BrutaliTeas

Mastress Alita’s sipdown challenge, March 2022: A sleepytime tea

I’m so pleased with this tisane. It reminds me ever so slightly of David’s Teas Dulce & Banana, which didn’t please everyone but is greatly missed by me. Love that combo of caramelized bananas and apple-ish chamomile (I enjoy chamomile). This one is extra indulgent because the nutty ingredients and cinnamon spice place it comfortably in banana bread territory (with walnuts). I happily don’t notice the honeybush much; it’s ok. My only quibbles are that pecans would’ve been better than walnuts, and cocoa is meh (an impression of frozen chocolate banana with nuts – especially if cooled).

This isn’t a true sipdown, thankfully; I never go out of my way to drink up my precious sleepytime teas anyways. I want many more evenings with this one!

This tea appears to be primarily butterfly pea flower, and it tastes like that too. With sugar, it tastes generally light and fruity. It’s not too special, but not bad cold. I wouldn’t say it tastes like cotton candy, but it’s pretty easy to drink. I cold brewed a second steep for over 24 hours, and that actually did end up tasting a little cakey and fruitier than the first steep.

Backlog 2/20/2022

Aroma: Cherries and chocolate.

Flavor: Reminded me of a dark chocolate covered cherry. A little bitter, but not unpleasant.

Backlog 2/19/2022

Aroma: Marshmallow & chocolate.

Flavor profile: Right out the gate, I taste the marshmallows. After sipping, I realized that this reminded me of Coco Puff cereal.

This tea has silently and slowly become a favourite of mine from Brutaliteas. It’s so hard to find good hazelnut teas that don’t also have chocolate, and the hazelnut in this blend is perfectly smooth, creamy and nutty and also really works with that soft floral lavender note too!

One of the better cups I’ve had in the last week.

This mug was very hazelnut forward. The flavouring utilized here is very rich and creamy. It lacks more of that “toasted” note that I feel is often really leaned into with hazelnut blends, which makes it stand out from other hazelnut teas. I like that pretty much all the sweetness is picked up from the honey and graham-like notes of the rooibos, too. Makes for a nutty yet silky profile that doesn’t feel cloying or over the top. The addition of fresh lavender adds more aromatics which creates dimension and the lighter touch doesn’t drown out the hazelnut nut (which would be very easy to do).

It’s more elevated and sophisticated than a lot of BrutaliTeas blends come off, but still flavourful and fun!

Wasn’t sure if the hazelnut and lavender would be the most complimentary flavours here but this blend worked pretty well for me! I’m almost unused to tasting hazelnut without there also being chocolate alongside it so I had to shake this initial feeling of there being something ‘missing’ in the tea. When I did, I found myself really able to appreciate the almost creaminess of this distinct nuttier profile and the softness that the very restrained amount of lavender brought to it. It’s still a little weird, but also kind of delicious in its simplicity.

Cold Brew!

I’m not totally sure what this is supposed to taste like. Given the name I would have probably assumed cranberry, but there’s so much else going on in the ingredients. Plus, steeped up the thing that I tasted more than anything else was actually cherry. Cherry with a little bit of sweet lime and some very mild undertones of ginger, but cherry nonetheless. I enjoyed it actually quite a bit, but something tells me I’m going to need at least another cuppa to wrap my mind around exactly what it’s trying to be.

RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS REFERENCE! Backlog. I like this one. It smells and tastes pretty great. Very similar to Momo from Lupicia, but a little bit more dimension, not quite as fruit forward. I will confess some dirty thoughts as I drink this tea.

Peach is the most forward, with some acidity added from the strawberries. The two oolongs are really smooth adding a thick but light body. It is also pretty floral, and I get the chrysanthemum the most. There’s some texture I’m not sure how to describe-I almost want to say mineral or grain, though the notes aren’t quite right. Either way, there is some sort of texture to it. Fruity and refreshing overall, rebrews a lot.

