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Ah, Cookie. Buttery, brown sugar cookie goodness. This makes a good breakfast tea with milk because of the CTC leaf, and the additional flavours hold up to the milk well. Cinnamon and almond notes are most prominent, alongside something deeper and almost earthy, but sweet at the same time, that I’ve never been able to put my finger on but is instantly recognisable to me as this tea. My cup is already empty, and it smells like shortbread.

I received quite a bit of this tea in swaps with WhatSheSaid and Marzipan (thank you both), and I’m stunned that I’ve never written up a note on it before. I must have been enjoying it too much! Now I only have enough for one small cup left, and this will be making its way back onto my wishlist and – hopefully sooner rather than later – into my first Lupicia order. I’ve made the happy discovery that I can order from the Lupicia France website, if I can only muddle through my rudimentary understanding of French enough to actually place an order.

I GOT THE JOB!!!!!!!!

Haven’t drank much tea today because me and my mam had an afternoon in the sun with wine and beer to celebrate. Now I’m drinking this to get rid of my headache! I can’t drink like I used to. Peppermint and lemongrass with a tart hibiscus edge. Am I getting something spicy?? I swear I have a slight heat building in the back of my throat, but I can’t see any ingredients listed that would cause that. Hmm…

Thank you MissB for sending me this tea!

This is a confusing tea. The name says ‘almond green’ but it’s actually quite fruity and contains a mixture of green and black tea, with more black than green. The dry leaf contains a lot of pieces of orange rind, and smells strongly of citrus – no almond in sight. When steeping, the almond scent takes over and it does become intoxicatingly marzipan-like, and it remains present in the sip though not as strongly as it is in the scent. In flavour, the almond note comes through at the end with a touch of astringency, but the sip is dominated by fruity notes, of which I was able to pick out orange and cherry. The combination of cherry and almond gives the impression of a Bakewell tart, but I think Bird and Blend’s version of that is better than this, and I would choose it over this one without a second thought. It’s a good thing, I suppose, because this was limited edition, and B&B is a lot more accessible to me in the UK. I am enjoying this, but won’t miss it when it’s gone.

I’ve been wanting for about a week now to try this with a spoon of condensed milk, and finally got around to trying it tonight. As (terrible) luck would have it, today is also the first time there’s been no condensed milk left. Which I didn’t notice until after I’d started steeping this, so instead I’m having it with milk and sugar. I made one small cup without additives to compare, and the woodsy rooibos is definitely less present in the cup with additives. So is the coconut, though, which surprised me. With milk and sugar, it’s soo decadent. It really is dessert in a mug. Very cloying and sweet, though, and I don’t think I could drink it often. This will be nice to sip on as a treat while I try to force myself to finish this essay!

I’m not a fan of Victoria Sponge, but the tea is soooo much better than the cake! I saw Martin’s review earlier and have been thinking about this ever since, so I made one great big mug with the last of my leaf to give it a great British send-off until I’ve finished a minimum of 207 more teas… yeah, it might be a while. Even though it’s overleafed there’s no astringency, but there is plenty of tart raspberriness (sure, that’s a word) and some vanilla cakiness (also a word). This was the first tea that ever blew me away with a ‘cake’ note, and I still think it’s one of the best out there for recreating the flavour of an actual dessert. I added sugar, and the raspberry note is brighter than ever now, while the vanilla cream cake takes a back seat. Perfect cup for this afternoon.

It’s not ‘goodbye’, Vicky, it’s only ‘see you later’. Sipdown 190/397.

This is a sample I’ve had lying around forever courtesy of Anna who added it to the EU TTB. I did try it when I first grabbed it out of the box (after I’d already sent it on) but was underwhelmed by the total lack of rum flavour, so never picked it up to finish off. I was in the mood for something sweet and wanted to get a sipdown in, so this seemed the logical choice. Reading through tasting notes, I notice that you’re supposed to use 1.5tsp of leaf, which is probably why I was so underwhelmed the last time! So, I used the rest of my sample which was luckily just enough, steeped for a much longer time than previously, and it’s suddenly really nice! I still don’t get rum, and I will die on that hill, but it is a very nice buttery, caramelly sort of coconut dessert tea. Buttered coconut would have been a great name for it! There’s no astringency either, which I was a little bit concerned about because of the long steep I gave it, but the base tea is definitely present in a nice malty way which adds body and depth to the tea, nice with the toasted coconut note I get in the aftertaste of the sip. I’m much more impressed this time around, and the only reason it’s not getting added to my wishlist is because I can’t order from David’s over here. Who knows, if I ever make it on my dream trip to Canada, I could come back with this…

Sipdown 189/397.

Thank you for sharing, Sil!

Brewing scent is cocoa with a slight smokiness. The liquor is light, with a slightly floral, earthy scent which could be comparable to a Darjeeling, but with more malt and a touch of cinnamon. I was expecting more earthiness in the sip, but I’m not noticing any. It’s a light-bodied, malty Yunnan with a whisper of smokiness at the end of the sip and a drying mouthfeel. Light sweetness, but no note that really stands out for me. The taste and scent are quite disjointed from one another, in my opinion. I think I was expecting too much because of how good the Fu Shou Mei was from YS, but I am happy to try it nonetheless.

Resteeped leaves are malty, cocoa is still present but the overall feel of the tea is less complex. Enjoyed nevertheless.

This is a beautiful tea. Appearance, scent, taste. It’s all beautiful. I kept the last of my sample from Sil in a sealed container because the glossy, jet black twists of leaves streaked with gold just looked special and I had a feeling it was going to be a good one. I’m so glad I did! Even though it’s over 5 years old now this tea is still lovely. The scent brewing bowled me over, going from dark cocoa to deep, rich molasses. Every now and again I get a hint of stewed fruits, though it’s not present in the sip or at least not to me. Taste wise, it’s malty and deep, with the cocoa and molasses translating through to the body of the sip and a slight sour note which could be why I’m smelling stewed fruits, mostly apple and plum. There’s no astringency at all, though it’s a very full-bodied cup and I steeped the leaves at almost boiling. I’m not too familiar with Dian Hong in general, but this experience has made me intrigued to try more.

I did have so much more I wanted to say about this tea, it’s so interesting, but I’ve just received an email about the job I’m in the process of applying for so I will have to leave it there!

Thank you so much Sil for sharing! Sipdown 188/397.

I don’t understand how other people don’t seem to get peach from this… for me, it’s bright and juicy, especially with a pinch of sugar added! I’ve been really into simple teas recently with only one or two added flavours, and though the Formosa doesn’t come through as strongly as I’d like, the peach note is sweet and clear. It’s excellent cold brewed, too, but today I’m drinking it hot. There’s no astringency even though I steeped it at boiling, which always worries me even though it’s the recommendation on the bag. Yeah, this just does it for me. I can’t wait to pick up more, I have a feeling this will be a staple in my cupboard once I get it down to a manageable size. I might be biased though because I just love peach.

Sipdown 187/397