TeaTaxi

Sipdown (148)!

How’d everyone make out for Black Friday? I’m pretty proud of myself for sticking to budget; I ended up placing four orders total, though only with two different companies. I started with an order at both Liquid Proust and White2Tea and then later in the day caved and ordered more stuff from both sites that I’d considered getting the first time around and then passed up.

Finishing this one off hot; probably gonna be the last tea I drink tonight. The evening has really gotten away from me tonight…

There’s definitely something really familiar about this one to me; part of it is definitely that the berry notes and semi-tartness remind me a lot of DAVIDsTEA’s Bear Trap blend. That’s not too surprising though given the similar “theme” when it comes to the blend name and overlapping ingredients, though. There’s something else super familiar about it too that’s different though – and it’s killing me I can’t quite put my finger on it.

The flavour’s nice though: it’s tart but not too tart and I’m getting a lot of elderberry and currant, but not too much raisin which works for me. I definitely saw both the labrador tea and wintergreen in the leaf, but I can’t really taste either of them though and that is a bit saddening because I thought the inclusion of them in the blend was pretty unique/interesting. Doesn’t count for much if you can’t taste it, though.

I’ll need to do a price comparison between this and Bear Trap though ‘cause I was thinking about buying some Bear Trap for at home but if this is more cost effective then I could see myself getting this one instead of Bear Trap if I was gonna be placing a Tea Taxi order anyway. It’s hard ‘cause beating 50% off for staff pricing is challenging; but I’m not gonna be employed at DT forever since I’m only seasonal, so I’m thinking more long term stocking options rather than immediate ones.

thanks for sharing with me VariaTEA so this is pretty muted down…and for whatever reason, i’m getting a MINT flavour in this..which is just a little weird. this isn’t bad, but it’s pretty average.

Sipdown (822)!

Finished this off a few minutes ago – it was cold brewed perfection. This sipdown was a LONG time coming, in fact it may have been the oldest rooibos tea in my stash? I know i picked it up years ago.

The flavour definitely changed as the tea aged, and it acquired an almost sour/acidic vinegar like undertone to the mango flavouring in the blend as it deteriorated. Uniquely, I kind of grew more fond of the tea as this note became stronger. It reminded me of the same sweet but acidic and tangy note that kombucha often has, and it was for that reason I never tossed out the tea or rushed through finishing it off.

Still, I feel accomplished having now drank it down and cleared out a tin from my stash.

Late night cuppa.

Kind of a tangy, more sour mango – it’s been a REALLY long time since I last visited this tea, so I don’t remember off the top of my head if it’s always been so tangy/tart but I did enjoy it regardless of potential inconsistencies to past experiences.

Sipping on this one now; I’d sort of forgotten that I still had it but when I was digging through my tea tins I saw it pushed way in the back and knew that I needed to brew up a cup! It’s nice; very smooth and fruity. Tastes more like a sour/tangy mango than a realistic mango taste though. Actually, the more I think about it the more I feel like it’s almost a sort of Mango Kombucha flavour!? I’m feeling it, though.

Possibly last tea of the night.

I enjoyed the fruity teas I had earlier in the day so I decided to pull another one to sip on tonight. I’ve had a lot of caffeine today though, so I went with rooibos. This is hitting all the right notes for me tonight; it’s sweet and fruity with just a bit of tangyness to it. Very, very mango heavy with a bit of comforting honey/graham kind of woodyness to the undertones from the rooibos base. Smooth, and pleasant!

Glad this is the one that jumped out to me when I was picking my tea!

Cold Brew!

I actually found myself really craving the strong, tangy mango notes of this tea so I prepped this one as a cold brew. Of course, by the time it was done I wasn’t craving that mango note nearly as strongly – but it was still really good. Very bright, vibrant flavour overall if not a little bit artificial, and a touch woody from the base.

Late night cuppa from yesterday while going through some new music!

I just really found myself craving the tangyness of this tea, and it happily delivered. The cup was full of juicy, bright and tangy mango notes with just a hint of sourness. Very tropical and refreshing. It really, truly satisfied that craving I was experiencing.

Song Pairing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HDV679O_tZE&index=8&list=LL1M1wDjmJD4SJr_CwzXAGuQ

Hot tea.

This wasn’t bad as a hot tea, but the rooibos was very strongly wood-y and had a bit of a peppery kick to it as well. Like, black peppers – not spicy ones. Same sort of tickle in your throat, though. The mango reminded me of Tang a little bit? Kind of artificial, sugary and juice like. But, you know, if Tang was mango flavoured instead of orange.

Still enjoyed the cup overall – but I’m starting to get the impression that the rest of the 50g I originally purchased will be the last of this one for me. It’s not going to become a cupboard staple or anything like that.

Song Pairing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tp1ZluX4aYs&list=LL1M1wDjmJD4SJr_CwzXAGuQ&index=5

Anyone else fallen into the That Poppy/Mars Argo/Titanic Sinclair rabbit hole of conspiracy? I fell into it a few weeks ago, and now I’m just fucking obsessed. The entire thing is just fascinating, and exactly like unraveling a puzzle and that mystery/piecing the clues together element is totally what hooked me.

But the music produced by both is just fucking phenomenal as well – and that’s just the cherry on top of what was already an intriguing and confusing sundae.

