylon sent over.  It’s just a hard tea to write a note for!  It’s so light tasting to me… I don’t really notice distinct flavors, even with two teaspoons.  It’s mostly smooth and sweet.  The description mentions milk flavor? eh, if they say so… This is a Taiwanese Assam, so it is a variety that I know and love but the flavor here is just lacking, compared to what Butiki or Whispering Pines would offer.  I’m glad Michelle found more to love from this tea!
Steep #1 // 20 minutes after boiling // 2 minute steep
Steep #2 // just boiled // 3 min