Beastly Beverages

Old sipdown #13. A swap sample passed on to me, originally from Jump62359. And another tea I failed to review entirely, and can’t remember at all.

Also, sorry for these notes being boring and useless, I’m mostly documenting this for myself and have nothing interesting to say.

this comes from missB i brewed it without looking at tasting notes and for me this was apricot chili. No mango or pineapple but a delicious apricot chili tea. In reading notes, i see it’s supposed to be mango pineapple so i should take points off for it being not the right taste for me but it’s tasty. It’s not super chili…just enough to have a bite to it while still letting the fruit taste come through. Really enjoyed this one today for something a little different!

Additional notes: I had to sip my fruity spicy “chutney” Lucifer tea today because I knew I would be watching the season finale of Supernatural today. Man, this season has been exceptional most of the time. (Of course there are always a few “filler” episodes in every season that could probably be cut… I love them anyway. I’m not sure how they write these shows 22 episodes long with 42 minute episodes anyway. If you want a taste of the series, try the season 11 episode ‘Baby’. I think that one fairly represents the series as a whole: the heart, the humor. Though this was a Lucifer tea, Lucifer was sadly missing from the season finale. I think he will be back though… And I’m happy about the show runners next year. Next time this tea will be a sipdown… and this was much spicier with two teaspoons this time around.

Additional notes: Sipping this one again basically because someone is back on Supernatural! Though I haven’t caught up with this weeks episode yet! I love that it’s fruity and cayenne spicy like a chutney but this one doesn’t have enough for Lucifer. I like that they brought Lucifer back, but it might seem like they’re trying to go back to season five. This show can do anything though and I’ll keep watching. :D

Aw, I had a terrible Supernatural dream last night. Somehow Sam was bleeding out because of something a ghost did and I was waiting for an ambulance, keeping pressure. So I picked this tea today. Not only is it a Supernatural tea but it’s a spicy pineapple tea (like chutney that I’ve never had but wished I did!) I’m the one who likes ham, pineapple, and a sriracha swirl on my Pizza Hut pizza. Ha ha. Anyway, this is a solid light amber brew that has hints of pineapple and ONE gulp when it was cold had a hint of spice. It was a little odd just having that one gulp spicy. The black tea itself isn’t spectacular but it pairs well with the pineapple. Not any mango for me at all. It looks like from MissB’s notes, they should have made the mango pieces smaller.. I didn’t really see any. Not bad but could be better… but Supernatural!

I wish I was at the ocean. But apparently it was revealed last season that Sam & Dean have never had their toes in the sand… even with their roadtrip life. That might be the saddest thing in such a sad sad season. Gosh, give Sam & Dean a break already. LET THEM GO TO THE OCEAN. Not to mention it must be not-fun psychologically (even subconsciously) for J & J to be on such a dark show for so long. Hence the terrible dreams about them.

Thanks to MissB for this tea! The flavour combination of pineapple, mango, and chili is totally up my alley, and the mango chunks especially caught my eye. But somehow, I barely taste any of these notes in here. Just a hint of generic fruity sweetness but no chili heat or distinguishable mango or pineapple notes. Perhaps it’s an age thing? The base is nice and smooth, however.

This is a sample from MissB’s sample sale awhile back. Thank you!

How I do love bergamot, but the berg and rooibos together. Hmmm. A lot of my favorite Earl Grey’s are my favorite b/c of the base + bergamot. Rooibos, as much as I enjoy the cup and the no caffeine thing, it isn’t my favorite base “tea”. This is okay. Not stellar. I doctored it up with a bit of milk and sugar like I do most rooibos drinks. It is a light lemon rooibos. I would much rather have a normal Earl Grey or Lemmon Chiffon, but it will do for tonight.

Well I wouldn’t exactly call it decadent, but for me it is warm and familiar. I just sat with the cup under my chin as I was browsing the internet, taking in that beautiful jasmine green tea aroma. Yummy. Oddly usually 2 minutes is plenty to draw out a good flavor from the green tea, but this particular blend didn’t impart much at two minutes. I would try it again at 3-4 minutes.

