1430 Tasting Notes

I can smell butterscotch and even taste it midsip, but then it dives into bitter citrus zest, pith, and seed territory in a way that doesn’t mesh well for me (I did steep this for longer so it’s brisker than previous cups). There’s a hint of blood orange in the finish and lingering taste, and it becomes more distinctive as I sip away at my cup. I’m reminded a bit of “Grapefruit Creme Brulee” as time passes, or, oddly, of an Orange Julius.

I think I want more butterscotch and a sweeter orange (or some other ingredient/flavour combo to give this a sweet and creamy edge over the tartness – like banana, possibly?). Interesting concept though!

Flavors: Astringent, Brisk, Butterscotch, Citrus Zest, Floral, Orange, Tart

Preparation
205 °F / 96 °C 3 min, 30 sec
Kittenna

Ooh, blood orange, banana, butterscotch? Could be interesting. I felt the same about this tea – I expected something more flavourful and decadent. Wouldn’t change the base, though, just add flavouring!

Crowkettle

I believe Roswell suggested banana-blood orange as well, but I’ve also got bananas on the brain because of Orange Julius (banana, orange, egg/cream smoothie monstrosity. Could be good.).

But any increase in flavour would be nice here. My previous sessions with this tea weren’t half as flavourful or distinctive as this last cup; the tea would’ve gradually grown on me if I’d gotten it to steep up like this every time!

Mastress Alita

Wait, do Canadian Orange Julius’ put banana in it? Cause the ones here certainly don’t… (or I would’ve had many a sick mall outing as a teenager…)

Crowkettle

Nooo, you’re good!

I haven’t had an OJ in too long, but as a child I think my parents customized for half/half of the Orange Original and the Strawberry Banana Original (or requested the addition of banana in the Orange Original; memory is foggy, but I got Orange and Banana together sometimes, somehow.).

Mastress Alita

Ah, I see! I don’t think I’ve had one since said teenage mall outings, back in the 90s… oof!

gmathis

We have a combination Dairy Queen/Orange Julius in our mall. Could’ve had one when we were there the other day, but a Mr. Misty was calling my name…

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82

Mastress Alita’s Sipdown Challenge, March 2022: A tea from a woman-owned company – February 2022 Reblend

Mmm, this simple but decadent blend is a lot better than I remember. It was also a hit with the rest of the family, hence why it didn’t last more than a few days here (believe me, I tried to stretch it out). The Assam base is malty, muscatel, and smooth; It’s not particularly brisk and doesn’t need milk. The base’s signature notes give the vanilla a rich, honey-like hue (yay, dark, syrupy fruit). The marshmallow root adds a interesting woody component, but it isn’t overly intrusive here. The tea falls comfortably into candy/dessert territory without being cloyingly sweet or hiding the base tea, which is exactly what I want and love.

Steep Count: 2

Flavors: Floral, Fruity, Honey, Malt, Marshmallow, Muscatel, Powdered Sugar, Raisins, Smooth, Vanilla, Woody

Preparation
195 °F / 90 °C 3 min, 0 sec
52Teas

Wow! Your pouch is gone already? Impressive!

Crowkettle

It was very much a team effort! :)

Housemates kept requesting this tea after smelling another person’s cup, and there was a chain reaction. The last serving ended up in a “musical tea strainer” lottery which I didn’t win.

52Teas

Well, I’m glad that everyone enjoyed it, anyway!

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82

Mastress Alita’s Sipdown Challenge, March 2022: A tea with a flavor note/ingredient from a favorite Girl Scout cookie

In my neck of the woods we only have three Girl Guide cookie flavour options: vanilla, chocolate, and chocolate mint. I shouldn’t have googled “Girl Scout cookies,” because my new found regional cookie knowledge has given me a serious case of “envy-itus.” I’ve never tried any of those but they look so good.

Anyways, this tea encompasses both the vanilla and chocolate cookies available up here. The Golden Snail base is super chocolate-y, sweet, and creamy – but the addition of vanilla tips this into the preferred vanilla cookie territory. It’s a lovely blend, although not my favourite of the “Vanilla Dreams” series (Ambrosia and Cocoa Amore are my favourites, and the long gone Port; I find this smoother than Golden Orchid though).

Steep Count: 2

Flavors: Bread, Caramel, Chocolate, Cream, Earth, Honey, Malt, Powdered Sugar, Sweet Potatoes, Vanilla

Preparation
200 °F / 93 °C 3 min, 0 sec

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77
drank Honey Apple Green Tea by 52teas
1430 tasting notes

September 2021 blend

I wasn’t a huge fan of this when it first arrived (not an apple fiend). It went down pretty easy for this sipdown though. Subtle, well-balanced apple cider spices combines seemlessly with a sweet, crisp apple flavour, which lingers on the tongue (along with the rich honey flavour) long after polishing the cup off. It’s a good note to end on this evening.

