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Sipdown! (80/393)
I have officially been a member of Steepster for three years! Woot woot! Happy birthday to me, happy birthday to me…
I wish this tasting note were a more positive one, but it’s the only tea I had all day because of work, so it’ll have to do. Even changing up the steeping parameters I wasn’t a fan of this one. The base is too astringent for me, and I actually got more chocolate notes than anything else. I got a very tiny hint of the whiskey I’d expected in one sip early on, but the base was overwhelming and not too pleasant either, drowning any sort of whiskey flavour that might have been lurking. I drank it black and struggled to finish it.
Preparation
I pulled this out of my focus box partially at random (after eliminating some teas I didn’t fancy) to drink while I watch some late night Doctor Who. I don’t remember if I’ve drank this before or not, which isn’t a good sign. To be honest, I’m not impressed. I’ll have to try different steeping parameters with the rest of my sample but for now I’m just getting regular, nothing special, not even average bitter black tea. I added rock sugar and milk and it bumped it up to ‘meh’, and then added a drop of actual whiskey and now I’m enjoying it! Hehehe…
Thanks, MissB!
Preparation
Purely cinnamon tonight. Cinnamon plain, cinnamon with sugar, cinnamon with milk. Chocolate was present in the scent but didn’t translate to the flavour except maybe a little while plain. Still no apple. I just got a last-minute message telling me that I’m working tomorrow, so I won’t be getting in that 50th sipdown tonight. Still, I have Friday off, so I can make it before Christmas at least!
Preparation
Another from MissB that I’m trying to move out of my cupboard. I noticed that in her tasting note she mentioned that this had too much apple for her tastes; well, I guess the apple flavouring doesn’t age well, since I can’t taste it at all! What I do get though is a whole lot of cinnamon and chocolate. And a weird hint of… cola? I don’t know what it is with me and tasting cola in teas that have none! It happens way too often, but this is the first time I’ve noticed it outside of Frank’s 52teas blends. The scent of the dry leaf was intensely cinnamon, but as soon as the hot water was added it transformed into definite cola-smell. It’s a lot less present in the final cup (with milk and 3/4 sugar) but I can still detect it a little. I could see little pieces of cinnamon in the leaf as it was brewing, so I had an idea I was going to get the full whack of cinnamon in the flavour, but I didn’t expect the chocolate to come through quite as much as it does. It’s not exactly the most convincingly natural chocolate flavour I’ve ever had in a tea, but it’s certainly not the worst either. I’m usually not a fan of chocolate in teas but here I don’t mind it – it works well with the cinnamon and stops it being the only dominating flavour. I definitely feel festive drinking it. Thanks for the try, Bonny!
Preparation
Sipdown 147/397 – I made it to 350!! Now to drink down another 250 so I can buy myself some more tea…
I’m almost certain my sample of this has been contaminated, either in the bag or from my infuser basket which I didn’t clean properly in between brews, as it doesn’t taste anything like it should or I remember it tasting. Weirdly enough it actually does have a slight kick, something I thought was lacking the last time based on the name.
Edit: After some Google-sleuthing I have found a tea from a now-defunct Canadian tea company called Steeps Tea which is likely the same blend under a different name – it has the same description and ingredients, only more elaborated on, and this one includes black pepper in the slightly elaborated description, which would explain the kick I’m getting now.
Preparation
Thank you to MissB for sending some of this my way.
At first I thought it was going to be a sort of chilli chocolate, but I think the ‘spicy’ refers more to spices than chilli. There might be a a hint of heat in there somewhere but mostly I’m getting ginger, cloves and cinnamon. The cinnamon I can get on board with, and cloves I can give or take, but unfortunately ginger is one of my most hated ingredients and it brings this tea down to just average for me. I do think that chocolate works well with rooibos, though, and especially with the cinnamon. It comes through quite well which I always think is rare in teas – I usually find it fake-tasting or weak. Overall I’ll drink the last of this but I won’t miss it when it’s gone or look for any more.
Preparation
I was staying in the area for a follow-up appointment with a doctor at Vancouver General, and this place was conveniently two blocks down both from my hotel and the hospital. It was earlier afternoon and I hadn’t had lunch so I ordered a slice of quiche and a pot of this tea. I love how they serve the tea in a little french press and you get to choose from a collection of pretty teas cups to drink your tea out of.
The quiche was decent, if not spectacular, but the tea was wonderful. It had a nice Ceylon base that complimented the oaky-peaty flavour of the whiskey. I had the first cup plain and the rest with milk and found that I enjoyed it equally both ways. Next time I’m back that way I’ll definitely buy some of the loose leaf tea.
A sample from Miss B. This is my second cup this morning, and both have been interrupted so I’m not sure that I’ve really done them justice. I used 1 tsp for each cup, in boiling water, for 3 minutes and then more like 5 minutes respectively. I added milk to both because they brewed up quite dark, and because that’s usually what I do with chai anyway.
Even with the extended brew time on the second cup, the flavour of this one is quite mild. It’s wonderfully creamy, which is something I love in chai, but there’s really not all that much in the way of spicing that I can taste. I do get hints of cardamom and a touch of ginger and clove in the aftertaste, but that’s really it. Mostly, it comes across as a creamy, smooth black tea with just a chai-like hint around the edges. It’s pleasant to drink, but I really like more kick from my chai.
Preparation
A sample from Miss B. This has got to be one of the more intriguing teas I’ve tried in a while, and I think only the second whiskey flavoured tea I’ve ever come across. I used 1 tsp of leaf, and gave it 3.5 minutes in boiling water. When I returned to the kitchen I really could smell whiskey, so it’s probably a good thing that I was the only one around at the time. There might have been raised eyebrows, given the conservative nature of the office I work in. I don’t need shock and scandal with my tea on a Friday morning, thanks. It had brewed up pretty dark in any case, so I added a splash of milk.
