4315 Tasting Notes

78

52teas 12 Teas of Christmas 2023 – Day 6

Enjoyed this one! I admit, I’ve never had a Dole Whip, but this reminded me a lot of pineapple sherbet, which I assume is similar. It doesn’t quite taste like actual pineapple to me, so more of a candy-like flavor. It’s not quite in gummy bear territory, but somewhere in between.

Very pleasant on the mellow, grassy green base. And always nice to see a pineapple tea with no coconut involved! :)

Flavors: Candy, Dry Grass, Grassy, Pineapple, Smooth, Sweet, Tangy

Preparation
175 °F / 79 °C 2 min, 0 sec 2 tsp 12 OZ / 354 ML

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72
drank Mososaurus by Thésaurus Tea
4315 tasting notes

Thésaurus Tea Fandom Advent Calendar 2023 – Day 18

Okay, so somehow the sumac here manages to taste just like hibiscus, LMAO! Like, this tastes like a mild green tea that someone put a bit of hibiscus in. It’s making me a bit sad because I was excited to try the sumac berries… XD

I do get a bit of the tulsi, which is lovely, but mostly it tastes like mildly hibiscus-y green tea. :P

Flavors: Herbaceous, Hibiscus, Mint, Smooth, Tart, Tulsi

Preparation
175 °F / 79 °C 2 min, 0 sec 1 tsp 6 OZ / 177 ML

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78

Sipology Advent Calendar 2023 – Day 18

This was quite nice actually. I’m always disappointed by peppermint bark style teas, for some reason they often include cinnamon and it makes no sense to me. This has a nice strong and fresh minty flavor to it that reminds me of candy canes. The white chocolate isn’t overly strong but I do taste it, and there’s a nice creaminess. Surprisingly I like the rooibos base with it.

I’m not sure I would go out of my way to purchase this, but I would say it’s one of the best renditions of a white chocolate peppermint tea that I’ve tried. That lingering cool peppermint finish is so nice! :)

Flavors: Candy Cane, Cooling, Creamy, Fresh, Mint, Peppermint, Rooibos, Smooth, Sweet, Vanilla, White Chocolate

Preparation
200 °F / 93 °C 3 min, 0 sec 3 tsp 16 OZ / 473 ML

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55

Tea at the White House Advent Calendar 2023 – Day 18

This honestly doesn’t really taste flavored? I mostly just get a smooth, woody black tea base. Maybe it’s the flavoring that’s giving it that woody quality, like whiskey? There’s a hint of creaminess but I think if you told me it was a natural note of the tea, I would believe you.

It’s fine but underwhelming.

Flavors: Creamy, Earthy, Smooth, Tannic, Woody

Preparation
200 °F / 93 °C 3 min, 0 sec 8 OZ / 236 ML

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78

Compagnie & Co Advent Calendar 2023 – Day 18

So this is a lapsang. It smelled quite smoky dry, but I’m finding the smokiness to be very mild steeped up. Mostly tastes like a very smooth, woody, and earthy Chinese black tea with just a touch of savory smoke.

Very smooth and pleasant, with a hefty texture.

Flavors: Earthy, Mineral, Savory, Smoked, Smooth, Woody

Preparation
200 °F / 93 °C 3 min, 0 sec 8 OZ / 236 ML

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72

Bird & Blend Matcha Advent Calendar 2023 – Day 18

To be honest… I don’t really taste the pineapple or the coconut here? I made this as an iced latte (as always), and honestly if I were guessing the flavor, I would guess lemon. It’s quite creamy and sweet, but the only discernable flavoring I’m getting is lemon, and it must be from the peel? Perhaps a hint of piña colada in the finish?

I mean it’s still good, I’m just surprised not to taste more pineapple, and certainly more coconut.

Flavors: Citrus, Creamy, Fruity, Lemon, Smooth, Sweet

Preparation
Iced 1 tsp 8 OZ / 236 ML

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80

Compagnie & Co Advent Calendar 2023 – Day 17

Another of their holiday blends!

This is quite nice – a very mellow mix of sweet candy cinnamon, gently herbaceous lemon balm and verbena, and subtly bright orange. There’s something slightly cookie-y about it as well, perhaps it’s the almond mentioned in the description. It’s just a hint though.

I like it more and more as I sip. I would consider ordering some of this, but I probably wouldn’t go out of my way to make an order just to get some. We’ll see if there are any other teas I end up wanting once I’m finished with this advent. :)

Flavors: Almond, Anise, Apple, Candy, Cinnamon, Citrus, Cookie, Fruity, Herbaceous, Herbs, Light, Orange, Smooth, Sweet

Preparation
200 °F / 93 °C 8 min or more 8 OZ / 236 ML

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52

Sipology Advent Calendar 2023 – Day 17

Lol, there is absolutely nothing crème brûlée-ish about this. It mostly tastes like a fruit tisane with a big hit of cardamom on top. I get the apple and the hibiscus, the cardamom of course, and quite a bit of sweetness from the sugared fruit. And then a whole lot of artificial-tasting flavoring that doesn’t really taste like anything specific, and some bitterness.

Just not great, and definitely doesn’t fit the name at all.

