4371 Tasting Notes
Sipdown! (76 | 173)
Trying to finish off my last couple of Dessert by Deb pouches from the winter collection. I think it’s just one more left after this, and then I have a mini tin somewhere from the last subscription box.
This one is fine. It’s a decent balance of woody (but not medicinal) rooibos, fruity-tart hibiscus, and a touch of cinnamon. It doesn’t somewhat taste like some kind of coffee cake or other spiced dessert, but certainly not like a fruitcake. Nice enough to sip on, but nothing special.
Flavors: Apple, Cinnamon, Fruity, Hibiscus, Sweet, Tart, Woody
Preparation
Sipdown! (75 | 172)
This one wasn’t my favorite, so I’m glad to have finished it off.
It’s sort of an orange spice flavor profile, but with too much clove. It makes my tongue tingle and overpowers the other flavors. There are cacao nibs, but I don’t taste them at all. I do like the sharp, zesty orange note, but there’s just too much clove for me to love this one.
Flavors: Bitter, Clove, Ginger, Orange, Orange Zest, Spices
Preparation
Sipdown! (74 | 171)
This is a light and tasty vanilla black tea.
The base is very smooth, malty, and bready with a thick texture. Maybe a hint of savory smoke on the backend, and a bit of dried apricot. The vanilla is fairly light, at least to my tastebuds. It has a nice subtle creamy, custardy quality that goes well with the smooth black tea.
For some reason vanilla black teas never seem to be my jam, so I probably wouldn’t reorder it, but I would recommend it for vanilla tea lovers. :)
Flavors: Apricot, Bread, Creamy, Custard, Dried Fruit, Malt, Savory, Smoked, Smooth, Stonefruit, Thick, Vanilla
Preparation
Sipdown! (70 | 167)
I’ve been slacking a bit on the Fortnum teas lately, I really need to get cracking since I still have 9 tins to go, and I want to finish them before December. Plus I’ll be on vacation for two weeks next month, so that’ll be a wash for sipdowns ha ha… Why does time always go by so fast?!
Anyway… I quite enjoyed this tea. The green tea is extremely mellow and smooth, not super flavorful but still a nice base for the bergamot. The level of bergamot is just right, easily discerned, but not so strong that it overpowers the base. A perfect tea for the afternoon for sure. It’s not exceptional, but still very enjoyable to sip on.
I should probably try more green Earl Greys, I think this may be the only one I’ve had. I have a baozhong-based Earl somewhere from Lupicia as well, that I haven’t tried yet…
Flavors: Bergamot, Citrus, Dry Grass, Earthy, Grass, Mineral, Smooth
Preparation
Sipdown! (51 | 148)
The last one from my August Sips by box!
To be honest, I fully expected to hate this tisane. As soon as I opened my Sips by box, I could smell the fake honey flavoring coming from this package. I love actual honey, but I never seem to get along with honey-flavored teas.
But honestly, it’s not bad. It does have that artificial honey taste, but it’s balanced well by the fruit. Mostly I taste sweet-tart apple with a touch of citrus and a slight herbal note from the lemongrass. There’s no hibiscus here, which I am thankful for – the apple and rosehip provide just enough tartness.
It’s not something I would order, not being a fan of fruit tisanes in general, but I enjoyed my potful of it, and would drink it again if it was offered to me.
Plus, the packaging is basically the cutest thing ever… And that always helps. ;)
Flavors: Apple, Artificial, Candy, Citrus, Fruity, Herbal, Honey, Lemon, Lemongrass, Rosehips, Sweet, Tart
Preparation
Sipdown! (50 | 147)
I think this one was from my random grab bag. Either way, it was tasty!
I love it when there are oats in a blend, they gives such a nice pastry flavor. Here they really sell the concept of a crisp, along with the gentle warm spicing and somewhat nutty honeybush. I do wish there was a bit more cherry. I can taste a little bit, but I would love more to really make it taste like a cherry crisp, instead of more of a coffeecake with hints of cherry.
Either way, tasty!
Flavors: Allspice, Cherry, Cinnamon, Dried Fruit, Nuts, Oats, Pastries, Spices, Sweet
Preparation
Strange VariaTEA TTB – Tea #34
The last tea I’m trying from the TTB! \o/
There was honestly a shocking amount of leaf in this single sachet, like enough for a whole 16-ounce teapot. Odd because the other DT sachets I had weren’t like that, maybe they’re portioned by weight?
Anyway, this is a tasty herbal tisane. Soft and floral with a mellow citrus note and a hint of tartness. There’s an effervescence to it that makes me think of elderflower, which isn’t in the ingredients here. I guess it must be some combination of the chamomile with one of the lemony herbs? Anyway, it’s very nice, and thankfully I don’t taste the fennel or the licorice root.
Would actually consider ordering some of this one, but it doesn’t seem to be offered anymore. Oh well!
Result: Finished Off
Flavors: Chamomile, Citrus, Effervescent, Elderflower, Floral, Hay, Honey, Lemon, Oats, Orange, Smooth, Sweet, Tart
Preparation
Sipdown! (49 | 146)
I don’t generally love almond extract or marzipan type flavors in tea, but here it’s gentle and doesn’t overpower the whole blend. This tea is almost four years old, so I’m sure it’s lost a lot of its flavor, but it still tastes like a yummy gently spiced cake with a sweet almond glaze.
Happily, I have an unopened pouch of this in my cupboard, ready for this holiday season! :)
Flavors: Cake, Cinnamon, Clove, Marzipan, Nutmeg, Spices, Sweet
Preparation
Sipdown! (48 | 145)
From my August Sips by box. Gotta admit, I giggled a little bit when there was a tea from August Uncommon in my August subscription box. Well played, Sips by…
This smells amazing, but the steeped tea is super thin and weak. It does have pleasant buttery cake and caramelized pineapple flavors, which I really enjoy. But it might as well be a fruit tisane for how much I can taste the green tea. And I used a lot of tea, half of the pouch or about 7 grams for a 16-ounce pot.
Yet it tastes like slightly sweetened pineapple-upside-down-cake-flavored water. And the longer I sip it, the more the flavoring becomes artificial and cloying to me. Love the concept, but not the execution unfortunately.
Flavors: Artificial, Butter, Cake, Caramel, Coconut, Pineapple, Sweet
Preparation
And since I prefer herbals, I actually loved this tea for its lack of tasting like tea. Different tastes!
I like herbal tisanes too, but to me this just tasted like flavored water with a touch of sweetener ha ha. But yes, different tastes make Steepster much more interesting! :)
Strange VariaTEA TTB – Tea #33
Wasn’t sure exactly what this was, it smelled a bit floral or something in the pouch. But it seems to be a plain white tea. The leaves were very broken so I shortened my steep a bit.
It doesn’t seem to have been short enough, because there’s quite a lot of bitterness going on. It actually sort of tastes slightly like jasmine or some floral as well, even though there’s no jasmine. Otherwise very hay-like, as I would expect. Now what was jasmine is tasting like bubblegum, which is odd. I doubt there was any contamination, since this was in a well-insulated kraft paper pouch. There’s a touch of stonefruit at the end of the sip.
Certainly not a good quality white tea, but it’s gone now! :P
Result: Finished Off
Flavors: Apricot, Astringent, Autumn Leaf Pile, Bitter, Bubblegum, Floral, Grain, Hay, Jasmine, Musty, Stonefruit
