Chroma Tea

Geek Steep S2E26 – Ms. Marvel

Cold Brew!

I’ve been basically patiently waiting for this Geek Steep episode since our first season. It was one of the first things I put on my list to eventually explore, and to my delight it ended up being suggested by a viewer so I didn’t even have to use one of my coveted fandom slots to get to talk about! (Thanks Jackie Allen for the fandom suggestion!)

I chose this tea for my recording tea for very little reason other than the name of the tea makes me think of super heroes. It’s not really a favourite tea or a least favourite tea of mine, but this was a good excuse to dig out the sample. It’s got a really lovely bright and tart top note with some stand out schisandra notes. It’s also weirdly just a little bit savory, and I can never put my finger on exactly why – but not enough so to completely throw me off.

Just finishing a mug of this tea right now – but it’s taken me over an hour to get to the bottom of the mug (very slow, for me!) because I keep putting off sipping on it. I’m just not vibing with the flavour; there is a lot going on! The top of the sip is cloying and overly licorice sweet with both a distinct hibiscus and a general “red berry” note, but the finish is almost brothy in its umami and spice notes and the mix of that unpleasant fruit sweetness with the soup-y finish is a hard pass for me today…

Gonna have to retaste to better capture thoughts because, when I steeped this up, I let it cool down to much so I only tasted it at just above room temperature – but my snap impression based on that wasn’t super positive. I found it really sharp and the fruit more in line with a sour, underripe strawberry/red fruit profile rather than a pleasant, tangy/juicy ripe berry note – combined with the weird juxtaposition of the allspice and coating rose and I just didn’t mesh with this blend.

Another snuck in tea early advent season…

I didn’t actually remember much what this tasted like the first time I had it, but Marika drank it for one of the podcast episodes (She-Ra) and she spoke really pleasantly about it so I wanted to revisit. There’s a lot going on, but all of it is pretty soothing and comforting. I tasted a bunch of spearmint, but mixed with roasty/oxidized mineral oolong notes, cacao nib, and a thick fennel undertone that seemed to “lift” the sweetness of the spearmint.

I… actually agree with my initial rating of 78, even though I don’t really remember that cup…

Holy marigolds!!

I got my Chroma Tea order earlier in the week; Aquamarine is the first tea I’ve tried so far and my jaw dropped when I saw all these intensely beautiful full marigold blossoms in it – what a killer visual!

It also tastes quite nice too; The unique and refreshing combination of woodier, but still a little spicy, cinnamon & spearmint was both really playful and really grounded; sort of a “hot and cool” kind of vibe. Fennel is sometimes chewed on as a breath freshener, and I liked the more herbaceous sweetness is contributed to the blend combined with the minerality of the oolong that is used as part of the base. The cocoa was very light and a little bit bitter, but I did think it contributed some depth and body. This is certainly a more sophisticated approach to a tea blend, & I’m excited to taste through the rest!

Photos: https://www.instagram.com/p/CBs3urkABox/

Song Pairing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mC1XZZxcJKU