Flavors: Apple, Artificial, Bitter, Cardamom, Chemical, Hibiscus, Red Fruits, Sugar, Sweet

Preparation
200 °F / 93 °C 3 min, 0 sec 3 tsp 12 OZ / 354 ML

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85
drank White Dragon by Thésaurus Tea
4315 tasting notes

Thésaurus Tea Fandom Advent Calendar 2023 – Day 17

Ooh, another dragon blend! And this one has wintergreen, one of my absolute favorite herbal ingredients.

Okay, so first off, I do like this. However, there were maybe two little rolled oolong leaves in my sample, and most of it was spearmint dust. I admit, I’m a little frustrated with this advent because the sample size is so small, and too often I feel like I don’t get a good distribution of the ingredients… Which is kind of a big deal when it’s a company that seems to rely so much on the actual ingredients vs. just flavoring. Anyway, back to the tea. :P

This one is lovely. Unsurprisingly, I don’t really taste the oolong. However, I love the blend of the spearmint with the wintergreen and thyme. It’s sweet and savory at the same time, and the wintergreen adds an additional hit of freshness and gives much more dimension to the classic spearmint flavor profile. So really, it ends up being a lovely riff on a mint tisane IMO, because there was basically no oolong in mine. :P

Flavors: Cooling, Fresh, Herbaceous, Mint, Savory, Spearmint, Sweet, Thyme, Wintergreen

Preparation
190 °F / 87 °C 3 min, 0 sec 1 tsp 6 OZ / 177 ML

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90

DIY Kyoto Obubu Advent Calendar – Day 17

Is it bad that I never remember which sencha from Obubu is which, LOL? They have so many! XD This is a shaded spring sencha, Zairai cultivar. I didn’t realize, I guess they only have two shaded spring sencha? For some reason I thought more of them were shaded, but they seem to mostly vary in cultivar.

Annnnyway. This is lovely! You can definitely tell that it’s a shaded tea, it has a more intense and concentrated vegetal flavor that’s somewhere between a classic sencha and a gyokuro. Thick, silky texture as well, with a fair bit of viscosity to it. This one is like a concentrated vegetable shot – all deep green veggies like spinach and kale, but it also has a soft sweetness to it and a creamy undertone. Something slightly fruity in the finish, maybe a tart plum or even passion fruit.

Delicious, as all of their teas are. Now, to forgot all about this and have no idea which sencha this is next time… ;)

Flavors: Broth, Creamy, Freshly Cut Grass, Fruity, Kabocha, Kale, Mineral, Passion Fruit, Plum, Rich, Savory, Silky, Smooth, Spinach, Spring Water, Squash, Sweet, Thick, Umami, Vegetal, Viscous

Preparation
165 °F / 73 °C 0 min, 45 sec 5 g 7 OZ / 200 ML

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Profile

Bio

Hi, I’m Cameron!

I’m a 30-something software engineer currently living in Austin, Texas with my husband and our two pugs, Gobo and Ume. I tend to cycle between my different hobbies, and they include piano, knitting, video games, board games, miniature painting, planners, bento, Korean skincare, and – of course – TEA! But really, what I’m best at is “collecting” hobby-related things… ;)

~ 2025 SIPDOWN CHALLENGE! ~
- January sipdowns: 31
- Total 2025 sipdowns: 31

I prefer my tea lukewarm or at room temperature and without milk or sugar. I steep Western style, and fluctuate between using big mugs or small teapots depending on the season.

I am always up for a swap! Just let me know if you’d like to try something in my cupboard.

Tea Preferences:
I enjoy both flavored and unflavored teas in many forms. These days, I drink mostly flavored teas, and I tend to gravitate most toward black, green, oolong, and herbal varieties. I do have a special fondness for straight Japanese green teas, however.

I do not sweeten my teas, and pre-sweetened teas are usually too sweet for me. I also do not enjoy stevia (or monkfruit, etc.).

I tend to reach for fruitier flavors rather than desserty ones these days, but I do have favorites from both categories. Willing to try anything once! There are a few ingredients/flavors that aren’t generally my jam, such as coconut, rose, lavender, and chocolate flavoring. But I also have teas that I love with some of those things, too! :)

Favorite Companies:
3 Leaf
Bird & Blend
Dammann Frères
Harney & Sons
Kyoto Obubu Tea Farms
Lupicia
Old Barrel Tea Co
Simpson & Vail
Taiwan Tea Crafts
TeaVivre

Tea Rating Scale:
90-100: Outstanding! Permanent cupboard resident
80-89: Great – a possible staple
70-79: Good, but I wouldn’t buy it
60-69: It’s decent
50-59: Meh… I may or may not have finished the cup
40-49: Ick. Couldn’t finish it.
00-39: Repulsive, I spat it out

I will sometimes refrain from rating a tea if I feel I’m too biased due to my personal dislikes, or if I suspect the sample has been compromised by age or scent contamination.

Cupboard Spreadsheet:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1ZEuKf1-ppR-VXajO4vV39zU1N3zjFJteEPAynqD2yl0/edit?usp=sharing

Location

Austin, Texas

Website

https://www.instagram.com/tea...

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