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Not a sip down, but a tea for mulligan day.
I found a few flavors of teeccino carob chicory teas on sale, and picked up three different boxes as I’m looking to drink more chicory to help my digestion. This one has added chaga mushrooms, which I have tried before in a DT blend, and ashwagandha, which I’ve never known to have a calming effect. I did enjoy the other two flavors I picked up, but this one, hmmm, not so much. It does have a nice chocolatey flavor, brews up thick when only 6 oz of water is used, but does have a chalky aftertaste. Not one I’d buy again, even for chicory in a nice travel friendly packet.

This sample came from Shae, it’s about time I tried it.
The first steep is nutty and salty and smoky. Reminds me a bit of barbecue, or maybe that’s what I had for lunch. It’s quite smooth and the aftertaste a bit malty.
Second steep is roasty, nutty, malty and astringent.
Third steep is smooth, weak and still roasty.
Certainly a candidate for grandpa style brewing, and I might be tempted to add to an order, bu not to seek it out. Thanks for the sample, Shae, glad I got to try it.

Not a sipdown since this was a sample, but definitely a black tea for chess day.

Wow I think I’ve met my CTC match for a strong morning brew. This makes an intense cuppa, and I am usually all for that in the morning, but this is just too much. I’m not sure how a brew this strong manages to be not bitter or astringent, in fact its quite nice tasting with malty, peppery, and metallic notes. I suppose I could add a bit of Yunnan or lemongrass to sip this blend, but this is just a sample and I’m not inclined to purchase a whole bag. There are much better ways to make a strong tasty morning brew (the ctc assam from S&V comes to mind).

This is a Nahorhabi Estate 2020 FBOP sample I got in an order, but this seemed the closest tea for a tasting note. The first steep was malty and coppery and astringent with caramel notes in the finish. The second steep was disappointingly weak. A nice, one steep version of an Assam, but I don’t think I’d be tempted to add it to an order.

I got this tea because I liked the Colombian breakfast by Upton, and this seemed interesting. I tried to like this tea but it’s just meh. I’ve tried more leaf, longer steeping times to coax some flavor out of the steeps but its just a nondescript tea flavor that’s not bitter. Wish it was better, not purchasing again.

The lemon and ginger here is soothing and easily drinkable. Don’t know about the medicinal benefits of the tea but I’d drink this if I had a cold. I do prefer gypsy cold care, but this is nice for a change of pace. And I always like tea with a message on the string :)

I did the last little bit of this tea gongfu and it made a difference. First steep was yeasty and wheaty. Second steep was mellowed out a bit with malt and dark chocolate. I’m bumping my rating and I’d be tempted to add this to a purchase. Certainly a candidate for grandpa style brewing.

Pineapple? No
Yummy vanilla spice cake? Yes
Do I need this in my cupboard? Nah
Enjoyable cup.

Sipdown!
I don’t think I was impressed with this the last time I brewed it, but today it’s got a nice berry flavor with some tart hibiscus. I used a bit more leaf to finish this off, so maybe that’s the way to go. Certainly not my favorite Cuppa Geek tea, and I won’t need to replenish this in my cupboard, but its not a bad cup.

While this doesn’t brew up bitter, all the assamness (awesomeness) is smoothed away from this tea. No malt, no coppery tang, no astringency. Kinda boring. I’ll mix it with something to sip it down it’s at least good for some caffiene.