A Quarter to Tea

My first attempt at this tea followed package directions and ended up being an almost clear liquid. Convinced I must have done something wrong, I doubled the tea leaf and increased the temperature and steep time. It came out clear again. What’s going on with this tea?? Granted, it’s an older one but I’ve never had a black tea look like this. And there were plenty of tea leaves in the scoop. Very curious. The coconut, I’m guessing, left a shiny film on the surface which was at the very least unappetizing, but the flavor was fine (if light). I tasted the cherry almond flavor that I noticed in the dry blend and it was enjoyable, but overall this tea left a lot to be desired.

This one’s a sipdown, folx! I’ll be honest, I have no idea what a currant is supposed to taste like. The taste of the tea is unique – fruity but also floral. I think I was expecting currants to taste like grapes maybe, but maybe they don’t.

Second Steep
8 ounces water + 212 degrees + 20 minutes

Still some flavor in this second steep. Picking up more of the floral in this cup. As it cools, more flavor is coming out. Now it’s just as flavorful as the first cup.

Backlog from a week or so ago.

I’ve been wanting to do more iced teas now that the weather is warmer, plus I thought cold brews might be a way for me to start drinking some of the green and white teas that sit languishing in my tea cabinet. This was a nice start – it was light in flavor but there was definitely flavor there, which I don’t always experience with white teas in general. That said, the major downfall here for me was the soapy taste. I immediately checked the ingredients for coconut but didn’t see any so I’m guessing this is coming from the lavender. Maybe just my associate of lavender with soap, I don’t know. I have a bit more of this left so I guess I’ll try a hot cup eventually and see how it goes.

Sipdown (263)

I snagged a sample of this from Kittenna just before AQ2T went on hiatus. It’s an alright tea. Sorta peachy. Not very special. Still, thank you Kittenna for the chance to try something new.

sample from VariaTEA. I’d forgotten that i like kukicha. This tea doesn’t really come across as “cake” to me but it was a pleasant creamy tea that i was enjoying until it got cold. shudder as it cooled there was an off taste about this that made for a cup of tea that just wasn’t good.

From the weekend.

Unfortunately don’t remember a lot of the nuances of the cup, but the dry leaf smelled quite lovely and enticing while the steeped cup was more of a generic fruit/fruit salad type of thing. Gotta take better notes next time I steep it, but as a lighter fruity tea? Not bad. I just don’t know what it was trying to be…

this was a better cup today. Nothing i need to be in the cupboard full time but it’s a nice cup. I need to play with this a little more and see if i can coax the flavour out a bit more though.

Need to try this one again bfore rating it. Drank this yesterday and i don’t remember it tasting like much of anything in particular. That is, there was nothing offensive about this tea but it was just sort of a muddied black tea. Hoping it was just something i ate haha

tea from this morninf and while it was a pleasant enough tea, I’m for sure over “peach”. If you’re in to peach, this one was a nice one. not too sweet, not spicy but a pretty good tea overall.

Sipdown (285)

I never reach for this tea and the couple times I had it now, I don’t really like it. It has a cherry element that is nice sometimes and also like cough syrup other times. It’s also quite floral at times. It’s just not a favorite so the rest is in the swap box.

Perfect cup send off of this tea. I’ve had it a couple times now since VariaTEA gave me some and each time it was kinda “meh.” Today though, it seemed to work out well. I feel like this is a tea that has potential but is too fussy for me lol

Iced Latte Sipdown (262)

This was my afternoon drink and it was really good. The almond comes through with an extract sweetness as opposed to being true to the nut. That pairs with a lot of raspberry flavor. I don’t usually like the extract quality but here it worked and worked well.

Sil didn’t get almond coffee from this but I’m getting a whole lot of almond. It’s bordering on marzipan but I made this as a latte and I think that helps level out the flavouring. In addition to the marzipan, there is sweet raspberry candy flavor as well, like Swedish berries. Every so often, I maybe get wisps of coffee, or I just think they should be there so I’m imagining them. All in all, it’s a pretty nice latte and could be tasty as an iced latte as well.

Sipdown (288)

I made this as a hot tea and a teapop. However, when I knocked the tea leaves out of the filter it smelled a bit like boiled meat. I have no idea why and I assume it was my mind just going nuts but that was off-putting and now I don’t know what to drink it.

Thankfully the hot cup neither smells nor tastes like boiled meat. Unfortunately, it does taste like lime fondant. Just something artificial and a touch grassy.

The teapop looked really cool when I first made it because the tea was slightly cloudy and settle to the bottom while the clear and bubbly teapop sat on top. It was layered and looked awesome.

It’s better as a teapop. I used blackberry perrier and the mix of that and the tea tastes like a blackberry lime candy. It is managing to capture a sweet cocktail flavor, though I have never tried an actual caiprinha cocktail. Nevertheless, prepped as a teapop, that fondant artificialness is gone and it’s quite refreshing.

ETA: The teapop is refreshing at first but as you keep drinking, that fondant quality creeps back in. Damn.

Had this as a latte with coconut whipped cream. It was nice but given my dislike of marzipan quality in teas, it was not my favorite.

Check out my full review here: http://sororiteasisters.com/2019/04/20/co-coconut-almond-a-quarter-to-tea/

I thought this was an Earl Grey with bay leaves added, which seemed like an interesting combination. I’ve always thought bay leaves smelled a bit like tea. But after reading the description, it seems that it’s maybe something to do with the Green Bay Packers? I’m not sure what the relation is to hops and Bavarian cream since I don’t follow football, but the tea sure is good. The bergamot is light but present.

I can smell the rosemary and the sage – how unique! The rosemary stands out to me above all else. I’m not tasting the raspberry buy my sample is an older one so the fault likely lies with me. Overall, I’m enjoying the different flavors but not enough to make this a favorite.

I’ll admit, the name alone worried me. I like sweet potato but the thought of mixing sweet potato with raisins (not a fan) has put me against trying this one since it arrived in my mailbox. Opening the pouch today, I almost turned back. Strong, strong cinnamon (spicy Red Hot cinnamon – also not a favorite) and something that reminded me of a musty old house. But I figured that I like the flavor of some black teas with sweet potato and raisin notes so why not this?

Ehh, not great. Just that overpowering cinnamon. Nope, nope, nope.

Thank you to Shae for this sample! It’s lots of things I love in a tea- popped rice, smokiness, and strawberry. The strawberry was non-existent, and the smoke and toasted rice flavor were pretty predominant. Very happy to have been able to try it, but not something I would gravitate back towards,

I really like the honey flavor found in many A Quarter to Tea blends (I know many find it disagreeable). This is a nice balance of honey and vanilla, with the kick of the pepper.

I definitely agree with previous reviews that mention it tastes like honeysuckle. It definitely does. That flavor seems like it would go better with a green base rather than a Darjeeling. The flavoring and the tea itself seem to be fighting with each other.