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2021 Sipdown Challenge – National Strawberry Day!

I figured I should get one strawberry tea in while the challenge is still fresh in my mind, and before I forget about it (like I have for the past 2+ themed days…)

This is actually one of my 5 oldest teas, which I’m supposed to be sipping down but have unfortunately been neglecting lately… Lupicia also actually has this in stock right now, as it’s a spring seasonal tea, but I’m just pretending it doesn’t exist. I’ll wait until next year… XD

So yummy though! This and the black version are quite possibly my favorite strawberry teas. The strawberry is just so juicy yet natural-tasting, perhaps a bit concentrated – like a freeze-dried strawberry? Such a lovely spring flavor! The base isn’t anything special, but has a soft grassy flavor with little pops of subtle umami in there. It’s not something I would drink on its own, but the grassiness of it reminds me of strawberry tops and complements the fruit well.

I only have a couple of servings left and then it will be time to say goodbye for now! Luckily I have other strawberry teas from Lupicia. :)

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I didn’t realize that I never wrote a note for this! Not gonna lie, this happens fairly often when I post something on Instagram – I end up forgetting to write a Steepster note. Sigh…

Originally I expected this packet to be just matcha (it’s in Japanese with only the tea name in English). But it’s actually a mix of sugar and matcha. I guess that explains why it was 100g, lol!

The first time, I tried it iced without milk, and I really enjoyed it! The matcha here is super duper smooth and has a lovely nutty flavor to it. The sugar is just a little too much for me, as I would like a stronger matcha flavor without it being too sweet. It’s difficult to balance the two.

For this last cuppa, I’m having it iced with oat milk. Really, I think this was a bit of a mistake because the matcha isn’t really strong enough to stand up to the more assertive flavor of oat milk. I probably should’ve prepared it with a mix of water and whole milk… But it’s still yummy, just has a rather subtle matcha flavor to it. And still too much sweetness.

Even though this wasn’t my favorite, it was still fun to drink since I bought it when I was in Kyoto in 2019, so it brings back good memories! Also, Malebranche has amazing confections and their okoicha langue de chat sandwich cookies with white chocolate filling were so good!

https://www.instagram.com/p/CLUuW-Xg6Pj/

I didn’t feel like drinking any of my open tea packets, so I figured it was time to open a new one from Deb! I was in the mood for something light and fruity, so this sounded great. It steeped up the most beautiful pale coral color… ❤

I really like the idea of this, but it came out a bit weak. I feel like the hibiscus is suppressing the jasmine a bit, while also not being quite strong enough to make it a fruity tea.

I end up getting a little bit of jasmine, a little bit of hibiscus, and a tiny bit of orange. I don’t really taste the green tea much either. So overall, a bit bland? Which is a shame because I do like the flavors here, there’s just not enough of them.

Although now I’ll have to be on the lookout for fruity jasmine teas, as the combination intrigues me…

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I prepared this one iced, as I figured I would enjoy the sweetness more that way. So I dissolved my two drops in a bit of warm water and then poured over ice and topped with cold water.

It doesn’t really taste like matcha to me? It does taste like a Japanese green tea, but it’s very heavy on the grass and seaweed-like umami, and doesn’t have the richness or the bitterness of matcha. It’s closer to drinking some kind of iced sencha IMO – a very, very seaweedy iced sencha.

That being said, it’s not the worst thing ever. Yes, it’s quite sweet, but it doesn’t bother me as much iced, which is nice. Definitely not something I would purchase though…

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So this is actually one of Anne’s permanent blends, but it made its way into the January subscription box as well. And I’m happy about it, as this is one that I really wanted to try, but was waiting for other blends to come back in stock!

I feel like I’m always underwhelmed by marshmallow root… It sounds so yummy to me, and yet I can’t really taste it in blends. Maybe it’s just more subtle than I expect? But I see a lot of other people mentioning that they taste marshmallow in this tea, and I’m not really getting that.

I mostly just taste a mild spearmint green tea with perhaps a hint of something creamy or vanilla. The green base itself is very mild, so I’m not getting a ton of flavor from it. Perhaps it’s just hiding underneath the sharper spearmint, which ends up being the dominant flavor here for me.

I wish I loved it as much as others seemed to, but c’est la vie! I guess I should be happy to not love them all… ;)

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This has a lot of ingredients for something that doesn’t taste like much.

I guess I’m getting a vague sort of orange spice flavor profile? But mostly I just taste the generic black tea base. It’s fairly woody and earthy with a bit of astringency thrown in as well.

So mostly it’s a crappy black tea with clove. But the sprinkles are cute! XD

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Finishing off this mini tin as a plain iced matcha.

It’s not bad, but the mint and herbal notes from the nettle really dominate. I’m not sure I would know this is matcha if I was told.

It’s not bad, but it ends up tasting more like a peppermint-spearmint blend herbal tisane than matcha. And I don’t detect any creaminess as the name would suggest…

Last time I had this as an iced latte, and would definitely recommend that preparation if you want a creamier mint taste. But it’s still quite refreshing iced! I added a squeeze of honey and it’s giving me Moroccan Mint vibes.

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Now, this is more lemony!

This blend is predominantly herbal citrus with a side of peppermint. I like the lemon aspect of it, but it still comes out tasting like a muddled mix of herbal stuff. And the peppermint is somewhat “wet rag” tasting…

It’s okay, but a bit generic and boring. If there was just a bit more lemon zip from some peel or something, it would really add another dimension.

But thanks to @thismorningstea on Instagram for the share!

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This was a free sample with my last order, and I was happy to see it, since it’s one that I considered getting!

The green base here is actually quite nice, with rich buttery and nutty notes and a silky mouthfeel. It feels thick and satisfying on the tongue, probably helped by some of the herbs.

I like the freshness of the spearmint here, but the other three ingredients sort of get muddled together. It doesn’t taste lemony really, just “herbal”. I would guess it has peppermint by the flavor, but it doesn’t, so it must be the lemon verbena that’s giving me that same sort of vibe.

So it ends up being more of a mint green tea with some extra stuff. It’s tasty enough, but not something I would feel the need to order. I would be interested in other blends on this green base though, as green tea is often so generically grassy and this one is quite yummy.

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Another one from an Instagram swap! I used two drops for a 16-ounce Nordic mug.

This super gingery! It’s tongue-tingly in its spiciness. I barely get any citrus notes because of how strong the ginger is.

It’s also sweet, but it doesn’t bother me as much here as in the Rose Earl Grey version.

But it’s just too gingery for me. I don’t want to feel like I’m eating a raw ginger root… XD