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Sipdown/Backlog – March 15, 2025

We had friends over during the sipping down event with this tea. Based on the tasting notes from that session, we were able to manage to get results from our experience!

Aroma: Sun tea, honey, lemon, and peach.

Tasting Notes: Smooth, lemon, & sweet.

Rating: 6.5/10

After starting the tea with my usual quick rinse, I knew that this one needed a long steep (10-minutes long). Bam! Flavors were bursting to life on the palate – there were notes of plums, citrus, sour lemon peel, roasted apple, & a sweetened delight.

I finally started working through my backlogged teas from West China Tea’s subscription. This tea session was a subpar experience. I noted recently that West China Tea is a solid company for anyone getting into gongfu’ing tea (yes, they have some teas that rock my world, too). They have palate friendly teas and can help bring the experience to the table!

Aroma: Dian Hong smell (malty, but lacking the sweetness) & unsweetened cocoa

Color: Red

Tasting Notes: Malty, astringent, & a little bitterness. The session lasted 5-6 infusions and was over. I enjoyed steeps 3-4 the most. 1-2 was allowing the tea to open; 5-6 were slightly less flavorful.

I nearly lost my mind checking the price of this herbal tea ($85 USD for 100g). Yikes! It was overall a light flavor profile. I had enough material from the subscription to brew this twice. Once, I gongfu’d the leaf, and it was a muted tea experience. There was very little flavor. Second, I let the tea sit in boiling water + refrigerated 24-hours. The notes below are from the later of the two sessions.

Aroma: Yeast, bread dough (raw, unbaked), & pine.

Texture: Thick

Tasting Notes: Not very strong, but there are hints of pine nuts, white bread, oats, & flour.

I’m trying to get back into adding logs again…Life has been wild. Not the bad type of wild, but the type that catches up to you all at once (work, friends, etc.). I feel like not writing or reading reviews is like not calling or texting friends. Sure, I’m active on IG, however, Steepster is the foundation for my tea journey. It is where my thrill for tea took the further plunge into this endless abyss called “CommuniTea.” With that said, thank you to those who’ve stuck around and those who keep on with their posting – it’s giving me plenty to catch up on – and just being here to drink and share tea! :)

Tea Review Time:

My experience with aged tea is limited. I’d love to have the money to afford to drink the “older” stuff; unfortunately, my funds and taste are relevant to most of the newer/fresher teas on the market. Buy it now and save it for later, I suppose. I’m getting better at drinking every little sample sitting in my hoarded pile (hoarded might be too strong of a word, as I’m sure, most tea heads are holding onto their goodies for a long time). Ha-Ha.

Yes, yes, I’m getting into the review now.

Aroma: Leather, moss, earthy, damp paper, old books, beets, & wet earth.

Tasting Notes: The tea was quite nice. There were notes of woodiness, beets, gasoline (whatever that means), paper, a little bitterness, and eventually astringency.

Feeling: Qi so heavy I floated my way toward the end of the workday.

PS. I’m afraid to rate this too highly on the account I enjoyed it, yet, it’ll be the last of it, forever. Thank you W2T for giving me this moment.

Sipdown

Aroma: Woody & earthy

Texture: Oily & thick

Tasting Notes: Woody, bitter, & grains (rice, wheat, & dried oats)

Additional Notes: 18 infusions!

I had made this at work a couple weeks ago…Due to the high volume of work, I wasn’t 100% in my element with tasting. I noted “licorice” on the back of the wrapper and kept drinking. Overall, I don’t remember the tasting notes, however, this tea is packed with a qi kick to the head! I was alive for an hour after drinking this one, and it helped me plenty with getting through work, and annoying my wife with Creed’s “Can You Take Me Higher” on repeat. lololololol

This was another of the teas that our friend had shared with us last week. I really think this one stands out as a hot tea. Adding it to ice adds a touch of bitter lemon peel that is just unsettling enough to like it less. With that said, it was still as fine as the Blueberry Muffin!

Notes: Lemon tea bread, lemon cookie, lemon icing, & bitter lemon peel.

A friend had shared a few teas last week with my wife and I. We all recently discussed that Red Rose isn’t my first choice of bagged tea when / if I grab any from the grocery store. This gift was to prove that I was wrong to think Red Rose was some substandard tea brand.

We made two cups – iced and hot. Both really blew us away. It’s pre-sweetened, so there’s a lot of pop in the mug; however, the cup hit the palate like a train. Not only can you taste that blueberry, but you get a little of the “muffin” as well!

Sipdown

Aroma: Rooibos, vanilla, hibiscus (not my note), & berry

Taste: Floral, nutty, and a little sour.

Additional Notes: I made a game of trying to have a friend guess the theme / main flavor. Fun fact: they never guessed pumpkin. While I enjoy a heavy rooibos blend, the goal of creating a pumpkin profile, fell flat, IMO.