I know, boring writing. The song that inspires it is anything but, however.

Cream and sugar did help improve on the tea a little, but I’m still registering more tannin with it. I’m being a snob and want more vanilla cause I’m basic. There’s more to it though, and I do really like the contrast of the spices and I am really happy with the Wuyi oolong base. For now, it’s solid, I may rate it in the 70s, but I feel like there’s something I’m still missing.

Backlog.

I got two ounces of this, and am really into the smell. In terms of taste, it is a little bit tannic. It borders on chai, but has enough maple and dimension to lean more French Toast. I like it, but I’m not solid on my opinion yet. It’s another tea I’m going to have to play around with.

Very pleasant late night cuppa! The banana was channeling some serious banana bread vibes with that warm, baked kind of flavour – and that obviously went super well with the nuttier flavourings and cinnamon in this blend too. Mostly I loved that I could not taste the chamomile. Scrumptious!

Sipped this one last night during a little bit of a mini Disney movie marathon.

At first I was worried as I got soooo much chamomile in my first sips, but I took a bit of a gamble with leaving the sachet in the mug to keep steeping and it paid off. The chamomile note never really went away; there’s just too much of it in the blend. However the notes of warm, baked banana bread did get strong enough to become the more dominant flavour of the cup and the sweetness of the maple undertone and finish with the nutty chestnut notes in the mid sip were so delightfully complimentary. It was just a nice snuggly and cozy kind of cuppa with a soft decadence about it.

Cold Brew!

One of my favourite tea name puns. Ever.

This tea is so close to being perfect. It’s that delicious sweet banana runt flavour complimented with a hint of creaminess, nuttiness, and maple. The only downside is that the finish does taste distinctly of chamomile in that off putting sort of musty way that I just do not like chamomile. I know a lot of people love it, but I’m simply not one of them. I can’t decide if making it hot would bring out more or less chamomile so I’ll probably try it that way just to see.

It’s sort of a no win situation though – the pun that this tea was so clearly inspired by and that I love so much kind of relies in a sleep related ingredient like chamomile… which happens to be the one thing I didn’t like about it. Bleck.

Thanks to Daylon for a sample of this oolong. I love the name! My wallet certainly thinks green oolongs are evil. :P I steeped 6 g of leaf in a 120 ml teapot at 195F for 25, 20, 25, 30, 30, 30, 45, 60, 90, 120, and 240 seconds.

The dry aroma is of honeydew melon, apricot, toasted coconut, orchids, cookies, violets, and grass. The first steep has notes of cookie, orchid, violet, nuts, and grass. Ah, here comes the fruit in the second steep! I get heavy apricot, as well as hints of orange, lemon, and melon. The aftertaste is floral, grassy, and spinachy. The third steep is much the same, and the fourth has a nice orange creamsicle quality, plus some herbaceous and coriander notes. The fruit continues in the next couple steeps, though the vegetal notes are getting stronger. The final few steeps have cookie, nutty, floral, and grassy/spinachy notes with hints of minerals.

Daylon seems to have a knack for finding orangemeloncot oolongs, and I’m glad he passed this one along to me! The vegetal flavours are a little more prominent than in the high mountain oolongs from Trident, but I can forgive that slight imbalance because this oolong is so fruity. Highly recommended!

Cold Brew!

I’m gonna have to go back and read my previous tasting note(s) to see why I rated this as low as I did since this cold brew was really enjoyable. Smooth and gentle-y grassy green tea with a very fresh, lush and juicy tasting lychee note with just a faint hint of rosy florals to the undertones.

After Paru’s Lemon Lychee ended up being not quite what I wanted I ended up pulling this out to drink. I was skeptical because I’d been somewhat unimpressed when I last had it. However, this time around I found it sweet and juicy with exactly the type of straight forward pure-play lychee flavour I was looking for!

