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Sipdown

This is a great breakfast tea and I can make three steeps to combine in the time that most teas make one steep. It is awesome for those days when I forget to start my tea and the food is ready to serve and I don’t want to wait eight to ten minutes for my tea to steep twice.

Malty, cherry wood, and doesn’t even need milk. Well done. I hope it will be back on shelf soon as I put it on my Christmas wishlist!

Day 2 of my AliasHali advent

Since I put together the advent Ashman and I are drinking for breakfast out of mostly teas we already owned, I wasn’t planning to review them each day, but this one is a surprise and I haven’t had this tea in ten years!

My experience this time is quite unlike a decade ago. The last note I made said the citrus was an aroma rather than a taste, but this time there is a ton of citrus taste. It is very good and made several steeps to enjoy on this rainy and gray December day.

*December 1st Sipdown Challenge Prompt – start your advents!”

We are having a homemade advent this year due to tariffs and the overabundance of tea already in cupboard. Some teas will be new to us like this one that we have had but hadn’t tried yet, and some will be samples ordered from S&V Tea.

Superanna bought this in France LAST YEAR and I waited to open it until I had a good tin free. It got behind some other tea and lost until recently and I saved it just for this day! Many thanks, Superanna!

This is definitely peach while not being a typical Southern peach. I have never had or heard of blood peach, only blood orange, but it is a distinct flavor similar to the peach I am used to but not the same. While it is very peachy, it isn’t a face punch like Midsummer’s Peach, which is great when that is what you are looking for (especially iced and sweet in summer), but for a breakfast tea I prefer this. The vanilla gives it a nice roundness.

November Sipdown Challenge Prompt – a tea that is good on the go

I almost always have this tea in my travel mug when we are on the road. Traveling makes me tense sometimes, and if tulsi can soothe even a little bit it is worth it. Plus it is a delicious tea and so much better than plain tulsi by itself to me. I have a giant Bellocq tin of this thanks to Superanna!

November Sipdown Challenge Prompt – a bedtime tea

These loose flowers are now nine years old. I am not a big chamomile drinker, especially plain, but I am determined to finish this. This is as good as any chamomile, but it isn’t something I reach for. I actually used it for soothing my dog’s feet and it worked wonderfully for that. I also like it iced in summer as a lunchtime refresher that is also good for my tummy. I think if I make a pitcher to drink cold, this will finally be a sipdown.

Sipdown

A definite someday re-purchase. This is rich, chocolate-y, and boozy. I have had it for breakfast and lunch, as well as with afternoon tea with or without snacks.

I drink it plain, but with milk, sugar, and a splash of grog or even just plain with a splash of Bailey’s Irish Cream I think it would make a nice warming festive drink if you imbibe.

November 28 Sipdown Challenge Prompt – Black Friday: drink a black tea

I have been trying to choose international prompts and not just American holidays, but it seems Black Friday has spread far and wide so I used it! And if the opportunity arises I will sign a petition to move American Thanksgiving to the same time as Canada’s because it just makes more sense, but we can keep Black Friday closer to year end bonuses and Christmas for shopping purposes. Ha ha!

I asked AliasHali to help me choose and she said that since I mentioned that I have hoarding this tea I should declare today a special occasion and drink it, so I did. I am shocked that I haven’t reviewed it here yet because I have dropped a broad hint or two that it would be a great item on a Christmas list…

My first Golden Monkey was many years ago from Harney & Sons. It was a real breakthrough tea for me because it was the first I loved without sugar and put me on the path to giving up sugar in my tea. The following year their catalog warned that there had been drought and the new harvest was not as sweet and rich. It was still good, but nothing like the first one I tried.

Teavivre has a very good GM and the price point is excellent, though I might rank a good harvest from Harney slightly higher. Teavana had a one but it simply tasted like a decent breakfast tea to me. It lacked the sweet potato and honey notes of Harney’s and Teavivre’s.

Happy Lucky comes along and charms my socks off. This is a rich, full-bodied GM with both sweet potato and honey notes. It is a real treat, and was a gift from AliasHali – many thanks.

Sipdown

We had a guest for Thanksgiving and she loves Earl Grey type teas. She said “the stronger the better” and this is one of the strongest Earls I have right now! She loved the aroma, and now has requested a tea flight in the near future!

Many thanks to TeaEarleGreyHot who sent this tea to me.

Surprise tea-mail from gmathis! Thank you!

I am drinking this while on the second day of a cold that has leveled Ashman for almost two weeks and AliasHali for four days. My taster might not be as sensitive as it should be, but I agree strongly with gmathis that this is a very woody tea. The base could easily support milk and sugar if you wished but is not brisk, so it doesn’t NEED additions for taming. The berry flavor is light but that could be the cold talking and the cream is mild and doesn’t come off as straight vanilla as cream can do at times.

A welcome diversion to soothe my angry uvula.