3986 Tasting Notes
Sipdown! (67)
Another one from the lovely and sweet Courtney!
So I didn’t enjoy this one much the first time around. The blueberry flavor is actually nice, though perhaps a bit closer to blueberry jam or candy. Quite sweet and syrupy but with a nice strong blueberry flavor.
But that base… It’s the worst. Just bland and tannic and astringent even with a 2.5 minute steep.
So this time I figured I would try it as a latte, since the blueberry flavor was fairly prominent. I prepared it with oat milk and added a bit of vanilla syrup for a bit of a blueberry muffin effect.
But I guess I used too much oatmilk, because I’m not really getting much blueberry here. I get a little mustiness from the base, but otherwise it’s mostly sweetened and warmed oat milk. Still tasty, but not what I was going for. Oopsies!
Flavors: Artificial, Astringent, Blueberry, Candy, Jam, Sweet, Tannic, Tea
Preparation
Sipdown! (66)
I haven’t been getting any tea done lately! Yesterday I just wasn’t in the mood for some reason, and I ended up only having two teas and a London Fog… (shrugs)
So today I tried a lower temperature for this tea, to see if I could bring out the green tea a bit. Perhaps there’s a bit of grassiness here? I didn’t see much green tea in the dry leaf anyway, but I think it’s a very grassy Chinese sencha so I can still taste it a little bit.
I’m getting peach, though I know it’s supposed to be mango. There’s a hint of pear-like quince with a slightly honeyed note. I’m also happy to report that today I’m getting a hint of rhubarb! Mostly at the end of the sip, there’s a lovely rhubarb-y tartness.
Overall though, it’s just not a great tea in my opinion. The flavors are all a bit muddled in together, the base teas included. The black base is quite flat. And the peach/mango dominates too much, when I’d like more quince, rhubarb, or strawberry. It’s fine, but not great!
Thanks Courtney and (indirectly) VariaTEA for the share!
Flavors: Grass, Honey, Peach, Pear, Rhubarb, Sweet, Tannic
Preparation
So Courtney asked me about this one, which of course inspired me to try it! These poor S&V teas haven’t been getting any love since I ordered last fall… Poor babies.
I really like this one though! It’s a light black base with a lovely raspberry flavor, and the raspberry is somewhere between fresh fruit and candy, which I really like. It has a soft sweetness but still tastes fairly close to a real raspberry. The sage adds a lovely subtle savory note, and there’s a soft herbal flavor from the raspberry leaf.
This is a lovely soft raspberry tea with a bit of interest, and I really enjoyed it this afternoon. Thanks Courtney for inspiring me to try it!
Flavors: Autumn Leaf Pile, Candy, Herbaceous, Herbs, Musty, Raspberry, Sage, Smooth, Sweet
Preparation
Thanks for giving me the low down on this one! :)
I live mere hours from the Rocky Mountains. :-)
Us too (for the time being) Mastress Alita!
I just went through your Instagram Cameron, and saw the colourful and overall very cute and nice pouches of their NP teas. And how nice they donate 10 per cent to the actual parks!
The pouches are so pretty! And thank you for reminding me to add the Instagram link here. XD
Happy Matcha Monday!
As soon as I opened the pouch, the peach scent was so mouthwatering… Perhaps a touch candy-ish, but also with some authentic peach there as well.
Prepared this hot and plain, with a teaspoon of matcha for 8 ounces of water. I really enjoyed it! The peach tastes very authentic to me, juicy but not super overripe but with a nice tinge of tartness to it. It wasn’t an overwhelming amount of peach either, I could still taste the matcha perfectly.
The matcha base they use for these flavored blends is very fresh-tasting, with a bright grassiness and soft umami notes. It’s not super creamy or rich because it’s not a ceremonial grade matcha. But I really love the lighter, brighter taste with these fruit flavors. And there’s barely a hint of bitterness!
I can’t wait to try this one iced or as an iced latte for a nice peaches ‘n’ cream vibe…
Flavors: Bitter, Grass, Peach, Seaweed, Smooth, Sweet, Tart, Umami, Vegetal
Preparation
Meh.
At this point, I’m just not enjoying turmeric. Clearly all of those Vahdam advent tisanes ruined it for me…
This does have a pleasant cocoa taste to it, but the turmeric is fairly strong as well.
Into the swap box it goes!
Flavors: Cocoa, Creamy, Earth, Ginger, Spices, Sweet
Preparation
I don’t blame you… turmeric is something I can only take in does. Even for the golden lattes I can only have them so often before its just too much
My favorite way to take turm is paired with coconut milk, and since you’ve been in a latte mood lately, that may be worth a shot to get through some of it, Cameron. (Granted, I normally make Golden Milk out of a powdered turm+spice blend, but I imagine I’d try it with traditional tea too if I had a lot of it to get through…)
Oh man! coconut milk would be amazing. I will have to try that!