The leaves are quite small AND tightly curled, so if you’re brewing in a teapot a fine strainer would probably be nice. I brewed in a Kati cup today though so that wasn’t much of a problem for me.

Green tea with Jasmine? What’s so decadent about that?

I guess my idea of decadence runs along other lines: chocolate, caramel, creamy texture, rich & amazing, sexy even…oh, & make it black!

For my personal taste buds, there is nothing decadent about green tea, although I do enjoy it. I also enjoy jasmine, sometimes more than others, but to me this is just another green tea with jasmine. End of story.

That’s to my dear Sil for sharing it, but I do enjoy trying new teas. Also thanks to MissB, who shared her sample with Sil (who shared it with me).
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Thank you, MissB, for the sample. :)

It’s just a jasmine green? I was expecting something super exciting, like the chili and mango tea.

And wow, is that ever jasmine. It’s not bad, but I really prefer the Jasmine Pearls my Gramma got for me. They tend to be… less. Yeah. Less is a good description. :)

Also, tea friends. You may have noticed I haven’t been around much. I’m SUPER busy and so in order to keep my reading minimal, I have (temporarily, I hope!) unfollowed a bunch of you. I’m sorry! (Wow, so Canadian.)

Today I divided all of my sample sized teas into a decaf basket and a caffeinated basket. I was digging through the decaf basket and found this one. I immediately wanted it. Most days I feel like the early part of the day is the “good tea” part and when I have to switch to decaf, I drink things that I can drink when I really want to be drinking something else.

Seeing a rooibos Earl Grey was exciting! And, I like it. It has an interesting and very strong cedar smell and taste. It reminds me of the smell of a freshly mulched yard, before the mulch has had time to weather. Bergamot is there. And, it’s strong, so that’s good too! I could see me needing more of this soon. Anyone have some to trade? It looks like one that isn’t so popular.

Thank you MissB for sending some of this my way. It was fun to compare this to two other jasmine teas (http://steepster.com/rachel12610/posts/236019). This one in particular was very floral with a smooth base. Though ultimately, floral teas aren’t my thing and so this won’t be something I stock up on. However, I can certainly appreciate any tea named for the wonderful Castiel.

Thank you MissB for sharing this with me. As a Sherlock fan, I was super excited to get to try this tea (I actually just watched the most recent couple of episodes last weekend). However, as someone who mostly reaches for flavored cups, I was less excited about the tea itself. Still, MissB was generous to share this and I thought perhaps, like Sherlock himself, maybe this tea would grow on me. As I sipped at it while cooking, I couldn’t help but notice an earthy taste, akin to a pu’erh. I really don’t know why because there is no pu’erh in this as far as I am aware. Ultimately, I could not get through the cup but I am really grateful for the chance to try it. One more tea I can cross off my list!

oh. no. nope. not even kinda. negative. lol thanks missB I knew i wouldn’t like this as soon as a smelled it, but as i must try ALL THE TEAS! i tried to drink a bit of this cup. Honestly? this is just a cup of jasmine tea. gross. lol there’s nothing else going on here for me except jasmine. haha

Thanks missB This tea, while quite lovely reminds me more of a puerh than an assam/ceylon blend. There’s an earthy quality to this that is in line with the puerh i had this morning haha. It looks like missB saw this as closer to a lapsang…so maybe it’s just one of those teas that changes for everyone heh. Either way, this was a really nice cup of tea for this late morning. Though on that note, it seems insane that the day is barely half over and i’ve still got so many teas that i can drink!