I think I ended up drawn to this particular pairing though because of the whole “commercial”/manufactured element that the Poppy Project has and the fact I’d already felt like this tea had a bit of a Tang/manufactured sort of vibe. And on that note…

A “commercial” done by Poppy: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0qG4mS3G0K0

And one by Mars & Titanic: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gDRr-kAlycs

Which one makes you want to buy the product more?

Cold Brew!

So, this is from my first Tea Taxi order. I have to say, I was quite surprised when the mailman delivered this one a few days after my ordering it because I hadn’t even received shipping confirmation. That’s efficiency.

The dry leaf for this one is actually really potent smelling: the mango is almost nauseatingly in your face and fragrant/juicy. Thankfully, the brewed up liquor is more toned down. Although, this was still full bodied and juicy despite being a milder version of the dry leaf smell. Very clearly mango and not just generic tropical fruit. It did have a bit of that “pine” sort of flavour you can taste in under ripe mangoes; though I didn’t mind that. The base is not maksed in this blend so if you don’t like rooibos you ARE going to taste it…

But nice overall for a simple, fruity rooibos with clear flavour. I liked it well enough.

Had this yesterday rather rushed and I remember not really enjoying it that much. I wish I could remember what precisely I found offputting but in the rush of things I just recall taking a sip and making an ugh face at it.

Iced Tea Sipdown (377)

My brother asked to make this iced so I did and split it between us. He enjoyed it well enough but said it fell flat at the end so I topped his with some tangerine lemonade. Mine I am drinking plain and I like that you can taste the banana in this one but I do see where my brother can see this needing something more.

Sipdown

Banana starts the sip and lingers throughout. It gives way for some cherry which quickly devolves into hibiscus. In the aftertaste, all flavors come together as a sort of mix of banana medicine and fruit punch with the slightest touch of cough medicine. That sounds weird but this is a nice alternative to other fruit blends and one I think I’d like more of.

Dry, this smells like fresh baked caramel cookies. Brewed up, the liquid looks like melted butter given its golden yellow color. I steeped this for 30 seconds less than recommended and the base is more muted than they usually are in Tea Taxi green teas. There is still a slight vegetal element lingering at the bottom of the sip. Add to that a cookie flavor in the middle and then gooey caramel on top. At first it definitely captures a delicious butter cookie but as I continue to drink the other elements build which creates an unwanted distraction from the intended flavor. It’s alright and I probably wouldn’t turn down another cup but I am also not heartbroken that this is gone.

Sipdown (207)

So I thought I could slack off making this and throw the leaf and the milk into the breville milk frother and hope for the best. Unfortunately as soon as it started swirling, it stopped and made a terrible noise so I dumped the whole thing into a pot and stirred this on the stove for a while.

This chai is not as good as the last one I tried by Hope & Glory. Cinnamon is strong here and there is a faint ginger but not as much as I would like. Honestly it is kind of one note and bland.

Sipdown

This tea might have also fallen victim to the mattress turning spillage of the evening. I did get a few sips in beforehand and to me this had a very fruity perfume type flavor. Sweet, generic fruit at the front of the sip that is quickly followed by a bitter, drying taste. Definitely not a fan so I think the spilling was actually to my benefit.

Sipdown

Last night I wanted tea but my stomach wasn’t feeling the best so a simple mint tea seemed like a good call.

Daily cold brew and it was fresh, cool, and minty. Really nice but not something I need stocked because it’s not really anything special or unique. Still, it’ll be nice while I have it.

I ordered this sample because I was the most curious about the raspberry, yet kept putting it off until I got down to my very last sample because I wasn’t anticipating tasting the jasmine in this, and wasn’t sure what to expect with all the spices in here. Weird combination.

But as soon as I opened up the packet, I wasn’t looking forward to it for an entirely different reason: the dry leaf smelled strongly of artificial raspberry. Juice crystals maybe? Or perhaps like a calorie-free raspberry drink I might have had that is loaded with artificial sweetener. You know, that kind of raspberry.

It ended up tasting like that too. The base was delicate so I can’t comment on that, but all I basically tasted was fake raspberry. Oh, joy. Surprisingly no jasmine. No jasmine! How is that even possible? I can sniff that stuff out like a bloodhound. Even the spices were nowhere to be found. What? Maybe my sample size didn’t get spices in with the mix, or simply not enough to compete with the raspberry flavouring.

I believe that concludes my TeaTaxi journey. I still have a few 50g pouches left to polish off, many of which are nearing the end of their lives, anyway. I sadly didn’t find too many I really liked, or liked enough to have the desire to have again, but it was still an interesting experience.

What a disappointing Kashmiri Chai. Sure, I wasn’t expecting it to be nearly as good as my beloved Remedy’s, but come on, give me something at least semi-complex. Alas, this is mostly cinnamon hearts candy. The almonds pop through a bit once the tea has cooled substantially, but even then, not enough to make their presence even worthwhile. The other spices are hardly there too. Maybe a whisper of clove but no cardamom. I wish.

I’m down to 39! But technically not because I just bought some tea at Winners and will need to enter it into the system when I find the time. Must work on university-related stuff too. And still need to watch the most recent TWD episode. Bah!