Thanks Alita, I was thinking I might try some of the leftover Vahdam tisanes as cold brews as well…
Happy National Compliment Day! \o/
The idea for today was to drink a favorite tea, so here we are. I actually looked at my Steepster cupboard and filtered it by highest rating, and then giggled when the first five teas were all Lupicia… To be fair, I have a few other 95-rated teas, but they seem to be listed in some arbitrary order.
Lupicia has such amazing melon flavoring… It’s somewhere between honeydew and cantaloupe, and so juicy and delicious. And the silky smooth and creamy texture of the oolong makes me feel like I’m biting into a soft, ripe slice of melon as well.
It’s been a while since I’ve had this one, and I’m thankful for the excuse to bring it out of the cupboard. ❤
Flavors: Cantaloupe, Creamy, Honeydew, Melon, Mineral, Smooth, Sweet, Thick
Preparation
Sipdown! (65)
After trying the Keemun Imperial the other day, I thought I would break into some of my other Teavivre Keemun samples to see how they compare! This one is their second-to-lowest grade version (the lowest being Grade 2).
This pot has a bit more bite than the one I steeped yesterday – I wonder if this packet had more broken leaf or something? It’s not horribly bitter or anything, but there’s a bitterness that creeps up around the edges of my mouth starting mid-sip.
Otherwise, this is surprisingly not that different from the higher-grade version. It’s a tad heavier, but has similar baked bread and honey notes. There’s a bit more earthiness, and a bit less honey, and I’m also not getting cinnamon here. I taste hay and oats along with the bread as well, and a hint of mineral smoky note appears alongside the bitterness toward the end of the sip.
I think I get the winey-ness more with this one as it’s tannic and has a darker fruit note, like a dry red wine. This is surprisingly brisk for a Chinese black tea! I still have 3 or 4 different Keemun teas to try, which should be fun. :D
Flavors: Astringent, Bitter, Bread, Earth, Grain, Hay, Honey, Mineral, Oats, Red Wine, Smoke, Tannic
Preparation
Sipdown! (64)
This was an old subscription tea, from sometime in 2019.
I’ve actually never had a banoffee pie, which is something I should really fix… I love bananas and toffee, so I’m sure I would adore it!
Anyway, this has a very Runt-y banana flavor to me, which isn’t the worst thing, but worth noting. I also get a subtle butter rum sort of note that melds fairly seamlessly with the slightly caramel-y rooibos base.
As good as this one sounds, it’s just okay for me. And I think it’s the combination of the candylike banana with the not-enough buttery toffee. But this tea is also older, so it’s possible it’s lot a bit of its pizzazz over time.
Thankful to not love it though, since it’s not a permanent blend and isn’t available now!
Flavors: Banana, Butterscotch, Candy, Caramel, Rooibos, Rum, Sweet, Toffee, Wood
Preparation
Banoffee pie is one of our favourites!
Yep, it went off the “tea board” last year. Actually, I really liked it; but I understand it isn’t a thing for everyone.
Strange to me you think the banana tastes like Runts. I cannot stand those, the smell alone makes me feel ill. Yet I loved this tea.
derk Just after I sent you the package… I found out I had a little pouch with few last grams I wanted to send you. Maybe next time… :D
Martin, if you happen to sip it down before we swap again, that’s quite alright. Thanks for the sentiment :)
@derk – It is odd, and I love the banana flavor in some of their other teas, like Monkey Chops. Maybe it was the banana combined with something else…? (shrugs)
Sipdown! (63)
One of my oldest teas! Finally finished off this 50g tin from April of 2017. But I actually have another 25g of it waiting in the wings from the recent group order…
It’s a shame that it took me so long to finish this tea – luckily it’s held up amazingly. This is really such a scrumptious tea, like all of Lupicia’s fruity oolongs. The pouchong base is light and silky and slightly floral, which goes perfectly with the gentle and sweet white peach flavoring. The soft, creamy texture makes it taste like peaches and cream…
A wonderful tea! And I’m not even generally a peach tea fan. But Lupicia has some delicious ones, and I would highly recommend this and Momo Vert in particular for peach lovers.
Flavors: Apricot, Creamy, Floral, Milk, Mineral, Nectar, Peach, Smooth, Sweet, Thick
Preparation
Sipdown! (62)
I’ve been nursing a small pot of this all day.
It’s the base tea, I just really don’t like it. It’s not awful, but it’s simultaneously bland and astringent, even with a shorter steep. No real characteristics other than being tannic and tea-ish.
The vanilla is nice! But the base ruins it for me. I have two other black teas from this company to try, so it’ll be interesting to see how I feel about those.
Thanks Courtney for the share! ❤
Flavors: Astringent, Bitter, Creamy, Tannic, Vanilla
