2725 Tasting Notes
Sipdown! (22 | 22)
From the December subscription box, which was apparently the last one.
So, I was expecting a chocolate orange tea from this, given the name. However, there’s cinnamon in it, and to me it ends up tasting more than an orange spice tea because of that. I don’t get a lot of chocolate flavor from it. Maybe the cinnamon was meant to convey the “muffin” part?
It’s fine, but it’s not chocolate orange to me. I do enjoy Deb’s orange teas though, because of the real orange pieces. So juicy!
Flavors: Candy, Cinnamon, Orange, Smooth, Spices, Sweet
Preparation
So I bought this on a whim last fall, as an addition to my Momijigari restock order. Just got around to opening it today and… Discovered none of the four teas from that order were listed in my cupboard or spreadsheet. Sigh…
It’s lovely for a before-bed tea. Chamomile is the strongest note, with its slightly honeyed, slightly musty haylike flavor. I happen to love chamomile but I know it’s not universally loved. The elderflower makes itself known as well, though it does meld a bit into the chamomile. Elderflower has such an effervescent flavor to me, and it lifts the heavier chamomile and adds a nice bubbly lightness. Then there’s mint, which mostly shows itself at the end of the sip. It’s light, definitely an accent flavor, but I think it’s a nice addition to add some freshness to the slightly mustier florals.
Perfect for winding down on the couch with an animated movie. :)
Flavors: Chamomile, Effervescent, Elderflower, Floral, Hay, Herbaceous, Honey, Mint, Musty, Peppermint, Sweet
Preparation
Sipdown! (21 | 21)
22 more advent tins to go! I’ve been sipping this as my morning tea lately, with a light drizzle of milk to smooth it out and keep it from angering my empty stomach lol.
Nothing much else to say about it, a pleasant breakfast brew but nothing particularly special. I have another mini tin of it to finish, but I’ll save that for another time. :)
Flavors: Brown Sugar, Caramelized Sugar, Dry Leaves, Malt, Raisins, Tannic
Preparation
Sipdown! (20 | 20)
The last of the Teeccino dandelion tisanes. (Truthfully, I have two more, but I’m putting them in my rehoming box because they’re coconut and turmeric, neither of which sounds particularly appealing to me…)
This one really does taste like coffee. If you gave me a mug of this and told me it was coffee, I think I would believe you. It’s somewhat bitter, somewhat acidic, but well-balanced with a deep roasty-toasty flavor.
Added some oat milk to the second half of the mug, and it wasn’t my favorite combination. Something about it tasted plastic-y or something? So I definitely preferred it plain.
Not something I would order, as I’m not a big coffee drinker. But I could totally see this as a nice evening-friendly replacement for coffee if I were so inclined.
Flavors: Acidic, Bitter, Coffee, Roasted, Roasted Barley, Roasted Nuts
Preparation
Sipdown! (19 | 19)
So I’m wondering if Deb starts with pre-flavored teas for her blends, because this tastes almost identical to the other two strawberry green teas I’ve had. Same base, same strawberry flavoring, and I’ve never seen a non-green strawberry tea from her. Just a thought.
Anyway, it’s fine. A mellow and smooth dry grassy sencha base with a somewhat candylike strawberry flavor. There’s a slight honeyed note to the strawberry as well, and a gentle sweetness overall. I wish I tasted more of the toasted rice, I’m only getting a hint. So not getting much “toast”, just strawberry.
Flavors: Artificial, Candy, Dry Grass, Honey, Smooth, Strawberry, Sweet, Toasted Rice
Preparation
Hmm…
So generally in the mornings I drink matcha in cold oat milk, and I’m lazy so I usually just use the cold stir function on my milk frother, and sift the matcha in once the milk is whizzing.
I tried that method yesterday with this matcha and it felt very slightly gritty to me. So today I actually prepared the matcha shot with warm water and a chasen, and then poured it into the milk. Still very slightly grainy-tasting. I don’t get it.
I’ve had this matcha straight before and I don’t remember having this issue. :(
Preparation
FWIW, my DT’s salesperson told me that this can be an issue with the higher grade of DT’s matcha. maybe that’s the case here?
Harrumph. :P
Indeed. But maybe there is a workaround.
Maybe I’ll try to get in the habit of drinking matcha plain more often…
Hmm. Let us know how that works out.
Maybe today I will venture out to see if eggnog is still available. That eggnog matcha that I had last week was so very delicious.
That’s odd, I prepare my lattes with oat milk too and don’t have problems unless things are overheated. Possibly something was off with the oat milk itself?
