Bird & Blend Tea Co.

This seemed like an odd choice to start the morning with, even to me and I’m drinking it. It was there, though, and it’s a lovely warm spring day, so I decided to throw caution to the wind. I used 1 tsp of leaf for my cup, and gave it 4 minutes in boiling water. When I returned, the liquor was a deep pinky-red (hello, hibi!), but the scent was sweet and tropical.

The first sip shows that you shouldn’t judge by appearances, because this one actually tastes exactly as it should. I get pineapple immediately, sweet and true to life, followed quickly by coconut. There’s a slightly odd floral in the midsip, but it’s not too heavy or thick tasting so I’m choosing to ignore it. The mint comes our pretty well in the aftertaste, the sweetness of the spearmint most prominently, but with the deeper, cooler resonance of the peppermint lurking in the background.

I’m more impressed with this one than I expected to be. Pineapple mint seemed like an odd flavour combination to me, but it really does work. The mint isn’t strong, so the sweeter fruit flavours are allowed their time to shine, but it does add a refreshing cleanness that’s actually very welcome after the sweet tropical fruit flavours.

What I really want now is to try this one cold brewed in the summer. A definite repurchase in the warmer months ahead.

158/365

Finally getting to the third (and final) blend from this year’s Easter collection. I’ve tried this one many, many times before, but for the first time as a latte this year. The scent of the dry leaf seems sweeter to me than I remember – like there might be more vanilla than there was previously, perhaps. I remember it being a fruity/juicy blend with a hint of smoke and spice…

I followed Bluebird’s recipe for this one, except that I used whole milk rather than almond. For some reason, almond milk (or at least the one I can get at my local store) tastes really bitter to me. I can see why almond milk would work here, but in practice it’s not really for me.

The result is pretty delicious. It’s not quite hot cross bun, but close. The milk drowns out any and all smokiness, so the “toasted” aspect of the flavour I’ve noticed in previous years (and loved!) isn’t really a feature here. I wouldn’t expect it in a latte, though, s I’m okay with that. Instead, the vanilla and spice are brought to the fore – I get lots of cinnamon, lots of sweet creamy vanilla, and a pretty excellent dried fruit (specifically raisin) flavour. There’s even a hint of breadiness, which I’d maybe have expected from a black base (or certain kinds, anyway) but not so much from a rooibos.

I’m really impressed with how this one turned out. I was worried about drowning all of the flavours in milk (that’s an ever present latte concern of mine), but happily it stands up well. I’m glad to have found a new way with this one, although I think I enjoy it straight most of all.

I’m glad to be drinking this one again – it’s certainly been a while! For the record, this pouch is the 2016 version (I know, I’m so behind). As usual, I used 1 tsp of leaf for my cup. As with the 2015 version, it appears to be predominantly rooibos, with some ceylon leaves – about 70:30 to my mind. Dry, the scent is very orangey, with an undercurrent of almond. I gave it 3 minutes in boiling water, no additions.

To taste, it’s more or less hot cross bun. There’s a lot of orange, some dried fruit (raisin, cranberry), and a big hit of vanilla. There’s a whisper of cinnamon, but it’s fairly fleeting. Lapsang Souchong is listed in the ingerdients, but it’s fairly well down the list, and to be honest I can’t taste it. I’d have liked a touch of smoke – I remember last year’s (2015) sample had just a little, and that was perfect.

Ultimately, I’d have really liked more of a “bread” flavour – maybe if the Ceylon was a Yunnan? As it stands, it’s not quite hot cross bun for me, but it’s close enough. It’s certainly a pleasantly creamy, fruity cup, and great for spring! Next year, if I’m caught up with my cupboard, I’ll definitely try again.

I’m starting Easter early with this tea. There are only three days of work this week, so that’s more than enough reason to celebrate. Also, I just realised that I still have my sample of this tea from 2015, so I’m catching up with that before I start the 2016 version I got with my recent Bluebird order. So, anyway. The tea.