Flavors: Allspice, Apple, Butter, Cinnamon, Clove, Fruity, Honey, Nutmeg, Smooth, Sweet, Vegetal

Preparation
175 °F / 79 °C 1 min, 45 sec

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90

Mastress Alita’s Sipdown Challenge, March 2022: A green tea

There were many contenders for this scavenger hunt spot, but this lovely sencha lucked out and nabbed it on the first day (it’s sashimi day over here)! It’s that time of the year when all my green teas simultaneously disappear.

This last cup has a distinctive tart-sweet green apple note, along with citrus zest and the usual smooth, mock-butter grass and seaweed. There’s also a pepper-like quality and a bitter cruciferous note (when kale and seaweed overlap). Lots of other veggie flavours too (I’ve been eating more salads and vegetables lately and am noticing the crossover more, lol). It’s a tea with a super clean palate, making it a favourite accompaniment of fish dishes and Japanese cuisine at my place.I drink it so casually with food that I often fail to notice some of the subtler flavours of its evocative profile, but it’s a gem.

2021 Spring Harvest

Flavors: Asparagus, Butter, Chestnut, Citrus, Floral, Grass, Green Apple, Kale, Lettuce, Marine, Moss, Seaweed, Smooth, Snow Peas, Umami

Preparation
165 °F / 73 °C 0 min, 45 sec 0 OZ / 0 ML
Leafhopper

It’s that time of the year when I’m tempted to grab some first flush green tea, only to have it sit in my cupboard indefinitely. :( Maybe I’ll go on another quest to find some Fuding Silver Needle this spring.

Crowkettle

On the flip-side, I never get the timing right for purchasing first flush green tea and always seem to end up with old stuff (buying early spring harvest tea in December – why am I like this, lol). :(

I cheer you on your quest!

Leafhopper

That’s always when it goes on sale! :P Let me know if you’ve come across any good Silver Needle vendors.

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Mastress Alita’s Sipdown Challenge February 2022: A tea flavored like a favorite snack food

Technically two favourite snacks: marshmallow Rice Krispies and citrus fruit (all of them). Unfortunately, this last cup doesn’t quite deliver on the citrus (although subtle, my first two cups did capture some floral “red fruit” blood orange essence). It’s definitely creamy in the way that only melted marshmallows are (in butter with Rice Krispies.).

It’s not my favourite of Anne’s Genmaicha dessert blends but it does fine in a pinch (I also liked how the small amount of hibiscus was employed here).

Flavors: Butter, Citrusy, Grassy, Marshmallow, Red Fruits, Tart, Toasted Rice

Preparation
175 °F / 79 °C 2 min, 0 sec

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Mastress Alita’s Sipdown Challenge February 2022: A tea paired to a favorite fairy tale – “The Ugly Duckling” – 2021 Spring Harvest

Ok, this isn’t technically a sipdown, but I couldn’t resist. Also, on a tangent – I’ve had the misfortune of actually having tasted duck poop (advice: don’t scare the ducks into flight, and if you do then don’t immediately stick the lollipop you were holding into your mouth). I’m glad to say this tea tastes nothing like that avian pond sludge.

Aroma: Butter, Butterscotch, Ice Cream Waffle Cone, something Earthy and Roasted akin to Mocha (dark chocolate and heavy roast coffee beans).

The aroma is pretty spot on in alluding to the taste. There is a charming violet cream (Tieguanyin-like) flavour. The earthy mocha turns out to be kind of bitter and very much unsweetened, but tones down as the cup cools. There’s a note of metallic astringency that puts me in mind of an acidic wine (red, for sure). Something fruity-floral sweet and light emerges too (longan or lychee-ish, honeysuckle). Second steep keeps the violets and the earthy roast, albeit on a gentler scale, but introduces a very strong fruit salad cup (honeydew, mixed berries, pomelo). Third steep is kind of creamy, with familiar oolong notes (floral, veg). I’ll need to do a gongfu session for this sometime soon.

I don’t completely love it, but it’s interesting and makes me want to explore Dan Cong varieties. I’d previously written off these guys early on in my tea journey (roasted flowers were a nope at the time), but this has as much “butter” as some milk oolong and that interests me greatly (ever in search of “the great butter”)! If anyone has recommendations or favourites (doesn’t need to be buttery), drop me a line.

Steep Count: 3

Flavors: Acidic, Berries, Bittersweet, Butter, Cherry, Cream, Dark Chocolate, Earth, Floral, Fruity, Grapefruit, Honeydew, Honeysuckle, Lychee, Metallic, Pleasantly Sour, Red Wine, Roasted, Tannic, Vegetal, Violet, Wood

Preparation
195 °F / 90 °C 2 min, 30 sec 2 tsp 16 OZ / 473 ML
gmathis

OK, that story beats the time I went fishing and wrapped my line around a duck instead of a bass.