It’s the same carton I’ve been using for a few days, so I don’t think so… I’ll have to try it again today, I’m determined to make it work ha ha.
Prepared this one cold brewed with lemonade today, and in the process realized it wasn’t in my tea spreadsheet or my Steepster cupboard. Sigh…
Anyway, it’s lovely with the lemonade, adds a nice punch of zingy-sweet passion fruit flavor. I will say overall, the drink is a bit too sweet and intense for me though, so I think next time I’ll experiment with half lemonade and half sparkling water to make a lighter sparkling matcha lemonade. I’ve been drinking a lot of flavored matcha in oat milk lately, but I didn’t really like that preparation with this flavor so am trying other methods. :)
Flavors: Fruity, Juicy, Passion Fruit, Sweet, Tart, Tropical
Preparation
Sipdown! (18 | 18)
I used two flowers for one 12-ounce mug of tea.
Ahhh, chrysanthemum. Such a cozy and comforting tea, and really an autumnal flavor to me. I love the nectarous honey-sweetness paired with soft hay and hints of menthol, herbs, and pepper. Such an interesting combination of soft, sweet, and more savory aromatic notes. It has a slightly thick, viscous mouthfeel as well that makes it somehow more satisfying to sip on.
It makes such a cozy before-bed cuppa. Happy that I still have a few other samples of different chrysanthemum tisanes from Teavivre to sip through! :)
Flavors: Apple, Eucalyptus, Floral, Fruity, Hay, Herbs, Honey, Menthol, Nectar, Pepper, Rosemary, Straw, Sweet, Thick, Viscous
Preparation
Sipdown! (17 | 17)
One down, 23 more to go…
This one is pleasant enough, as orange spice teas go. Has a nice strong orange flavor accented by cinnamon and clove. I do wish I could actually taste the cacao here, given it’s the second ingredient. Maybe it just gets bullied too much by the orange and spices? That rascally clove does tend to build up as I sip though, and then it overtakes the orange and I enjoy the cuppa much less. Not something I would buy, but pleasant.
I still have another mini tin of this tea to finish, but I figured I would start off with the duplicates and then come back to the second tin later, rather than doing two tins of the same tea in a row. (Although, if I’m honest, I’ll probably set the Christmas Green Tea aside to rehome, as it was the only one I really didn’t enjoy from the advent…) But I’m still counting each tin as a sipdown and there’s nothing you can do to stop me! :P
Flavors: Cinnamon, Clove, Earth, Orange, Orange Zest, Spices, Sweet, Wood
Preparation
Sipdown! (16 | 16)
Love this one!
I adore osmanthus, and I really should seek out more of it in tea form. Here it adds a wonderful honey-sweet, nectarous floral note. It’s juicy, almost fruity, and reminds me of a more floral apricot. The oolong makes a lovely base for it, its silky texture just adds to the feeling of drinking nectar. Otherwise it’s quite mild, with a gentle minerality and greenness that’s somewhere between grassy and vegetal.
So so yummy, I’ll definitely have to order a full-size pouch of this someday. ❤
Flavors: Apricot, Floral, Grass, Honey, Mineral, Nectar, Osmanthus, Silky, Smooth, Spring Water, Stonefruit, Sweet, Thick, Vegetal
Preparation
I saw that Mountain Stream also has an osmanthus tea!
I’ve always wanted to order a straight osmanthus tea or an osmanthus oolong since this is a flavour people reference in high mountain oolongs. Maybe this year!
Courtney – I’ll have to try theirs one of these days! They have lovely oolong.
Leafhopper – I would be interested in an osmanthus tisane as well. I haven’t really looked, but the only one I’ve ever seen was highly expensive ha ha.
Épices de Cru has a Vanilla Osmanthus black tea too.
Cameron B., I’ve been dissuaded from buying osmanthus oolongs and tisanes either because they were too expensive for what I suspected wouldn’t be very good products or because they were sold in huge packages. I think Tao Tea Leaf in Toronto has a plain osmanthus tisane and I keep meaning to buy from them during their semi-annual sale, but never seem to get around to it.
Shae, I was drooling over Épices de Cru’s catalogue over the holidays and also saw that Vanilla Osmanthus tea. They’re on my long list of vendors to try.
If you’d like plain osmanthus, I can send you some. It’s over 3 years old at this point but still very nice.
Derk, that would be great! :)
What! Deb isn’t offering a subscription any longer?
Apparently not. I haven’t seen it announced anywhere (although to be honest, I only skim her emails…) but she mentioned it in her note to me in this December box.
Oh, wow! That’s a shame.