I used 1 tsp of leaf for my cup. It looks predominantly rooibos based to me, although there are a decent amount of ceylon leaves also present – maybe 70:30. The scent of the dry leaf is massively fruity, mostly orange. It reminds me a lot of undiluted cordial. I left this one for around 3 minutes before I added a splash of milk.

To taste, it’s actually more flavour accurate than I was expecting given the scent. It does remind me of hot cross buns, particularly when you first open a packet of fresh ones. I can taste orange (lots!), a pithy kind of taste that could be citrus zest, apple, cranberry, and currants. There’s also a hint of cinnamon lurking around in the mid-sip, but it’s not particularly prominent.

The vanilla is more of a scent than a flavour for me, but it does translate as a mild creamy flavour that’s very reminiscent of the white cross and maybe melted butter at a push. I’d like that to have been a bit stronger, but it’s there and I’m happy for that. I’m aware that this blend contains some Lapsang Souchong, but again it’s not a big part of the overall flavour. I get flashes of it every now and then, and they make me think of toast – or toasted hot cross buns, maybe. Love.

What I’d have liked here is more of a “bread” flavour, to go with the fruit and spice, creaminess and smokiness. That would really have set this one apart for me. As it is, it’s just a bit too fruity (orangey) to really capture the true flavour of hot cross buns. It’s close, though – so close.

Steeped this one up yesterday but it just tasted incredibly off. Very acrid and sour orange notes mixed with smoke that just felt really cacophonous and so distant from what I remember it normally tasting like.

Iève had this tea before but I don’t remember much about it – but given my rating I’d say that I liked it a fair bit? It came with the Easter themed sampler that I ordered, but otherwise I don’t think I’d have picked it up this time around…

I had it a while ago, and my memory is fuzzy – but I recall it being alright. More fruity than anything else with a citrus lean – but pretty generic.

Idk.

Cold Brew Sipdown (138)!

Thank you Scheherazade! I was really excited when I saw this one in your swap package because I’ve had it before (I think from you, actually?) and I quite enjoyed it so revisiting was very nice. I wont go in depth; this tasted exactly like I remembered it from last time. So, suffice to say, I was not disappointed.

Sipdown (143)!

I’m too lazy to turn my jot notes into sentences right now. So here, have the billion+ jot notes I took while drinking this one…

- Cold Brew
- Free sample w. my order
- Dry, smells very close to Hot Cross Buns (which I call Easter Buns)
- Brewed up, it’s quite delicious!
- However while I find it comes close to tasting like Easter Buns…
- It’s a bit too fruity to really nail the taste
- Strong notes of orange/orange peel, apple, cranberry, and currants
- As well as a cinnamon note
- Interestingly, this has Lapsang in it but I def. can’t taste that
- What’s missing for me is a touch of ‘custardy’/creamy flavour
- From that pastry filling that makes the “cross”
- As well as a bready note, to really tie the flavour together/balance it out
- But super tasty regardless!

Last night’s after dinner cup! I pulled out a stack of Bluebird teas when I went through my tea box on Sunday, so it’s no surprise that I’m starting to work through them. As ever, I only wish I’d done it sooner because this one. Is. Amazing. It smells great as soon as you open the pouch, but I’m always slightly wary of building up hopes at that point because scent and flavour are two entirely different things. I’ve learned this the hard way when it comes to tea and expectations. It’s not the case here, though, because this tea actually tastes like black forest gateau in a cup! I used 1.5 tsp of leaf, gave it a good 4 minutes in boiling water, and then added a splash of milk.

The initial flavour is cherry – concentrated black cherry, and a little syrupy. Second comes the chocolate – dark chocolate, rich and creamy. It has a lightness that really reminds me of sponge cake, although I have no idea how that’s achieved. Last of all is a hint of vanilla, which puts me very much in mind of the whipped cream topping a black forest gateau would have. Altogether, it’s pretty well a spot-on recreation in liquid form. I wasn’t expecting to be quite so impressed, but I’m more than glad that I am. This will definitely be a repurchase once I have my cupboard a little more in order. I’ve just placed an order with Bluebird for their new Spring collection anyway, so it’ll be a while yet I suspect.

