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Cameron B. drank Mermaid Matcha by Bird & Blend Tea Co.

3986 tasting notes

Bird & Blend Tea Advent Calendar – Day 22

So the B&B matcha advent did not have a matcha today (it was a B&B patch instead), but luckily the tea advent did, so I can still have my morning matcha & jam! This one was a single-serving stick, so I used 4 ounces of soy milk.

This is a flavor that I’ve already tried in the matcha advent. The color is a beautiful seaglass blue-green when prepared with milk.

This matcha reminds me of white cake batter. B&B seems to have a lot of matcha flavors in that vein – like Ice Cream Matcha & Salted Caramel Matcha. It’s not bad, just perhaps more artificial than I would like. But since I can’t taste well today, I actually am not getting the artificial note here, which is nice! XD

From Bonne Maman, today it’s Pear-Mirabelle Plum (Poire-Mirabelle) spread. Sounds delicious! Unfortunately, I’m having a tough time with this one as it’s more delicately flavored and my sense of taste is even worse today than yesterday. I do get a sense of plum, so perhaps the plum is the stronger of the flavors here. But mostly it tastes sweet and vaguely fruity. I’ll have to put the rest of the mini-jar in the fridge to try in a few days…

Flavors: Butter, Cake, Custard, Sweet, Vanilla

Preparation

Iced 4 OZ / 118 ML

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3 comments

Mastress Alita
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Pear-Mirabelle Plum sounds like it would be an amazing tea flavor, to be fair (also a great jam)… I’m looking forward to trying the Mermaid Matcha, it’s one I’ve wanted to try for a while! Just need to haul my lazy gluteous maximus into the kitchen to hook up the milk frother…

Nattie
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Feel better!

tea-sipper
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I had a tea the other day that was supposed to have elements of Pear and Mirabelle Plum – Dammann Freres St. Petersbourg. I can’t say if I can really taste those though.

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Mastress Alita
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Nattie
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Feel better!

tea-sipper
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I had a tea the other day that was supposed to have elements of Pear and Mirabelle Plum – Dammann Freres St. Petersbourg. I can’t say if I can really taste those though.

Profile

Bio

Hi, I’m Cameron! I’m a 30-something software engineer currently living in Austin, Texas with my husband and our two pugs, Gobo and Ume. I tend to cycle between my different hobbies, and they include piano, knitting, video games, board games, miniature painting, planners, bento, KBeauty, and – of course – TEA! But really, what I’m best at is “collecting” hobby-related things… ;)

~ 2024 SIPDOWN CHALLENGE! ~
- January Sipdowns: 6
- Total 2024 Sipdowns: 6

I prefer my tea lukewarm or at room temperature and without milk or sugar. I steep Western style, and fluctuate between using big mugs or small teapots depending on the season. Occasionally I’ll brew Gongfu style when I’m in the mood. I’ll also often use a kyusu for Japanese teas.

I am always up for a swap! Just let me know if you’d like to try something in my cupboard.

Tea Preferences:
I enjoy both flavored and unflavored teas in many forms. These days, I drink mostly flavored teas, and I tend to gravitate most toward black, green, oolong, and herbal varieties. I do have a special fondness for straight Japanese green teas, however. I also enjoy maté, rooibos, and honeybush. I love matcha and drink it often! Fruit tisanes are not a favorite, but I’m always willing to try them.

I do not sweeten my teas, and pre-sweetened teas are usually too sweet for me. I also do not enjoy stevia.

Fruit: All of them! My ‘go-to’s tend to be in the red fruits, stonefruit, or citrus spectra. I also really love apple, banana, berry, fig, lychee, melon, pear, and rhubarb flavors. Tropical fruits aren’t among my favorites, but I still enjoy them once in a while – especially passionfruit, mango, and pineapple. I am not generally a fan of coconut in tea, though there are some exceptions.

Dessert: I love creamy vanilla and marshmallow flavors, along with anything in the caramel family such as butterscotch, toffee, or maple. Chocolate is also a favorite, though I’m often disappointed by it in tea. And don’t forget anything buttery, cakey, or cookie-y!

Floral: I’m a little bit more particular in this category. I very much enjoy jasmine, even strong jasmine, along with sakura, chamomile, and elderflower. Osmanthus is also a favorite of mine. But I’m not crazy about rose or lavender flavors, and I prefer hibiscus in moderation only.

Spices: I don’t generally find myself drawn to masala chai, but I do enjoy spices combined with other flavors. My favorite spices are the warm ones, especially cinnamon, nutmeg, anise, and cardamom. A bit of heat from black pepper or chili is okay too, as long as it’s not overwhelming! Ginger can be a lovely accent, but I find it difficult to drink as a starring flavor.

Aromatics: I’m obsessed with Earl Grey! I also love cooling flavors such as mint (especially spearmint), pine, juniper, and eucalyptus. I am not a fan of strong rosemary or sage in tea.

Favorite Companies:
3 Leaf
Bird & Blend
Dammann Frères
Harney & Sons
Kyoto Obubu Tea Farms
Lupicia
Old Barrel Tea Co
Simpson & Vail
Taiwan Tea Crafts
TeaVivre

Tea Rating Scale:
90-100: Outstanding! Permanent cupboard resident
80-89: Great – a possible staple
70-79: Good, but I wouldn’t buy it
60-69: It’s decent
50-59: Meh… I may or may not have finished the cup
40-49: Ick. Couldn’t finish it.
00-39: Repulsive, I spat it out

I will sometimes refrain from rating a tea if I feel I’m too biased due to my personal dislikes, or if I suspect the sample has been compromised by age or scent contamination.

Cupboard Spreadsheet:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1ZEuKf1-ppR-VXajO4vV39zU1N3zjFJteEPAynqD2yl0/edit?usp=sharing