Clipper

First one from tea bags received before Advent session from postcrossing forum tea tag and well, apart from fruit ones, this sounded great.

However it is a great dismal. First of all, the ingredients list is longer than needed. Why put other herbals in, when it could be plain rooibos with mint mixed in? Why adding fennel, so much (31 %) of blackberry leaves? It tastes just like an another herbal teas, which I had so many this month. That is not an offense against Sonnentor, as I bought that calendar with that in mind.

I could not notice anything from green rooibos and the peppermint is where? Ugh. It tastes so sweet as well and not breezy as their box (and wrapper suggests).

So good in theory, so bad in practice. I guess I need to find it elsewhere (but google search found maybe 3 companies, while at least one was UK based).

Day 12 & 24 of the Clipper advent calendar! Loving this one. The chamomile and cinnamon work really well together. I just left the teabag in, and thankfully the valerian never becomes noticeable. I really dislike the flavor of valerian, so I’ve struggled with it as a sleep/relaxation aid. Can’t guarantee that’s why I’m finding this blend relaxing, but I am finding it soothing after a long and stressful day. Great for a supermarket tea!

Day 10 & 22 of the Clipper advent calendar. I brewed this at 185f, for probably too long, but the long steep didn’t seem to do any harm. The raspberry flavor in this is absolutely on point. There’s also a savory sort of note that’s probably the white tea. It’s not very well defined but also doesn’t really feel like it’s missing? I don’t really go to supermarket bagged teas looking for complex base teas – that’s just not a very likely finding or realistic expectation. So with that expectation, I quite enjoyed this. If it were a flavored loose leaf, I’d probably be asking more questions about where the white tea base is. I would much prefer to enjoy it for what it is, though.

Day 9 & 21 of the Clipper advent calendar. This is basic but enjoyable. The lemon flavor is just the right level of tart and thankfully isn’t candy-like. The green tea base tastes almost like a gunpowder tea, which matches the lemon well. This would probably be good with honey; it was great with a sugar cookie.

Day 7 & 19 of the Clipper advent calendar. I’m annoyed because I distinctly remember drafting a tasting note somewhere, but now it’s gone/lost so I have to rewrite it from memory. So here’s the highlights: I really enjoyed this chai blend! Definitely more than Teeccino’s Dandelion Red Chai, which I had recently had. Not quite as much as Wissotzky’s Rose Chai, which is my all time favorite grocery store chai – but is caffeinated, whereas this one is conveniently caffeine-free. I remember cinnamon, ginger, and clove being the prominent notes. There was also something that my brain was processing as peppery, but there’s no pepper in here – I think it was just a bit too much clove. Would definitely have this again though!

This is Day 6 & 18 of the Clipper advent calendar. Now this puts me in my happy place. I really like the balance of chamomile and cinnamon here. It’s very soothing. The sweetness of the chamomile and spiciness of the cinnamon complement each other nicely, and there’s nothing gunking up the works to add a weird texture or flavor (looking at you, licorice, stevia, and whatever is making some of these berry-flavored Clipper blends so syrupy). I’d happily have this again and even seek this out if I were looking for grocery store teas to buy. Absolutely a winner.

This is Day 5 & 17 of the Clipper advent calendar. It tastes like orange and lemon fruit slices, which works better cold than hot. The sweetness is a little cloying when the tea is hot, but much less so as it cools. Definitely would favor this one as an iced tea.

This is Days 2 and 14 of the Clipper advent calendar. It’s so aromatic! Even my partner noticed the berry scent. Blackcurrant is definitely the dominant aroma and flavor, which is fun because it’s not necessarily the most common flavor in berry blends. The texture of this tea is maybe not for everyone though. It’s syrupy, in a way that I find pleasant when hot but a bit much cold. I made the last of it into a tea soda and that was a fantastic choice – highly recommend! 

Amongst my various and sundry advent calendars this year is the one from Clipper, which is super cute! I love the design! I like that it’s nice and compact – basically a fancy version of a regular teabox – but still has a nice variety and is thoughtfully designed. I don’t mind that it uses every tea twice (going from 1-12 and then repeating in the same order from 13-24), but the system designed for keeping it a surprise is suboptimal. Each individual teabag has a cute design and a number on it, not indicating what tea is inside, which is what you’d expect from an advent. BUT, once you open the pouch, the only way to know what kind of tea you’re drinking is to read the side of the box – where ALL of the teas are listed. So I have to put in extra effort to avoid spoiling the surprise, when it feels like they could have just printed the name of the tea on the tag? Presumably that would have been more expensive and that’s why they didn’t, and as inconveniences go it’s not the end of the world (especially at this price point), but it is annoying.

So! To the tea! Days 1 & 13 are Happy Mondays. I somehow didn’t know that white hibiscus is a thing, but it’s an ingredient in this blend! But also because of that, I don’t really know how to evaluate its presence here. I’m not picking up on any typical hibiscus flavor. There’s definitely a nice lemon flavor here, that maybe the hibiscus is contributing to? There’s also a pleasant spicy sharpness. It seems to come more from the pepper than the ginger, but I like it. Lemon pepper is a winning spice combo for a reason. Definitely better hot than cold, but not entirely undrinkable cold.

