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I chose this sample from VariaTEA because I thought it would make a good strong morning tea before work, but when I saw how dark it brewed up I was a little nervous. It’s actually quite smooth, and not really astringent at all, but it hasn’t aged the best and I know that’s my fault and not the tea’s. I’m almost through all of my little plastic baggie samples, and aim to be completely done with them before the end of next month. Most of them have held up pretty well but a few, this one included, have become victims of age. There is a definite rich chocolate scent lingering in the air around the cup, but sadly this doesn’t translate into the flavour. Plain it’s more a vanilla tea, a pinch of sugar brings out the chocolate slightly more and a splash of milk doesn’t do much but give it a richer mouthfeel. I’m annoyed with myself because I bet this tea would have been just what I was hoping for today if it were fresher. Rating without factoring in the fustiness.

Sipdown 163/397

Made as my first tea back from Rome since it was an easy one to make and an easy sipdown to boot. This tea has some pretty bad reviews, but I actually enjoyed it quite a bit! The smell of this steeping filled the whole kitchen with the scent of stewing apples, and I couldn’t help but inhale the steam. When I finally got too impatient and took a sip, I was disappointed that the cinnamon seemed to be the dominant flavour, with only a smidgen of apple playing in the background. I added a pinch of sugar, and this brought out more of the apple flavour, but not enough. I added more, so there was roughly a teaspoon in my mug, and boy did it make a difference. The apple came out so much more, equalling the cinnamon in strength. This is definitely the way I’d recommend drinking this tea. Yummy yummy yum. Thank you Marzipan!

I’m baaaack! Sorry for the mini-hiatus, but packing for Rome was so stressful (it was my first time travelling alone-ish) and took up so much time that I didn’t have time to drink tea, let alone write about it. This was the only tea that I drank in the last couple of days leading up to the trip, and I drank coffee – mainly espresso – the whole time we were there and haven’t had any more in the day since I got back, so this is the only note I have to catch up on.

Sadly I don’t remember the finer details of this tea (it was a sample from my swap with VariaTEA so it’s not one I’ve drank often), only that it was nice, but definitely underwhelming and more peppery than a ‘butterscotch’ tea should be. I didn’t get the alcohol comparisons, to me this was more of a peppery caramel white tea. The sweet buttery note definitely came across more as caramel to me than it did butterscotch, which used to be my brother and I’s favourite dessert as kids. I suppose that distinct memory could be what’s preventing me from making the connection here. Still, I’m grateful to have tried it.

Sipdown 162/397.

Also, if anyone’s wondering, Rome was incredible, stunning, moving, immense and I’d go back in a heartbeat (we’re planning a potential second holiday there later this year!) I’d recommend it to anyone that’s considered going, and anyone that hasn’t.

Thank you for the sample, Marzipan!

So, this is going on my order list. I think I’m going to keep a spot in my cupboard for an uncomplicated caramel tea, and when I’m back to buying new teas it’ll likely be this one. It’s not an artificial or overly sweet caramel, but an authentic slightly burnt caramel note which adds some depth and dimension while still making an incredible dessert tea. Sometimes you want all-singing-all-dancing bells-and-whistles-galore tea, but sometimes you want a good solid tea with one main flavour note, a good base and the ability to take additives or drink plain equally. This is a tea for those days, and as I’m frantically packing for my holiday to Rome (which I leave for in two days!) I need a good solid tea, which has my back and is tasty without demanding too much attention.

Sipdown! 161/397

I’m so so sorry to the person who sent me this, but it’s not on my spreadsheet and I have no idea why not! I have a feeling it was either Tea Pet, OhFancyThat or Red Fennekin based on the way it was packaged, so thank you all for your swaps and apologies again for not knowing which one this came in.

I was really excited about this tea. It’s gorgeous, smells divine and I have had nothing but positive experiences with Mariage Freres. It is a nice tea, but I think because I had such high expectations I was disappointed. The flavour combination seems bizarre and cluttered – too many flavours, not enough thought behind the combination. The description is pretty vague, and I couldn’t detect many pronounced notes except for a thick, syrupy cherry at the end of the sip. The mouthfeel was very thick, too, and was accompanied by a little astringency (even though I steeped it at a lower temperature for a black) that made me think of cough syrup. This is all sounding more negative than I meant it to, I promise I enjoyed the cup. It just didn’t blow me away or live up to my high expectations. I guess it lacked the subtlety and complexity of most Mariage Freres and other French teas I’m used to. I paired it with homemade sunflower seed bread, which I think actually went very nicely and brought out more of the subdued spice notes in this tea.

