August Uncommon Tea

Pretty sure this is the first tea I’ve had with a gluten warning on it. With the number of people who avoid or are allergic, I feel like that warning should be on the front. The aroma is quite unique; burnt marshmallow, chickory, fresh twig (like when you are trying to build a bonfire and you go to snap a twig but it’s so green it just bends) a bit of caramel, and a slight hint of bourbon. It sucks being under the weather but I hate this canker sore more. Sorry for my random tangent. I can’t eat properly and my tea… ugh…
I can taste all the notes described. Burnt sugar, bourbon (though not as strong), and the base is a nice strong black tea.

I really like this tea but I like it even more with orange honey. The honey brings out the flavor of the almonds, amaretto and orange. I am drinking it hot right now but it is delicious iced too. I am really impressed by all the teas I have tried from August Uncommon.

Ashmanra’s Sipdown Challenge | February 2023 | It’s Groundhog Day! Drink the same tea (or type) twice!

Part two of today’s Groundhog Day-inspired August Uncommon green tea sipdown! This particular cup is over-steeped and over-leafed and a smidge bitter, but it’s all my fault. I was distracted while making it. I think I’ll cold-brew it instead of doing a second steep tonight; I bet it’ll be very refreshing!

2023 sipdown count: 18/75

My partner doesn’t drink a ton of tea and tends to be pretty ambivalent about most blends, but he did really enjoy August Uncommon’s Psychocandy when we tried it last autumn. That was all the encouragement I needed to order another packet this year! And then AU sent out a 20% coupon, so I added a few more teas to my cart. Then I was sooo close to the free shipping threshold that I had to add one more. Which is how I ended up with a sample of Arabesque. :D

After a swampy, humid summer, the weather is beginning to cool off and the humidity has diminished ( for now). Today is absolutely beautiful, and I’m enjoying an afternoon cuppa without feeling like I’m going to overheat. Yay! I used to love heat and humidity, but the meds I’m on post-cancer put me into medical menopause, and my poor body cannot handle the heat very well anymore. (TMI?)

So! Arabesque called to me and I brewed it up for the first time. It smells really wonderful, just like a creamsicle. And it tastes… like a creamsicle! Wow, I really love this one. The first steep was a perfect blend of orange essence and marshmallowy vanilla; the second has more of a woody note, presumably from the jatoba. The sencha base is pretty unobtrusive, which might or might not be a good thing depending on your tastes. (It’s probably why AU’s teas are popular with non-tea-drinkers.) I’m OK with it here, though I wouldn’t say no to a stronger green tea base. I also would love a bit of a sharper, zestier orange.

I do find the second cup a bit drying, but not terribly so.

I ordered a sample-sized bag of this one a while back, tried it once, and promptly forgot about it. So I’m going into it somewhat fresh tonight!

Dry, I’m mostly getting anise with a tiny hint of cocoa. But my brewed cup smells… kinda funky and murky. There’s a smell that some fruity baked goods (blueberry muffins, banana bread) get when they’ve been sitting at room temp for too long and are just about to turn, and the scent here aaalmost reminds me of that smell. But it’s really mild and not enough to put me off.

The taste is actually kind of weak! There’s a hint of anise behind a thin, bready flavor, but not too much more. The mouthfeel is really nice and silky, but I want a little more flavor behind it.

A dash of oat milk bulks up the body, but does nothing for the flavor. Meh. Not a repurchase for me. :(

On paper, pairing spicy-sweet cardamom with a green tea sounds like a tragedy of flavoured thin tea in the making. This is AU we are talking about though, and the green tea they’ve chosen is distinctive enough to hold its own: grassy, kind of nutty, and vaguely smoky (I almost want to say gunpowder? kind of looks like gunpowder. AU loves the smoke).

The result is a surprisingly full dessert tea that pairs well with the summer-fall transition. Cozy dessert lawn.

Aside from its terrible name, I’m generally in favor of this tea, which has surprised me all over again with each cup.

Rose, cocoa, and clove don’t feel like they should go together, but I am a fan of all three. The scent gives clove and smoke with a background rose. On a sip, the bitterness hits first, but is quickly followed by the cocoa, with the clove and rose finishing at the end. Every cup out of this sample pack has been balanced and strong.

I’m a huge fan of a strong, potent rose and spice, so this is mostly a win for me. The bitterness up front is my biggest sticking point and keeps me from putting this up with some of my other favorite teas. I find it fascinating, but don’t feel like I need more.

Second sample cup and I really enjoy this one.

Sadly looks like the tin and larger size is sold out currently at August Uncommon during their Black Friday Sale :(

A good tea, although a little simple. I steeped at 3 minutes but will try 4 next time. Goes well with a cube of sugar, but honey does not complement it nearly as much.