Ha, I hate the name of this tea, but it’s pretty tasty. I’m drinking it cold, and I get a nice berry flavor. The white tea is a bit negative and distracting, but overall, I’m having a nice time. The flavor tastes like blackberry flavoring, not authentic blackberries, but it’s okay because it offers a candy sort of vibe. It’s not tart at all, just interesting.

I didn’t have the organic one… I don’t think. Love that its fair trade and makes a pretty good cup, especially with milk and sugar. Solid bagged tea.

Thanks to tea-and-cats for this tea! It has a light strawberry flavor, and it’s pretty tasty cold. It’s not sour, but not super fresh tasting or sweet either. It sits in the middle and reminds me of other decently pleasant strawberry bagged teas.

I’d never heard of Clipper before but found it in the clearance rack of Marshalls/TJMaxx for $2 so I snagged it. Can’t pass up a Marshalls tea bargain, especially a bedtime tea.

I find that I need to steep it longer than the box recommendation to really find the flavors. The chamomile is there with slight hints of lavender and lemon after steeping for 5-6 minutes. I could do with a touch more lavender and might just pull some from my garden the next cup I brew. I definitely enjoy the pun based name. Not my favorite bedtime tea but not a bad one either.

April Sipdown Alphabet Challenge: “A” Tea
I really love the idea of this challenge it’s a great way to work my way through my cupboard of teas. I chose this one since I’ve been holding on to the last teabag of it and I don’t really need to? I also wanted something caffeine-free tonight after finishing a paper for class. It’s just a really nice nighttime bagged tea.

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.

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!

This is a good stuff. I repeat. This is a good stuff.

Consider this, it is a bag. Old school tea bag. Not a pyramid one, nor sachet. Typical boring, unbleached tea bag.

I wish I knew how long I was steeping it. But I guess it will be close to 4 minutes as I was helping my mother with connection of external screen to her laptop.

To the tea… as I said, probably long steeped. But the taste is great. A smooth, but brisk and fullbodied black tea base and nice bergamot flavour. The bergamot is strong, but not overpowering the base, and although it is natural bergamot flavouring it is a nice one and not stinging the tongue or anything else like that. I have experienced those in few previous bagged tea bags I have had. I will happily drink the other two I have received. Thank you Izzy!

Weather in my region. Over night about 5-10 cm of new snowfall, main road wet, but clear. Not sure if yay! Or ohh, I guess I need to take out my winter shoes.

This was another tea I received in a tea bag swap on Swapbot my partner said it was one of her current favorites. The packaging says it is also organic.
I had to add an entry for this tea on Steepster as I couldn’t find one.
The tea bag smells like a powdery strawberry flavor
Once Brewed the color of the tea is a very pretty reddish pink from the hibiscus. Flavorwise there is some tartness from the hibiscus flavor and also a very powdery strawberry candy like taste to it. It’s quite cloying even with the pop of hibiscus flavor. This honestly reminds me of those little plastic fruit shaped candies that were filled with flavored sugar powder. It’s not for me. I’m glad I got to try this without having to drink whole box of it hehe. I’m going to brave this cup but if it hadn’t been a swap item and I had bought it myself it would get dumped.

I really like Clipper tea, especially this blend. The tea is from India (Assam) and Ceylon (nowhere specific) and you can really get that in the flavour, even though it’s not complex or deep in the slightest. It’s still both malty, full-bodied, and fresh-flavoured. I also find it ever so slightly sweet.

Best with milk, but certainly nice without. It’s not the bitter EB type. I wrote up the full review (the long version of this note) and took a few pics for the blog https://www.immortalwordsmith.co.uk/clipper-english-breakfast-tea-review/

Side Note: It’s been over a year since I’ve posted here on Steepster… on one hand, I feel pretty bad for abandoning the site… on the other… what a time to come back! I’ve spent the past few hours catching up with the discussions – Steepster is actually getting maintenance/improvements now. That’s epic and about time. Hope everyone has been coping okay given the state of the world over the past year :)

Also, huge thanks to Martin for reaching out and getting me back on here!

A tea bag from Izzy for this gloomy morning.

Brewed one tea bag in my 300 ml cup and steeped for 3 minutes.

Pretty much common black tea blend, quite tannic and malty. There are as well some lighter, maybe citrusy, notes. Not terribly bitter, which is always a plus for bagged stuff.

I have a tea bag. I have no idea where I got it. From swap, from postcrossing or I bought it myself?

Anyway, caffeine-free tea for evening. Tomorrow another inventory check. Quite far (3 and half hours by bus).

Yep, just a rooibos. Nothing else, nothing more. Little extra points for being organic.
Do not expect much and you will be happy with this one. No bad notes, little honeyish taste, nice tea bag design.

Enjoyable :)