A Quarter to Tea

When I was a kid, we had a small fig tree that would produce one fig a year. The six of us would split that one fig, and it was always so wonderful. I haven’t found a store that carries fresh figs, and I don’t like dried ones, so anyway, maybe fig tea will do the trick? Actually, this one tastes entirely like roses. I thought it was fun that the blend had oats in it, but all I can taste is rose. Since I’m not a big fan of floral teas, sadly this is not a winner for me. Still, thanks to amandastory516 for the sample! Can’t rate it too highly because it doesn’t taste how it’s supposed to at all.

Thanks so much to amandastory516 for the swap! This was the first one I tried because I love horchata, and I would love to find a tea that accomplishes that flavor. Surprisingly, the main flavors I get here are a light pineapple/coconut along with some nice toastiness. I can say that it mildly evokes horchata, but really, it’s delicious regardless. It’s so light and tasty. The resteep tasted like plain genmaicha. I’m glad I have enough for more cups!

Drank this one over lunch.

It’s not bad at all but definitely not my cup of tea, if you’ll pardon the pun. Same cheesecake note as what’s used in On Wisconsin – or at least it tastes like it. Just maybe a bit toned down? It’s nice, definitely works well with the coffee and cream notes. I thought the coffee was actually much more subdued than expected, but very clearly present. That’s the main reason I didn’t love it – I just don’t do coffee flavours that well. I really liked how roasted it tasted though, and the oolong base here is very roasted and mineral tasting (also really present in the cup) and that goes together BRILLIANTLY with the roasted coffee notes, so compositionally I think it all goes together really well.

Maybe I’ll finish this off as a latte?

Tomato is the cool/interesting part of this blend – but it doesn’t taste anything at all like tomato. Not sure if that’s a good thing or not!? I’ve had a few tomato teas, and a little bit of the taste is nice but a lot of it is just weird. So what does this tea taste like? Cinnamon.

A lot of cinnamon.

It’s the same very distinct and intense cinnamon that I’ve observed in a lot of AQ2T blends – somewhere between the woody/bark-y type of cinnamon and the heavily sweet “red hot” sort of cinnamon taste. The blend that immediately comes to mind from AQ2T with this type of cinnamon is Gingerbread Latte (which I did like), but I know I’ve experienced it in several of her blends. I actually like the cinnamon taste she uses a lot but I just find it so ridiculously overpowering that in the blends that use it most anything else flavor wise just gets swallowed up…

Sort of an interesting tea – I was intrigued by the idea of the combination of apricot and black pepper and I wanted to see how that came out in the flavour. Initially I was a bit disappointed by the tea – it was pretty heavy/dense and full bodied and very black tea forward, but the black tea was quite flat/dull and the apricot is incredibly subtle with more of a dried apricot kind of taste. However, this is a tea that builds over time and as the tea cools I was getting a bit more of a cooked down dense but slightly sweet apricot note and the finish is more peppery/tickley. I’d have to revisit it to see if I have a consistent experience, but this was much better by the end of the cup than it was when I started it!

Got a sample size of this with a previous order which was at least a year ago now. As I was steeping this I wondered… what makes a breakfast tea regional? I’ve had French, English and Irish breakfast teas. They are all malty, heavy, go well with added cream, but what differentiates a French from an English one? Is there a different base used in each? I’m going to have to consult the googles and see what info I can find.

This tea follows the breakfast tea profile; malty, heavy, goes well with cream. There is a sweetness to it. The finish is almost a barley like flavor. It’s good and mildly interesting, but probably not something I’d put on my shopping list.

Had this one a few weeks ago but forgot to write anything for it…

It’s got that familiar and very bright and high lime note that I recognize from other AQ2T blends – I’m guessing it’s just the same flavouring shared between the blends. I actually enjoy it a lot though, I find it really fresh and I like the level of sweetness balanced with a slight puckering quality. It works really well for a Margarita inspired blend, and the concentration is excellent. I think pairing it with bamboo is smart – not only does the bamboo add a nice visual to the dry leaf, but it’s also really refreshing and hydrating and that’s exactly the feeling you get when you drink a really good, well mixed margarita. The rooibos works for a similar reason – it’s just very hydrating/thirst quenching. I actually don’t taste the rooibos/black tea all that much though – I think they’re probably just adding some overall body? If this was just bamboo and lime flavouring the cup would feel very thin.

Overall? Big fan!