One thing that did stand out to me is the sheer amount of different berries that went into this one – elderberries, raspberries, strawberries, blackberries and cranberries, but no cherry. I just found it interesting that the effect they create is so different from what they actually are, and that it took so many different berries to achieve it. There’s also apple and hibiscus, so go figure I guess. In some ways, Bluebird strike me almost as a smaller, UK version of David’s Tea. “All the ingredients”, huh? Given that it tastes this good, though, I’m not really complaining!

Fruit Salad provides an explosion of flavours that navigate their way through the taste buds, to provide a combination of sweet and sour. The most poignant of these are hibiscus, lemongrass and raspberry with a slight crisp apple and pineapple finish. Whilst this is a tasty hot brew, I felt this tea really lives to be cold. Adding Ice to fruit blends usually makes for an excellent pairing and Fruit Salad is no exception. When cooled this becomes sooo fruity almost like a fruit punch. I can easily imagine this blend being sipped in the high heat of summer for refreshing hydration. For a naughty twist add a sneaky shot of alcohol and a sprig of mint and your good to go with a fruity cocktail! Bliss!

More at; http://tastethetea.co.uk/2016/03/01/bluebirdspringcollection/

To my relief Maple Bacon Pancakes was so good! Nothing too harsh and certainly sweet, bordering on syrupy. However, the after taste is where the kick lies. A fiery tingle left on the tongue. Nothing too extreme, depending on how much chilli you have in your steeped leaves! My first brew was an almost pleasant peppery taste, but my next batch contained a fire that I couldn’t quite handle. Despite my focus on the finish, rooibos takes prominence in the flavour, combing perfectly with the vanilla and cinnamon to create another curious sweet blend with a gentle smokey backing note, provided by Lapsang Souchong.

More at: http://tastethetea.co.uk/2016/03/01/bluebirdspringcollection/

There is sooo much going on in this lovely blend it’s hard to know what to focus on first. On tasting Easter Egg Nest a handful of the ingredients barge through to the taste buds and start fighting for control, all holding their hands up, screaming me, me, me. Not one of these flavours wins out though, because they all combine in an unexpectedly glorious way to reveal a sweet, robust, flavoursome tea. To define this I’ll run through the key identifiers. The toasted rice is no doubt what provides the flavour akin to the classic egg nest cakes, making the two easily compatible for a pairing, but also providing a psychological linking, whisking you back to childhood. Secondly, there is a subtle chocolatey, slightly nutty element, no doubt provided by the cocoa and the chocolate chips. Finally, the marshmallows provide a delightfully sweet element to the flavour.

More at: http://tastethetea.co.uk/2016/03/01/bluebirdspringcollection/

As reviewed at www.tastethetea.co.uk : If using a large mug of water this needs to be brewed for a little longer than 4 minutes to allow the flavours to fully develop. Herbal blends can often be weaker than tea so I find the balance between too strong and too weak is more varied depending what herbs the blend contains. Rose tends to be subtle but isn’t easily overpowered. This blend does well to combine rose with lemongrass, in order to tone down the citric notes that can sometimes be overbearing with lemon based herbal blends.

I currently have a big tea problem. Picture uncharted tea rapids whose vast force hasn’t found release in over a year. It’s all wild, untended terrain here. Poor tea.

Anyways, I’m going to try and use Steepster to work my way through this while also attempting to salvage tea appreciation.

This tea, which was poking out of an overflowing cupboard screaming from torture and neglect, seemed like as good a place as any to start. Also, “snowball” effect. Let’s channel that.

