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Cold brewed the last of this just to get rid of it, and as a last-ditch attempt to make it good because I really don’t like it hot. Surprisingly… it’s kind of great?! The base is bordering on bitter, which is unsurprising because I left it for a really long steep (probably ~48 hours in the fridge) but it actually balances out the vanilla and grenadine well this way, stopping it from being sickly. The black tea is most dominant in the sip, but then afterwards it fades away and the fruity grenadine really pops, so much so that I can actually feel it becoming more and more pronounced in the seconds after the sip. It tastes more like caramelised strawberry to me than pomegranate, though my mam insists she tastes pomegranate. I could actually drink this pretty regularly I think, which is not something I ever thought I’d say about this tea. I almost wish I’d tried cold steeping it before I gave away my 100g bag! Upping my rating dramatically from 38 – I’m pretty sure I’m gonna double it. I’m glad I found a way I enjoy it and this tea and I can part ways as friends. We probably won’t see each other again, but if we do, we will greet one another with a warm hug instead of turning around and walking in the opposite direction.

Nope, no matter how I try it I can’t get behind this tea. I thought now it had aged maybe it would taste more like it was supposed to, but if anything the orange has gotten stronger. It’s mostly creamy orange in the sip, followed up by what’s supposed to be the main notes of ginger and genmaicha popped rice. They’re so faint in the background though that you’d never guess that this tea was named ‘Gingerbread House Genmaicha’ from a blind taste test. As the cup cools, that cola bottle flavour takes over. I wonder what it is? The citrus combined with the ginger, maybe? It will forever remain a mystery, because now it’s all gone.

Accidentally steeped at boiling because I’m an idiot and I wasn’t paying attention, but it’s still fantastic with almost no astringency, which was a surprise to me since I find Darjeelings tend to get pretty astringent quickly when they’re not taken care of properly. All the old notes I remember so well are here – malt, honey, chocolate, and a citrus finish. Today there’s a little more florality, a jasmine-like note coming through right at the end of the sip which I suspect might be due to the less-than-stellar steeping I gave the Darjeeling. I don’t mind it, though. I’m looking forward to a couple of resteeps before I finally say goodbye to this tea for good.

Now that I know that ‘cider’ in the US isn’t the same as cider in the UK (we only have what is apparently known in the US as ‘hard cider’), I can appreciate this guayusa more without thinking that the cinnamon is out of place. It still reads as apple pie filling to me, since I’ve never actually tried American cider, but I’m willing to trust that it’s something along the lines of this.

Sipdown 215/399.

Now this was missing from my spreadsheet for some reason, but judging by the writing on the package I’m going to say it was from RedFennekin?! Whoever sent this my way – thank you!!

I was trying to save this for a day when I’m not so swamped by essay writing for uni and chasing references and sorting out my DBS check for the new job, because I wanted to sit down with in and have a quiet gong fu afternoon. My willpower is weak, though, and the weather is terrible and I wanted a comforting cup of sticky rice tea. I ended up making a compromise between gongfu and grandpa style steeping – steeping the mini tuo in my 4oz gaiwan like normal, taking a few sips of the steeped liquor to make a note, then pouring the remaining tea into a bigger mug. I repeated this for three steeps so that I tried each one individually, and now I have a 12oz mug full of the remaining tea from the first three steeps. I think it’s a decent compromise, haha. The first steep was mild, creamy and starchy, without much of the earthiness of the puerh, but the second and third steeps were very similar and the earthiness came through a lot more. In my combined mug, I think the starchy rice and earthy pu are well balanced. It’s earthy without tasting ‘dirty’ or damp, which I appreciate, and the rice lingers in the aftertaste. It really is as filling and comforting as I’d hoped, and I don’t regret not waiting for a proper gong fu session. For now, I’m happy with my decision and looking forward to getting a few more mugs out of my ‘grand-fu’ session.

Sipdown 214/399

Sipdown! #213/399

I love Fujian black teas, and this is one I would definitely consider purchasing from a newer harvest to compare. Now I know how I like it steeped best, it’s rich malty cocoa every time, with just a hint of smoke. Paired today with the Thai lemongrass chicken soup I’m having for lunch. Yummy.

You can’t go wrong with caramel, apple and cinnamon. I don’t really get much of the lemon, but I think that would make it a bit too much anyway. It comes across more like a naturally citrusy base tea has been used, which I don’t mind. I really enjoyed this when I had it, but I don’t think I like it enough that I would actively look to buy more.

Going out on a high note! I’ve discovered that the astringency in this is minimal if you keep to a 3-minute steep, even with boiling water (I was impatient and didn’t want to wait for the water to cool). I also used less leaf than normal – 1 perfect teaspoon for a 12oz mug – and it’s still perfectly flavourful. Man, I’m going to miss this one.

I cold brewed this, and even though the weather is horrible today I’m really enjoying it! It’s a very roasty, nutty sort of genmaicha, not very vegetal which I prefer. While I’m not the biggest genmaicha drinker generally, this has been a very enjoyable one, and I’m glad KittyLovesTea made enough to go around, and that I found one last serving buried deep in my stash.

Sad sipdown. This is one I will be picking up in a larger amount once my cupboard is under control. It’s just as rich, malty and chocolatey as everyone says, but it’s also insanely smooth with a sour edge and a bean note that adds something a little different to it. There are hints of smoked caramel in the aftertaste, and the lingering impression it gives me is like somebody added cocoa to bread dough before they baked it, and now that bread is fresh out of the oven and you just took a big bite. This will one day be a staple single origin black in my cupboard, I think.

212/399.