Magic Hour

There’s something so incredibly familiar tasting about this tea to me, and I just never really was able to put my finger on what specific thing it was reminding me of while I drank it. There’s a chai-like quality because of all the spices in the blend, but everything is so soft, cozy and warming that it does kind of feel distinct and separate from a chai? Like a warm hug of cinnamon with a gentle sprinkling of nutmeg and the aromatics of cardamom. Also quite floral, with rosey notes that stand out without feeling loud, perfumey, and abrasive. There’s also something happening that a bit pastry-like? Almost as if it’s a buttery pie crust?? The whole cup was just smooth, lightly sweet, and really snuggly in a hard to describe way.

I really have to ignore the positioning of this blend as a “Ceremonial Soda Pop” tea because when I think about it too much I get really, really livid. It’s such a poignant example of the exact type of marketing that Magic Hour (and other companies) engage in that I hate. Not everything needs to be ceremonial, mystical, or wellness-related in order to justify it. Just say you want the flavour of soda. Like, that’s not a bad thing. We’re allowed to want things because they just taste good. And the idea of a ceremony based around soda is just frankly quite preposterous…

Rant aside, I did want to try this tea both from the standpoint of liking cherry cola and being curious about the execution, and because the blend includes an ingredient in it (gymnema) that impacts your ability to taste sweetness. It’s in a lot of weight loss products because of that, and though I don’t really want to engage in that element of the blend I was intrigued to see if I did actually notice an effect given the small levels included in the formulation.

Taste wise this was totally fine! It definitely has a cherry cola flavour that’s quite reminiscent of those cold bottle gummy candies but with that top note brightness and hint of tartness from the cherry. Pretty smooth, and a bit nostalgic. It does taste sweet, but not sugary. Mild stevia aftertaste. I wish there was a bit more body and richness to the profile, personally.

But did it stop me from tasting sweet things after finishing the mug? Well, I definitely felt like a lot of foods I had immediately after drinking the tea and in the next half hour or so afterwards had a bit of a metallic taste to them that wasn’t super appealing. However, I totally still got sweetness. Just sweetness with a side of penny.

This was a very nice cacao shell infusion with a smooth and just-sweet-enough chocolatey taste. However, was it a s’mores profile? Definitely not. I didn’t get graham or marshmallow and the overall richness in taste and mouthfeel was lacking for that specific and decadent of a profile. So, in some ways. it was a little disappointing even though I did think the simple and direct chocolate flavour present in the cup was quite nice.

Had this hot with some steamed and frothed milk that was leftover from a latte that my coworker had made herself. I’m going to need to try this plain to see if these tasting notes were a total fluke or not, but something about this mug was really giving me smooth, creamy and indulgent vibes of buttered rum or butterscotch. Definitely buttery which, like, duh. But just with a sweetness that I wouldn’t expect to come from a tea that is straight up just pu’erh and butter flavouring. With the frothed milk on top I almost felt like maybe I was drinking a mug of Harry Potter-style butter beer! Shockingly very good, and different from my expectations.

Love the idea of this tea, especially on the rooibos base. I definitely feel like it under delivers on the strawberry element of the tea, which was a mild let down for me as I’d have hoped for more of a 50/50 flavour split. Truffle, though? I think this get the richness, that almost powdery cocoa quality, and the slight bittersweet chocolate flavour very well. I totally see this as distinct from just your run of the mill chocolate blend, and the sweetness is quite well balanced; especially compared to the Peppermint Bark Puerh from Magic Hour that I recently tried…

Not an unpleasant tea by any stretch, and fairly appropriate feeling flavour-wise for this time of year. We put all the Christmas decorations up in the office today and my apartment complex put ours up a few days prior, so it’s certainly feeling festive here in Montreal now!

Both the mint and chocolate are crystal clear flavours. I like the mint a lot! It’s sweet but cooling on the back end of the sip. The chocolate is more of that chocolate liqueur kind of taste, with a particularly sweet and boozy aftertaste that I did feel was a bit much by the time I’d finished my cup. I’d have to double check the ingredients, but it would not surprise me to see something like monkfruit included in this blend. It has that coating, lingering “sweet brown” quality.

I’ll be able to finish this off fairly easily though. I do think there are a lot of other mint chocolate teas I prefer over this one, however.

