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Tea swap goodies!

I’ve had this before, but always nice to revisit. The peaches & cream flavor is quite nice actually. The description doesn’t mention cream, but to me there’s a bit of a custardy note here. I don’t really get pastry at all though, and the base is quite brisk. It’s not unpleasantly tannic or anything, just definitely a harsher base than they generally use for their flavored black teas. I’m sure it would take milk well, but I’m not sure the flavoring is strong enough to stand up to that.

It’s an interesting one, more of a stronger builder’s tea with just a light peach & cream note to it.

Another tea swap teabag.

This is nice – the flavoring actually reminds me of Lupicia’s Ripe Mango Oolong, which is a good thing. Quite close to actual mango, unlike most mango-flavored things in my experience. It is a bit on the strong side though, and it doesn’t help that the green tea doesn’t have much flavor. There’s a touch of grassiness, but mostly it’s the mango flavoring show. Still pleasant and fun to try, though!

Sipdown! (1 | 50)

I like the idea of this one, but I feel like I’m tasting more rooibos than I would like. There’s definitely some chestnut going on, and maybe a hint of sweet potato? I think I used to like this a lot more, but red rooibos really just isn’t my thing at the moment. Still a nice enough blend though, just not something I should feel the need to order. We’ll see how pretty the tin is this year when it comes around in the fall… XP

First tea from Basilur! Courtesy of my new tea friend Jen, who lives in Germany.

I steeped for 2 minutes, as I find that when I steep fannings-style teabags longer, they can become quite astringent. The tea still has a deep russet color, so I think 2 minutes was long enough, even though the wrapper suggests 3-5.

This has a good balance of tea and flavoring. The tea itself is nothing special, as I would expect, but it’s pleasant and gives a good foundation for the flavoring without being too brisk or too watery. The lime here is very Jell-O, but I’m quite enjoying it, as it isn’t overbearing. Actually, I think it reminds me most of lime Life Savers. I do taste the lemon as well, and maybe its citrusy freshness is what helps keep the candylike lime from becoming cloying.

A fairly good first impression for Basilur, excited to try the many other flavors she so generously sent my way!

So I just received a swap from a new tea friend in Germany, and this is one of the many, many, many teas she sent. It’s funny because I actually sent her this tea as well, I wonder if they high-fived over the Atlantic? XD She also sent a bunch of Basilur teabags, which I’m very excited for.

This continues to be a lovely tea that I’ve sipped many-a-time. Bird & Blend’s chocolate teas in general tend to be very good, even for someone like me who doesn’t generally like chocolate teas. This is spot-on for a chocolate digestive, right down to that wheat-y biscuit base that almost tastes like it could be good for you (if you tilted your head to the side and closed one eye). The only thing that’s different is I taste quite a noticeable caramel flavor here, which is not present in the cookie. There apparently is a caramel version, but I’ve never had those.

Great start to a tea swap! :)

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Counting this for May since generally I count it as a sipdown when I use the last of a tea to make a cold steep, not necessarily when I finish the actual container of cold steeped tea, if that makes sense. So I made this bottle yesterday, but am drinking it today.

Another really nice one for cold-steeping from Harney. This is on the heavier side when it comes to hibiscus, but to me that makes sense for something with tart flavors like orange and passion fruit. Plus I add some sugar to my cold brews generally, so it ends up being balanced. Nice and tangy with orange leading the way, and passion fruit adding a tropical note. It’s more citrusy than tropical overall, but doesn’t taste like Tang, like their Blood Orange version does IMO.

Another likely reorder, though I also just got several new fruit tisanes from Tealyra to try out, so we shall see!

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This is supposedly jasmine green tea with green rooibos and apple, but somehow it ends up tasting like gunpowder? Mixed with the green rooibos, of course. I guess whatever green tea was used for the jasmine tea must be quite mineral-tasting. There is no apple to speak of, though I’m not surprised given there were only a few tiny pieces in the dry leaf.

Harrumph.

This was a risky choice for me, as it’s described as raspberry and rose with a hint of bergamot. Not being a rose lover, not sure why I was so compelled to order it ha ha.

Well I’m not a fan, but it’s not because of rose. This just tastes very powdery/chalky to me overall. Sometimes I have that issue with mixed berry teas, so perhaps it’s the raspberry flavoring here. But it tastes like Tums or perhaps Smarties (the US kind).

Into the rehoming box it goes!

Need to get back into sampling more of my Murchie’s purchases!

This one is nice enough. It mostly tastes like a black tea, but with a much lighter body. Not watery, but just not as heavy overall. The flavoring is buttery, which makes sense given the brioche descriptor. It also reminds me a bit of toasted pecans. I don’t really taste caramel at all. The buttery flavor and light nuttiness make this remind me of Almond Sugar Cookie from Simpson & Vail. It’s not really sweet though, it leans more bready or croissant-y.

I like it, but I don’t think I need it in my cupboard, and I prefer the somewhat similar Canada 150 blend (which has maple instead of this brioche flavor).

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This one is supposed to be sweet and fruity with hints of candied nuts, but honestly I’m not really tasting much other than the rather tannic black tea base. Maybe a hint of something fruity or sweet? Not tasting the cedar tips either, though I didn’t really see any in my jar.