3986 Tasting Notes
Sipdown! (45)
Yay, drinking some Deb teas! She just released an amazing-looking Winter Brunch collection last night, and even though I am so tempted I’m not going to order anything… (sob)
I have like 20+ of her teas and haven’t even tried most of them yet! I did drop Sips by and sign up for her subscription instead, though, because I love her and want to give her my support. Plus all the tasty treats! ❤
Anyway! I was a bit worried while steeping this one because it smelled so strongly of bee pollen (which I didn’t even realize is in this blend), and I hate bee pollen… It smells/tastes almost fishy to me? Or like wet dog?
Happily, this mug is the same as the others and I can’t taste the bee pollen. Definitely captures the cinnamon bun part, with just a little bit of apple thrown in. I don’t really get caramel, but it is quite sweet. Really it’s too sweet for me, which is why I wouldn’t reorder this one. Plus I have some other yummy cinnamon and cinnamon apple teas!
Flavors: Apple, Brown Sugar, Cinnamon, Maple Syrup, Pastries, Sugar, Sweet
Preparation
From the December subscription!
I’m not big on fruit tisanes, so I didn’t really expect to think much of this one. But I actually quite like it! Stevia can be really overpowering in tea, but I think here it does a great job of tempering the hibiscus tartness just enough. So it doesn’t end up tasting super sweet, just nicely balanced between sweetness and tartness.
I will say, it doesn’t taste like cherry cola to me. I do get a little bit of cola flavor, and the added spices help sell that a bit too. It’s sort of a mash-up between a lime cola and a red fruit and hibiscus tisane.
Quite nice, especially at room temperature (and I’m sure iced)!
Flavors: Apple, Clove, Hibiscus, Lime, Orange, Red Fruits, Rosehips, Spices, Sweet, Tart
Preparation
Sipdown! (44)
Finishing off this swap sample from Courtney!
This one is a bit muddled for me, and doesn’t really taste like the description. I don’t really get chocolate? Not that I mind, as I don’t really like chocolate teas generally. I am getting cream and nuts, and perhaps a bit of apricot. No clementine this time around, but I am tasting the base tea a bit more, and am getting some nice honey notes from it.
Overall, not one I would order, as it’s fairly nondescript in flavor. But it was fun to try, thanks Courtney!
Flavors: Apricot, Creamy, Earth, Hazelnut, Honey, Nuts, Smooth, Sweet, Wood
Preparation
Sipdown! (43)
Yay, I’m happy to be getting through some of my subscription teas! I was feeling a bit overwhelmed when I got two Bird & Blend packages at once, so it’s not to be able to finish some off.
I really like this one! Definitely my favorite of the month, and possibly one of my favorites thus far from 52teas. The kukicha base is delicious, and has a lovely blend of sweet vegetal flavors with a bit of a roasted nuts note. And I love citrus, so I’m very happy with the grapefruit-forward citrus notes here. Definitely getting grapefruit, lemon, lime, and some form of tangerine or orange.
Zingy and bright, but with a comforting base tea! But as a lover of Japanese teas, I may be a bit biased… ;D
Flavors: Citrus, Grapefruit, Lemon, Lime, Orange, Roasted Nuts, Spinach, Sweet, Tart, Umami, Vegetal
Preparation
This one is from my Sips by January box. It seemed a good choice to enjoy on a relaxing Sunday morning/early afternoon…
I really don’t drink straight white teas often enough. This is really lovely, with a soft granola-like grainy flavor and notes of sweet hay. I also found a gentle apricot note that reminded me of fruit leather, and a hint of soft vegetal flavor that reminded me of a Chinese green tea.
So mellow yet flavorful, an excellent choice for lazily watching Tea with Jann videos on YouTube… :)
Flavors: Apricot, Dried Fruit, Grain, Hay, Oats, Smooth, Sweet
Preparation
This is from my December subscription package.