While coconut and chocolate teas are usually far from my favourites, this cloudy looking concoction was very easy to drink. Adding milk gave it some textural depth, which the chocolate, marshmallow, and coconut mentally tease me with, but there’s enough going on that it’s decent without milk too.

The last cup I had cooled quite a bit before being found in the house again, and it was still decent. The coconut flavour here was particularly strong.

Brewed on the stove top. Added 2% milk to the second boiling round. No sugar.

As the leaf simmered, the house was filled with a deliciously fruit-filled rooibos aroma. Considering that almost half of the ingredients are fruits – apple, hibiscus, rosehip, pineapple – it’s not surprising. My mother thought I was burning a scented candle, ha ha.

The spice mix consists of ginger, cinnamon, and chili. That last one. Holy frickin’ cow! It’s incredibly strong. This is one of the most peppery spiced teas I’ve ever had, alongside Old 52Tea’s Spiced Chai. Even my throat felt spicy.

On the plus side, good on this blend for nice aroma and spice strength. However, the chili overpowers everything else. Coconut? Shrug. Not in even in the aroma. Too many fruits. Additionally, there are “natural flavors.” Is there a point? The are enough powerful ingredients as it is.

Give or take. You may want to try it or not.

Herbal TTB

I’ve heard great things about Bluebird Tea, so I was curious to sample this chai from the herbal TTB. I didn’t read the description ahead of time, so this tea caught me completely off-guard! It’s not at all the sort of thing I think of when I hear the word “chai”…you don’t really taste cinnamon, cardamon, or cloves in the blend. Instead, it has a juicy pineapple flavor with a touch of creamy coconut…followed by an unexpected wave of spicy chili in the aftertaste! Personally, I’m not a fan of drinks (or foods!) that leave my tongue tingling, so I probably won’t drink this again. But I’m glad I had the experience of trying it once!

OH NO.

In a moment of weakness, I just ordered 3 new teas from Taiwan Tea Crafts. I’m supposed to be not buying any more tea, since I sort of accidentally ordered twice as much Bluebird as I’d planned to, due to a confused shopping basket. But never mind that. It’s jolly good stuff, I’m packing up some gingerbread chai to a friend as a little birthday gift (shh, don’t tell her) and I may well be foisting some fancy French teas on you guys, if anyone fancies helping me make a little room in my cupboard.

But that’s that, and this is what I’m drinking this dreary afternoon. I’d had my eye on this one for a while, as I like sweet lemony things and have far too little of it in my tea rotation. This one looks like there’s a lot of verbena and lemongrass and other lovely herbs going on, with a sprinkle of sweet little dark buds of green tea poking out here and there. This tells me it might be a good choice for evening drinking, without leaving me in that awkward state of wiredness where, in spite of being fatigued all day, I SUDDENLY WANT TO DO ALL THE THINGS and devote myself to doing a terrible sketch of Captain Phasma holding a stack of performance reviews.

(Seriously – I actually get paid to be an illustrator, and I just feel constantly in awe of how much faster and better literally everyone else is at drawing than me. It’s weird.)

But I digress. As for the flavour of the brew itself, it’s a pleasantly herby not-too-tart Meyer lemon sort of lemonyness, which I think I like taking brewed strong and with a spoonful of sugar to ramp up the sherbet part of the name. I think this one might have to become a fixture in my cupboard, for those times when only sweet lemon will do.

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays, Steepsterites! I hope your day is full of warm spice, comfort sweets, and citrus zing like this particular tea, regardless of whether you celebrate or not!

Cue sad music I was really hoping this tea would make a nice latte, something for staying up late nights at the hospital. Keep me warm while finishing up charting patients. Unfortunately the taste of this tea is much like the paper I’m charting on. Bummer. Sounded so good.

020/365

I’m pretty sure I tried Snowball last year (or maybe the year before?) Either way, it’s a Bluebird blend I’m familiar with. I like the idea of chocolate/coconut/marshmallow – they make for a good combination. Drank conventionally, I’m not sure I got all of those flavours very clearly, so I’m going to experiment a little with this year’s sample.

