4278 Tasting Notes

68

Bird & Blend Matcha Advent Calendar 2023 – Day 22

Ah, finally a rooibos. I expected more of them, to be honest, but it seems like B&B has gotten out of the habit of making “tea powders” that don’t contain any matcha, which I’m glad about. This one has rooibos, but it also has actual matcha as well.

It’s okay. Honestly, I don’t taste the matcha at all, mostly I get earthy ginger, licorice root, and hints of other spices on a rooibos-y base. It doesn’t taste at all like gingerbread to me (but neither does their Gingerbread Chai), more of a strong gingery chai since there is no cookie or molasses element here.

Not bad, but certainly not one I would purchase.

Flavors: Earthy, Ginger, Licorice Root, Spices, Woody

Preparation
Iced 1 tsp 8 OZ / 236 ML

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75
drank Mystics by Thésaurus Tea
4278 tasting notes

Thésaurus Tea Fandom Advent Calendar 2023 – Day 21

Strawberry and mint is an interesting combination. Unfortunately, I’m mostly just getting the mint here. There’s a hint of a light fruitiness, but it’s barely perceptible. Mostly it tastes like a spearmint white tea.

It’s nice, I would just like more strawberry!

Flavors: Creamy, Hay, Mint, Smooth, Spearmint, Strawberry, Sweet

Preparation
185 °F / 85 °C 3 min, 0 sec 1 tsp 6 OZ / 177 ML

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70

Compagnie & Co Advent Calendar 2023 – Day 21

A goji flavored green tea? Interesting…

I don’t have a ton of experience with goji by itself, but in blends it usually tastes a bit tart to me, and this doesn’t have any tartness at all. It’s quite sweet, in fact, with a flavor that maybe reminds me of strawberry? It’s not quite, but I can’t think of anything closer. The base is a mixture of green teas, but I feel I’m mostly tasting the grassy sencha with a bit of extra earthiness and minerality from the chun mee.

It’s a nice fruity tea, but it doesn’t really taste like goji berries to me. More like strawberry meets dried apricot maybe?

Flavors: Apricot, Berry, Earthy, Fruity, Grassy, Hay, Mineral, Smooth, Strawberry, Sweet

Preparation
175 °F / 79 °C 2 min, 0 sec 8 OZ / 236 ML

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85

DIY Kyoto Obubu Advent Calendar – Day 21

So because I had Sencha of the Wind recently, I feel like I can tell that these two are similar. They’re both spring-harvested and feature the Zairai cultivar, but Wind is shaded while this one is not.

This still has that lovely vegetal flavor with savory, brothy notes of cooked greens, fresh grass, and a touch of squash. It’s much lighter in texture than Wind, but I can still see similarities in the flavor, including a slightly fruity finish. This also has some lighter notes – mellow flowers, pollen, and warm hay.

Light and fresh and just delicious. I love them both, and they suit different moods.

Flavors: Broth, Clean, Floral, Fresh, Freshly Cut Grass, Fruity, Green, Hay, Nori, Pollen, Salad Greens, Savory, Seaweed, Squash, Tart, Umami, Vegetal, Zucchini

Preparation
0 min, 45 sec 5 g 7 OZ / 200 ML

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80

52teas 12 Teas of Christmas 2023 – Day 9

Okay, so this is pretty delicious. I was drawn in by the wonderful dry scent, and while the steeped tea isn’t quite as good as that, it’s still really good. The raspberry is spot-on for jam, with a balance of syrupy and tart notes and a nice intense flavor. The peanut butter part doesn’t really taste exactly like peanut butter to me, maybe almond butter? Anyway, it’s close enough that the overall flavor does remind me a bit of a PB&J.

Flavors: Almond, Jam, Nutty, Peanut, Raspberry, Savory, Smooth, Sweet, Tannic, Tart

Preparation
200 °F / 93 °C 3 min, 0 sec 3 tsp 16 OZ / 473 ML

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Sipology Advent Calendar 2023 – Day 21

Ugh, lol. Still, I’m thankful that there are only two “naturally sweet” teas in this whole advent. It could’ve been much worse ha ha.

This one is an odd choice for stevia IMO. Mostly tastes like a smooth black base with a lot of powdered ginger, and the earthiness of the ginger is a somewhat odd combination with the sweet stevia. I could see honey or sweetness going well with more of a ginger root type taste, like those instant ginger honey crystals. But here it’s weird IMO, since it’s definitely the powdered type of ginger flavor.