I’ve never had a Kir Royale cocktail before, but on paper it seems like the kind of thing that would very much be up my alley so I wanted to give this tea a try! Off the bat, it does kind of feel like a shame to me to use such nice quality bai hao yin zhen as the base of a tea blend. It’s certainly not doing the end customer (me, in this case, lol) any favours in terms of cost/affordability. But, that said, this is positioned as very premium/luxury as is the cocktail it’s inspired by so I suppose in that way it is fitting!?

Taste wise, it’s smooth and dreamy with a really pleasant medium-ish bodied jammy black currant note with floral undertones, a hint of citrus, and a champagne note that does read as quite aromatic and effervescent. Not a heavy, syrupy tea by any stretch despite those deeper cassis elements. I enjoyed it a lot. I just don’t feel like it’s the type of tea that could affordably be drank on a regular basis by most people!? But super yummy regardless!

I want to like this more than I think I actually do. It’s definitely Turkish Delight adjacent in many ways. Particularly in that softer, floral rosewater note. The intensity level feels right, but the powdery melt-in-your-mouth icing sugar sweetness is absent. And, of course, it’s also pretty herbaceous with a distinct note of basil/tulsi that goes well with the rosier profile but definitely very much breaks the illusion of Turkish Delight. Mostly, however, I just really don’t enjoy the finish which has a very bitter lingering perfume-y aftertaste…

I feel like, because I enjoy rose flavoured things, I want to like this tea more than I actually do. It is quite floral and rosy tasting with a more bright aroma to it. Even so slightly citrusy as well. However, there’s a subtle sharpness to the top notes and the finish has a very fleeting acrid bitterness that is a touch too perfumey for me. But the big thing is that it just doesn’t remind me of Turkish Delight!? Like, yes rosewater is such a common Turkish Delight flavour but there’s more going on to convey this sweet treat than just those floral notes along. Where’s the powdered sugar sweetness? Or that almost jammy round mouthfeel!? Maybe in the future I’ll enjoy this blend more because I’ll have a different and more accurate expectation going into the mug…

Props, however, for the herbaceous flavour of the tulsi not tainting the profile though. That was a concern of mine going into drinking this tea, and I didn’t feel like I could taste much of the tulsi at all.

I’m learning that I think I really like the citrus flavours that Magic Hour uses…

This is definitely a lighter, more fresh feeling and delicate blend with quite a lot of the aromatic florals of both the oolong itself and the jasmine pearl add ins. Very soothing, with that kind of grounding and traquil quality from how delicate and balanced the flowery notes are. The yuzu is a bit on the sweeter side, but not the the point of being candy-like or anything syrupy. Also bright and lively. It taps into this faint hint of tropical pineapple that I get in the undertones, and I really like that combo of fresh citrus and tropical fruits.

Cold Brew!

I actually had this a while ago, but I’m realizing now that I forgot to log my tasting note of it. Overall I found it quite delicious but also refreshingly unique. A bit of a lighter and brighter grape flavour and overall just a more mellow and refreshing brew too. It was sweet, but in a way that suited the liveliness and somewhat more delicate flavour. In many ways, it reminded me of Welch’s grape juice – but the white grape juice and not the darker purple. It’s certainly grape-y with fresh, floral undertones. Sublime.

This is the type of tea I’d definitely order again in a larger quantity for myself. And, personally, I love that it’s on the mate tea base. Mmm!

Cold Brew!

I got a tattoo this past Friday, and this was what I brought with to my appointment to keep hydrated. I fully expected it to be a long afternoon because it was a large tibia piece (a gelatinous cube with a sword pierced through it), but the artist just flew through it and it finished up in a couple of hours even though it’s definitely my largest piece now by size. It looks amazing, though!

I ended up drinking maybe a third of this while at the studio, but ended up finishing the rest later in the day at home. Very bright, sweet notes of lemon curd with a soft finish of jasmine and sweet cream. It’s a lively, cheerful feeling profile that leans a bit more candied in its lemon notes but overall has a crisp, freshness and good balance.

Not going to lie, without tasting them side by side, this tasted a lot like The Oracle which I had just a few days ago. Very, very similar bright and lightly sweet lemon notes, with hints of vanilla and just a bit of a floral undertone. It did a bit give me “lemon lollipop” vibes in a way I enjoyed a lot. Hard to pinpoint what makes it feel different from the other blend, though…

This was nice! It’s a busier blend with a lot of strongly flavoured ingredients in it. However, they come together in a pretty balanced and seamless way. Bright, lively and zesty notes of sweet lemon myrtle with a subtle earthiness and spice to the undertones that adds depth and complexity. I swear the finish was sometimes just a bit creamy too, like whipped meringue sans sweetness. Definitely fresh, and joyful feeling. Strong first impression.