I brewed my first cup as a latte. I’m using a recipe from Bluebird’s own website – 4 tsp of leaf in 300ml boiling water, topped up with 100ml of hot milk, 1 tsp of honey, and 1/2 tsp of vanilla extract.

It’s really delicious. I get mostly coconut and marshmallow, but with a background of milk chocolate. It’s sweet and creamy, reminiscent of one of those Tunnock’s Snowball cake/biscuit/teacake things, which I think is supposed to be. If that’s the case (and I’m pretty sure it is), Bluebird did well with this blend, and it works really well as a latte.

I’d buy more of this one.

It’s only mid-morning and I’m already totally harassed. I HAVE TEA THOUGH.

To cheer myself up, I went for the most temptingly delicious sounding Bluebird Christmas tea – Snowball! Anything with three kinds of chocolate, two kinds of coconut, marshmallows and pink flowers has to be a good thing, right? And it’s tea as well. This totally reminds me of those Tunnock’s marshmallow snowballs, as I expect it’s supposed to. The intial sip is mostly chocolate (quite dark, rich chocolate I might add), followed by the sweetness of coconut, and then the creamy over-the-topness of sticky marshmallow. It’s liquid deliciousness. It’s another pretty blend, too, with the pink cornflowers and white coconut – tastes like a snowball, looks like a snowball. Is this perfection in a cup?

I used 1 tsp of leaf for my cup, and left it approximately 3.5 minutes. I added a splash of milk just because, really. I figure it only helped with the creaminess. I think next time I might give this one a slightly shorter brew time, because it’s really quite sweet and borderline overpowering by the end of the cup. It’s an amazing dessert tea, though.

Really enjoying this one :)

No notes for this one? It’s Christmas jumper day at work today, so I figured I might as well make it Christmas tea day also just to add an extra festive touch. I feel so far from Christmassy at the moment, I need all the help I can get.

I’m a fan of candy cane tea any time of the year, really, but I’ve been saving this sample pouch for a suitable occasion. Turns out that’s today! I used 1 tsp of leaf for my cup, and gave it 3.5 minutes in boiling water. I was thinking maybe milk, but in the end I went with no additions.

To taste, it’s actually pretty good. Spearmint is always a winner with me – it’s sweeter and more gentle than peppermint, and it does a good job of recreating a “candy” mint flavour. The vanilla adds a creamy touch, which is totally delicious in this context. I really am thinking candy cane as I sip this one. I’m not 100% sold on the ceylon base – it’s a little citrussy for my tastes, and then with the added lime leaves and pomegranate flowers it’s just a little confusing and muddled in the aftertaste. The initial hit of spearmint and vanilla is excellent, though. I’m not usually a fan of stevia in teas, but I will say that it works quite well here to create the candy cane effect. It’s not too cloying and artificial, either, so clearly it’s been added with a light hand.

The last thing to say, as with pretty much all Bluebird blends, is that it looks fabulous. Pink cornflowers, red pomegranate flowers, green mint, black tea. It does recall a candy cane, and it’s lovely to look at. The biggest joy is in the drinking, though. It’s pretty much liquid candy cane, and it’ll surely make this work day more bearable.

Spicy, with a very peppery bite. It was dry and not my favourite. Decent, but nothing I’d seek out again. Glad to have tried it though.

Sometimes you feel yourself sinking into the earth and no amount of effort can free you.
That is just how it is in life. Nothing can be done to change it. Alas. Sorry for my absence.

I had this within the last 2 months. Apologies if my memory of it is not the sharpest. I know that I really enjoyed it. I know it had a beautiful creamy flavour. It really brought Christmas to my mind and I was sorrowed to only have one cup worth of this delight. Someday I will be able to order this and more from Bluebird, but it will not be anytime soon. If you have access to it though I definitely recommend it for you.