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Pass the Stash TTB 2.0

I just noticed that I totally missed my 200th tasting note milestone! So hooray! Anyway, this tea. Dry, it has a very powerful scent! Whew. Very strong watermelon-ish scent with a lot of mint. The tea itself is a mixture of a bunch of huge dried fruit chunks.

Yum, I actually like this a lot more than I thought I would based on the smell. I did add sugar, by the way. The front of the sip is watermelon, and it’s very juicy and convincing. Maybe a tiny hint of tart which just exemplifies the juicy flavor. The mint shows up midway through and dominates from then on. It leaves a nice cooling sensation through the aftertaste, which lingers for some time. Very nice, and would be fantastic cold!

Off-topic time! I have signed up for madametj’s traveling tea box(es), and it’s been requested that I get some verification posted from the several people that I’ve swapped with. So if you’ve done a swap with me, please reply to my recent post in the “I would vouch for [username] – tea swap credibility” thread, or send a private message to madametj. Please and thank you! :)

Pass the Stash TTB 2.0

I’ve been rather curious about Steven Smith’s teas. I have browsed his website many times and there are definitely several things I would like to try. I was excited to see that my local The Fresh Market has a sampler box of his teas, but it’s different from the one listed online and it’s missing a couple of the teas that was really interested in trying. So poo! This was actually one of the teas I was curious about. Luckily for me, there was a single individually-wrapped sachet in the box! Sorry guys, I had to try it. :P

I really really like this tea! It’s a lovely mix of the soft hay-like flavor of bai mudan and the lightly floral honey tones of chamomile. I have no idea what osmanthus tastes like, but I definitely get an extra floral element in here. I’m finding this extremely delicious with a little bit of honey! I would definitely buy this as a nice calming evening option.

Pass the Stash TTB 2.0

This is the first tea I’ve tried from 52 Teas. Theirs flavors seem interesting, but it’s not something that’s high on my tea priority list. I’ve also never had a Darjeeling that I know of… Looks like black tea leaves with a bunch of pieces of dried orange peel. It smells very orangey in an orange peel oil sort of way – more sharp than sweet. I don’t know much about Darjeeling, but I’ve heard it needs to be steeped at a lower temperature, so I did 190 in lieu of my usual 200.

This tea is…interesting. The orange is very present, and it’s definitely that same sharper orange oil flavor. There’s a touch of sweet and creaminess from the vanilla. And the base is giving me this interesting herby spice flavor, similar to what I’ve tasted sometimes in some Yunnan teas. Fennel seed, maybe? It’s definitely a savory spice. Overall, I feel like the flavor combination of this tea wasn’t that well thought-out. This is definitely the wrong type of orange flavor to go with vanilla. A sweeter, more juicy orange would have worked better for a dreamsicle tea. Overall, I did like it, but I kept coming back to its shortcomings…

Pass the Stash TTB 2.0

I’ve been wanting to try some teas from David’s for a while now. I wish they would add smaller size options to their website! This smells quite similar to Della Terra’s Pineapple Upside Down Cake, and there are even little pieces of candied pineapple in there. It has the same butter/cake flavoring scent. At first I thought there was only one serving in the sample package, but it turns out there’s enough for two. Yay! I steeped for 4 minutes.

This tastes very similar to Pineapple Upside Down Cake too. It has the same artificial butter and cake flavors that I don’t love in that blend. I definitely wouldn’t describe this as coffee cake, there’s no spice element. When I think of coffee cake, I picture the kind with cinnamon and sugar streusel over the top. Yum! But this isn’t it. Boo. :(

Pass the Stash TTB 2.0

I really should have looked up this tea before I tried it, hah! It’s in sachets, so I don’t pay much attention to what the tea inside looked like. I just smelled it and thought it was kind of fruity and sweet and tart. Steeped 5 minutes like I always do for Harney & Sons teas.

Turns out, this is basically liquid hibiscus and rosehips… Of which I am not a huge fan. There’s some berry flavor in there, but it’s hard to differentiate because of how strongly tart this tea is. The addition of the mint is interesting, I can taste it just barely at the end of the sip, and it’s nice and refreshing.

Overall, I would suggest not trying this one unless you like hibiscus and rosehips. Those two combined are definitely the bulk of the flavor here, and even with sugar it’s quite a tart tea. Drinkable, but not something I would ever choose. Luckily, there are several more sachets in here, so I don’t feel too bad for trying it! :P

Pass the Stash TTB 2.0

Savory tea, huh? Okay, I’ll be brave. :P There are actually 3 kinds in the box, but I chose this one first because I figured carrot is a pretty sweet vegetable, and I do like curry. The instructions said to steep this in boiling water, but this claims to be green tea… So I did 185 instead, which is higher than I’ll normally go for green tea. Compromise! I originally steeped for 5 minutes and then went up to 10 after a quick taste.

