Bird & Blend Tea Co.

I’ve been putting off trying this one because I’m a little fickle about ginger, but it was actually kind of perfect!? Just ginger-y enough with undertones of cinnamon and a smooth but full bodied black tea base. Most importantly, though, it really nailed that more golden and kind of malty biscuit flavour. From sip one I really felt like it was quite accurately conveying the namesake inspiration, and I ended up enjoying the profile a lot. Made me want to dunk actual biscuits in it!

Though I didn’t love this tea at first, I think paying better attention to my steeping parameters has really helped me appreciate it. I do sort of get a Biscoff vibe from this! I guess it’s not named Biscoff anymore, but my bag from May of 2023 still says that. It tastes cookie-ish and nicely desserty with milk and sugar. Not bad at all!

I had this one last night. It is the second bag from the advent calendar. I did not like it very much when it was hot. The hibiscus was prominent. However as it cooled I liked it more. It might be a nice refreshing glass as an iced tea on a hot summer day.

Working on a big project this week, so a lot of the teas I’ve been drinking have kind of fallen into the backdrop while I focus on other things. In this case, I think that benefited the tea quite a bit. In the past, while I’ve been more attentive while drinking this tea, I’ve really picked it apart but drinking it so much more casually I felt like I was really getting a strong “chocolate chip cookie” vibe.

I found this single wrapped bag waaaayy in the back of my tea drawer. I wonder if it was part of an advent calendar that I put aside because of the hibiscus? It said Best Before January 2022 on the wrapper..

Ooops.

The flavor seemed muted to me. Probably because it was old? I got a bit of zing from the hibiscus, a faint hint of spices. I didn’t get any orange. Between my bum nose not being able to smell and the age of the tea I just didn’t get much. It was drinkable but not very flavorful. I bet it would have been better two years ago.

Sipdown

When B&B makes a blend, it’s either really good or really bad. This happened to be a blend I found quite lovely. I purchased a sample (20g) since I wanted to compare it with the Butter Mint. This was the better of the two since the Butter Mint seemed to have a lower quality of milk oolong (it often got bitter). This was far smoother in taste and texture, and it made for a solid cup – slightly sweet and creamy.

Plain, this is really savory and earthy tasting. Since there’s a lot of chicory here, I added sugar and almond milk, and now it tastes similar to a Teeccino blend without much flavoring. I definitely prefer Teeccino. Now I feel like I’m mostly tasting the almond milk. This one just isn’t at all pleasant to drink without the extra help. I guess I don’t get it.

I’m glad I only bought the zodiac sampler because of the 12 teas, there’s really only one I’d like to have again.

This flavor is really nice! It manages to be genuinely candylike in its mintiness. Cold, it’s super refreshing. This is one of the best mint teas I’ve had in recent memory! It’s not as crisp and clear as it could be since there’s also that candy element, but it doesn’t get murky and weird like some mint teas!

Originally I was going to pass on this one. I am a little worried that the natural flavoring involves some sort of milk of the cow. But because it doesn’t explicitly state dairy… I am crossing my fingers. I am also using the rest of it (1tsbp) for flavoring apple chips. The dry aroma is a mix of cherry, kind of stale socks (but not the corn chip kind), hibiscus, and a bit of citrus. The flavor is actually somewhat impressive. The Tiguan yin is not covered but the other flavors like I figured it would be. There is an interesting creamy note (probably the mascarpone) and a hint of cherry. But honestly, the cherry is not nearly as strong as I was hoping it would be.

As it sits, a more complex flavor comes forward. It was fruity, but also a bit spiced and interesting. The resteep might have tasted even stronger than the first. I wish I’d gotten a bigger bag of this! I’ve really been enjoying it cold.

This smells so gingery! I’m a fan of gingernut biscuits, so I was looking forward to this blend. The ginger definitely comes through strongly in the steeped tea. With milk and sugar, it really does taste like gingernut biscuits! The ginger lingers for a little while, though it could have been a bit spicier. So as usual, I wish for a bit more flavoring, but this is really quite decent!

