4317 Tasting Notes
Random impulse purchase! I was restocking on some fruit tisanes from Harney and was intrigued by this new tea. It’s reasonably priced and the leaves are big and twisty, plus I haven’t had many Malawian teas.
It definitely reminds me of an Assam, it has those raisin and molasses/brown sugar notes to it and a touch of astringency. Apricot or plum fruit leather and tobacco are present as well, and a hint of floral on the back end. I don’t know if I would order more, since I’m not really an Assam drinker, but it’s enjoyable and I’ll happily sip through the tin. Plus it’s fun to try new things! :)
Flavors: Apricot, Astringent, Brown Sugar, Caramelized Sugar, Dried Fruit, Dry Leaves, Floral, Fruity, Malt, Molasses, Plum, Raisins, Stonefruit, Tannic, Tart, Tobacco
Preparation
Sipdown! (14 | 63)
This one was nice. Quite strong on the smoke, for sure, but it’s a nice, meaty smoke, as opposed to an ashy charcoal one. The sage accentuates those savory notes as well, and adds an earthy herbaceousness. I will say I don’t actually get a lot of juniper here, which isn’t surprising since the other notes are so powerful. It’s also a bit difficult to extricate the sage and juniper from each other, but there is a sort of resinous note going on, regardless of where it’s coming from.
It’s nice, but I think a bit of a deep berry note would be nice, just to round things out. Probably not one I would reorder, since I don’t often crave strong smoky teas.
Flavors: Campfire, Earthy, Evergreen, Forest Floor, Herbaceous, Herbs, Meat, Medicinal, Pine, Resin, Sage, Savory, Smoke, Smoked, Wood, Woodsy
Preparation
So I wasn’t expecting much after the other black-green blend I tried (Library Blend I think?), but this is quite nice. I really like the combination of the light jasmine and bergamot flavors together with the mixed bases. I get a bit of the gunpowder’s mineral earthiness for sure, but there’s some black tea adding a touch of heft as well. I also enjoy the bergamot that Murchie’s uses – it’s almost lemony and not perfumey at all.
I might have to put this one on the list to try in loose leaf… :)
Flavors: Acidic, Bergamot, Brisk, Earthy, Floral, Jasmine, Lemon, Metallic, Mineral, Smooth, Sweet
Preparation
Sipdown! (13 | 62)
I’m almost out of fruit tisanes! :O Luckily, I already ordered more, heh heh…
This one is sweet and juicy and yummy. I like that it has actual guava pieces in it, though I’m sure the flavoring is doing the heavy lifting. Nicely balanced between sweet and tart, with a tangy guava flavor alongside the tartness of apple and a slight citrusy note from the lemongrass.
Putting this one on the “maybe” list, I remember liking their strawberry guava blend a lot too, so now I’m not sure which to order… XP
Flavors: Apple, Citrus, Fruity, Guava, Juicy, Pineapple, Sweet, Tangy, Tart, Tropical
Preparation
Sipdown! (12 | 61)
Not a fan of this one. I think it’s just not very well-suited to being cold-steeped, as it gets quite bitter and pithy from the lemon peel. Otherwise, it does taste like lemon candy. Would probably be nicer steeped hot and then iced, but I’m too lazy for that. :P
Flavors: Bitter, Candy, Lemon, Lemon Zest, Sweet
Preparation
This had a crazy strong peppermint smell in the pouch, I assume because it contains peppermint oil.
It’s pretty potent in taste as well, but not over-the-top. The mint is definitely the starring flavor, but I do get some of the chocolate as well. With a bit of oat milk, it’s like a less-sweet peppermint dark hot chocolate. I will say the coffee element is a bit light, maybe because the mint is so strong, but I don’t really mind.
I could see myself enjoying this around the holidays especially, maybe I’ll pick some up closer to winter.
Flavors: Cocoa, Dark Chocolate, Mint, Peppermint, Roasted, Sweet, Toasty
Preparation
Tea swap sample!
This is nice, it has a good balance of peach and deep berry flavors. The base is smooth and slightly grassy with hay notes. It actually reminds me a bit of a peach and black currant white tea from Kusmi that I used to enjoy, which I believe was discontinued. I wouldn’t go out of my way to order it, but it made for an enjoyable cuppa.
Flavors: Berry, Dry Grass, Elderberry, Fruity, Hay, Peach, Smooth, Stonefruit, Sweet, Syrupy
Preparation
Sipdown! (11 | 60)
I wish there was a bit more peach here. Mostly I taste earthy and slightly musty herbs, which I guess must be the strawberry leaf, and then the tartness of the citrus and the hibiscus. There is a touch of peach there, but I feel like the tart flavors overpower it a bit and make this taste more citrusy than anything.
Flavors: Citrus, Earthy, Herbaceous, Herbs, Hibiscus, Lemon, Musty, Peach, Tart
Preparation
Sipdown! (10 | 59)
Happy to be finishing this off, and it’s a few years old now. I can’t really taste any black currant anymore, though it’s still quite yummy with just the rosemary and touch of cinnamon.
Definitely one I would repurchase when it comes around in the winter, but probably not this year as I really need to sip down some more teas. We’ll see though! :P
Flavors: Brisk, Cinnamon, Pine, Rosemary, Savory, Sweet
Preparation
Trying to get back into drinking some of my tea swap samples…
This one is just okay. It’s quite bland for a chai, and I don’t notice a ton of vanilla either. There’s definitely a touch, but mostly it tastes like generic black tea with a bit of clove and maybe cardamom.
Flavors: Clove, Spices, Sweet, Thin, Vanilla, Watery, Wax
