Friday Afternoon

Next up from the Studio sampler, this Totoro-inspired tisane.

It’s okay? All I taste are some musty dry leafy notes that I assume are coming from the olive leaf, and then the earthy flavor of burdock root. Not sure if the mulberry leaf is coming into play, since I don’t know what that tastes like.

Overall, this tastes like a very earthy and herbaceous tisane. I definitely don’t get the lemon or the pepper. The description mentions cereal milk, which is like… what? It’s not bad, just very musty and grassy, without much else going on.

Another Studio sampler blend. This one is inspired by Nausicäa, one of my favorites. Although, to be honest, I feel like I say that about all of them… XD

This one is just a bit meh. Very musty and herbal, and mostly tastes like tulsi with a bit of chrysanthemum pepperiness mixed in. The pea flower makes it steep up a dark, murky blue color. I assume that was added because of the color of Nausicäa’s outfit, but it’s a gimmick I could really do without, as it only adds to the musty notes.

Not a fan. I do like herbal tisanes, and tulsi, and chrysanthemum, but this one just tastes a bit muddled and musty to me.

Next up from the Studio sampler is this Spirited Away-inspired blend.

It’s an herbal tisane, a mix of lemongrass, apple, sage, and rose. The lemongrass is definitely the strongest flavor to my tastebuds, and somehow over it ends up tasting a bit like cucumber. I do taste a touch of sweet-tart apple, and then an undertone of savory sage. The rose comes in in the finish, and fortunately for me it’s quite light and fresh.

It’s nice enough, just not super exciting.

This one is quite interesting because it has wakame in it.

Dry, it smelled very dill-like to me, which was odd. I love dill, so I wasn’t mad at it lol. Steeped, it smells very strongly of seaweed, and I was a bit nervous to try it to be honest. I do like wakame in things, but I wouldn’t really want to just drink a wakame infusion if that makes sense.

Luckily, the taste isn’t super seaweedy. I definitely get those briny marine notes in the beginning of the sip, while the middle is more of the vegetal, beany green tea base. I do taste a hint of tangy sea buckthorn in the finish, but I wish there was much more, and the same with the nashi and orange. I think if there was a somewhat stronger fruit presence here, this would potentially be a reorder for me, but as-is I don’t think I would purchase it again. A fun and unique one to try though, and I do love Ponyo!

Tea creators and proprietors do put their hearts in what they do, so it breaks mine a little when I can’t find anything nice to say about their blends. Unfortunately, this one just tasted like dirty sock to me. The pumpkin just made the roo taste “off,” and the cinnamon just didn’t blend.

Starting off the Studio sampler with this Calcifer-inspired blend.

It’s a nice enough blend, a combination of lapsang, roasted oolong, and hojicha. Nice balance of the savory smoke with the cozy toasty notes. However, I wish I was tasting more of the spices – there’s cinnamon and turmeric here and I feel like I taste neither of them. I think a bit of cinnamon sweetness would really add some nice dimension here and would offset the more savory notes well.

Ah well. Still a tasty tea, but not something I would personally order.

Last one from the Fall sampler box!

I like the idea of this one – apple paired with turmeric and fennel. But in practice, I feel like there’s too much turmeric here, and it mostly takes over the blend. It ends up being a turmeric tisane with a touch of sweetness from the apple, and I’m not sure I notice the fennel at all.

All in all, didn’t love any of these fall teas. Hopefully the Ghibli sampler works out better for me! :P

From the Fall sampler.

I’m sad that I don’t taste the maple here. I can smell it a bit, if I really concentrate, but sadly it doesn’t translate to the flavor for me. Otherwise it just tastes like a generic hojicha, toasty and cozy but lacking some of the nuances of a nicer version.

Might have to try some hojicha with a drizzle of maple syrup one of these days… :)

Fall sampler strikes again!