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Thank you for sharing MissB! I have found the chili in this cup which is great but I do miss the amazing mango flavor I had in the last. Both were good in their own way though I think I preferred the first. Still very fun to try :)

I was feeling a bit adventurous so I broke out this unique tea sent to me by the awesome MissB (thank you!! ). As I readied myself for my first spicy sip, I was shocked to just get mango. Albeit an an amazing mango that is incredibly true to the sweet and luscious fruit, but where is the chili?! Every now and then I notice it at the back of my throat but it is faint and only noticeable because I am looking for it. For a tea named after Supernatural’s Lucifer, I was certainly expecting more heat. In fact, I was almost scared as to how spicy it would be but as it turns out, my fear was completely unwarranted as this is just like sipping on a delicious mango tea.

This is actually pretty good. Definitely chili and mango – there was a HUGE mango chunk in my sample from MissB that I needed to chop up for more even distribution. :)

The base isn’t too anything, which is nice. The mango sweetness and chili spice are readily apparent. I’m not getting a lot of pineapple, but there weren’t many pineapple pieces in my sample, at least compared to mango.

Thank you! This was a really interesting tea to try!

suppose i should be glad MissB hasn’t redecorated… seeing as judging by her current batting average she is living inside my brain, lol!

this was quite awesome. another sketchily described black tea, but with divine curls of fruit that i thought were pieces of apricot? of course with no description it was only a guess. mango, pineapple…. and YUP chilli, definitely chilli as it cools!

nice and smooth. no astringency. lovely with a bit of cream and agave…. B….. no moving the furniture, are we clear? =0P thank you for the lovely sample!

Oh right. Rooibos Earl Grey. Hmm.

Thank you for sharing, MissB. :) Sadly this isn’t for me.

It’s just so… rooibos-y. And woody. And the bergamot makes it so medicinal in a bad way, not a good way. Like cleaner.

Oh well. I’ll add some almond milk to this and drink it. I’m thirsty!

Really? This is an earl grey?!

Smelling the dry leaves, I couldn’t tell at all. Steeped, it’s barely bergamot. It blends well with the slight woodiness of the rooibos.

Really an unremarkable and light EG. Not too shabby, but I don’t think I’d seek it out, if only because it’s not super readily available.

(1.5 tsp per 12 oz)

Edit: Whoops! Thank you MissB for sharing this one with me. I have to admit I was curious about the company due to their fandom blends. Is this ‘Destiel’? IDK. But I’m drinking it and it’s pretty good!

Well this is not my favorite of teas but it is a sample I will certainly be able to get through (especially given that it is caffeine free and so I can drink it at any time). It also helps that it is named for the love shared between the most adorable angel and one of the most attractive hunters in the world :P. Thank you for sharing, MissB!

I am someone who will try something time and time again, even if I know I won’t like it. Seaweed for instance. I have tried sushi rolls probably a million times because “you can’t taste the seaweed in this one” and each time I put on a smile and say “not bad” when all I really want to do is spit it out. Well, same goes for tea. If someone is generous enough to share something with me, you can be damn sure I will try it. Such was the case with this particular tea. MissB was kind enough to send a sample my way so despite knowing I don’t typically love EG, I brewed up a cup.

Sipping on it now, it is definitely a cup of EG tea. Now I don’t hate the blerg as much as some others (I am looking at you, Sil) so I will be able to get through this floral/citrusy cup.. but this is certainly not a tea I would want in my cupboard, even if it is named for one of the greatest bromances on TV. Moreover, I quite like the rooibos used here as it is proving to be quite mellow and smooth. Nonetheless, I am grateful to get to try new things and Beastly Beverages is a company that has intrigued me so I am especially happy to taste some of their teas without having to pick up 100g first. Thank you MissB!!!!!

In other news, I have been accepted to another school program for next year!! Granted both progams that have accepted me are at the bottom of my list but they are better than nothing and now I have options. YAY!

My second tasting of the samples from MissB. I have recently discovered rooibos and have decided that I enjoy it. This was a wonderful tea for tonight, almost earthy. I have been happy to find that there are so many different teas to drink that are not caffeinated. I feel that I will be utilizing both caffeinated and un-caffeinated regularly.