Aquamarine

Sipdown! (39 | 75)

I was a bit underwhelmed by this one, especially considering the glowing reviews.

It sounds nice in theory, but in practice I find there to be way too much chamomile (and maybe it’s the marigold too, I’m not sure I know what that tastes like). I can taste some spearmint as well, and a touch of roasty oolong, but I only get bits and pieces of the other ingredients. Mostly I taste the honeyed pollen notes of the chamomile, paired with sweet and cooling spearmint.

Obviously it’s not bad, I just wanted more of the fennel and any of the cinnamon or cacao. Not sure what the black tea component is, but I’m not tasting that either. Maybe it’s heavy on the honey notes, and for that reason it’s melding in with the chamomile? Oh well, clearly I’m in the minority on this one! :P

I honestly can’t describe the flavor but I love it. All the ingredients meld into one cozy flavor.

Chroma finally blended a new batch and I was so happy that I bought 50g a few months ago. There is no difference between the two batches. Impressive.

I keep trying to think of a way to describe how this tea makes me feel but fall short of the accurate marketing-speak:

“Inspired by old apothecary blends- the kind you might find in a movie stumbling into a dimly-lit shop to find a blue-green glass bottle on the highest shelf behind a pile of books.”

The best I can conjure is a cool stream emerging from the dark mystery of a rainforest, carrying the rich, earthy and spicy scents of the flora and terra, flowing gently into a shallow and clear warm sea under a cloudy winter sky. Have you ever felt the confluence of those two energies? Similar to the way it feels when you swim through tepid waters and suddenly a warm current envelops you in a momentary womb, or a cold current provides a blood-moving shock to the senses. This tea captures both of those aquatic sensations within the spearmint and fennel undercurrent that interacts with the dominant grounding profile provided by the roasted oolong base, cacao and cinnamon. Marigold and chamomile assist in the transition between the the cooling and warming characteristics and add some visual fluff.

Following Chroma’s parameters of 5g to a mug (in my case, it’s 10oz), I get three fully flavored steeps. It’s a worthwhile commitment.

Another snuck in tea early advent season…

I didn’t actually remember much what this tasted like the first time I had it, but Marika drank it for one of the podcast episodes (She-Ra) and she spoke really pleasantly about it so I wanted to revisit. There’s a lot going on, but all of it is pretty soothing and comforting. I tasted a bunch of spearmint, but mixed with roasty/oxidized mineral oolong notes, cacao nib, and a thick fennel undertone that seemed to “lift” the sweetness of the spearmint.

I… actually agree with my initial rating of 78, even though I don’t really remember that cup…