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This is a nice chai. It’s a nice blend of flavors with the main notes being cardamom and cinnamon. I do wish the base tea was a little stronger. Even steeping for five minutes there isn’t a lot of malt or bready notes going on in my cup. That said, I enjoy this as a simple, spicy chai, and I’m sure I’ll have no problem making my way through my bag.

I bought a box of this tea in January to have as a work tea, and I’m finishing it off today. Overall, I like this tea. The base tea is incredibly light. Light enough, in fact, that I often leave the tea bag in my mug throughout the day, and I’ve never had this tea tun bitter or coarse on me. The main flavor is cinnamon, but the ginger does make itself know here and there throughout the cup. Easy to sip, and a nice little pick-me-up in between helping patients.

Decided to treat myself to a tin of this, and I’m so glad I did. It’s everything I remember with notes of stone fruit, cocoa, crusty bread, honey, and sweet hay. It handles multiple steeps fairly well. The second step was more apricot and a bit of malt, but just as delicious. The third steep had even more malt and cocoa. I did forget the third steep, so it sat for about twelve minutes before I removed the leaves, but I still thought it was tasty.

Basically, Golden Monkey can do no wrong.

Sipdown.

This was my go-to cold brew and/or iced tea this summer. It’s a lovely blend of rose and strawberry, and the more I drank it the more I fell in love with it. I do prefer it cold rather than hot. The floral is too intense for me as a hot cuppa.

I’m going to miss this one. It’s so very summer-y. ❤️

I picked up a new tin of this, and I couldn’t wait to start using it. It’s a wonderful blend of Assam, Ceylon, and Darjeeling, and today I added the tiniest amount of Lapsang Souchong in as well. It’s delicious. There’s malt, bread, honey and light citrus notes, and then there’s the slightest hint of smoke from the LS. So good. I often add cream and sweetener to my cup when drinking this one. It’s full bodied enough to get me up and moving, but it’s so delightfully tasty that I want to sit and savor each sip. Given that today is a Saturday and I have no plans but to decorate my front porch for fall, I think I’ll opt to sit and savor another cup.

This is a very basic oolong. The dry leaves were broken and smelled of hay and charred wood. I did a three minute steep at 195 degrees. There are notes of mineral, dry hay, and wood. There’s also a strong flavor of toasty leaves. It was pleasant enough that I did a second steep, which was also enjoyable but not memorable.

It has been quite awhile since I’ve had oolong in my cup. It’s something I’ve always enjoyed, but for whatever reason don’t seek out when I’m placing a tea order. This has made me want to do a little research and perhaps add an oolong to my shelf. It won’t be this one, but I’m glad I’ll have the rest of this sample to enjoy while I’m deciding on the next one to try.

I did a thing. I decided to get a Sipsby subscription as a way to keep trying new teas without getting overwhelmed with a huge amount of tea. My monthly box should be a good mix of black, green, oolong, and herbal (all things I enjoy). Of course, I then proceeded to pick up their pumpkin tea box, one of the seasonal boxes, so now I have lots of new teas to try. My hope is that I can keep my “core” teas to around 10, but still try something new each month.

This tea… it’s bagged and very powdery. I brought it to work with me this morning, and I’m not mad about it. The tea is light with a faint spice smell. Unsweetened this had a note of nutmeg and clove. The base tea was… nothing. Sweetened there were notes of nutmeg, clove, cinnamon, and apple. It reminded me of spiced cider but muted. Easy to drink, but nothing I feel deserves my time and attention which makes it a perfect work tea.

Didn’t love this one, but I didn’t hate it either. I’ll bring the other three tea bags to work with me and use them up.

Sipdown.

I enjoyed this one. There are notes of apricot at the beginning of the sip, and a sweet hay note that lingers at the back of the throat. There’s also the muscatal note that is present throughout the cup. Easily one of my current favorites. I’ll pick up more in the near future, so this isn’t so much “goodbye” as “see you soon”.

Sipdown!

This was a repurchase for me, and I continue to enjoy it. The pineapple flavor is fresh and sweet, and the green tea base is slightly creamy and a bit grassy. It’s a nice combination that works well hot or cold. I’ll probably get more of this for summer even though I know I’ll blow through it as a cold brew.