This is a nice tea, I like that I can taste a bit of the pumpkin flavoring, which is not always the case. However, I really wish the cinnamon and ginger flavoring just wasn’t there. I feel like spice flavoring doesn’t taste at all like the real thing, and the cinnamon in particular always tastes like candy or spiced potpourri. Also it kind of defeats the purpose of having actual cinnamon and ginger pieces mixed in.

Anyway, I like it anyway, but I feel like I would love it if it were just pumpkin and vanilla flavors paired with actual spices. But obviously that’s just my personal preference. :P

Another one from the Fall sampler.

Tastes like the same apple flavoring as Harvest Spice, which to me tastes a bit like cucumber ha ha. Or maybe an underripe honeydew. I don’t actually get any caramel to speak of? The base is very light, both in color and in flavor, and actually reminds me of a darker white tea. Maybe it’s a Darjeeling? Not sure. It has a nice texture, with notes of hay and bread.

Anyway, drinkable and fine but not something I would order.

Another one from the Fall sampler.

Not loving this one. There’s a very earthy and woody quality to it, I assume from the rooibos. I don’t really taste pumpkin, unless that’s where the earthiness is coming from. The cinnamon tastes a bit like Red Hots – it’s not sweet, but it has that sharp cinnamon sort of flavor.

Doesn’t taste like pumpkin pie to me at all, mostly just sharp cinnamon and woody rooibos.

The first of many samples from my order! I was considering the Friday Afternoon advent, but it was just a bit too pricey for me, having never tried any of her teas. But then the Studio (Ghibli) sampler came back in stock, and of course I had to jump on it! And then the Fall sampler came along as well, not sure how that happened… ;)

So this is the first tea I’m trying from the fall box. I was surprised that the dry leaf smelled quite a bit like cucumber? And I’m actually tasting cucumber as well. I guess it must be the apple, but it’s tasting more like cucumber or perhaps honeydew to me, which is throwing me off a bit. Melon and warming spices is a somewhat odd combination ha ha, not bad but not what I was expecting.

So not one I would order. A shame because I quite like the level of spice here, it’s more of an accent to the fruit. Unfortunately that fruit is melon and not apple to my tongue. :P

My other free sample.

This is pretty tasty, the oolong base is nice and silky smooth. I get a touch of apple, but I really wish there was a bit more of it. The oolong itself is by far the strongest flavor, with just a slight apple crispness to it, and a hint of cream at the end of the sip.

Enjoyable for sure, but I think I would love it if the apple and cream were just a bit stronger. As-is, it’s mostly a plain green oolong to my tastebuds.

Free sample from my order.

It’s fine. I’m not really tasting much blueberry, which makes sense given there are just a few freeze-dried berries and no flavoring. Mostly I taste the white tea, which is quite fresh and almost vegetal, plus a bit of mustiness from the butterfly pea flower. Perhaps a hint of the vanilla.

Not a fan, and the inclusion of butterfly pea flower and glitter certainly doesn’t help my opinion. But you can’t argue with free, and I do appreciate when companies include samples!

Delicious! Tastes really smooth and there’s a perfect balance between the maple and spices. Wish I’d grabbed more of this one.

From the “Oh, I Forgot I Had That!” files.

Somehow I missed having to read “The Picture of Dorian Gray” in any of my high school or college literature classes. However, Victorian London is my happy literary place, and the puerh/green tea combo does capture the dank backstreets or the East End docks. It’s a very savory profile, even with the ginger and cornflower, but not an unpleasant one. No bergamot—the Gray reference is strictly Oscar Fingal O’Flahertie Wills Wilde.

I’ve dropped off this site for so long, but I just got back from the Seattle Tea Festival, and looking at my haul has made me realize I need Steepster’s cupboard tool just to keep track of it (along with all the little samples that have been accumulating in the drawers).

This is a very pleasant fall tea, the apple comes through beautifully though I don’t taste a lot of the caramel. Sweet and smooth.

