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Sip Down & Backlog

I cold brewed a lot of this during the weekend (i.e. the rest of the leaf). I attempted to like this on a few occasions, as a hot and cold tea. I wasn’t a fan…however, I let this sit for a while; at least for 6+ months. That’s fine since that time allowed this tea to settle and lose some of the overly tart notes I dislike with hibiscus. It settled into a nice ¬_earthy_ sweetness, which was bearable. I drank the 32 oz container from Saturday through Sunday morning. The only issue was the black tea base, I think, made it have a funky aftertaste—like a little bit malt, which didn’t match the tart/sweetness of the rest of the blend.

Sip Down & Backlog

I brewed the remainder of this on Monday. I made myself a massive mug with the remaining 4 tsp of PBC. I let this sit in the cup for 10 minutes and never took the sachet from the mug as I topped off the cuppa. I love this blend and it’s sad that the reception isn’t too high. I understand that the chocolate is weak, but hot dang does it taste peanut buttery! That’s the main event in a peanut butter cup, anyway. I love to dip a spoon into a jar now and then, whenever I have a sweet tooth. Not often, but probably more than most folks. This was a fairly good cup and would buy more.

Sip Down

This is my second bag of this tea…At this point, I may go ahead and buy a pound. It’s incredibly affordable and holds up to the OG vendors such as Yunnan Sourcing. I love a great daily drinker sheng puerh. This tea has the right amount of bitterness when pushed, which oftentimes, I will, and a pop of fruity notes. Now that there’s a sale, I’m going to go ahead and make the purchase!

Sip Down

I brewed this Monday evening as my final cup for the day. I added quick notes.

“Spicy ginger, slightly bitter, and mildly medicinal.”

My friend brought over a bag of this to try on Sunday before we went to play a little game of 3-person baseball. They’re new to tea, and wanting to explore matcha specifically, so they wanted me to try this first. I’ll note that the one good thing about this was that the aroma of the bag was like dipping my head into a jug of fruity Kool-Aid as a child. It had that fake sweet and delicious smell…however, that’s where the good review ends…The tea itself was boring. The aroma didn’t transfer into the mug at all! The tea base was entirely absent, and the expected fruity notes were muted.

Sip Down

My energy levels are low today. I worked extra late, went to bed late, and woke up early after a lousy night of rest. Oh well! At least there is tea!

I didn’t have much leaf left in the sample bag, so I decided it was time to drink it down. The dry leaf didn’t resemble banana, but there was an off-putting buttery note. I didn’t allow that to deter me from making a cup. I tossed 195F water into the mug and brewed for 3.5 minutes (I wanted a strong cuppa). The tea is quite smooth, a little buttery, and a bit of coconut laced banana chip note. Normally, I don’t find a mouthfeel to be unsettling, but this cup brews thick and leaves an odd oily texture on the teeth, cheeks, tongue, and top of the mouth. Otherwise, it’s not too shabby!

Sip down

There are perks to allowing teas to pile up…mostly that you always have an opportunity to rediscover something new or old. The plus side is that you have one last moment with that cup and can sit with it quietly, which in my case, wasn’t. I was driving 70 MPH on the highway, blasting death metal, so that my soul couldn’t become crushed by the weight of an in-office day. That, and I needed to pass the time on my hour drive into work.

After the tea steeped in the cup for 4 minutes, I sipped the tea. I made a mental note that there wasn’t anything special about it, however, it was still too hot to taste anything. I brought it along for the drive—for at that point, I simply needed the caffeine—and let it sit for 30 minutes or so. That is when I discovered that this tea is meant to reach near room (or car) temperatures.

Notes: Pecan pie or the chocolate rum cake we’d get at our madrigal concert I’d perform in during my days of singing in a local children’s chorus (I was 8-12, but that flavor will always be ingrained in my mind). This tea is meant to cooldown for the opportunity to experience the layers of burnt sugar and pecan notes! Too bad this is all there may ever be.

Sip down

I found an unopened bag of this in the sip down stash a week or two ago and decided it was time to open some of the teas which have sat a while. There was a hit of the creamy aroma from the milk oolong. I didn’t smell much of the jasmine green tea as I anticipated (milk oolong is typically an overpowering aroma though).

I brewed this as an iced tea on Saturday evening. I added 195F water + 4 steep time, over ice. The creaminess from the milk oolong was the predominant flavor, however, the jasmine green remained in the aftertaste. It was slightly bitter, although, it wasn’t bad. I think if there was more balance between the two teas, this tea would stand out a bit more. Quite the “middle of the road” blend for me.

Sip down

It’s incredible to think that I only recently received this tea in the June subscription box yet have managed to drink it down. I was impressed by the first cup I had on Tuesday on the drive into work, that I wanted to finish the last dregs (3tsp) on Saturday. I brewed it hot and then tossed over ice but wanted to make a note of the iced vs hot. I typically don’t favor maltier teas cold, however, this one stood out.

Hot – Dark chocolate, hot cocoa, and malty.
Iced – Smooth, malty, less chocolate, and made a better iced tea.

Backlog

I made this as an iced tea after a morning hike yesterday. It held up quite well! I cannot find this one on Monarch Tea House’s site anymore, which is a bummer. I really enjoyed the strong candy floss flavors – dare I say, raspberries—of the tea. It was a cooling tea after 4 miles of an extremely hilly hike!