I steeped this tea for aaaaaages trying to get more flavour out than I did last time. It was semi-successful in that I can kind of taste the base tea now? Sorta? I also used more leaf and less water, which had contributed a little more flavour but also a drying sensation at the back of my throat which I didn’t expect to get from this. I actually am getting a very slight chocolate note this time, but the waffle is less prominent than before. The raspberry is still front and centre, which I don’t mind at all as I am a fan of Butiki’s raspberry flavouring (though there are certainly better raspberry teas from them). As it cools the chocolate and waffle are becoming a little more discernible. I had to add sugar again to make the flavours pop, but overall I think they are more pronounced and more well-balanced than before. Not by a huge amount, but I am upping my rating a little from my previous 61. It would have been more, but I’m picking up a weird bitter/sour note every now and again which is not coming from astringency.

Sipdown 160/397

Sipdown 159/397

Not a tea I would recommend, but not as bad as I expected given the ratings. This tea is sour, metallic and all around hibiscus-heavy when you first take a sip. I fully expected to pour my mug away. But I set it down, ate my meal (albeit a very strongly-flavoured one which might be why I didn’t mind the tea so much afterwards) and then came back to it, and lo and behold, it wasn’t that bad! The hibiscus had retreated somewhat to let the orange and cranberry flavours through, and a little of the woodsy rooibos too. It wasn’t one I’d drink again through choice, but I finished the whole mug and gave it a solid ‘meh’.

Thanks for sharing, KittyLovesTea!

Sipdown 158/397

Yum! Even old this tea has a strong scent and flavour. I found the base tea quite astringent, though, so added milk and sugar. Waaaay too much sugar, but it’s still tasty. This is a perfect dessert tea, something to have when you’re craving that buttery caramel sweetness but don’t want or can’t have an actual dessert for one reason or another. The vanilla is actually more strongly present than I expected; I thought it would be overwhelmed by the caramel, but it’s not. Not as good as Butiki’s Caramel Vanilla Assam, but almost. Definitely something which could replace it, when I eventually run out of the last 2oz I’ve been hoarding. If I ever find out how to order from Nina’s (I might just end up going to Paris) this will probably be a part of my order.

Thank you so much VariaTEA for sharing!

Sipdown 157/397

I brewed this sample from the EU TTB Western style, as I do almost all of my teas, but I can’t help but wish now that I’m sipping on it that I’d tried it gongfu. It is a very complex and tasty tea, and very unique, too, but there was a really tasty, familiar note I got around 30 seconds into brewing that disappeared as time went on (I tend to taste my unflavoured teas at several points as they’re steeping). I didn’t manage to figure out what it was, and now it’s gone. Definitely going to try resteeping my leaves. The dry leaf was beautiful, big dark twists of leaf, and the liquor is very dark for a white tea, too. This is reflected in the slightly malty, raisin-sweetness of the tea, which I would have been less surprised to find in a black tea. It has notes of sweet buttery caramel, stone fruits (more plum and apricot to me than peach as others have mentioned) and a slight hint of warming spice in the background. It’s intoxicating, and invitingly complex. You just want to figure it out! It actually smells a little like the L’Occitane shampoo, the original one, but in a way than makes you want to drink it. The scent translates into the flavour. This tea actually reminds me a lot of Butiki’s White Rhino, though I never got to try that one on its own without flavouring. If I don’t buy this exact tea in the future (I’m assuming it’ll be pretty hard to find) I do think I’ll keep a spot in my cupboard for one of these unusual dark white teas.

Sipdown 156/397

I was ambivalent at best towards this tea when I first tried it, rating it a measly 51, but over time I have grown to appreciate it so much more! I still don’t like to eat cantaloupe melons, but the flavour of this tea has really grown on me. I brew it completely differently than how I used to, which I’m sure plays a huge role in my much improved opinion, but I also think my tastes have changed and developed a lot in the last few years. I give this a very short steep in not-quite-boiling water to fully release the flavour without bringing out any accidental astringency, and it’s just authentic, pure unadulterated melon. The black tea is tempered by the lower temperature and only lends a slight malt note if you’re concentrating. There’s no cinnamon, and a slight liquorice root sweetness at the back of my throat at the end of the sip, which is the only reason I’m not rating this even higher – I would rather these ingredients were just removed altogether. We’ve been on quite the journey together, this tea and I, and I never would have suspected it would end in me actually considering repurchasing this in the future!