3986 Tasting Notes
Sample Sipdown! (51)
This one sounded too interesting to pass up – bergamot and blueberry with eucalyptus? I like all of those flavors, I’m just not sure how well they’ll mesh together.
Personally, I don’t think the flavors work together. I do enjoy the combination of the bergamot and the blueberry. And really, the blueberry and eucalyptus could be a nice pairing as well.
But for me, the eucalyptus and bergamot together makes it too bitter and sharp. It’s almost a bit like drinking cologne. Obviously that’s an exaggeration, but I’m definitely not a fan of this one.
But that’s what sample sizes are for! :D
Flavors: Bergamot, Bitter, Blueberry, Eucalyptus, Menthol, Perfume, Sweet
Preparation
Swap Sample Sipdown! (50)
This is the last of the DF teas that VariaTEA was kind enough to send my way.
The base tea here looks quite unusual for DF – the leaves are quite large and twisty. I’m more used to seeing the smaller generic Ceylon base from them. There are kernels of toasted rice and small pieces of popcorn mixed in, yum! It smells buttery and very much like popcorn.
The popcorn flavor here actually reminds me a bit of a sticky rice oolong – it has that same sort of buttery, rich, toasty carbohydrate vibe to it. I really enjoy that flavor!
But the base used here is quite odd. It has a very musty flavor, almost like a low quality white tea. There’s some malt as well, and it is quite smooth with no bitterness or astringency. But that musty note really overpowers the other elements.
It’s unfortunate, because the flavoring is very tasty here, but the base really hurts the overall taste. But I’m not too upset, since I can get my buttery carb fix from a yummy sticky-rice-scented oolong! :D
Flavors: Butter, Malt, Musty, Popcorn, Rice, Smooth, Toasted Rice
Preparation
365 Days of Tea Challenge – Day 23
One of my very favorites from Lupicia! Unfortunately, this one is a seasonal tea that’s only available in the winter, and sells out quickly.
I have two different tins of this, one from 2017 and one from 2018. This is the older tin, as I want to sip it down first. This tea and its sister, Yuzu, lose flavor quickly and even have special notes on Lupicia’s website saying they should be consumed within six months for best flavor. So obviously this is a bit past its prime.
Still delicious though, there’s just less potency to the kumquat flavoring. It almost tastes like a natural note of the tea. I really enjoy the base tea here – I can tell it’s Indian by its brisk flavor and slight astringency. But there’s also a slight earthiness that reminds me of Chinese black teas, so I’m not sure if it’s a blend or if it’s a note coming from the Nilgiri tea. The briskness goes perfectly with citrus to make a refreshing black tea. The kumquat is a sharper citrus, and this has a nice zinginess to it that seems true to the fruit.
Still tasty, even though it’s on the older side!
Flavors: Astringent, Citrus, Earth, Malt, Raisins, Tangy, Tannic
Preparation
Sample Sipdown! (49)
I picked this up with my AQ2T sample order because I really love blueberry and it sounded like an interesting addition to a bedtime tisane.
Unfortunately this has a very musty flavor. I think maybe it’s from the high proportion of butterfly pea flower? Chamomile can be somewhat musty, but this tastes different from how I’ve experienced that in the past. I’m not even sure how to describe it really… Not very pleasant though.
So not for me. It’s also very dark blue from the pea flower, and saturated enough that I wonder if it’s going to dye my tongue blue, ha ha!
Flavors: Blueberry, Honey, Musty, Sweet
Preparation
Swap Sample Sipdown! (48)
This one came from VariaTEA!
For some reason, I expected this to be a chocolaty Golden Monkey. Obviously that’s not the case, though I wasn’t too disappointed, as I also love banana.
Unfortunately, this tea is super banana Runts. And to me, that’s so much less enjoyable than more natural-tasting banana flavor.
I think there’s chocolate there, but I can’t really taste it under the strong artificial banana flavor.
Nope nope nope!
Flavors: Artificial, Banana, Candy, Chocolate
Preparation
I could never get this to work for me. There used to be a stir fry place my mom took me and my siblings to when we were little and she used to get us chocolate monkeys which were basically chocolate milkshakes with banana syrup. I wanted that. That wasnt what I got.
Clearly Anne needs to make a chocolate banana tea, since she has the best banana! ;)
Swap Sample Sipdown! (47)
Thank you Kawaii433 for the sample!
I tend to enjoy citrus in tea, so I’m happy to have the opportunity to try this one. The curly little green tea leaves are quite adorable, and there are nice chunks of dried grapefruit mixed in.
This is a lovely combination of base tea and added flavor. The Chinese green tea blend here is well-balanced, with tasty apricot notes along with subdued sweetness and more robust mineral and smoke flavors. It would perhaps be too robust for me to drink on its own, but the added citrus really brightens and lifts the whole blend. It’s not overpoweringly grapefruit, I think I could pick it out if I didn’t know which citrus it was, but it is quite close to tangerine as well. In either case, tasty zingy citrus goodness.
