1146 Tasting Notes

drank Toffee Dream by Cornelia Bean
1146 tasting notes

Thanks so much to Inkling for sending me some of this! I couldn’t find brewing instructions online, so I went with the Steepster average of 180f for 3 minutes. This is surprisingly hefty for a white tea. I really quite like it. Very good toffee flavor, smooth and thick mouthfeel, nice savory-sweet aftertaste. This makes for a nice dessert tea. I got a good second steep at 180f for about 5 minutes (didn’t time it the second time).

Sipdown!

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The dry leaf of this smells like roasted seaweed. Unfortunately, I got distracted and stopped taking notes soon after starting this sipdown gongfu session, so my impressions are pretty sparse. I have no idea how many steeps I ultimately got out of it or whether the flavor profile changed over time. I do know that this brews up a very pale yellow, to the point that it almost looks like water. The dominant flavor note is roasted seaweed, but it’s light enough to still be pleasant. The trick to this one is definitely short steep times, though. I distinctly remember making it Western-style a while ago and finding it too salty to drink.

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87

Thanks to MissB for sending me some of this! I’ve been wanting to try a saskatoon berry tea ever since Roswell Strange started extolling the glories of saskatoon berries. I’d never even heard of them before. I still have no idea what a real saskatoon berry tastes like, but this tea is pretty nice. It tastes like blueberry with a hint of strawberry. Adding a little bit of brown rock sugar definitely makes the berry flavor pop. I suspect this would be tasty iced, but I drank all of it hot with brunch. Sipdown!

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84
drank Strawberry & Vanilla by Lupicia
1146 tasting notes

Sipdown! I’ve been drinking this one at the office, but I brought the last teabag home so I could do a proper review. This one is similar to Lupicia’s Carol, albeit grassier and less hearty. The brew has a nice thick mouthfeel. The strawberry flavor is candy-like while the vanilla is merely hinted at towards the end of the sip. The package instructions say to use boiling water but I used 180f water because boiling a green tea (especially matcha!) just seems wrong. I did use boiling water for the second steep. Even with a 5 minute steep, though, it came out much weaker than the first steep. Still nice, but weak. The addition of rice milk provides some nice creaminess but I’m not sure that second-steeping this blend is really worth it.

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drank Lemon and Ginger by Teapigs
1146 tasting notes

My partner has had a bad cold for the past few days. I’ve been playing nurse and now I am starting to feel unwell too. Time for some herbal tea and LOTS of honey. I downed this very quickly. The lemon tartness hits first, followed by a pleasantly lingering ginger burn which eventually fades back into lemon tartness. Good for a sore throat and generally tasty. Sipdown!

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90

Many thanks to Inkling for sending me some of this! I have been wanting to try it for a long time now and I’m grateful for the opportunity.

For the first steep, I used 1 tablespoon of leaf for 8 oz of boiling water, steeped for 30 seconds. The scent of rich hot cocoa wafts up as soon as water touches leaf. The pale golden color of the brew belies the robustly chocolatey smell and flavor. This blend totally tastes like chocolate rice krispies! It’s fantastic. Except… now my tummy kinda hurts… maybe the base here is one of those black teas that hurts me?

For the second steep, I used boiling water again for a 45 second immersion. This still tastes like cocoa rice krispies, but weaker than the first steep. I added some brown rock sugar in an effort to boost the flavor, but it didn’t seem to make much difference. The third steep, which was 60 seconds long, suffered from the same problem. For the fourth steep, I just let it sit. It steeped for a bit over 5 minutes. Alas, it was still weak even with a rice milk boost.

Thankfully, I have enough leaf to give this blend another try. Next time I think I’ll go with a longer second steep, maybe 3 minutes. Overall this is a very enjoyable cuppa but so far only for the first steep.

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92
drank Canal Street Carnival by Butiki Teas
1146 tasting notes

Celebrating my 500th tasting note with one of my favorite Butiki blends (and not just because I named it). The sweet strawberry and creamy coconut in this blend make it really soothing and refreshing at the same time. I’ll be super tea-sad when it’s gone.

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92
drank Red Queen Cupcake by Butiki Teas
1146 tasting notes

I was going to make this my 500th tasting note, but the brew was actually super disappointing. I hoarded this too long – it has lost flavor. A LOT. Even overleafing, adding sugar and rice milk only does so much. There’s still the lovely notes of chocolate, strawberry, and coffee, but they are watery and faint. I am kind of mad at myself for allowing this to happen…

Obviously not changing the rating because it’s my own fault that the tea has gone blegh. Sipdown.

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drank Liquorice and Peppermint by Teapigs
1146 tasting notes

I really disliked this tea when I bought it. The flavor is dead-on but very strong and unpleasant. I ended up giving away the rest of it to my brother, who really likes liquorice and mint and has quite a sweet tooth. I’m regretting that decision now that allergy season is here in full force! I feel like this tea would have been good for soothing a sore throat.

Flavors: Licorice, Peppermint

Liquid Proust

Your favorite tea in your cupboard is good for a sore throat!
(Believe it wholeheartedly and tea can have a placebo effect, I swear)

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89
drank Vanilla Comoro by Harney & Sons
1146 tasting notes

Some people are just judgmental jerks who can’t understand life choices that differ from the norm or their own path. Sometimes this can have a real and serious impact on our personal and professional lives. This tea + rice milk + Kahlua is making me feel better.

Flavors: Creamy, Vanilla

Fjellrev

I’m sorry, Kaylee. :( I cannot get over some people, how they think they make life’s rules or something. Or that their opinions are facts. Get over yourselves and open your minds.

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Bio

she/her

Geek and nerd (shoutout to GeekSteep). Still trying to get a handle on this whole work/life balance while ALSO succeeding at work thing. I have some chronic illnesses that make that harder. Tea is my respite.

Favorite tea types, in order:
oolongs
green
herbal
white
yellow

Don’t drink:
black
pu’erh

A sampling of tea shops I like:
Te Company
Calabash
Volition
Tea Thoughts
Harney & Sons
Yunomi
Teavivre

RIP Butiki

Website

https://www.instagram.com/try...

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