I actually ordered 50g of this in December as well, but that package hasn’t arrived yet. I figured it was a pretty safe bet that I would like it given the ingredients.
And I do like it! It’s essentially a butterscotch or butter rum rooibos blend, and butterscotch happens to be one of my favorite flavors. I was the one who always wanted the Lifesavers Storybook that was all Butter Rum flavor! I’m not sure I’m really tasting the toasted or popped rice at all though? Perhaps a teeny bit?
I’m not sure this one is as good as Lupicia’s Caramel & Rum? But it’s been a while since I’ve had that one, so I’ll have to try it again and compare. :)
Flavors: Brown Sugar, Butter, Butterscotch, Caramel, Rum, Smooth, Sweet, Toffee, Wood
Preparation
Sipdown! (42)
Yay, making good progress on some of these subscription teas! I may have to consider culling a subscription or two, they’re a bit counterproductive when I’m trying to sip down… XD
Anyway! This one was rather yummy for a chocolate tea. Definitely a light and creamy one, reminiscent of milk chocolate. I also get some nuttiness from the base tea. As for the cranberry, to me it tastes closer to tart cherry or perhaps raspberry, but I love all three of those things, so I don’t mind one bit!
Chocolaty, creamy, malty, nutty, with a hint of tart red fruit. It makes me think of a milk chocolate bark sprinkled with roasted nuts and dried cherries!
ETA: This is my 2000th note! Huzzah!
Flavors: Cherry, Chocolate, Creamy, Malt, Nuts, Peanut, Raspberry, Smooth, Sweet, Tart
Preparation
Congrats on 2000! That’s an amazing achievement!
Wooo! 2000!
What a number!
Congrats on the 2000, I enjoy reading your notes :)
Thank you everyone! :D
Congratulations on 2,000 Steepster notes!
Congratulations on reaching 2K! Glad you enjoyed this one! :)
Congrats on 2,000! This sounded like a great tea to have for the 2,000.
So I somehow got two B&B subscription packets (December and January) within a two-day span, so I really need to get cracking on sipping them down! I’ve been trying to keep up with my subscriptions this year and so far have been doing well. Way to ruin it, B&B! XD
This one happens to be from the December subscription, and was one of the holiday teas. Wow, there are so many cacao shells in here! Always a good sign for a chocolate tea…
This is much more almond than hazelnut for me. It has a soft marzipan or amaretto-like nut flavor, which I’m not the biggest fan of, but it’s subtle enough here that I still enjoy it. The chocolate is nice and rich as well, and I’m also get a slight maraschino cherry note from the combination of almond and black tea. And perhaps a touch of creaminess as well, like milk chocolate?
It’s very yummy, especially for a chocolate tea! I don’t know whether I would order this one or not, but it’s out of stock for the year so that’s not really an option anyway! :P
P.S. – I have been watching Tea with Jann on YouTube like crazy! She makes adorable tea news and other tea videos!
Flavors: Almond, Cherry, Chocolate, Cocoa, Creamy, Marzipan, Smooth, Sweet, Wood
Preparation
Sipdown! (41)
The first one to be finished off from my swap with Courtney!
I don’t have much experience with tulsi blends, so I thought this one would be fun to try. I’m surprised by how mellow it is – I expected the tulsi to have a stronger flavor. But this is mostly a pleasant and gentle lemon ginger tisane.
The ginger is soft and warming, and not too strong. I think I can taste both lemon peel and lemongrass here, which together give a soft and well-rounded herbal lemon note. As far as the tulsi, I get a little hint of a minty or basil note, but it’s extremely mild.
A perfectly pleasant herbal tisane for the evening! :)
Flavors: Ginger, Herbaceous, Herbs, Lemon, Lemongrass, Mint, Sweet, Tart
Preparation
I’ve never had this particular one, but a Lemon Ginger Tulsi (the one from Davidson’s Tea, which is frequently wholesaled at different small-business-owner shops) is my favorite lemon ginger tea.