A lovely tea! But I do have Lupicia’s Yuzu green tea in my cupboard already, and I’m not sure I need a grapefruit green tea as well. Hmm…
Flavors: Apricot, Astringent, Bitter, Citrus, Citrus Zest, Grapefruit, Mineral, Smoke, Stonefruit, Sweet, Vegetal
Preparation
Swap Sample Sipdown! (46)
Yet another 52teas sample from Kawaii433!
This is another genmaicha blend. I must say, I haven’t been terribly impressed with the other 52teas genmaichas I’ve tried. Although I do still intend to order a fresh taster of Marshmallow Treat Genmaicha… I love the concept too much to not give it a fair chance!
I will say, this one is better than the others I’ve tried. That may be partially because I only steeped it for 2 minutes, so I need to keep that in mind in the future. It has a great chocolatey cake aroma to it, which is surprising.
I can taste some chocolate cake in the flavor as well, though it’s less prominent than the smell. There is a nice hint of sweetness, perhaps from the chocolate chips? I like the comforting toasty flavor of the rice, and it does help convey the cakey flavor a little bit.
It actually does give me a slight impression of a lighter Hostess cupcake, which is unexpected. I’m often disappointed by chocolate in tea, but I feel like the toasted rice here helps accent the cacao nibs and shell.
Flavors: Cake, Chocolate, Cream, Frosting, Smooth, Sweet, Toasted Rice
Preparation
Swap Sample Sipdown! (45)
From Kawaii433!
This is a very interesting one. The steeped tea has a somewhat grapey aroma, which worried me a little bit.
Luckily, it tastes much closer to raisin than grape. This makes perfect sense to me, since my favorite scones from my local tea house are currant scones. There is also a soft and sweet orange zest flavor that goes quite well with the raisin, which is rather sweet and rich-tasting. I also get a nice pastry sort of note that really sells the scone angle.
I like this much better than I expected… The raisin is very enjoyable, with its dark, almost molasses-y notes. I dig it.
Looks like there are still some tasters in stock… :P
Flavors: Butter, Dried Fruit, Fig, Honey, Molasses, Orange, Pastries, Raisins, Smooth, Sweet
Preparation
365 Days of Tea Challenge – Day 22
Earl Grey time! :D
This one is simple but lovely. The base has at least some Chinese black tea in it, as it has a nice smooth and mellow earthy flavor. I would guess that there’s Ceylon here as well, as it has a subtly astringent coppery note. It’s acidic enough that it’s a bit rough on my empty stomach.
The bergamot is restrained, and it’s in perfect balance with the black tea. The two complement each other well without either overpowering the other. It’s a lovely citrusy bergamot, and the added finger lime flavor really brings out the citrus notes, while also adding a nice brightness to the blend.
It’s really a good one, and a slightly more demure Earl Grey blend that would be perfect for the afternoon (or a lazy weekend morning!). Plus that gold tin is stunning! ❤
Flavors: Astringent, Bergamot, Citrus, Earth, Lime, Malt, Mineral, Smooth
Preparation
Swap Sample Sipdown! (44)
Another one from Kawaii433!
I’m not sure how I feel about honeybush, mostly because it’s been a long time since I’ve had any. It’s not a very common base for flavored tisanes, especially compared to the more popular rooibos.
The honeybush here has an interesting woody flavor, one that’s quite different from the woodiness of red rooibos. It’s almost peppery? I’m not sure how else to describe it.
The cinnamon flavor is surprisingly mild. I can taste a little bit of buttery or pastry-like flavor here as well. Overall, I’m just quite surprised by how subdued the flavoring is in relation to the honeybush base.
There’s also something here that’s adding some natural sweetness, perhaps it’s the cinnamon chips? It almost tastes like there’s a sprinkling of stevia, which I know there is not. It is a pleasant sweetness though, and doesn’t overwhelm the cup.
Overall, it’s perfectly pleasant to sip on. But for me, it’s not very memorable – it’s mostly a mild cinnamon honeybush.
Flavors: Black Pepper, Butter, Cinnamon, Frosting, Sweet, Wood
Preparation
Not sure if you used boiling water, but whenever it’s a 52 teas honey bush I tend to use a much lower temperature…like 175? And they decreases the honeybush taste I find.
Thanks for the tip, I’ll try that for my Raspberry Almond Cookie Honeybush!
In fact, 53Teas black blends benefit from lower temperature treatment too.
I don’t use boiling water for any of my blends now. I recommend just under boiling for the black teas, and 185 – 195°F for honeybush and/or rooibos. You’ll get less astringency this way, and you’ll get less of the weird flavors that come with rooibos and honeybush this way too.
I generally use 200° water for black teas. But I’ll definitely keep that in mind for rooibos and honeybush!
