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Sipdown! (16 | 119)

Sad to see this one go, since I don’t think they’ll ever make it again. But it was getting older, so it’s for the best!

Such an unusual and delightful infusion. The roasted sakura is such an interesting twist – I still taste those fruity-floral and slightly savory sakura notes, but then there’s this deep toastiness alongside it. The mint is quite subtle, I don’t recall if it was stronger initially or always light. But it does make for a nice, refreshing finish.

Would love to see more creative blends like this from Obubu!

Need to get back to trying my Trader Nicks haul! I’ve been on a tea buying spree lately for some reason, usually that happens in the fall but apparently it came early this year. XD

Anyway, this is described as a mango pear Earl grey and has a black and white base. To me, it’s somewhat accurate. I definitely taste the bergamot, and there is a crispness that could be pear. I don’t specifically get mango, but there is a fruitiness to it. The white tea definitely dominates as far as the base goes, so it’s quite light and soft, but perhaps with a bit more heft from the black tea.

I quite like it, but I do enjoy white Earls, so not surprising. I do think the mango needs to be stronger as, to me, it’s more Earl than it is fruity. Otherwise, an enjoyable cup for the afternoon.

This one tastes quite bland?

I do taste mixed berry, and a touch of chalk, which I sometimes find with some berry flavorings (I think in the case of S&V, it’s their blackberry). There’s also a medicinal cherry note, even though cherry isn’t one of the flavors listed. There’s a definite tartness from the apple and rosehips, but otherwise it just seems a bit watery to me.

Might have to try this one flash chilled instead of cold steeped? 0 for 2 on S&V fruit teas so far, ha ha…

I don’t think I’ve ever had a vanilla chai that I was happy with, so not sure why I continue to try them LOL.

This is really nice though, I can actually taste a clear vanilla flavor at the beginning of the sip, and it’s light and marshmallowy. The end is dominated by the spices, which are fairly well-balanced, with cardamom standing out as the strongest. I don’t get a ton of cinnamon but can definitely pick out the clove and ginger. The base is somewhat brisk but not overly so.

Not sure I would order this specifically since I have other chai blends that I like, but I did appreciate that I could actually taste the vanilla, and the spices tasted fresh.

I finished up all of my fruit infusions for cold steeping (except for my pound bag of Watermelon Cooler), and thought I would give Simpson & Vail’s offerings a try. None of them are rated particularly well here, but they’re inexpensive so I figured why not?

I find it weird that this is called “Caribbean” when it’s mostly a citrus blend, and not tropical. It does have mango flavoring, but I’m tasting the lemon and orange primarily, along with hibiscus of course. I think they may have overused the dried citrus peel, because it has a definite pithy bitterness to it that, while drinkable, isn’t all that pleasant. Maybe I’m getting a touch of the mango at the very beginning of the sip?

Definitely not one that I would reorder. I’ll have to play around with the steeping parameters to see how I can minimize those bitter notes.

Single serving.

This is described as citrusy, but I don’t really get that. There’s a vague fruitiness… If I had to name it, I would say dragon fruit? Otherwise I mostly taste the grassy green tea and a hint of rose in the finish. Apparently it’s jasmine, but I’m tasting rose for some reason

Anyway, it’s fine, but a bit nonspecific.

This recently made its way into my “5 oldest teas” sipdown box, and to my dismay, the tin is still basically full. Oops?

I don’t normally write notes for teas that aren’t new or a sipdown, but I just had to pop on to say that this is still delightful at almost three years old. The raspberry is such a nice middle ground between candy/jam and the real thing, and the touch of savory sage sets it off perfectly. Their light and earthy base, while sometimes detrimental, works perfectly here and gives a more wild, botanical taste that doesn’t overwhelm the raspberry.

Will happily drink a mug of this one every day until it’s gone, and then reorder more so I can neglect it all over again! XD

Sample from Courtney, thank you!

This is lovely. It has a nice balance of rich and creamy notes with the spices. It reminds me a bit of a less-sweet pumpkin pie with a stronger ginger presence. I don’t know that I specifically think of maple, but it does have a brown sugary, rich sweetness to it that fits. The strong spices also help keep it from tasting too rooibos-y for me.

Quite a nice one. I already have a pumpkin spice rooibos in my cupboard, but would happily stock this if I didn’t. Not sure yet if I’m going to try to get the The Tea Girl advent this year…

Sipdown! (14 | 117)

Another iced milk tea! This has a similar base to Castella, with those teeny tiny CTC pellets.

I’m not generally a chocolate tea person, but this is lovely as a milk tea. The chocolate tastes very dark and cocoa-y, and even a touch boozy, as if there were rum in the cake or buttercream. I don’t taste coffee, but it’s unclear from the description whether there’s intended to be any here or not. The base is very strongly malty and a touch woody.

Never got around to trying this one from the Summer Fruit collection I bought in May, so I figured I should remedy that.

It’s nice enough. The base is a mix of Keemun and Ceylon, so it has some earthy notes but is also a bit brisk and quite acidic. As for the strawberry, it’s definitely more on the candy side of things, but it does have a nice tang to it that keeps it from being too sweet. I think I will probably enjoy this and the Raspberry version most as milk teas, as the base can be a bit hard on my stomach when taken plain.