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Much better! I changed up my steeping parameters for this tea today and now it’s what I was expecting the first time around. The malt and dark chocolate I was detecting in the scent is translating through to the sip, I knew it was in there somewhere! It’s more complex than that though, and the sourdough notes I was picking up so strongly last time are still present, but this time they’re playing backup to the rich malt and chocolate, not the star of the show. There’s a hint of something floral, almost rose-like, right at the end of the sip, along with wildflower honey notes. As the cup cools some mineral notes are creeping into the body of the sip. It’s gorgeously light and smooth, no astringency or bitterness whatsoever, even though I steeped it almost at boiling this time around. Upping my rating from 61 – the change is steeping parameters made all the difference.

Surprise tea! I didn’t realise I had any of this left. I’m mainly tasting the pumpkin and banana today, which I’m not complaining about because let’s be honest, the apple is the least interesting of the flavours anyway. I appreciate that it actually tastes like pumpkin, and not pumpkin spice like a lot of other brands tend to pass off as pumpkin. I really enjoy the flavouring of this tea, and I would have rated it much higher if the base tea didn’t have a fair amount of astringency behind it. It’s enough to make me want to add milk, which I feel like mutes the other flavours, so I’m conflicted about it. Even with milk added the pumpkin shines through though, and the banana is prominent in the aftertaste. Now I’m going to have to see if I can hunt down any more pumpkin banana combinations.

I still don’t get any whisky from this, but from reading Stacy’s description I don’t think I’m supposed to. I’ve noticed that in a few of her ‘Irish Cream’ teas, the description sounds like it’s just regular cream, and I don’t get any whisky flavouring. Still, though, the strawberries and cream are very accurate and adding a pinch of sugar does remind me of those strawberry & cream hard boiled sweets that are the same shape as a Werther’s original but pink and white swirled instead of caramel. I used to love those things. I’d like to try this cold brewed and see how it turns out.

I’ve never had a kumquat, so I don’t know how accurate the flavour of this tea is, but in taste it’s much milder than in scent, which is deliciously citrus fragranced. The citrus, tangerine-like note is present in the flavour of the liquor, alongside a prominent sourness which could be coming from the Nilgiri base rather than the delicate flavouring, though overall it gives an impression of a cross somewhere between an orange and a lemon. The delicate flavouring is something which Lupicia do really well, but I find myself just wishing it were stronger in this particular blend, especially as I overleafed my cup and the citrus note is still so delicate. Nice, but not one which I will miss.

Thank you Marzipan for sharing this with me. Sipdown 207/399.

Made a cold brew latte with this to use it up, and it was fine. Mild enough that it didn’t bring up bad memories like this tea usually does, haha. It’s the first time I’ve cold steeped in milk though, and while it turned out well I don’t think it’ll be something I do often because it just uses up so much leaf. Pretty happy with my experiment, though.

Sipdown! 206/399

I finished the last of this off as a cold brew, and that was definitely the right decision! Root beer has never been a favourite of mine, but in hot tea form I found it completely bizarre. Not bad at all, just really really weird and it kind of put me off. Cold though, this is much closer to an actual root beer, and much less jarring for my brain to compute. There’s also a chocolatey note coming through at the end of the sip which was a total surprise, but I kind of like it. All in all a good send-off for this tea. Upping my rating from 75.

I actually prefer this now to when I first got it. The raspberry has mellowed out and now the flavours are much more balanced. The pistachio and marshmallow bring out a sort of praline feel in the initial sip, and then it ends on a creamy raspberry note. I’m working on tweaking my steeping parameters so that I can drink the CTC without milk, because it shines so much more without. I can’t get through a full mug plain though as I’m quite sensitive to astringency, but I’m working on it! Upping the rating from 70, because I can actually pick out the marshmallow and pistachio now.

I remember hating this tea the first time I tried it, so I’ve been avoiding the rest of my sample ever since. When I finally bit the bullet and made it again, I’ve discovered that it’s actually not bad. Now I’m wondering if it’s mellowed out over time, if the proportion of ingredients or my tastebuds have changed, or if I was actually getting it mixed up with a different tea – maybe Sleigh Ride? Either way, this was a pleasant surprise. Very heavy on the winter spices, but the tart and juicy fruits added to the spice mixture remind me quite a lot of mulled wine. The anise isn’t overpowering, which is what I was afraid of, and actually blends into the background nicely with notes of clove and cinnamon alongside tart – but not sour – apple and plum. It’s not the best tea in the world I’ll admit, but I was expecting to hate it so this not-bad cup is a pleasant surprise.

I don’t know how it does it, but this actually smells and tastes like custard. Sweet, creamy, eggy custard with stewed apple and raisins. It’s a lot stronger in the scent of the dry leaf than in the tea itself, but it’s still unmistakeably present in the scent of the brewed liquor and up front in the sip. It’s replaced as the dominant note mid-sip by apple, and then the creamy custard creeps back in and takes over again slowly, lingering for a while afterwards. I don’t taste any chamomile (by no means a complaint) but there wasn’t much in my teaspoon so that’s unsurprising. A pinch of sugar makes this really decadent. If I had one complaint, I would like the tea to have a stronger flavour overall, but that could be fixed by adding more leaf. This came from a DAVIDsTEA advent calendar though, so I unfortunately don’t have enough to experiment with that. It’s definitely one I would consider buying more of if I had the option.

The pear flavouring in this tea is so good! I’m surprised every time I drink it, because it’s the only tea I’ve actually been able to taste the pear in. Cinnamon is always a winner for me too. It’s a shame I’ve only got enough for one more cup of this, and I don’t fancy it’s chances at getting a reblend. Oh well, it’s as good as it ever was so I’m happy to have what I have remaining. Poached pear yumminess. Mmmmmm.

I’m considering bumping the rating up from 82, because it’s consistently delicious. Yep, I’m doing it.