T2

Sample from VariaTEA – second time i’m having this. It’s not a bad cacao tea but anytime these things call themselves “hot chocolate” i just laugh because the brew is always too watery to really make me feel like hot chocolate. And if i wanted hot chocolate, i’d probably just make some for real :) But this was tasty and enjoyable nonethless :)

Starting my day with a cup of this. I’ve been desperately trying to sipdown Adagio’s Candy Apple black tea the past few days (the bottom of the tea tin is in sight) but I really need a break from it.

This Sencha tea came in a selection box, so I don’t have much of it to drink. It’s still as good as when I first reviewed it though.

It’s fresh and grassy in aroma, with a hint of astringency and sourness that you get from lemon juice.

Once brewed, hay-like notes emerge and the sweetness intensifies. Sugar snap peas and dew-damp morning grass.

As I pointed out in my review, this is not the only Sencha tea that T2 offer. This one is labelled “Sencha” while another is labelled “Japanese Sencha” which kinda suggests that this one isn’t actually from Japan. So, is it still Sencha? It’s something I ponder as I sip this cup.

Initial blog review for this tea was in early December: https://www.immortalwordsmith.co.uk/t2-sencha-tea-review/

Sipdown! (73)

This came from Courtney, I believe by way of VariaTEA.

So I tried this straight the first time around, and it’s just not my thing. A bit generic with malt and metallic notes. Only a slight bitterness with a short steep time, and a tiny bit of astringency. It’s not bad by any means, and someone who likes more standard breakfast-type or builder’s blends would probably enjoy it. I don’t happen to be that person, so it’s just okay for me.

So for my second pot, I pulled out a little baby creamer jug that was at the back of one of the cupboard, and sipped this tea with milk. It’s not something I often do, but it made it quite fun and tea party-like, which I really enjoyed. I didn’t go so far as to add sugar, because the thought actually grossed me out a bit. (And yet it doesn’t in lattes? Clearly I make no sense…)

So thanks, ladies, for the fun lazy Sunday morning tea time! :)

Ugh this one is way worse than their spellbound cider. The main scent is anise. The spices actually taste pretty good, but the fruitiness turned out so strange. It’s so artificial and has this weird sourness, while also being sort of thin. Yeah this one is sort of gross. I don’t know what they’ve done wrong. I shared a cup with my sister, and she ended up pouring hers out because it tasted so strange. Other reviews aren’t this negative, so perhaps my sample was from a bad batch.

Mastress Alita’s sipdown challengeTuesday, January 19th: National Popcorn Day Tea #1

Six days since I posted a tea note!  (Thanks, freezes.)  This is from AJRimmer so a genuine thank you for the tea.  haha.  This blend has plenty of buckwheat which apparently looks like popcorn, but it certainly somehow smells like fresh popcorn!  Sadly the taste isn’t as strong as the fragrance.  It’s slightly popcorn on a weak black tea.  And I thought I used a lot of leaf so the flavor definitely should have been stronger than this.  The description also mentions caramel but I don’t notice that at all. It’s not bad but not something I would be gravitating towards to steep up.  The second steep is also bland. 
Steep #1 // 1 3/4 teaspoons for a full mug // 19 minutes after boiling // 2 minute steep
Steep #2 // just boiled // 4 minute steep

#tiffanys2021sipdown Tea #21

Cold brew pitcher. Just kind of a non descript fruity cold taste. Finished last 8 oz this morning Tuesday 1/19. My t2 order arrived yesterday (I get teas from t2 once or twice a year on sale) so need to find more of the older t2 still in my collection.

#tiffanydrinkstea #tiffanys2021 #tiffanysfaves #tiffanyinthe614 #tiffanysteasipdown #sipdownchallenge

More teaware arrived from DAVIDsTEA today and my Black Friday order from Happy Turtle Teas. That got me excited to get into some new things. I wanted a latte and the T2 teas that arrived earlier this week were in large quantities and definitely latte flavors. This is a little thin so I could see it benefiting from a bit of whipped cream and chocolate drizzle. Other than that, it’s not bad.

This tastes like green apple candy. It also has a bit of an herbaceous flavor and that little bit of throat weird flavor that cider brings that I’m personally not a huge fan of. I liked it much more cold. If you’re a cider person, you might like this. I think it’s all right, tasty enough to drink the second sample from the pack. It grew on me with the second mug. I’d really enjoy a tea with just that green apple flavor minus the cider burn.

Advent Day 24

This has a very effervescent cola like scent to the dry tea! While steeping it smells like cookies with cinnamon. No, ginger! Cinnamon ginger? This tastes like an almost fruity gingerbread tea! I’m really liking this one and it surprises me after a month of trying mostly underwhelming teas! The flavor level on this one is nice and intense too, almost a tingly level of spice without going into a grossly concentrated territory. It’s very warming. I’d think about buying this one if I found myself at a T2 store along with Go Go Goa.

Advent Day 23

It’s green. It’s rosey. I added some soy creamer to liven it up and now my cup kind of tastes like banana. ¯\(ツ)/¯
Cold steeped.

Advent Day 22

Lots of herbs in this one. Kind of tastes like my spice rack. Lavender, mint… maybe oregano. A little fennel to sweeten it. It has a dry feel to the taste and leave a dry feeling in my mouth. I feel really eh about it.

Advent Day 21

Mango and cucumber? Huh! Okay. This has a really juicy ripe mango flavor, but there is also something flat and alkaline like hidden in there. Strong mango on the sip and the more demure cucumber comes out at the start of the finish and then disappears letting the mango have center stage again. I mostly like this tea. I wish the samples were bigger so I could try this cold steeped too because I bet it would be fantasticly refreshing cold.

