1118 Tasting Notes
Sipdown!
I have to admit I’m sad to see this one go. This company no longer sells tea, though they do sell beautiful tea accessories. This was a favorite tea of mine for a long, long time. It was rich and malty and full of decadent cocoa notes. So good. This one’s going to be missed.
Preparation
Sipdown!
I never did get toasted rice and sesame notes from this tea, but I enjoyed it nevertheless. The coconut and caramel flavors made this a nice dessert tea. It was a tasty mid-afternoon pick me up. It was nice hot or if it cooled down (on those days when work kept me away from my mug). I don’t see myself buying more of this since there are other coconut teas that I like more, but I would happily accept a cup if someone offered it to me.
Sipdown!
Oof. I blew through this one. To be fair, it was delicious, and it hit all the right notes for me. Lately I’ve been wanting orange and vanilla teas, and I’ve also been liking ginger and rose flavors. This tea has all that and more. Given the wide variety of flavors you’d think this tea would be a kick in the throat, but it’s not. It’s gently and almost soft while still having a variety of flavors that work well together.
If H&S ever gets more stock of this I’ll happily buy another tin. Although I do wish they would sell this as a loose tea. I believe it’s only been offered in sachets so far.
Preparation
Sounds really good!
This sounds delicious! One measure of tea quality is flavor, one is the moment you look at the empty thin and wonder why it’s already gone!
It was definitely tasty! And gmathis, you are so right! When I open a container of tea and realize it’s almost gone I either think “ thank goodness!,” or “ I’m going to miss this when it’s gone”. That’s the moment when I know for sure how I feel about a tea! :)
Sipdown!
I’m sipping on my last cup of this while I scroll through tasting notes and catch up on what everyone has been up to. I hope you are all well! I have to say I’m happy it’s Friday, and I’m happy that I have no plans this evening. For my own sanity I’m taking the weekend off from studying, so I’m almost giddy with the thought of having a weekend full of nothing to do. Except write tea notes… and read a book just for fun… yep, that’s all the excitement I require for the next few days!
Ok, tea note… This could easily be a fall/winter staple for me. It’s a lot like Hot Cinnamon Spice but with a bit of an apple note at the end of the sip. It’s perfect for cooler weather although I’d happily drink it year round. That said, there’s nothing overly special about this tea. There are a million cinnamon teas out there, and while this one is nice I do wish the apple was more flavor forward. I think that would take this from being a run of the mill tea to something truly special.
Preparation
I’m totally with you, more apple please! But a little apple is better than no apple at all, I suppose. ;)
Enjoy your weekend to the hilt!
Yep, that was my Saturday — FUN reading a novel and reading tasting notes. :D
Isn’t reading for fun the best? I love a good story that takes me completely out of my own head.
I wish I could read anything else but coursebooks!
One day soon, Martin!
Martin, a teacher told me years ago to read 25 pages of a novel while eating breakfast. It doesn’t take long, and even though it’s just a few pages it adds up quickly. That’s how I read most of my books that aren’t work or study related. I’ve found that it motivates me to get out of bed on time, it starts my day off in a relaxing way, and I’m able to finish between 15 to 24 books a year (depending on length). It’s such a simple thing, but it’s been great for me!
I’m a librarian, and I’m also a very slow reader! I find just using the 15 minute breaks at work help move a book along; admittedly, I now read a lot of graphic novels because I can read them quicker than novels (and have just been in sort of a “mood” for them!)
Veronica that sounds like a good idea :) I will certainly think about it. maybe some easy-reading books to come. But how I can choose books from library, when I can’t look into the books? (Libraries closed down here, curbside pickup possible)
We were on curbside for a long time (though open to public once again, but on slightly reduced hours). Our entire catalog is online and our bibliographic records have Library of Congress subject headings for each item, as well as (usually) the summary of the book (the same one you’d read off the back cover or the Amazon page). Holds could be placed directly through the website with a library card # (or we’d do it on behalf of a patron if they weren’t tech savvy and just called us). We also offered “surprise packs” where a patron could just say, “I like cozy mysteries!” or “I really like John Grisham novels!” and our reference department would pull 4-5 random items for that patron based on that info for pickup or delivery. That turned out to be a hit!
My library have catalog online as well, but I like picking the book from the shelf and decide there. Based on the cover, letter size, considering thickness of the book and so on. It is certainly harder to choose online.
Surprise packs are interesting idea and I think it was here for a moment too, but unfortunately often they have only one copy and they couldn’t offer it in hold. \So, hard to say what is best opinion… but certainly I will try to read something but coursebooks :)
Sipdown.
I finished off my little tin of this, and I enjoyed every sip. When I have this in my cupboard it’s my go-to night time tea. Why would I reach for anything else when I have this vanilla caramel-y decaffinated goodness waiting for me? That said, I’m not going to repurchase this right away. I’m going to drink some of the other teas and tisanes on my shelf for a while. I usually place a H&S order in the fall, so maybe I’ll pick up more of this then.
Sipdown!