Honestly not undrinkable though, the stevia is more subdued than I expected. But definitely not something I would want to drink again. :P

Flavors: Dust, Earthy, Ginger, Musty, Smooth, Stevia, Sweet

Preparation
200 °F / 93 °C 3 min, 0 sec 1 tsp 8 OZ / 236 ML

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72

Tea at the White House Advent Calendar 2023 – Day 21

Another vanilla/caramel tea huh? It feels like they did a lot of the festive teas early and this middle part has been mostly more generic desserty blends. Hopefully there are some more holiday teas since there are only a few days left!

Anyway, it’s fine. Vanilla with a bit of richness and creaminess, which does make sense for a vanilla custard. I could see it being flan-ish. Smooth and earthy black base. Not bad, just not my particular type of tea.

Flavors: Creamy, Custard, Earthy, Rich, Smooth, Sweet, Vanilla

Preparation
200 °F / 93 °C 3 min, 0 sec 8 OZ / 236 ML

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Bird & Blend Matcha Advent Calendar 2023 – Day 21

So I expected this one to be similar to Raspberry Ripple, but actually I find it reminds me of Nordic Berry? There’s something a touch medicinal about it that I don’t love, and almost an herbaceous minty note? I must be crazy lol, because that makes no sense for a strawberries & cream matcha…

I guess I’ll have to see how I feel about it when I try the other serving. :P

Flavors: Berry, Herbaceous, Medicinal, Mint, Sweet

Preparation
Iced 1 tsp 8 OZ / 236 ML

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78

Compagnie & Co Advent Calendar 2023 – Day 20

An interesting choice for a holiday tea, green and white teas with red fruits and baked apple. It’s a nice evening tea, very mellow base with a similar candy-sweet red fruits flavor to the black version I had the other day. I do taste the apple as well, it actually blends seamlessly with the green tea. The red fruits is the stronger of the two flavors, but the apple gives a nice sweetness and makes the whole thing just a bit more comforting.

Flavors: Apple, Candy, Cherry, Dry Grass, Fruity, Hay, Jam, Raspberry, Red Fruits, Smooth, Sweet, Syrupy

Preparation
175 °F / 79 °C 2 min, 0 sec 8 OZ / 236 ML

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Sipology Advent Calendar 2023 – Day 20

There’s something about this that smells like spoiled coconut, yet there is no coconut here at all. It’s less noticeable in the taste, but still there’s a hint of something acrid.

Nope! :P

Preparation
200 °F / 93 °C 5 min, 0 sec 3 tsp 12 OZ / 354 ML

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Profile

Bio

Hi, I’m Cameron!

I’m a 30-something software engineer currently living in Austin, Texas with my husband and our two pugs, Gobo and Ume. I tend to cycle between my different hobbies, and they include piano, knitting, video games, board games, miniature painting, planners, bento, Korean skincare, and – of course – TEA! But really, what I’m best at is “collecting” hobby-related things… ;)

~ 2024 SIPDOWN CHALLENGE! ~
- December sipdowns: 1
- Total 2024 sipdowns: 157

I prefer my tea lukewarm or at room temperature and without milk or sugar. I steep Western style, and fluctuate between using big mugs or small teapots depending on the season.

I am always up for a swap! Just let me know if you’d like to try something in my cupboard.

Tea Preferences:
I enjoy both flavored and unflavored teas in many forms. These days, I drink mostly flavored teas, and I tend to gravitate most toward black, green, oolong, and herbal varieties. I do have a special fondness for straight Japanese green teas, however.

I do not sweeten my teas, and pre-sweetened teas are usually too sweet for me. I also do not enjoy stevia (or monkfruit, etc.).

I tend to reach for fruitier flavors rather than desserty ones these days, but I do have favorites from both categories. Willing to try anything once! There are a few ingredients/flavors that aren’t generally my jam, such as coconut, rose, lavender, and chocolate flavoring. But I also have teas that I love with some of those things, too! :)

Favorite Companies:
3 Leaf
Bird & Blend
Dammann Frères
Harney & Sons
Kyoto Obubu Tea Farms
Lupicia
Old Barrel Tea Co
Simpson & Vail
Taiwan Tea Crafts
TeaVivre

Tea Rating Scale:
90-100: Outstanding! Permanent cupboard resident
80-89: Great – a possible staple
70-79: Good, but I wouldn’t buy it
60-69: It’s decent
50-59: Meh… I may or may not have finished the cup
40-49: Ick. Couldn’t finish it.
00-39: Repulsive, I spat it out

I will sometimes refrain from rating a tea if I feel I’m too biased due to my personal dislikes, or if I suspect the sample has been compromised by age or scent contamination.

Cupboard Spreadsheet:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1ZEuKf1-ppR-VXajO4vV39zU1N3zjFJteEPAynqD2yl0/edit?usp=sharing

Location

Austin, Texas

Website

https://www.instagram.com/tea...

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