Advent Day 20

Two sips and I passed the mug. Nothing but the unpleasant metallic tang of hot hibiscus. Should have tried cold steeping this one, but I wanted something warm to drink.

Advent Day 19

The wrapper for this is amusing. It has in all caps “CONTAINS LICORICE” or however you spell licorice in Australia. Liquorice? It’s a minty licorice blend. It could be any one of a ton of minty licorice blends and doesn’t stand out in the crowd. It’s a nice cup, but it doesn’t have anything that sets it apart.

Advent Day 19

What is this?! A “like” and a “tweet” button on this tea profile page?! This is new. I even reloaded the page to make sure it wasn’t a glitch. They kind of overlap each other in a strange way. Anyways… tea!

Breakfasty? Check. Cinnamon? Check. It’s kind of pastry like in the finish, not quite yeasty, but some breadiness is in there. The cinnamon is really light and there is a bitterness on the sides of my tongue at the back of the sip. The finish is kind of cinnamon/ashy/bready. As it fades I’m left with light bitter again that makes me want to wash my mouth out with the nearest thing, which is this tea, which starts the cycle again. I don’t think the flavors would hold up to cream. They are subtle and… well… boring. This is a big fat nope.

Advent Day 17

Vanilla breakfast tea. It’s very smooth, has a good vanilla flavor and is super easy to drink without any cream, but it gets a little boring after several sips in.
Out of all the time I’ve spent in Australia, I never made it to Melbourne and have no idea why this tea would be a reflection of it. I hear it’s a lovely city.

Advent Day 16

They went easy on the hibiscus. ‘Preciate that. It’s not even pink when brewed. Starts off lemon sour and sweet in the sip where I can start to make out peach. The finish starts off very peachy with artificial sweetener. I’d have guessed stevia, but it isn’t listed in the ingredients. Maybe it’s whatever they hyper sweetened the dried fruit with? As the too sweet okay-ish peach flavor winds down I’m greeted with the sudden taste of ash. Like someone burn a peach to ashes? Luckily the ash only lasts 5-10 seconds and then fades leaving me with the vague flavor of dried peach, wondering WTF just happened and sipping again to relive the horror.

Prepared by cold steeping for several hours. Maybe there is a sweet spot in there where it’s more palatable.

Advent Day 15

This was the tea I was most interested in trying when reading what teas were in this advent. I should have read the reviews here. Opening the package I smelled raisins. Hmmm. Once steeped I’m trying to smell nutmeg, but I get more of a creamy scent instead. When it sip it’s…. it’s…. what is this?! There is a sour taste strong in the front of each sip that lingers. The finish is nice in comparison. Much more mild and I think I can imagine custard like flavors here. I don’t understand what they did to this tea, but it is a far cry from eggnog.

Update: Tried adding creamer to see if it would improve and it only made it worse! Dump the cup! Dump the cup!

Advent Day…. 13?

Didn’t drink this on the day of and I’m pretty sure it was from yesterday. I cold steeped this, the scent just seemed to be calling for it. It’s a little astringent, but I bet that would go away if I were to have it on ice and dilute it. It does have a tasty strawberry flavor to it that is very bright. Cream would probably be delicious in this as well. As good as this is, it doesn’t seem any different than any other green strawberry tea I’ve had. I think I had a tin from Kusmi and one from Lupicia and maybe somewhere else. Some other flavor combo would have made it stand out to me. Cinnamon, maybe a chocolate, almond… something to make it more dynamic.

Advent Day 14

What is this?! Little genmaicha popcorn puffs? It smells of creamy coconut and pandan. Smells the same once steeped. I just finished eating a waffle with peanut butter, so my taste buds are a little overwhelmed. I get the roasty light gen flavors and the coconut. The pandan presents as a creaminess too. It’s another very Indonesian flavor combo. I’m liking this, but it’s missing something that elevates it to amazing.

Advent Day 12

Ooooo, I’m kinda digging this one! It tastes like Indonesian food. Lots of cardamom. It’s almost like a curry without the curry. All the other spices are there. It’s almost savory, but could be dessert if sugar was added. I would totally drink this tea again. I bet it would be great with a coconut creamer!

Advent Day 11

Yup, there is ginger in there! It dominates the sip and it’s only at the back of the sip and into the finish that the lemongrass comes out and takes over. This is great if you want a ginger/lemongrass combo, but is that all there is in it and to it? I feel like there are a lot of options for this exact flavor profile and this one doesn’t do much to differentiate.

Advent Day 10

What’s this?! A T2 tea that I’m liking?! I was reading the description and wondered what it is that makes them think of an EG as French. I was surprised to find a fruity note beyond the berg. I was guessing lychee and was pleased to see in the Steepster page that I was right! I was also surprised that hibiscus was listed in the mix! I don’t even taste is which is exactly how I like my hib! There are some honey notes at the very end of the sip that lingers. The flavors are bright, but not overwhelming. This is one that I’d actually buy! So far one in 12 for me and T2.

Advent Day 9

I’m trying to smell date. I’m trying to taste date. I smell something that I’m hoping will be delightful, but isn’t coming through in flavor. How am I striking out on all of the T2 teas?! I’m changing tactics here and added some maple syrup. I can imagine dates much more clearly now. Right before the maple flavor kicks in at the end of the sip, I can taste date. No idea if it’s sticky and it still isn’t quite delightful, but it’s enjoyable. Starting to wonder if I just need to dump a bunch of sweetener in their teas to get the flavors to present. :/