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Not counting this as a sipdown since it was just a single serving. Adagio doesn’t offer samples in their zodiac teas for some weird reason, so I’m always happy when I have an opportunity to get one of the single portions, usually through cards. I don’t even like Adagio much, generally speaking, and yet I feel compelled to try all of their zodiac teas. (shrugs)

This one is fine, if a bit generic. It’s a very mild chai, and the base tastes a bit thin as well, even though I only used 8 ounces of water. But it’s smooth and likeable enough, even if the black tea is a bit bland. Cinnamon is the strongest to my palate, followed by the clove and ginger. Not picking up on cardamom at all. Fine and pleasant but not something I would order, and I feel like a spiced tea is a bit cliché for a fire theme/sign. :P

Sipdown! (1 | 14)

Hi friends, it’s been a while! I guess I’m back from my annual unplanned tea hiatus ha ha. And still getting over mono, which has been extremely unpleasant for the past month… But mostly better now!

I received a tin of this tea in the winter (I think) subscription box, so I figured I would take the opportunity to sip down my older tin, from my very first OBTC order. I would probably count this among my favorites from them? But there are so many I like that it’s difficult to say ha ha. It’s such an unusual tea, but somehow the sweet cinnamon and anise and the earthy, savory green chile just blend together into something so lovely. Sweet, but not too sweet, and not at all spicy either, yet I can still taste the flavor of the chile. The green base is also the perfect choice I think, the mild earthy and hay notes go so well with the other ingredients.

Anyway, doesn’t taste at all like a cookie to me, but I have other cookie teas anyway. This one is something unique. My eternal thanks to Stacey over at As the Tea Brews on YouTube for introducing me to OBTC! <3

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Been enjoying sipping through this one with milk, and now that it’s gone I had to go and order some Hot Cinnamon Spice loose leaf! Sadly they were out of Hot Apple Spice in a reasonable size.

I’m pretty sure this one is just Hot Apple Spice on a green base. Though to be fair, it’s also basically the same as Hot Cinnamon Spice, since there’s very little discernible apple flavor anyway. Just another of Harney’s sweet cinnamon teas! Not sure why they keep making more that are so similar to their classic version…

Anyway, it’s gone and I’m sad about it. :P

So, of course, I couldn’t resist picking up the year of the dragon teas from Lupicia. They were only offered in tins, and were a whopping $17 each, but both flavors sounded so good that I had to get them anyway… XP

This one is a black tea base with peach, lychee, and citrus. The black tea itself is very light and fluffy in texture, similar to Momijigari I would say. I do really enjoy this one. It smelled quite citrusy, but the lychee actually stands out the most to me flavor-wise. It has a lovely natural sweetness and that light-yet-juicy, nectarous floral fruitiness that is characteristic of lychee. The peach is more of a supporting note, but I think it rounds out the flavor well and adds a bit of richness and a hint of tart. Citrus is quite subtle, but it tastes a bit like there’s some grapefruit involved.

A nice one! Too bad it’s limited addition, but luckily there are many other teas I love from Lupicia. :P

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Finished this one off with milk as my first tea of the morning. This is essentially the same as their Hot Cinnamon Spice or Hot Apple Spice as far as I can tell, there’s no discernable difference. I think there’s supposed to be orange or something, but mostly it just tastes like sweet candy cinnamon. I hadn’t tried it with milk before, but I really enjoyed the combo and now I’m a bit sad it’s gone! :P

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This seems very similar to Pumpkin Pie Tart, just with a hojicha base instead of Chinese sencha. It’s nice enough – softly spiced with a nice toasty base and just a touch of creaminess. I appreciate that there’s no brown sugar in this one. The coconut does make it a tad bit oily, but nothing major.

I do think I like it better than the regular green tea version, as the toasty hojicha goes well with the autumn vibes of pumpkin pie. Still probably not something I would feel the need to order, as it’s not far off from some of the other spiced hojicha, and I think I prefer the cinnamon raisin or apple cranberry versions.

From the winter subscription! I find it so interesting how Old Barrel offers mixed teas like this. I wasn’t super excited for this one in particular, because I don’t love hibiscus-heavy fruit tisanes generally, and I also don’t love berry and fruit with rooibos…

However, I think they did a good job on the balance with this one. It has tartness, but it’s not overwhelming like the plain Blueberry probably would be (for me at least). The berry flavor is nice, it doesn’t taste chalky and the tartness helps it taste more fresh and less syrupy. I can also taste the rooibos, it gives a smooth and slightly woody base, and then the vanilla adds sweetness and a touch of creaminess, and synergizes well with the blueberry flavor.

I like it more than I expected, and I don’t get any medicinal vibes from it, which is a relief. I don’t think I would go out and buy it, just because I don’t generally reach for rooibos or fruit tisanes, but I’ll have no issue sipping through my small tin!

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This one was quite enjoyable. It actually reminded me of her popular Hojicha Cinnamon Raisin Bread Pudding blend that’s been around for a while now. I have a tin of that one, but it’s been a long time since I’ve made a cup, so I’m only comparing this to my memory. I’ll have to steep some up one of these days…

Anyway, it’s a smooth, toasty hojicha blend with warming cinnamon and a touch of sweetness from the brown sugar. I think the cinnamon raisin one was sweeter, now that I think about it, so this is an improvement IMO. There’s a touch of fruitiness, mostly apple. I found the hibiscus to be quite inconsistent for whatever reason, some cups had no tartness and then there was one that was almost like a fruit tisane lol. When the balance was right, it did sort of emulate cranberry. This last cup is pretty spot-on actually.

Would consider ordering more, if I were to order from Deb again. Not planning on it at the moment, as I don’t tend to love a lot of her teas, especially the newer flavored ones. Plus it took a long time for my last order to come, and by the time it did, I had lost the sense of excitement and was more annoyed that it was exploding my cupboard at the end of the year LOL! :P

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Oops, didn’t realize I hadn’t written a note for this one, other than the first time I tried it. I originally tried this in their black tea trio, and the Earl Grey in that set had contaminated the other two teas and made them taste weird. So my first note is rather unfavorable ha ha…

All that to say, I actually quite like this one. I’ve been drinking it with milk as my first tea of the day, and I quite like the addition of the fennel along with the allspice – it gives a nice sweetness and makes it a bit different from your usual chai.

I’ll probably reorder this at some point, so I’ll be sure to write a note about it plain then! :P

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First sipdown of 2024!

Working on getting through these Deb teas, because I don’t know what I was thinking ordering them, most of the time her teas are very meh to me. I blame the hojicha collection ha ha.

This is pleasant enough. I wouldn’t call it pumpkin pie, more of an eggnog vibe if anything. Mellow and slightly creamy with pumpkin spice, of which the nutmeg is really standing out to me. So yeah, sort of like a light eggnog green tea. Not bad, just nothing I’m in love with.