Cameron B. select Send Message

So I just received a swap from a new tea friend in Germany, and this is one of the many, many, many teas she sent. It’s funny because I actually sent her this tea as well, I wonder if they high-fived over the Atlantic? XD She also sent a bunch of Basilur teabags, which I’m very excited for.

This continues to be a lovely tea that I’ve sipped many-a-time. Bird & Blend’s chocolate teas in general tend to be very good, even for someone like me who doesn’t generally like chocolate teas. This is spot-on for a chocolate digestive, right down to that wheat-y biscuit base that almost tastes like it could be good for you (if you tilted your head to the side and closed one eye). The only thing that’s different is I taste quite a noticeable caramel flavor here, which is not present in the cookie. There apparently is a caramel version, but I’ve never had those.

Great start to a tea swap! :)

Sipdown! (34 | 47)

Counting this for May since generally I count it as a sipdown when I use the last of a tea to make a cold steep, not necessarily when I finish the actual container of cold steeped tea, if that makes sense. So I made this bottle yesterday, but am drinking it today.

Another really nice one for cold-steeping from Harney. This is on the heavier side when it comes to hibiscus, but to me that makes sense for something with tart flavors like orange and passion fruit. Plus I add some sugar to my cold brews generally, so it ends up being balanced. Nice and tangy with orange leading the way, and passion fruit adding a tropical note. It’s more citrusy than tropical overall, but doesn’t taste like Tang, like their Blood Orange version does IMO.

Another likely reorder, though I also just got several new fruit tisanes from Tealyra to try out, so we shall see!

Sipdown! (33 | 46)

This is supposedly jasmine green tea with green rooibos and apple, but somehow it ends up tasting like gunpowder? Mixed with the green rooibos, of course. I guess whatever green tea was used for the jasmine tea must be quite mineral-tasting. There is no apple to speak of, though I’m not surprised given there were only a few tiny pieces in the dry leaf.

Harrumph.

This was a risky choice for me, as it’s described as raspberry and rose with a hint of bergamot. Not being a rose lover, not sure why I was so compelled to order it ha ha.

Well I’m not a fan, but it’s not because of rose. This just tastes very powdery/chalky to me overall. Sometimes I have that issue with mixed berry teas, so perhaps it’s the raspberry flavoring here. But it tastes like Tums or perhaps Smarties (the US kind).

Into the rehoming box it goes!

Need to get back into sampling more of my Murchie’s purchases!

This one is nice enough. It mostly tastes like a black tea, but with a much lighter body. Not watery, but just not as heavy overall. The flavoring is buttery, which makes sense given the brioche descriptor. It also reminds me a bit of toasted pecans. I don’t really taste caramel at all. The buttery flavor and light nuttiness make this remind me of Almond Sugar Cookie from Simpson & Vail. It’s not really sweet though, it leans more bready or croissant-y.

I like it, but I don’t think I need it in my cupboard, and I prefer the somewhat similar Canada 150 blend (which has maple instead of this brioche flavor).

Sipdown! (30 | 43)

This one is supposed to be sweet and fruity with hints of candied nuts, but honestly I’m not really tasting much other than the rather tannic black tea base. Maybe a hint of something fruity or sweet? Not tasting the cedar tips either, though I didn’t really see any in my jar.

Sipdown! (29 | 42)

Another one finished from Harney. I’ve been sipping a lot of cold-steeped “tea” lately, and obviously it doesn’t last very long when you’re using 20g for each pitcher. But yay, more sipdowns!

This is very tasty cold-steeped with a bit of sugar. As Harney’s fruit tisanes go, this has a bit less hibiscus than some of the others. Just enough to give a bit of tartness and dimension to the juicy peach flavor, which tastes closer to canned peaches than gummy candy.

Waiting until I finish all of my Harney fruit tins to decide which ones to reorder, but I’ll definitely be getting either this one or Mango, as I feel they are a bit similar. I’ll have to wait until I sip Mango down to decide though. :P

Sipdown! (28 | 41)

Cold-steeped. This was my least favorite of the Harney fruit tisanes, though I wouldn’t say it was bad, per se. The orange is just a bit too close to vitamin C tablets for my liking, or even Tang. It also gets slightly bitter, I assume from the orange peel steeping for so long.

Still refreshing and enjoyable, but I definitely prefer their Orange Passion Fruit over this one.

I recently ordered a bunch of Teeccino samples. I’m not a big coffee drinker, though I do have a cold brew with oat milk every morning. But I had heard multiple people rave about Teeccino around these parts, so I had to give it a go. Unfortunately my grocery store only seems to carry the dandelion line, so naturally I had to go overboard on their website (heh heh) and order 10 different flavors to try.

I’ve had the Mocha and this Caramel Nut, and overall I really like them. I will say this particular one is a bit too “flavory” for me, but then again I tend to not love caramel-flavored things. Real actual caramel sauce, yes, but caramel flavoring not so much.

Regardless, still very tasty as a warm cuppa with oat milk. Roasty and toasty but not too much so (I’m a light roast gal), and the dried fruit sweetness doesn’t taste weird, like natural sweeteners often do. Looking forward to trying some more flavors!

Sipdown! (27 | 40)

The oldest tea in my cupboard, circa November of 2018.

It’s nice, as Assam goes, with pronounced raisin and brown sugar notes and a rich flavor. I’m just not an Assam drinker, so that’s why this has been sitting around and gathering dust for nearly 6 years. Lately I haven’t been drinking a lot of plain black teas at all, but when I do, I’m always going to reach for a Chinese or Taiwanese variety.

But what a pretty tin!