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This was received in a swap with Jennkay a while back, and for some reason I never added it to my cupboard. The sample wasn’t quite enough to make a flavourful cup, so I stretched it out as best I could and will be leaving it on my wishlist until I’m able to try enough of it to give a fair review. Though mild, toasty rice and hay notes are quite forwardly present, with a whisper of chocolate in the background, followed up by a prominent bean-like note which lingers on the palate after the sip. A pinch of sugar brings out the chocolate more, and the bean note seems to take over the sip. It’s a very comforting cup with an almost starchy presence even when significantly underleafed, and I imagine it would be a real treat when brewed using the recommended amount.

Thank you for sharing, Jenn! Sipdown, 223/400.

As I’ve already mentioned, peppermint isn’t something I gravitate to frequently on its own, and even in minty blends I typically prefer spearmint. This is fine, though, and it does exactly what it promises. It just happens that what it is just isn’t all that exciting to me. This is more something I grab as a palate cleanser, or when I’m thirsty and want to gulp something down that’s refreshing and simple. It probably would have been nice to mix into other blends, but that’s not something I ever tried with this.

Sipdown 222/399

Sipdown, finally!

This is one which is so cloyingly sweet I couldn’t drink it often. It’s actually better now, several years old, than it was fresh because the overpowering flavours have mellowed out enough to be somewhat enjoyable. For my final cup I wanted to try something unusual, maybe something a bit weird. Something a lot of you will probably judge me for. I used my final teabag as the base for a homemade pumpkin spice latte. I brewed it up nice and strong, then added coffee, milk and a drizzle of toffee sauce. The tea is actually so strong that it overpowers the flavour of the coffee, but other than that it’s actually not a bad approximation. I think if I wanted it to be more accurate I could just add more coffee. Part of me wants to get my Moka pot out and brew up some super strong coffee to add to it, but I’m pretty sure I would have finished the mug by the time it was ready. It’s nice enough anyway, something a bit different, and I’m satisfied that I used these teabags in every way imaginable to use them up and actually discovered some pretty tasty options along the way.

221/399

This was a one-use sachet I received as a sample with a delivery of tampons, of all things. I added hot water and a dash of skimmed milk. A little on the thin side compared to other similar chai latte products I’ve had in the past, but overall it was pretty nice, if a little on the sweet side. Quite heavy on the cinnamon, which I enjoy.

Cold brew resteep of the leaf I used in my pot of tea the other day came out amazing! Creamy iced coffee, but super refreshing. Man I wish I’d discovered that before. Now I definitely need to find a replacement.

Even old this is still delicious. The base has definitely seen better days, but the marshmallow and spearmint both pulled through. I can’t wait to reach my sipdown target so I can place a 52teas order and get this back in my collection!

First time drinking ‘Greek Mountain Tea’ (otherwise known as Ironwort but that doesn’t sound like something you’d want to drink) and I had no idea what to expect! My brother and his girlfriend went on holiday to Crete last summer for his birthday, and brought this back with them for me, which was super sweet of them.

I looked around for similar reviews and couldn’t find anything to tell me what it should taste like, or steeping temperature etc. I ended up guessing with boiling because it’s a herbal, and luckily my guess seems to have paid off. I made myself a big pot of this, and I’m sipping away at it with the leaves left in the infuser inside the pot. I used 3 spoons just as suggested, but the leaves were so big and fluffy (and so soft and downy!) that it was a struggle to get them into my measuring spoon and I was a bit worried I’d either under or overleafed. The package it came in said 2-3 minutes, and at first because the flavour was so delicate after that time I thought I hadn’t used enough, but now a good half hour later it’s pretty robust. I think if I weren’t making a pot like this though I would definitely have to use more leaf per cup.

At first tentative sip, I was surprised by how much it tasted like a cup of hot lemon water. After leaving for a few more minutes, something herbal like nothing I’ve ever tasted joined the lemon note, and overall it actually gave a pretty similar impression to a lemon verbena. The longer it’s steeped, the more pronounced the herbal note is getting. The lemon is still there, but it’s like a citrus mist over the herbaceous body. There’s a pleasant tingling mouthfeel after the sip, and a mild sweetness takes over with an almost menthol herbal zing on the tip of the tongue. Now that I think about it, the herbal note does have something akin to fresh mint about it. Fresh mint mixed with something else that’s harder to place… thyme? Nettle? Actually, it reminds me of ayurvedic. Yep, that’s as close to a description of this unique herbal as I’m going to get, I think. Body of verbena and ayurvedic, veiled with sweetness, fresh mint, nettle and thyme, with a very subtle hint of smoke. I’m pretty happy with that for now.

It’s a nice herbal. It doesn’t blow me away flavour-wise, but I’m really enjoying it and it’s nice to try something unusual which I hadn’t even heard of before. I read up on the herb too and apparently it’s really good for anxiety, which is a huge bonus for me! It’s also supposed to be good for upset stomachs, colds etc. so I’ll have to bear that in mind! I do like a tea that can multitask. (:

This came by way of swap with OhFancyThat, longer ago than I’d care to admit.

I like Harney and Sons, but I’m very picky with chocolate teas, and theirs are not among the ones I typically enjoy. They have that artificial almost cocoa butter flavour which I don’t enjoy. Having said that though, I don’t mind it so much in this tea. SoHo is a chocolate and coconut tea, and I find that the ‘cocoa butter’ note I get from the H&S chocolate flavouring pairs pretty nicely with the coconut note. I really like coconut teas too, which does help quite a bit. The base is only slightly astringent after 4 minutes steeping, and not in a bad way – it works to temper the sweetness of the buttery coconut just enough that it isn’t sickly. Overall it’s not my favourite from Harney, but it might be my favourite of their chocolate teas. I wouldn’t go out of my way to buy more, but I would drink it again if I were offered a cup.

Sipdown 220/399.

Added some Phoenix Oolong to the second western steep of the Oriental Beauty I was drinking at lunch time, then topped it up with a little more of the dry OB. I’m surprised by how much the Xingren Xiang changes the flavour profile, considering it probably makes up only 1/4 of the leaf, if that. The Oriental Beauty on its own is sweet and mild with notes of honey and apricot, but with the added Phoenix Oolong the cup is suddenly very robust, mild astringency present, with fairly prominent floral orchid and woody notes. The honeyed malt of the OB lingers on the palate after the sip. Quite happy with this combination. I would give it a 68.

I had a very indulgent bath earlier tonight where I read and drank a whole pot of this. It was my reward for getting done with my university work for the summer. The roasty coffee and sweet, creamy vanilla go really well with the rooibos and with each other, and remind me of affogato which is something I adore. It’s a shame that it used up the last of my leaf. I’ve put the spent rooibos into a tumbler in the fridge to cold steep to see if I can force anything more out of it. Trying not to get my hopes up about it, though. This was a pretty unique flavour, and I think I’ll be hard pressed to find something to replace it, but I’m damn well going to try.

Sipdown! ): 219/399.