Crowkettle

Poor duck, but maybe a lucky day for a bass lol

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81

Mastress Alita’s Sipdown Challenge February 2022: A tea with a name that begins with a Periodic Table abbreviation – 91 Pa, Protactinium

Hmm, Pancake Breakfast tea is much more commonly consumed by my household than this radioactive element is found in nature. Crustal abundance (ppm): 0.0000014. Fantastic.

I do not need (or want) protactinium in my life (although it is a very pretty silvery metal, I’m adverse to living with toxic things), but I could sure use more of this tea!

Today I learned:
“Small amounts of protactinium are found naturally in uranium ores. It is also found in spent fuel rods from nuclear reactors, from which it is extracted.”

https://www.rsc.org/periodic-table/element/91/protactinium

Flavors: Malt, Maple Syrup, Pancake Syrup, Smooth, Sweet

Preparation
205 °F / 96 °C 3 min, 30 sec 1 tsp 1 OZ / 29 ML
gmathis

Well-done research!

Crowkettle

I almost went with P – Phosphorous, but how often does Pa get airtime? Probably not too often! :P

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87

Mastress Alita’s Sipdown Challenge February 2022: A cherry tea

The cherry may be a bit of a stretch here, as the profile is mostly dark chocolate, vanilla, and malt – but there is some red and fruity-floral here. It’s lovely but I tended to drink it mindlessly.

Second steep also reminded me of a vanilla cherry cola. Interesting stuff.. And it’s gone (goodbye, hard to acquire delicious tea).

Flavors: Bread, Cherry, Cocoa, Dark Chocolate, Malt, Smooth, Stonefruit, Vanilla

Preparation
205 °F / 96 °C 3 min, 30 sec

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95
drank Milk Oolong by Mandala Tea
1430 tasting notes

Backlog from early January, when I was stuffed up

I pulled this one out to reaffirm that it’s not as intense on the milk as the specimen from Yunnan Sourcing. The dry leaf smells tangier and more buttery with a nutty roast hue – in the vein of buttered popcorn. The smooth, vegetal cream is delicious, like caramelized butter sugar (custard and toffee notes), and also allows a lot of other natural notes to pop through sooner than Yunnan Sourcing’s Milk Oolong (the floral and fruity ones I like). This is still tops for me, and I think it’s smoother, richer, and silkier than the steamed milk flavouring of YS’s offering – but both teas are tasty!

Steep Count: 5 @ 20-45 seconds

Flavors: Butter, Butterscotch, Cream, Custard, Floral, Fruity, Grass, Mango, Nutty, Orchid, Popcorn, Rice, Smooth, Strawberry, Sweet, Tangy, Toffee, Vegetal

Preparation
195 °F / 90 °C 0 min, 30 sec 1 tsp 16 OZ / 473 ML
derk

Ah, this a staple my cupboard is lacking. Thanks for the reminder :)

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Profile

Bio

I started my Steepster loose leaf adventure back in 2012. I can’t say I’m completely new anymore, but I still view oolong as a magical, extraterrestrial creature that unfurls in water.

My favourites are teas like Milk Oolong, Silver Needle,and Japanese Sencha/Gyokuro, or fruity and floral flavoured ones. However, I generally enjoy ALL the teas, including a good old cup of Earl Grey or Breakfast blend.

FAVOURITE INGREDIENTS/NOTES:

DESSERT FLAVOURS
Vanilla, Maple, Caramel, Butterscotch, Cream, Toffee, Nougat, Marzipan, Butter

FRUIT & BERRIES
Citrus Fruits, Passionfruit, Banana, Pineapple, Melons, Blackberry, Raspberry, Currants, Elderberry, Persimmon, Rhubarb..

SPICES
Ginger, Turmeric, Clove-forward chai, Cardamom

AROMATIC & HERBACEOUS NOTES
Sandalwood, Frankincense, Juniper, Eucalyptus, Mints

FLORALS
Lavender, Jasmine, Rose, Lilac, Violet, etc.

VEGGIE/GRAIN NOTES
Spinach, Grass, Hay, Cucumber, Rice, Sweet Potato

Less Preferred Flavours/Ingredients:
Stevia, Apple, Cocoa Nib, Almond, Licorice, Cinnamon-forward blends, Chinese Sencha

Subjective Rating System:
I don’t give a lot of low ratings out, since a) I tend to grab tea I know will appeal to me, and b) I don’t have a lot of strong dislikes.

90-100: Favourites. The Desert Island Teas.
80-89: Loved teas. Possibly staple-worthy.
70-79: Good teas, but I’m less likely to repurchase. Minor quibbles.
60-69: Ok teas. Likely a few preference and/or quality issues.
50-59: Cup of meh. Will do in a pinch.
11-49: Varying levels of undrinkable tea.
1-10: Nightmare tea from the chaos realms. This tea is the embodiment of the primordial swamp, an unholy abomination. It’s very gross and I’m almost positive it doesn’t exist.

Location

BC, Canada

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