I like this for something different when the mood strikes. It’s certainly strong, borderline cloying, so it’s not a daily tea and you need to be in the mood for it. I prefer 3-4 minute steep over 5 for this one.

I drank in my new raven tea cup with some saltines and creamy havarti cheese, which is usually my favorite tea snack other than chocolate. This one doesn’t fully go with the cheese and crackers, and due to the strength and sweetness, it wouldn’t go with chocolate either, so it’s a difficult food pair.

I really enjoyed the last of this small bag in my order. It is unique. Not something I’d drink every day but good for certain and moods – and you can’t argue the name is not memorable. Planning to order some more of this one. The caramel comes through decently strong and is of course enhanced by some sugar

This tea smells great, but when I tried it hot, it tasted like almost nothing. I let it cool, and now it’s pretty nice. The chocolate is quite rich. I get a bit of extra desserty flavor, but I wouldn’t be able to pinpoint it as hazelnut specifically. This is lovely both at room temperature and refrigerated. I don’t think I’d reorder a larger amount, but I had a good time with it. The chocolate flavor is quite authentic and nice. It has a pleasant richness.

2022 Spring Tea Swap – Day 25
From Emilie!

This is so unique! I can taste both the mint and the melon. It’s very refreshing. I think I’ll add a bag of this to my next AU order. I don’t have many melon teas, but it’s a flavor I really enjoy.

Mastress Alita’s Monthly Sipdown Challenge
June 2022 → An iced/cold brew tea

I steeped up the last of this blend from Emilie to have iced. I used the recipe from August Uncommon’s website for a shandy but subbed orange soda to make the mocktail version.

https://august.la/blogs/news/biarritz-tea-and-weiss-beer-shandy

I have to say, it is not my favorite. I’m not sure if it’s the temperature, but it tastes just like cherry cough syrup. If I ever have this one again, I’ll be sure to keep it hot.

2022 Spring Tea Swap – Day 23
From Emilie!

So unique! The aroma is cherry while the flavor is just like a black jelly bean. Those aren’t my favorite, but I don’t hate them. The cherry mixed with the anise definitely works. I don’t get the amaretto or orange blossom flavors which is kind of a letdown, but I’m going to use the rest of my sample in a cold brew to see what other flavors might come through. AU really has the most interesting blends!

I absolutely love the pineapple flavor that August Uncommon uses in their Big Easy tea, and I taste a similar flavor here. Unfortunately, it’s overshadowed by tons of black pepper flavor. This blend is supposed to be spicy, but the spice element here comes really just from the black pepper. So I wish there could be more pineapple, less black pepper, or maybe just more complexity here. Pineapple plus pepper isn’t great for me. It’s like eating a stir fry with pineapple in it or something. I actually enjoyed the resteep more because the super fruity sweetness had faded and it was just the savory pepper with a more savory cooked pineapple remnant. The second time I had this, I tasted mostly pepper with only a hint of pineapple, which was just too savory for me. This tea is definitely interesting, but it’s not really for me.

This is a tea from AJRimmer. I’m always excited to try an AU blend, they’re always interesting at the very least.

For some reason this one tastes like chocolate and banana to me. I don’t know if it’s because I let it get cold or what but how strange! I’ll certainly have to try this again and see if I get a more expected result

2022 Spring Tea Swap – Day 7
From Emilie!

I was a bit distracted while drinking this one, but I know that I really liked it. There was a deep caramel note that was so delicious. I’ll do better with my next note!

2022 Spring Tea Swap – Day 4
From Emilie!

This is so unique! I couldn’t place the aroma at first, but after cheating and looking at the ingredient list I definitely get tropical fruit vibes. I still have a bit more of this one to play around with, but if the rest is as good as this cup then I think I’ll pick some up with my next AU order.

I have an August tasting box and am excited to go through each of the teas. Trying to remember to make notes so I know which ones to repurchase!

Silencio is interesting. The smell is a strong pineapple; I actually noticed the pineapple smell several rooms over in my house while it was steeping! It didn’t give the same pineapple taste, however. The original sip is fairly bitter, but the cacao smooths it out a bit in the aftertaste. I cannot begin to explain why it reminds me of a coffee cocktail – maybe just the combo of bitter and cacao?
The spice is there, but much more subtle than the packaging implies. I notice the pineapple flavor only really as it cools.

Bold, different, and kind of a warm & cozy tea, but ultimately not one I think I’d seek out for repurchase.

This one tastes very similar to Bird & Blend’s black forest cake. I get a pretty balanced fruit and chocolate flavor. It’s done decently well, though it’s not one I’d really choose frequently due to my own preferences.