It smells strongly of curry! But in a kind of sweet way, like it has coconut milk in it or something. I am shocked by how good this is! It’s delicious! Much less intense than you would expect from the aroma, and slightly sweet from the carrot. It’s largely a sweet tea with some added curry spice that makes it amazing! There’s also a little hit of fresh cilantro in there, which adds a nice herbaceous, fresh element. Zippy! I definitely don’t taste green tea at all in here, which is fine with me.

I am totally amazed that I love this tea! I would absolutely drink this as an evening tea (the green base is decaffeinated). There are a couple other savory tea flavors in the box, I’m considering trying another one. But I don’t want to deprive someone else… I don’t know how much interest there will be for these… Hm!

Pass the Stash TTB 2.0

Yay, my first ever TTB! So exciting. I looked through and picked out what I want to try, and this one sounded like it could be either very good or very weird. I love vanilla, and rhubarb is interesting, but I wasn’t sure how I’d feel about the ale part of it. Visually, it’s a large leaf black tea with flower petals mixed in. It smells sweet, tart, and effervescent!

I actually am liking this tea, even if it is a bit odd. Mine is definitely weaker than it’s supposed to be, but I didn’t want to use a full tablespoon when there’s not much of it in there! There’s definitely a tart fruitiness which is obviously the rhubarb, and I get a little bit of vanilla, though I would prefer more. The ale quality of it is very interesting! It’s more bubbly-tasting than anything, maybe with a little bit of the malty ale flavor. And I get a little touch of spice at the end, presumably from the hops. It’s odd though, there’s something about this tea that tastes like artificial sweetener to me. I’m not sure if it’s the rhubarb flavoring or if it’s something to do with the hops, but it’s kind of stevia-like.

Overall, I do enjoy this tea and I would definitely try it again. Probably not going to make this week’s Butiki order, however. :P

MUST TRY ALL THE YUNNANS! Lol… Another one from Nicole! This one looks less tippy than the other Upton variety I tried yesterday, or whenever it was. The leaves are small and thin, not remarkably twisty, and almost all black with just a few golden spots. They smell of hay and dried leaves.

Whew, I could tell by the aroma that this is one of those Yunnans. Meaning, the manly kind, lol. The aroma and taste are basically exactly the same. It’s very earthy with a mineral edge. There’s a woody taste along with a definite smoke note (Nicole, you’re not paranoid on this one). A bit of malt in there too, but it mostly tastes like what I would call “forest floor” – earth and rocks and twigs. There’s a bit of a musty taste to it as well.

Finding myself to not be a fan of these darker Yunnan teas. I’ve been far too spoiled by their lighter counterparts! :P

This lovely tea came from Nicole. I’m almost all the way through her first package but I have since gotten a second. Lol… The dry leaves look quite “wild” to me, meaning they’re very spindly and rough. Almost like tiny tree roots! The color is mostly dark with a few golden buds mixed in. I’m not really getting a smell from the dry leaves, there’s a little bit of sweetness maybe?

The first thing I notice from the aroma is that there are very strong raisin notes. Yum! I also get other dark flavors, like malt, tobacco, and molasses. The flavor is definitely very deep and developed. I wouldn’t call it a super strong tea, but the flavors in here are all quite “dark” and intense. There’s dark, toasted bread with some honey over the top, but then there’s also a definite syrupy dried fruit note. I’m thinking raisins and dried cherries, maybe some fig in there too. Yum!

I continue to be impressed by Yunnan Sourcing, even their “lower-grade” Yunnan teas are delicious! Must order soon! :)

Hapatite sent me this tea as a freebie with my stash sale purchase. I haven’t had a tea from Teavana in a long time. I like the sound of this blend, I love nutty flavors and there are big chunks of candied fruit in there. It smells delicious, very nutty and sweet! I steeped about two teaspoons (I always overleaf rooibos blends) for 5 minutes.

I was surprised by the amount of cinnamon in the brewed aroma, considering I didn’t get any from the dry leaf! It smells very creamy and nutty with cinnamon on top. The taste reminds me of apple cinnamon oatmeal! I guess the oat tastes comes from the nuts? I added a little sugar, but I don’t think it’s necessary considering all the fruit is candied. I was very pleasantly surprised by this tea! I feel dirty for liking a Teavana tea… :(