Smoky Butterscotch Peach

I was slightly leery of this when I opened the pouch because it smelled SO smoky! I get quite a bit of smoke in the flavor too, but it’s a mellow barbecue smoke, doesn’t dry my throat out as some lapsang souchongs have, and it really goes with the peach, which is coming through nicely. The butterscotch doesn’t really stand as its own note, but I think it’s tying the other two together. This tea is putting me in the mood to grill something.

This one is smokier in the bag than in the cup, but I do taste a hint of peach underneath the astringent taste. That is likely my fault, as I had just over one serving of leaves left and decided to dump them all in the basket and add a little extra water to make up for it.

I cracked open the brand new sampler pouch that I had been saving for a day exactly like today.

Man, is it flipping’ cold out there. 30 below zero with the windchill and prediction of 35 overnight to be exact. And every single bus or streetcar that I was waiting for was at least a 30 minute wait for each one to arrive.

My hands and thighs and toes are still defrosting and I am delighted that my nose is still attached to my face.

The tea is smoky peach deliciousness and once I was able to board a vehicle once it finally got there and my hands warmed sufficiently that I could open the screw top of my carry mug, I was over the moon to have had this with me.

Smoky sweetness on a black base is such a great thing to have on such a deeply frigid day.

This is a queued tasting note.

Made a cup of this for myself and one for my assistant manager at DAVIDsTEA the night we were doing set up for the feel good collection. I took notes on the cup itself, and then just took a picture of them for myself for later…

It got odd looks from staff members. Eventually we’ll reach the point where that’s common place, though. Probably.

- Lapsang/smoke is very forward whilst the tea is hot
- Like a grilled peach, in a way? Has that sort of char to it
- Peach is like a weird cross between natural and artificial; not sure how I feel about it
- Smoke backs off as it cools
- Realizing the fake/sweet quality may have been the butterscotch?
- I think it feels weird/out of place in the blend
- This was best after it had cooled down a ways
- Personally, would probably cut back on the butterscotch and Lapsang
- Both seem a touch heavy handed

For the time being, I feel sort of undecided about this blend. I think it might be one of those “acquired taste” sort of ones. I look forward to the next tasting, though.

It was crazy beautiful weather today. If this keeps up it will soon it will be iced tea weather! Tomorrow the northern plains will be hit by blizzard conditions. Except us. Fargo will miss the nasty storm that is going west, south and north of us.

I had a friend from Winnipeg stop in on her way home from Minneapolis. I brewed us a pot of this. You know what she said? She said, “Do you remember that year at Gimli when someone brought their home made peach brandy and we sat around the fire singing and telling stories?” I laughed, because that is EXACTLY what I thought of the first time I had this. My sense of smell is gone again now, so I didn’t have that same reaction, but the tea is still smooth and sweet.

Ok, so here’s a combination I wouldn’t have thought of. Campfire, peach, and butterscotch.

The loose leaf has chunks of dried peach that plump up during steeping. There are also some straw-colored flower petals. The aroma reminds me so much of an old fashioned! Something about the smokiness plus burnt sugar and bright, fruity peach smells like a winter cocktail to me. So interesting!

Steeped, the leathery smoke’s note is in the forefront. I’m actually getting kinda meaty notes from it. Like smoked bacon. It’s followed closely by the cheery peach, with the butterscotch flavors kind of faint and in the exhale. The flavors don’t clash, oddly, but this is certainly not something I’d crave when I’m making my first tea of the day. I’ll chalk this one up to curiosity, finish the sample, and move on.

Sipdown (231)

This sipdown is a bit overdue because this last cup is a mere shadow of what this tea once was. Faint smoke and a touch of peach but this tea has seen much better days. Goodbye tea. Perhaps we shall meet again in the future but I’ve had a lot of this one so I am ok with saying goodbye.

Additional notes: I was craving a butterscotch tea today and this is the only one that would mildly work. This tea never quite matched what I wanted it to be, not butterscotch enough and not peach enough BUT the flavor profile is entirely unique… not really anything like any other tea I’ve tried. It must be the unique flavors (smoke, peach, butterscotch) with the unique black tea. I do crave this tea once in a while so I’m raising the rating a bit from a 68.

Edited to add: I might like the flavor with this one better with 1 1/2 or 1 3/4 teaspoons. Unfortunately, I have only one serving left then. Some teas just taste better when you’re craving them!

2021 Sipdown 122/365!

I ended up with a soft spot for this one. Not as much butterscotch as I’d like, but I enjoyed the smoky peach flavour until the last cup!

This was very interesting. I tasted butterscotch the strongest, followed by the peach. The slight smoky edge gave it a sense of cooked peach, combining with the butterscotch to give an overall feel of a baked peach dessert. I enjoyed it, despite smoky teas not being my thing, because the smoke was really subtle.