Woot! Lex loves this one too. She used to drink this every morning for our commute to work. :)
Another swap tea from Courtney! So excited to get to try so many Dammann teas! :D
I didn’t really look at this one before trying it. I remember that it’s an oolong, and it was also obvious from the leaves. It seems very oxidized, and maybe a tiny bit roasty? It definitely doesn’t have strong roasty notes.
This is an interesting one… At first I wasn’t sure what to make of it. The oolong tastes of autumn leaves and not a whole lot else. The flavoring is quite subtle, like a lot of their teas… There’s definitely a creaminess that could be vanilla, and a little hint of orange near the end of the sip. The buckwheat is a bit difficult to distinguish from the base tea, and to me is most obvious in the aftertaste. I don’t really get caramel here, which is meant to be the “main” flavor?
What a combination! It reminds me a bit of a bran muffin from the combination of the oolong and the buckwheat. I would have like a bit more from the clementine I think, as I could barely taste it. But it certainly went down easily, the pot was empty before I knew it! Luckily I have 1-2 more tries.
I enjoyed this one, but am not quite sure what to make of it yet…
Flavors: Autumn Leaf Pile, Bark, Cream, Grain, Orange, Roasted, Smooth, Sweet, Wheat
i was tempted by the subscription but i’m going to live vicariously though VariaTEA for now as i’m worried that too many of the blends are going to be maple/coconut. She works with lily lemon which historically i have had issues with because of the sheer amount of sugar in their blends – much like why david’s irritates me sometimes haha
That’s definitely legitimate, it seems like almost all of her teas have brown sugar or maple or both, and coconut is very common too. The sweetness has been mostly subtle and hasn’t bothered me in a lot of them, but this was an exception… I will say I definitely prefer the actual sugar to stevia.
oh hells yes. F stevia!
Sil I know she used to work for lemon lily but now I believe she doesn’t work for them and dessert by deb is her full time job.
@tiffany – her site indicated that lemon lily spearheaded her first blends so that, and because i’ve tried a number of the blends and they remind me of the way LL had sugar in their blends is why i say that. Not sure if shes doing all her blending herself now that it’s taken off, but the i believe? the initial blends were done in partnership with LL. Didn’t mean to imply that LL was making all the blends, but she had at one point, which will influence things.
I read these comments, went to look at what teas Deb currently has and my google search for her name popped up a link for this page where Deb explains her involvement with Lemon Lily. :)
https://dessertbydeb.com/pages/the-story-of-lemon-lily-tea-dessert-by-deb
that page is gone now eye roll
but yes dustin, that was the page i was referring to lol
Whaaaaa…… ? It was JUST there! LOL! Is there some thinly veiled tea drama I’m not aware of?
Okay, I found it again, minus photos.
https://web.archive.org/web/20200929141838/https://dessertbydeb.com/pages/the-story-of-lemon-lily-tea-dessert-by-deb
You are right, Dustin, I looked at it right after you posted it. Seems a little fishy it was “suddenly” taken down like that…
mostly i just think it’s silly..nothing wrong with having the story up on the site – it’s how the company came to be. I was just expressing the lots of sugar factor that i don’t love, not saying the teas sucked or anything. I like a good number of them. Just didn’t want the subscription because there’s a lot of the blends with sugar. (placed a joint order with variaTEA just yesterday haha)
Oh no, I didn’t think the drama was coming from you, Sil! It was about how the origin story page was removed right after we were talking about it. As though maybe the feelings between the two companies had changed?
I agree that the blends tend to be a bit sugar heavy and I found it a little distracting in some of the flavors. Although I loved that pumpkin tea she did! I’m also tempted to jump on her subscription program, but I have SO MUCH TEA. It looks like she puts a lot of effort into them!
Oh yes! The Winter Brunch collection looks super tasty. I especially love how unique her tea blends sound; things I personally haven’t seen before! :) I also ordered a big batch of this after reading your review, lol! Since I love sugary things!