The amount of butter beer copycats out there is pretty astounding. That being said not many get it right. And it makes it even more difficult for the tea community because you basically have to use flavoring in order to achieve the desired flavor. Thus far nothing has come close to the creaminess and wizarding deliciousness that is the butter beer of the Wizarding World of Harry Potter in Universal. This does a decent job of adding that bit of butterscotch flavor but it just still lacks the all-around fullness.

Sipdown/Advent Backlog

I’ve mentioned before that my greatest disappointment in the B&B Advent was the high amount of sleepy time teas; which I suppose isn’t necessarily a bad thing, it’s not their fault I work second shift.

Anyway, I need to get to bed early tonight – as close to 24:00 as possible – to prepare for a tea exchange tomorrow (first a morning workout). I decided it’s time to really get the sipdown pile down and rid myself the worry of having too many bits of tea samples.

Ok, I’m getting somewhat sidetracked. To my surprise, this is a lovely tea. It reminds me of juicy fruit gum, but with a chamomile bite. I’ve been slowly drinking it on and off, and the more it cools, the more fruity it becomes. B&B really does a great job on their blends, but sometimes, when one fails my palate, it really fails my palate. This passes the test.

Ugh this is not a great combination of flavors. Bitter turmeric, not the freshest coconut, and a just okay rooibos base. With almond milk and sugar, it’s technically drinkable, but just sort of bitter and meh.

Cold, this is quite refreshing, if unremarkable. I taste maybe some floral flavors on top of a decent tea backdrop. Actually, the more I drink it, the more I enjoy it. I’m not sure what this is going for, but I’d drink it again!

Free sample from an order! It’s mostly bright and quite minty, but with a definite bit of murkiness. It’s pleasant and refreshing, but I accidentally drank another mint tea right before this, and I prefer the other one!

This is a nice milk oolong! I don’t taste much more going on other than that, but I’m enjoying it with added milk! It’s by far my favorite of the zodiac teas. The resteep was really nice too. It’s just so rich and buttery! I never tasted any of the fruit that’s supposed to be there.

I couldn’t tell what flavor this is supposed to be! The flavor is pretty watery and mild except maybe a tiny bit of fruitiness (apparently it’s passionfruit). It’s all super subdued though. I shared it with someone who loved it!

Advent Sipdown

A well balanced spiced chai. I could really taste the cardamom, cinnamon, and ginger; the rooibos was hardly present, which was surprising on the account that rooibos is a fairly strong taste.

Free sample from my last order! I don’t really like it. It’s sort of murky and bleh. Possibly with different steeping parameters it would be pleasant, but it tastes almost like beer to me, weirdly. Actually, I couldn’t even finish the cup because the beer flavor was so unpleasant.

This reminds me of another B&B tea…I taste the rooibos and coconut and a bit of something like pineapple. I don’t love fruitiness mixed with spiciness, but it’s not bad. The kick of heat is pretty strong, like it’s accomplished with chili peppers. It’s all a bit thin though.

This was the second tea for the evening…A leftover from the 2023 Christmas Advent Calendar.

Flavor: It’s light in flavor. A subtle lemony note is present on the immediate sip, but it’s watered down. I used 8oz of water for a single bag and have allowed it to steep over 10 minutes in boiling water. I’d imagine it’d fall at a higher rating if it were a tad stronger.

Side Note: I’ve had better luck exploring B&B on my own, than the offerings from their Advent. It was overall pretty meh and I was greatly disappointed in the selections. It felt very health oriented, rather than festive or inviting. It doesn’t mean I dislike B&B, for there are plenty of blends that are (chef’s kiss) beautiful.

I’m used to drinking Teeccino, so this tastes sort of like dirt in comparison. The black tea is a little watery, and the coffee flavor is there, but boring and plain instead of the fun flavors that Teeccino always has.

From my first sip of this one, I was a little impressed. It’s deep and fruity, and the flavoring used isn’t the same sort you see again and again. It’s doing its own thing, which I appreciate. It’s also very forgiving of oversteeping. It doesn’t taste specifically like melon, more like tart red fruit, but I enjoyed it anyway.