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Ashmanra’s sipdown challenge – August 2023 Tea #8- Your most refreshing tea

Not a sipdown but wanted to post this tasting note representing one of my most refreshing teas!  It’s such a dang good blend.  I’m glad I stocked up. The coconut isn’t rancid yet?!?!

additional notes: ah, this still holds up as a favorite. Rich, dark chocolate and dark in general, but with this bright quality that swims throughout. It’s a perfect balance! So so good. I’m raising the rating from 96. (I think I raise the rating every time I have it.)

additional notes: I just have to raise the rating from 78 in this note! I think it’s one of my favorite fruity no-caffs. It’s so refreshing and there is no room here for hibiscus. Doesn’t need it! It’s like cherry juice.

From Daylon R Thomas!  Thanks so much!    I’m thrilled I get to try some of these Trident teas that Daylon introduced Steepster to a while back.  The leaves here COULD NOT look more delicious:  Mostly black with the perfect amount of gold leaf, not only is each piece of leaf twisting around itself, but all of the leaves twisting around in a lovely mess in the pouch.  It looks like the perfect black tea.  From Nepal!  The flavor is sweet, malty, honey, a bit of sweet potato but also like little summer squashes — mostly reminding me of a light Chinese Yunnan, but not too light!  The second steep almost tastes like a lighter traditional Assam, even though this is not Assam.  From the look of the leaf, I’m shocked they compare this to a Darjeeling. Then I re-read Daylon’s note and he compares this to Darjeeling and a Chinese black.  I bet this tasted more like Darjeeling a year ago, and now those flavors might be muted. 
Steep #1 // 2 teaspoons // 18 minutes after boiling // 2 minute steep
Steep #2 // just boiled // 3-4 min steep

Ashmanra’s sipdown challenge – August 2023 Tea #7 – An impulse buy tea

This will fit for the “impulse buy” prompt!  But to me, if I buy any tea, isn’t it ALWAYS an impulse buy??  Lord knows I don’t NEED to buy more tea.   I really liked my sample I bought a couple years ago and this new harvest seems the same.  How could I not love this one?  Assam, Keemun and Yunnan are some of my favorite black tea types and when they combine with Darjeeling 2nd flush, they all just really mingle in a really unique flavor combination.   And the name is perfect for this blend!  Glad I bought another two ounces.

Ashmanra’s sipdown challenge – August 2023 Tea #6 -August 25 – National Secondhand Wardrobe Day

Let’s be honest — MOST of my teas arrive by secondhand.  This one teabag sample is from Cameron B very recently!   Thanks so much!  Always willing to try ALL the Lupicia lovelies.  This is a flavored black.  Right away I taste strawberry and their champagne flavor.  But I’m wrong!  The description doesn’t mention strawberry or champagne.  More like guava and other fruits: mango, papaya, and even rose is on the list.  What the heck.  This one blindsided me here.  Though I hear guava is like strawberry. At least there is no noticeable  hibiscus.   The base is a little bland this time around though. The second steep seems even more like a strawberry jello type flavor, maybe due to the fruit flavors blending.  Possibly more rose. Maybe lychee or starfruit, but those flavors aren’t supposed to be there.  I’m guessing all the wrong tropical fruit!  I’m happy I was able to try it, but I don’t think it’s a Lupicia favorite.  By chance, I’m also wearing secondhand clothes, as I do most days, mainly because I’m much more a fan of the older style jeans than the newer jeans, so I buy a lot of them on ebay.  I would like to take a poll and guess us Oregon Trail gen kids like bootcut jeans?  Maybe it’s just me. :D
Steep #1 // 18 minutes after boiling // 1 minute steep
Steep #2 // just boiled // 3 minute steep
2023 sipdowns: 79

Another sample from Cameron B! Thanks so much! One teabag, one more sipdown!  Oh this blend sounded complex and well thought out.  I was trying to think of an appropriate movie to watch while drinking this, as the description mentions “your favorite princess movie”.  And really, the flavor here really does seem extremely fitting for a princess theme.  I couldn’t think of a resulting flavor from a tea that would more scream PRINCESS. And it’s hard to describe why!  It’s all fruit sweetness.   Mostly rhubarb with a hint of coconut, which reminds me of a Dammann Freres rooibos blend.   I definitely wouldn’t mind stocking up on this to be yet another tea available for a rhubarb choice!
Steep #1 // 20 minutes after boiling // 2 minute steep
Steep #2 // just boiled // 3 minute steep
2023 sipdowns:  78

Thanks again to Cameron B!  One tuocha to sample, so this is a sipdown!  This is one of the tiniest tuochas I have ever seen.  And judging by the flavor, I don’t think I have had this one before, including from another tea shop.  The wrapper is plain white tissue paper and looks like a bird nest.  1999 is quite an old tuocha!  The earthy richness is apparent even before the water hits the tuocha, which is why I had to double check the label on the tea to see if it was ripe or raw when the first brew was so so light.  Really, the only flavor was a slight BBQ smoke and the tuocha in the infuser was barely different in appearance, no unraveling.  The second steep takes off and the flavor might be the DIRTiest puerh I have ever had.  (That’s a good thing IMO. )   The third steep was even richer, but then the fourth had kind of weakened, even with a 10 minute steep.  Overall, happy to have tried such an old one!  But the size of the tuocha doesn’t really lead to as many steeps and as much complexity in flavor as I would like, never really escaping that full dirt flavor.  I’m honored this tuocha waited around for me though. :D
Steep #1 // 20 minutes after boiling // 3-4 minute steep
Steep #2 // 10 minutes after boiling // 5 minute steep
Steep #3 // just boiled // 5 min
Steep #4 // just boiled // 10 min
2023 sipdowns:  77

Ashmanra’s sipdown challenge – August 2023 Tea #5 – A tea with orange flavor

I tried my hardest to find an orange tea that I could actually sipdown. But I guess I went with the oldest one. And possibly favorite. This tea is still a delight. I would definitely buy it again. Full sweet and orange on the perfect base.

Another one I very much wanted to try.  Thanks so much, Cameron B!  Huge green tea leaves from Thailand, with an occasional bit of fruit (mango, coconut).   I love sticky rice teas, so this should be a good one.  And it is!  The green tea seems to me more like a Wen Shan Bao Zhong oolong, and that’s what I would guess in a taste test. The coconut is at the forefront and tastes more like toasted coconut.  Really only hints of the mango and sticky rice.  But the base is very buttery, so pairs really well with these flavors.   Even the third steep doesn’t seem overdone at such hot temp, meaning I really do think this is an oolong, not a green tea… unless Thailand green tea is very forgiving with hot brewing.  But it’s a great base for these subtle flavors!  So it’s another tea that found another great new home. Where Cameron B was tasting suntan lotion coconut, I didn’t notice that at all— I noticed toasty coconut. And note to self: do a third steep.  And also, next time, try the third steep at boiling. 
Steep #1 // 2 teaspoons for a full mug // 30 minutes after boiling // 1 minute steep
Steep #2 // 35 min after boiling // 2 min steep
Steep #2 // 24 min after boiling // 2 min steep