To taste, it’s actually pretty nice. It’s a lot less harsh in flavour than I was expecting, given the scent. The whiskey is very prominent, with oaky, grain-like notes, and it lingers in the form of a delicious warmth – almost a glow – in the aftertaste. The base tea is smooth and very lightly malty, with maybe just the tiniest hint of citrus. It works really well with the much stronger whiskey, creating a very mellow vibe overall. I’d seriously consider keeping this one around, especially during the winter. A surprise hit!
Preparation
A sample from Miss B. I’m very much a chocolate tea fan, so I’m more than happy to take any opportunity to try one that’s new to me. I used 1.5 tsp of leaf for my cup, and gave it 3.5 minutes in boiling water. I added a splash of milk.
I was looking forward to chocolate truffle in a cup – who wouldn’t? – but it’s really not that intense. The black tea is malty and sweet, but that’s mostly all I can taste. There’s a hint of chocolate, but I think potentially I’ve been spoilt by some of the other chocolate teas I’ve tried recently. I’m looking for MORE CHOCOLATE, and it’s not there to find. Still, though, it’s tea. My expectations should probably be more reasonable.
This isn’t a bad cup, by any means. The base tea is pleasant and there is some chocolate. Just not enough for me, clearly!
Preparation
Probably Butiki’s Two Friends. Otherwise, there are a lot of plain black teas I love that have strong chocolate notes, so probably one of those too rather than a flavoured chocolate tea. Mariage Freres French Breakfast was amazing, and Teavivre Fengqing Dragon Pearls. It’s hard to choose just one!
I prepared this tea without looking up what the name meant. After reading this information, I can only agree: one really taste the whiskey barrels. Be careful to not make the first steep too strong (the tea has a strong taste), like I did, because there was some harshness to the taste, which disappeared in subsequent steepings.
missB sent this one my way and i decided to try it out earlier today. We biked 45KM today and stupid me forgot to put sunscreen on, so my arms are a little burned. It means i haven’t really been in the mood for tea since we got back, but since i have work to do tonight before bed, i wanted to get a few more cups in before i have ice cream and liquor lol
This is a decent enough chai…still not going to beat out my favourite but the notes in this one are closer to what i tend to like in a chai. Thanks so much for sharing missb!
SSTTB
I cold brewed this tea overnight and the result is less than exciting. Mostly it is a woodsy rooibos flavor and then just as you are about to write this off completely you get teased with a touch of fruity sweetness. Still, it is not anything I plan to keep around though it was fun to try.
Another one i forgot to review and log before vacation and now it’s a sipdown! this is another tea from missB and while i like it on the whole, better than the chocolate truffle, i want this to be just a bit more lemony and a lot more tarty. This is more of a lemon black to me as it seems to be missing that je ne sais quois that would = tartilicious! that being said, it’s still a tasty cup and i’m happy to have tried it! Thanks MissB!
Apparently i forgot to log a few teas before i left for vacation. I had this then, and now that i’m back it’s a sipdown. For the most part this is an average sort of chocolate tea. I don’t get the rich decadent chocolate that i expect when something is a truffle. It’s not a bad cup of tea but i want MOAR decadence….not this wimpy chocolate :) Thanks for sharing missb!
missB sent this one my way. it’s an intersting tea…not really sure how i feel about it. I think i’m landing on the side of, thanks but no thanks… this has a quite distinctive taste…and i’d argue that once it cools a bit, it does start to taste more like a stronger alcohol…which, lets be honest, if i’m going for that, i might as well drink the alcohol! still, a unique tea to try. thanks missb!
last cup of this tonight because i need some calming teas AND because i promised myself i’d get to 150 before i was allowed to open my damn fine teas that arrived today…and i want to drink at least one tomorrow. soooo here i am lol rock ME like a hurricane!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6yP1tcy9a10
yes..that’s right. i went there.
(I’ve got the YouTube video in the background while reading this)
No Rulez! Rip_That_Package_Open … LIKE A HURRICANE =:-O
(sorry … lost my calm for a moment … video ended … i’m better now)
Sil, your rules remind me of Ms Theresa’s rules, that’s why me & little terri keep her locked in the closet (of my mind) most of the time ;)
this was another one sent my way by missB Funnily enough the chocolate smell/taste in this one is intense. I have to agree with her, that when something has spicy in the name, you expect it to be spicy…not sweet. This is chocolate rooibos with a hint of something else going on there. it’s still tasty, but it doesn’t have the kick i was expecting it to have. I’ll have to play with the steeping a little to see if there’s anything i can do to make it a littler punchier.
in other news? salted caramel criollo is amaaaaaazing….
Final Count: 149 (19 + 4 to go)
Still wondering what’s in here, so I just omitted the red chunks of whatever-it-is, and brewed it up. Hot, it really is lemon meringue pie – more thick creamy lemon than anything though. As it cools it got a bit metallic, although I’m still finding it delicious.
Preparation
Had this the other night after I went to Pekoe Tea Lounge, and there’s something off about it for me – perhaps some strawberries? Still waiting on an ingredient list, which will help me determine what the pinkish yellow soft things are in this brew. It does smelll like lemon meringue and taste (mostly) like it, minus anything crust-like, however I’m reserving rating it until I know more about this tea and try it again.
Preparation
Well, I oversteeped this last night, so there’s a definite woodsy rooibos taste and smell. Ick. I get that this supposed be a creamy, lemon-lime sort of tea (maybe) however it’s just meh for me.
Congratulations, Nattie! Time sure does fly, doesn’t it?
Congrats to ya!
Happy Steepster Birthday!
Thanks, guys! :D