6127 Tasting Notes
Had some of this for my morning meeting as I wanted something light and apparently don’t have a lot of options left at work! Although it was good, and smelled deliciously pollen-y and sweet, tasting much the same, I think it won’t end up being one that I restock, mainly because I have fallen in love with Alpine Punch and other sweet rooibos that I prefer as they have a creaminess to them as well. Oh well, about 1 cup’s worth of leaves left for another day.
Preparation
Oh banana oolong. You are so amazing. So slightly sweet and banana-y and creamy and calming and delicious. Where have you been all my life?
On cup three and I think that’s all it will give me. The smell is still creamy banana and oolong but the taste is very weak, even after nearly 10 minutes of steeping. NOOOOOOOOOOO – I’m still planning to sit here doing statistics for another couple hours! :’(
Preparation
So second shot at hot Bear Trap? I’m still not convinced, sadly. I wanted more of a juicy berry flavour, and instead, it’s more of a sour dried berry that I’m tasting. There’s a smell that’s familiar to me that I can’t quite place… and don’t quite like. My best guess is perhaps the strawberry leaves? But I really don’t know. I also find the tea to be rather weak. It’s not horrible, but there are so, so many teas I’d rather drink. I think I’ll give it a shot with sugar/agave/honey the next time I drink it, but will be glad when my sample packet is gone.
Preparation
Erm, so kind of went on a tea shopping spree today. Picked up 9 samples… However, as teas-to-try are to be my reward, the roommate has all of them (save this one) safely hidden in her room so I only get a new one on the days where I am productive!
So, onto the review of Alpine Punch (which I actually have had before, in a little online ordering sample package I received at Christmas). To start, the dry tea smells pretty darn amazing. A bit nutty, a lot sweet. Steeped, it smells exactly the same. Very promising! And it tastes pretty much exactly how it smells, sweet and almondy (like amaretto as described by DaisyChubb), with the rooibos hiding in the background and subtly appearing mid-sip. Yum. I wish this was part of the permanent collection – I think I like it better than Creme Brulee. We’ll have to see how it compares to Creme Caramel Rooibos, which is currently sitting across the hall…
ETA: Second steep is also pretty good. I happen to be able to compare the two side by side, and the difference is essentially reduced creaminess (coconut??), in both taste and smell. The tea tastes fruitier and with more apparent rooibos, but is still quite smooth, sweet, and enjoyable.
I think I might have to go back and get some more of this… while the store still has some. I didn’t notice how much was left though…
Preparation
Ok, so this tea smells amazing, exactly like a Terry’s chocolate orange. That is undeniable. However, the taste doesn’t quite live up. The scent of the steeped tea is still delicious, but I’m not getting enough sweetness or orangey flavour. Perhaps this would be remedied by me adding sweetener myself, but I reaaaally don’t want to slide down that slippery slope. (But I have about 85g of this tea to drink, so may have to). There is a nice chocolate flavour, though – although it’s critical to use water hot enough and steep long enough to melt the chocolate! I don’t like this one enough to buy it again, though.
As other people have also commented – I have also previously noticed a distinctly fishy odour (not taste) to the steeped tea, which is a real turn-off. I am beginning to wonder whether it is a batch problem, though – I ended up with (at least) three bags of this at Christmas, each from different places. Currently drinking from the BC bag, and experiencing absolutely no fishiness whatsoever, which makes me much happier than the previous cups I’ve had (none of which were from this bag). I will have to experiment a bit more, but if this is the case (and it’s not a steeping issue), I’m hoping DT will be willing to exchange my fishy bags for either a different tea, or at least a non-fishy incarnation of this one.
Preparation
A tasty, interesting twist on a regular chai! The tea is slightly sweet and apricot-y and the aftertaste is spicy, with a definite overall spiced chai sort of flavour. Lighter-tasting and sweeter than a typical chai though, which is nice because it means I don’t feel any need to add milk or sweetener. The green tea is not discernible to me, but looking at the dry tea I can’t see much of it either, so am not terribly surprised. Definitely not a bad tea to have been given a 250g bag of for Christmas!
ETA: Second steep a day later is very spicy, and with considerably less fruity apricot flavour, although it may just be hidden by the spiciness. Just realized I made a big error though – steeped it in near-boiling water for 5min, not ~80C water. That may have affected things. It’s not bad, just verrrrrry spicy tasting, probably would be delicious with milk and sweetener.
Preparation
Mmmmm, another creamy tea winner for me. Bonus because this one is caffeine-free, therefore perfect for before bed when, say, Cream of Earl Grey or Buttered Rum wouldn’t be such a good idea. The dry leaf smells ok, somewhat creamy, but not hugely appealing to me. Luckily the tea is another thing entirely. The smell is sweet and creamy, just like the taste, although the somewhat fruity(?) rooibos flavour peeks through mid-late sip, which makes it a bit more three-dimensional than just sweet and creamy!
ETA: The second steep (~5min) loses much of the creme brulee qualities in my opinion, and mostly just tastes like a smooth rooibos. Not unpleasant, but certainly nothing special.
I personally think I prefer Toasted Walnut and Buttered Rum to this one, but due to the rooibos instead of caffeinated base, I think it will hold a nice place in my cupboard unless I find a better caffeine-free desserty tea!
Preparation
Ohhhhh yes. This one is just divine. I love love LOVE vanilla in tea, and this combination of a good black tea and amazing creamy flavours is just fabulous. Of course, I had this tea a couple months ago as part of the advent calendar and noted “Very Good” on the back of the box, but didn’t write any other details down. Have to wait until it cools to really give it a good review, but today’s teeny taste of the hot stuff was creamy and great. Eeeee, I love the guilt-free nature of tea treats… in stark contrast to the WHOLE Terry’s Chocolate Orange I devoured last night :/ (It is really too bad that I don’t like Oh Christmas Treat, as that would solve many of my problems…)
Ok, this is definitely just as good as I remember. The more it cools, the more deliciousness emerges. The smell is a light, sweet butterscotch and the taste is gently sweet and buttery, with a light background of the black tea so it tastes grounded. I’m not sure if I taste rum; to be honest, I don’t think I’ve ever had rum straight before, as I’m not a big fan of alcohol. I’ve had it in pina coladas, but there are too many delicious flavours there to be able to distinguish it if you don’t know what you’re tasting for!
ETA: Second steep, for which I had low expectations as the tea ball smelled like nothingness, is actually decent. Reduced smell and creamy taste, but it’s still there; it hasn’t just turned into something tasteless. I’m impressed; probably worth the second steep most days! I don’t think I’ll go for a third, or at least not tonight, given that it’s past 11pm and I should really have switched to caffeine-free by now.
ETA (again): Third steep (5.5min), which I stupidly have tried even though it’s 3am, amazingly still retains a bit of the buttery rum flavour, but at this point I’d rather brew a fresh cup of something else as it just isn’t flavourful enough, and I don’t believe that a longer steep would have improved the flavour much more.
Overall an excellent tea if you’re craving a sugary-sweet guilt-free treat! Large tin, here I come!