Sipdown (228)

As I was pulling out 2018 teas to go into my focus box, I noticed this just had one teaspoon so might as well finish it off. It’s about time apparently because while this smelled delicious and flavorful, it’s mostly just floral from the oolong. Green/grassy and floral with a touch of savory.

Is it weird to say that this tea tasted like some kind of citrusy/lime peel and vanilla fondant mix to me!? It also reminded me of another AQ2T blend that I think I’ve had relatively recently but I just couldn’t put my finger on it while I was finishing the cup. It’s hard to fully enjoy a tea when you have that weird, nagging Deja Vu feeling…

To be revisited.

Latte Sipdown (707)!

Welp – I was under 700 teas but then I got two tea packages yesterday so now I’m over again. So, time to get some sipdowns in! Starting with this one, which I got in that sample haul from AQ2T when they announced their hiatus – it’s a heavier blend because of the popped rice and nut pieces in it, so I had just enough leaf to make it into a latte and polish it off. Going all in, y’know?

It was pretty damn nice – not the most robust and flavourful tea ever but lots of subtle notes that came through in the taste to create something a little more nuanced and sophisticated feeling (but still delicious)! The soft roasted note of the popped rice was the most noticeable taste, and then hints of cashew/nuttiness and oats – with just a hint of salinity in the finish. So, all the major titular flavour notes were there to convey the overall concept of the tea – just in a mild way.

Still loved this though – and don’t regret using all the leaf in one latte!

Sipdown (227…I think)

Thank you Kittenna for the share. While this had potential for me, there was something about it that was off that I just can’t put my finger on. Probably for the best since I can’t get more of this.

I drank this but barely have any recollection of it. Nothing wrong with it, but definitely not memorable, or at least the cup of it I had wasn’t! Will of course try it again while paying more attention.

Well, it’s certainly limey. But it’s bordering a tad on cleaner-like, and I’m not tasting much else. I probably just want it to be creamy lime, which margaritas aren’t. It’s fine; not a favourite.

Cold Brew!

This reminds me strongly of another AQ2T blend that I think was also on a white tea base, but I can’t actually remember what one I’m thinking of and that’s such a frustrating feeling. This tasted pretty good as a cold brew though – really refreshing since it was primarily a light, mellow and crisp “lemon water” type of flavour, with a tiny hint of coconut and creaminess. I have a feeling it would be a bit more flavourful as a hot tea, but even still this was quite nice! Lots of the white tea notes coming out as well: hay, straw, honeysuckle…

Old sipdown #5. Can’t remember a thing about this one. Drat. I don’t think I was super crazy about it, otherwise it would have stuck in my head.

I know I enjoyed this one, but don’t really recall the flavour, other than it not tasting like roasted mate (which is what I expected). Oops, forgot to put that in the tea type.

I did just look at the pouch, though, and I think the roasted mate is all at the bottom, so I’ll have to try a bit harder to get some next time.

Loved that it was blue, but the flavour was also decent here, nice and melony. Nice base tea as well, and the flavour came through.

Good peach flavour, but I either oversteeped or am not a fan of the “buttermilk” zip, aka a bit of astringency. It wasn’t bad, but I’d have preferred just creamy peach!

I initially thought I wouldn’t like this tea, as it smelled somewhat of marzipan. However, as I drank it the flavour grew on me and I actually decided that it’s quite pleasant. Lightly sweet and nutty, with a hint of marzipan-ish flavour. A bit creamy, as well.

*Note: I’m writing these tasting notes while listening to an unhappy baby mourn the fact that he’s been put down for a nap, so I’m a little more distracted than usual… (in case something doesn’t make sense).

A bit of a weird combination of ingredients here – blackberry, almond, and mint. Because of the latter two, it kind of fell flat for me. The almond is a kind of marzipan-y flavour, and although the mint is lighter than it could have been, I didn’t really care for it in the blend. I typically like AQ2T’s blackberry, but I couldn’t taste it well in this tea, and I just don’t think it really worked. I may try this iced, but I just don’t think it’s a flavour combination for me.

Yum – this is approximately what I was looking for in a tea with this name. The flavour is slightly reminiscent of 52teas Malted ChocoMate, but less powerful and more creamy. Maybe not actually chocolatey either, but there’s a distinct note that reminds me of that flavoured mate. It tastes decadent, and I like it. Still probably doesn’t wouldn’t make it onto a favourites list, but I’m pleased with it.

I like this one enough, though it’s not a favourite. Kind of like a classic lemony iced tea, but more refined?