Had a mug of this one at work a few days ago and really enjoyed the simplicity of what is essentially a sweet butterscotch flavoured genmaicha. Very rich in the top notes and bleeding into the mid sip, but then closes out all cozy with those brown rice notes. Yum!

Sipped on a very large mug of this earlier this morning and just deeply, deeply enjoyed it. I know it’s inspired by kettle corn and it’s true that there is a strong buttery element to the profile and a bit of that toastiness from the brown rice in the blend. This is, afterall, a flavoured genmaicha. However, it much more reminded me of buttered rum or even just butterscotch. There was just a lightly sweet and caramelized taste to it that was just rich enough without feeling cloying, and that worked so well with those cozier roasted rice notes. I felt like I was melting into the mug with each sip.

Cold Brew!

Sipping on this right now. I thought I was past being sick, but my throat has been KILLING me all day. So the cool temperature of this is actually extremely refreshing feeling. Taste wise, it’s fine. Definitely bright and tart with strong, sharp and sour notes of hibiscus and orange. I find it has a bit of a bitter and pithy aftertaste. In some ways I’m reminded of the components of a Shirley Temple, but I feel like it need a lot more sweetness to balance the profile out.

Pulled this one out last week. I was actually looking for one of Magic Hour’s “Pumpkin Spice Collection” blends and found this one instead, which I realized actually is kind of pumpkiny even though it’s not in that collection. I mean, it even has pumpkin seeds in it! Brewed up it’s sweet, dark and a bit spicy with a flavour that feels like the intersection of a platter of pancakes drenched in maple syrup, a gingerbread house, and a pumpkin spice latte. It’s deliciously autumnal and definitely hit the spot!

Another from Cameron B — thanks yet again! I was thrilled I was able to try this. I will say short and sweet: this very much tastes like a berry flavored chocolate truffle. Nothing else from this ingredients list really intervenes. I can’t even taste the guayusa. The flavor combo most reminds me of a Lupicia blend, but that one is probably better just because of the black tea base. This one is fine to have around for this particular craving though.
Steep #1 // 1 1/3 teaspoons for a full mug // 20 minutes after boiling // 1-2 minute steep
Steep #2 // just boiled // 2-3 minute steep

I felt like a vanilla tea today, and this was the one I had yet to try, thanks to Cameron B passing it along. Very thrilled to try this! It’s quite a unique blend, with black tea and puerh, black currants and vanilla. I do notice many black currants in the blend, but I don’t really taste those or the pom flavoring. The dry leaf DID look super shiny from whatever flavoring was added. I do taste a lot of vanilla flavor. It’s a very smooth base tea. It’s always vanilla teas that seem a little TOO smooth. But I enjoy the vanilla flavor here enough for what it is, that I will accept the black tea base. I don’t notice puerh at all. Both steeps fit my craving for vanilla! But I will bet this blend is pricey enough that they could have included REAL vanilla pieces in the blend…
Steep #1 // 21 minutes after boiling // 2 minute steep
Steep #2 // just boiled // 4 minute steep

SIPDOWN! I’ve had this one for over a year. I had high hopes, but the cinnamon and other spices dry this tea out. Preparation on their website usually turns this into a latte, but I like it better with honey and no other additives. It gets more of a cidery or spiced mead vibe with honey and is much more enjoyable. The ginger is also much more prominent. I personally recommend the White Marzipan and the Cake Batter Pumpkin Spice teas from this collection personally.

I was really excited about the currants for this one, but it clashed a little with the spices despite liking it. Overall, it was a disappointment, but really approachable with honey. Magic Hour has other better blends imo. I honestly prefer the Capricorn if you want maple/fall vibes.

This chai is standard, but really not bad for an herbal chai! There’s some sweetness from the licorice. The spices are warming and pleasant without being spicy. Good garage sale find! It’s definitely best warm though. The flavors become muted cold, so my final cup of this was unfortunately quite meh.

Garage sale tea! This isn’t my favorite. I taste some tartness and below that, mostly emptiness. There’s a hint of a nice flavor, but it lacks anything beneath, so it ends up thin and disappointing. Not bad cold, but it required a lot of sugar.