Cameron B. select Send Message

Sipdown! (18 | 31)

Cold steeped. This was sort of a wildcard selection from Tealyra, it sounded so unusual and I do tend to like sea buckthorn (at least, in my limited experience). It actually ended up being possibly my favorite of the several fruit tisanes I chose.

The color is alarmingly yellow ha ha, and the flavor is tangy and tart, but not overly sour. The sea buckthorn is actually the main element to me – unsurprising, given the amount of peels present in the mix. I’m not sure how to describe the flavor of sea buckthorn really, other than to say it’s sweet and tart and almost like an intersection of citrus and some kind of tropical fruit? Needless to say, it pairs perfectly with the citrus here and is lovely as an iced tea.

Will definitely reorder this one next time!

This is stone cold now (oops).

Pleasantly smoky without being overly so, just enough to give that savory, chewy meatiness. I taste a little vanilla, but I wish there was a lot more – the smoke could certainly stand up to it. The bergamot is also subtle, just adding a hint of a citrusy top note.

Nice, but I guess I was hoping for more of the added flavors. Will have to give it a try with milk one of these days.

So bee pollen and I don’t always get along, and there was such a strong wet dog aroma while this was steeping that I was sure I wouldn’t be able to drink it at all…

Thankfully, I don’t get wet dog in the taste ha ha. Mostly it’s a rather generic black base (Ceylon I assume, as it tastes like Lipton) with a touch of honey flavor. I don’t get maple, which is disappointing.

So even though it ended up being drinkable, still nothing special IMO. So far, haven’t been vibing with Winterwoods’s flavored blacks so hopefully some of the herbals and such are more my speed.

Finally trying another of my loose leaf selections from Murchie’s. I keep getting distracted by the cute teabag boxes sitting in front ha ha…

This is quite lovely though. Very citrusy and bright on a somewhat smoother base than usual – maybe the Darjeeling and Nepal black teas are helping curb the Ceylon a bit. I will say, it lacks that distinct piney note that I associate with yuzu, and because of that it’s reminding me more of a mix of grapefruit, orange, lemon, and bergamot. But I almost prefer that really, as sometimes I find yuzu to be a touch overbearing when it’s very prominent.

Lovely extra-citrusy Earl, and it’s making me miss Troika from Kusmi. :P

Sipdown! (16 | 29)

Cold brewed. This one is quite nice actually, it has a good amount of tartness to it, even though there isn’t any hibiscus. I assume it’s from the apples. I don’t know that I would go “aha, this tastes like guava!”, but knowing that’s the intention, I can see it. It almost tastes a bit like passion fruit as well. The strawberry is nice and doesn’t taste like candy, which I guess makes sense given there’s no strawberry flavoring, so it must be coming from the dried slices.

Really nice and refreshing, and doesn’t need any sweetener. Will definitely consider ordering more, though there are still a lot more Tealyra fruit blends that I want to try. :D

I don’t know why I feel compelled to keep trying candy cane teas, I always seem to find them disappointing.

This has all kinds of nice-sounding ingredients, like candy cane pieces, mini marshmallows, cacao shells, and white chocolate and vanilla flavorings. But in the end, I still mostly just taste rooibos and peppermint. And I don’t particularly love red rooibos, so…

I guess I just really like the idea of a peppermint bark type of tea, but all the ones I’ve tried have either had weird additions (cinnamon, why?!) or just lack the extra creamy/vanilla element. I guess the closest I have is B&B’s Peppermint Cream. Ah well, I’m sure I’ll continue trying new ones, as I can’t seem to help myself. XP

So this is a caramel and vanilla black tea with pine needles. Although, I didn’t really see any needles in my sample jar… :(

I’m finding it just okay. It’s honestly a bit bland overall, both the tea base and the flavoring. There’s a touch of sweetness from the flavorings, and I can taste a little of the vanilla, but not specifically caramel. The base teas like a tannic Ceylon, with those metallic and acidic notes.

Meh! I wish the pine was actually present, that would make it more interesting.

Getting back to some Murchie’s teas… Too many tea purchases lately, I can’t keep up! :P

This is nice enough. The black base is a touch biscuity and fairly smooth today, and the apricot tastes natural enough. I do wish there was more apricot though, it’s a touch subtle for a tea where it should be the star.

So not a reorder for me, but would love to hear some recommendations for apricot teas!

Hmmmm…

So this is an oolong with fruit and floral flavors. I guess I was assuming the “floral” part meant the chamomile, rose petals, and butterfly pea flower that are mixed in. But there is definitely some kind of floral flavoring going on here as well, and it’s reminding me of hair conditioner or something. It doesn’t taste awful or anything like that, it just has a distinct sweet and perfumey floral note that makes me think of bath products. I don’t really get fruitiness? Not sure what the fruit is supposed to be, as they don’t tell you.

It’s drinkable, but I am far from a floral lover, so this will be going into my rehoming box.

Another tea I picked up in my last (impulsive) order, heh heh… Somehow I ended up with three oolongs.

This is a nice enough tea, but to me, it doesn’t really fit the name. The cream part is definitely there, and it’s quite rich and vanilla-y. However, I don’t really get orange at all…? Which makes me sad, as that’s the part I was excited about. The oolong base here is very oxidized and also somewhat roasty, and has some woody notes that do pair very well with the richer vanilla ice cream flavor.

But I wanted orange… T.T