Mastress Alita’s Sipdown Challenge – National Strawberry Day
Ok, hear me out. I said I wouldn’t repurchase this. I said it has hibiscus and I don’t like hibiscus. I said I’d just cold brew it and be done with it. Well, it turns out that I really kinda love this as a cold brew. Love as in, I looked forward to drinking this every time I made it. It has a completely artificial strawberry flavor, but it turns out that I like that. I’d make a big tumbler of this to sip on throughout the day at work or while I was studying, and it was delightful. Like eating candy without getting all that sugar stuck in your teeth. So yeah, I’d totally repurchase this if I ran across it somewhere down the road. Is it the highest quality tea? No. Does it make me happy? Yes.
Preparation
Sipdown for National Compliment Day!
It’s National Compliment Day, and I’m giving this beautiful tea a huge shout out. It embodies so many of the things that I adore from the teas from Nepal. There is a muscatal note along with sweet hay. It’s light and clean with the slightest hint of mineral at the end of the sip. I’m a big fan of muscadine notes in tea. I know Darjeeling teas are best known for that flavor, but I feel like so many teas from Nepal showcase it beautifully. This tea is no exception. In fact, it does it to near perfection. The muscatal note is present without having an artificial grape flavor or a wine-y taste. This is a total win in my book.
I would love to pick up more of this at some point. Unfortunately Upton only sells this in 100g or larger quantities, and while I truly love this tea I’m just not in the market for 100+ grams of any tea. * sigh *
Preparation
Lovely description! Upton does a good job with their unique black teas…I haven’t ordered for a while so they haven’t sent a catalog my way for a while, but I used to read them like novels.
I’m do the same thing with Upton’s catalog. I love the articles they write about tea history, but I really love reading their descriptions on all of their teas. I’ve had a couple of days where I grabbed my Upton catalog and various seed/gardening catalogs and made wishlist of teas to drink and plants I want to grow. Kind of like the Toys R Us catalog for adults. :)
Or the Sears Christmas Wish Book … (yes, I’m dating myself here).
I love this tea. I’ve gone through a tin of it each winter for almost a decade now. It has the magical ability to chase away the winter chills when nothing else can. And let me tell you, as someone who hates being cold, I appreciate anything that helps me warm up when the temperature drops outside.
This is a wonderfully robust blend. The mix of Assam, Ceylon, and Darjeeling is lovely. There’s lots of malt and bread notes as well as a light lemony flavor and a bit of a honey note. The flavors are consistent throughout the cup. There’s also some astringency at the end of the sip. I know some people don’t like that, but I’m a fan. This blend is designed to take cream and sugar well, and it does. For those times that I want the tea sans additions I’ll steep it for three minutes. Today I let it steep for five and I added heavy cream and sweetener. I regret nothing.
Flavors: Bread, Honey, Lemon, Malt
Preparation
A tin a winter?! That is tea love.
I have put this in my cart and taken it out 4 times. It sounds like the penultimate winter breakfast tea. I am, unfortunately, still doing my Swedish Death Purge, and have too much tea to even consider buying any more.
White Antlers: there MIGHT be (ahem) just a wee sample of this on the way to you, so wee it will surely not count against a Swedish death purge!
ashmanra LOL! Thank you. : )
I received a box of this as part of a Christmas gift. I’ve been side eyeing it for a few weeks trying to figure out what to do with it. The first ingredient listed is hibiscus. I’m not a fan of hibiscus. I am a fan of strawberry teas. See the dilemma? Anyway, I decided my best shot was to cold brew it, and it actually turned out ok. The strawberry flavor is artificial and candy like. It reminds me of the little hard candies wrapped in cellophane that have a strawberry design on it. There’s also a “green” flavor. Like someone threw some strawberry leaves and vines into the mix, too. The result isn’t unpleasant just… odd. I do get some sour notes from the hibiscus, but they’re nowhere near as intense as they would be if I drank this hot. Final verdict: I’ll drink this as a cold brew, but it’s nothing I’d buy for myself.
As a side note, the artwork on the box is adorable, and I’m digging the shades of pink and green they chose to use. So cute!
Flavors: Artificial, Candy, Green, Hibiscus, Strawberry
Preparation
Sipdown.
Taking a slow minute to say goodbye to this one. It’s as utterly delightful as always, and I’m going to miss having it in my cupboard. I don’t have any new thoughts on the tea itself (see previous notes where I sing its praises over and over again), but I am already daydreaming about placing a H&S order this autumn and adding this to my cart. If reviews for the current harvest are anywhere close to this one then I’ll happily splurge on another tin.
Flavors: Bread, Caramel, Earth, Hay, Honey, Sweet Potatoes
I don’t know whether you’ve tried the Fengqing Dragon Pearl black tea from Teavivre, but it’s a really nice and satisfying malty cocoa tea.
Thank you! I haven’t tried that one yet, but I definitely will. I’d love to get some Teavivre teas in my cupboard again.
Feel free to let me know if you’d like to try before you buy!
I loved their peppermint tea. I remember liking a couple of their black teas as well, though I’m not sure I had the pearls. Too bad they’re no longer selling tea.
Yeah, this was a favorite of mine, too! More like a “snail” than a “pearl” though. I don’t see many tea shops carrying it.