The TTB has arrived today! So big, so many teas… no chance to try them all!
Tea #1

I have been today at work overtime of course. Blah.

So, when I have arrived home, the box was standing under the stairs and I brought it to my room. Indeed it is huge and after I have opened it, I found out that teas are sorted by types, which is great and took black tea bag. There I took a few random pouches and this tea sounded the most interesting from those.

I smelled the dry leaf and indeed the star anise is strong, but in brew it is much better.

I used two tea spoons and steeped it for 3-4 minutes and it was good. Nothing exceptional, but expected flavour profile was met. Star anise is the star here, black tea base is mellow and noticeable, sour cherries are fun giving additional fruity note and not too sour and all mellowed by cream (flavouring). Also, and not sure if it is that star anise or those sour cherries, there was some refreshing and little mint-like flavour. Nice start :)

Found this mug just a bit thin tasting with its delicate fruity lemon and berry notes, however the beautiful swirl of silver lusted dust in the mug was just lovely to look at as I sipped. It was also quite calming, and just made for a relaxing cuppa even if it was a smidge light.

Wow this is a gorgeous tea blend. The big fluffy tea leaves from the white tea base mixed with the pop of red from the dehydrated strawberry is really stunning. And then, of course, on top of that you have the light coating of silver lust dust throughout the whole blend that makes it shimmer so gorgeously as both dry leaf and when it’s steeped. I know luster dust is a gimmicky ingredient, but what can I say. I love the gimmick.

In terms of taste, this was so solid too. It’s basically like a lighter version of a strawberry lemonade profile. Bright and citrusy from the lemongrass with that juicy, tart berry undertone. The choice of white tea was smart because it lets those two flavours really pop while still adding some body and a nice, delicate floral undertone that compliments. I do find corn silk to be a weird ingredient. I couldn’t really figure out exactly what it was supposed to be doing other than getting past my basket straining and creating lots of sediment in the bottom of my mug. Distracting, but not disappointing. If that makes sense.

Final verdict? This may just be the first Pisces tea I’ve come across that I actually enjoy!

Since about Friday I’ve been feeling a little out of it and just haven’t had a lot of tea, but this is one of the few cups I made on Friday and it just hit good. Dark chocolate and deep, jammy red fruit notes that tasted like a mix of cherry and pomegranate. Definitely, as I think I said in my last tasting note, has a sort of Black Forest Cake kind of vibe that I really enjoy. But also, I loved the sort of roasty and earthy foundation that all those indulgent cocoa and fruit notes are layered over top of.

Geek Steep S39 – The Matrix

This is the tea I drank this our recording because I had just received my Friday Afternoon order that I’d placed following their break in during May.

Since this is from their podcast collection, I thought this was a fun tea to try for the first time on our podcast. The ingredients in the blend are what caught my attention here though, since I’m not super familiar with the podcast this is inspired by. My understanding is the podcast is very Greek Mythology inspired and I could see the ingredients in this blend reflecting the inspiration of the namesake really well.

The blend ultimately tasted a lot like Black Forest cake, and I really enjoyed it quite a bit!

This was a free sample and I didn’t measure the leaf so that’s on me for why it ended up slightly over-steeped. I can see a bit of the glitter and it’s pretty! The blueberry is relatively mild, and I couldn’t pinpoint that flavor specifically. The white tea is still quite pleasant but I wouldn’t order this one. It’s kind of boring and white teas just aren’t my favorite. Glad I got the chance to try it though!

This is just such a fun, whimsical feeling blend! I wasn’t sure how the peach/mint/caramel flavour would come across but it works surprisingly kind of well? I think the mint is the strongest, but it’s not dominating by any means. It’s almost like a Scottish “Caramint” crossed with, like, a Mint Julep made with peach puree? That probably sounds weird but it all sort of just works and for some reason I can’t explain it seems to perfectly convey the unpredictable fantasy vibe of your classic D&D campaign which is just… so spot on.