Not a bad tea but I think a little too subtle compared to how I prefer my lychee blends. It was more like a majority grassy green with hints of floral lychee and rose. Mild. Very mild. Whether it more floral or more juicy and sweet, I just want my lychee teas to be prominent in their taste direction.

However, this could be a good intro tea for someone not sure if they like lychee because it’s very mellow and approachable in that regard.

Coldbrew! And a really successful one. The pepper and cardamom actually come in like poprocks of sweet spice in a creamy, custardy coconut body. I know people have mixed feelings about lemongrass, but I think it helps transition the coconut into the ginger so smoothly. It’s also extremely refreshing in the increasing summer heat.

I am one of those weirdos that prefers chais in the warmer months for some weird reason I’m curious to determine. Either way, my girlfriend sipped it-she went “OOOOooh.” and then I made her a cup after I made myself one. She asked “Is this one mine?” and I embarrassingly said no, and gave her a cup of Lishan Black. She preferred this one, so I made her another cup.

Personally an 88, but I’m rating it high because it’s a coconut combo that works really well for me. The chai is not particularly strong, and I don’t think I prefer it with milk/creamer yet, but I think it’s great on its own or with some quality rock sugar. Coconut milk might work better, though any cream can overpower the coconut/lemongrass flavors or dampen the spices. The spices lift up the milk into something warming and nuanced, but I like it on its own. The next time I’m ordering from Brutalitieas, I’m definitely getting at least an oz or more of this.

I had it while watching the 2nd season of Bridgerton. Kate Sharma’s need for chai gave me a craving, so I had this one with more water than last time cutting on the astringency so I can drink the tea without cream or sugar, but amping up the coconut and ginger. Smooth and buttery, but still has the coconut naturally complement the cardamom, ginger, pepper, and sweetening lemongrass. It does work well with cream and sugar, but I might not need it. So far, it looks like I may rate it between 83-87. Either way, I’m digging this particular chai because it’s on the lighter side.

I had a hard time putting the picture on for this one, but here it is. Getting some major hocus pocus vibes from the title, nevermind the song is classic. I’ve had a few coconut chai’s before that are usually green or try to lean more into the Thai direction, and this one does an awesome job of balancing everything out. The coconut flavor is prominent, but not fake as it transitions into the sweeter lemongrass and ginger, ending with cardamom and some light malt in the finish. Despite being a black tea, it’s not as full bodied as I expected. Astringency manages to pull in, but not a whole lot of it or bitterness from the tea-I get more bitter spice from the cardamom. I added some coconut milk and sugar for my brother and his with a splash of cream to add some fat, and it was smooth. Again, not super heavy, but sweet, nutty, and spicy.

Not rating it yet, though I’m a fan. I just wish I could have grabbed some of the French Toast Busters too!

Tried it gong fu, doesn’t quite work fully, but enjoyable flavor. Coldbrew and western hot are the ways to go. It’s a very balanced strawberry tea that makes clever use of hibiscus. I’m very picky about hibiscus in blends, but here, it works for a bloody liquor and adding much needed dimension for the strawberry taste. The oolong is extremely subdued, and adds a nice orchid background smoothing out the body. In terms of strawberry candy, this one tastes like a strawberry infused hard candy like a jolly rancher.

It’s not my favorite of the Brutaliteas, though I really enjoy and like it for what it is. I don’t see it as a staple like Violet Cremes, and I see it as a occasional tea for visitors and friends or myself during the summer or fall. If you like more naturalistic strawberry, this one’s a good bet.

Almost got Honeysuckle My Kiss, then decided to sample this instead because Roswell rated it an 89. Smell from the bag is incredible, and while I haven’t had a full cup of it on my own yet, my mom got some and was extremely pleased. I only added some cane sugar to hers and she had three cups of it again and again. It got weak after steep 3, but the oolong was still nice. I was surprised I liked this one a little bit more than Blood Jasmine Shed, and I will write more about it when I can play gong fu and other styles with it.