Three 6 Tea

Sipdown (1951)!

Finishing this one off as a midafternoon cuppa and bit of a caffeine break. It’s extra pear forward today with a juicy tartness to kick off each sip, though still grounded by the cinnamon notes. Definitely very cozy, very autumnal and a pleasant send off for the tea. In the long run I don’t know if this will be a memorable blend, but it’s been a nice exploration this last week.

Currently sipping on this… rather cautiously.

The cautious part is because I just had a dentist appointment and half my face is still heavily numbed, so this is definitely a gentle sips situation so I don’t drool hot tea all over myself. The flavour is lovely though. Tonight it’s reminding me of DT’s Pear Blossom in the sweet and fruity direction of those orchard fruit notes, but mixed with cinnamon. Still cozy and autumnal despite how bright and juicy the pear reads.

Sipped on this one near the end of my work day today.

This is the kind of tea that I feel like I want to enjoy more than I actually do. Firstly, both the cinnamon and the pear are present and the combination of the tea is very pleasant with a good sweet/spicy balance that reminds me a little of baked or poached pear. The pear leans every so slightly dewy and floral, but it’s just bright and juicy so it works! The big thing is the hibiscus. It’s not aggressively tart or offensive but it does just feel really out of place, and the combo of cinnamon and hibiscus really makes my brain automatically go to mulled wine or DT’s infamous holiday blend Sleigh Ride. Very wintery/cold weather and seasonally bucketed. Instead I wish there was just much more pear overall. No hibiscus. I’d even take apple over the hibiscus.

So could be better and could also be worse. Maybe I would enjoy more in the latter half of the year…

Matcha Latte Sipdown (220)

Thank you Roswell Strange for the chance to try all the matchas at Three 6 Tea. They all had a distinct sweet taste and this was no exception. In fact it was the standard matcha with a Candy blueberry aftertaste. Not much pineapple or coconut. Nice but not special.

Matcha Latte Sipdown (193)

J is not for…Blueberry Vanilla

This was quite sweet today. It was basically very sweet blueberry candy. I wasn’t feeling that so this was meh for me. I’m still grateful for the chance to try it though so thank you Roswell Strange!

Matcha Latte Sipdown (200)

Taking a break from my alphabet teas to celebrate #matchamonday. Check out the pic here: https://www.instagram.com/p/CRPPdbAgeMQ/?utm_medium=copy_link

Thank you Roswell Strange for sending this one my way! It was one I was most excited for among the Three 6 Tea options so I held back on having it first. However, it seemed like a good one for today.

Three 6 Tea has a distinct caramel flavor which is very buttery. White chocolate it also buttery. So this is super buttery and sweet. It makes me think of the caramel popcorn matcha that Red Leaf Tea used to make, which is nice since I really enjoyed that. It is a little on the sweeter side for my tastes though and so I don’t know if I would buy this again. It’s got a smooth texture though and if you want a sweet caramel corn drink, this could be a good option.

Iced Matcha Latte Sipdown (197)

I hoped for the best here but mostly it ended up being sweet matcha. No distinct pina colada flavor to be found. Still fun to try though so thank you Roswell Strange!

Sample from VariaTEA. This one was pretty tasty. Not as “pear” like as i want it to be but still a good solid tea. I’d need to see about other things this company does but would consider picking up a little more of this in the future – though more in the fall than other months.

Sipdown! (63 | 267)

Got a little baggie of this in a swap. I thought I would try it iced with oat milk, but clearly I used too much milk, because it doesn’t taste like much of anything.

I get a bit of cream or vanilla, sweetness from the sugar, and some chalkiness. It’s green in color, but I don’t taste the matcha at all. Definitely no bergamot.

Well, I guess that’s my bad. And now I’m sad that I wasted the oat milk. Maybe I’ll go add some hojicha powder to try to salvage it…

Sipdown! (46 | 250)

Earl Grey Crème always reminds me of Courtney now, because she loves it so much.
Hi Courtney! (waves)

This is pleasant enough. It has a nice balance of bergamot and vanilla, though the flavoring overall is perhaps a touch heavy for my tastes. The vanilla tastes fairly natural and a touch creamy. It’s hard to taste much from the base because of the strong flavoring.

Added a touch of milk to the second half of the cup, since I just wasn’t feeling the strong bergamot right after lunch. Plus it was a good excuse to use one of my oft-neglected tiny creamer jugs. :3

So this isn’t a tea I would personally order, as I’m not a lover of strong bergamot. But it seems a perfectly nice Earl Grey Crème for those who prefer their Earl Grey strong.

Iced Sipdown (253)

L is for…Lemonatcha

This is the second Lemonade-inspired matcha I am having in honor of the “L” day falling on #MatchaMonday. Like the other, this also came from Roswell Strange so thank you for both!!

This one specifically instructed making it as an iced tea. While I considered making it the exact same way as Lemonade Matcha, I decided I would rather have the sample as it is recommended to be had by the company. That said, it was also made a few hours ago and the ice is gone now. So maybe I am having them the same way after all…room temperature. Also from sitting, the cup has a clear gradient of clear water on top and dark powder at the bottom.

This one is much more my speed than Lemonade Matcha was. This is much sweeter and closer to lemonade. The matcha is secondary to the flavoring. Granted, its a preference thing since I know some people prefer to taste matcha first and then flavoring but this is much more to my personal tastes. It’s sweet, refreshing, and has a great lemonade flavor that is just so bright and delightful. The last mouthful is the only time I tasted matcha at all and it was because I got the settled powder. Even still, it was mostly hidden by the sugary lemonade flavor.

Sipdown (278)

I had a part of the other giant cookie today so I decided to make a plain matcha in honor of #matchamonday but being aware I was about to be in flavor overload. Check out a picture of the cookie/matcha here: https://www.instagram.com/p/CMu9KZWB0oH/

Unfortunately, I don’t actually enjoy plain matcha that much and this is no exception. This is bitter and while I hoped for the best, its too grassy and I am not a fan. It could be me. It could be the matcha. Either way, I was happy to try this and I am super grateful to Roswell Strange for sending this my way (thank you!!), but I do not need more of this.

Iced Matcha Sipdown (295)

It’s a nice, sunny day and it’s warmed up quite a bit where I live. We decided to go for a walk and when I got back, an iced tea sounded good. These lemonatcha matchas seem like they should be iced so I pulled this one.

This one is sweet but a little chalky. It’s got a fake peach flavor and not much of the lemonade element. Overall, this one is a bit of a let down. Though I’m super happy to have tried it since it was certainly one I would think I would like. Thank you Roswell Strange for the chance to try before I bought!

Matcha Latte Sipdown (303)

Another easy sipdown since these matcha bursts are single serving.

I have decided I like Three 6 Tea’s earl grey flavoring in their matchas, however, I think that’s because it has never been overly strong. As someone who is picky about their bergamot and not a huge lover of it, a subtle note of it is preferred and that’s what I am getting here and in the other earl grey matchas I have had from this company. What I find to be positive, I imagine would be disappointing for others.

With that said, the lack of bergamot mostly means this is just a sweet vanilla matcha, with some citrus top notes. Basically, I think this is what I would have liked DAVIDsTEA’s vanilla matcha to be considering I didn’t love the DAVIDs take on that flavor.

Thank you for sending this my way, Roswell Strange! It was fun to try and not one I would have picked for myself but enjoyable nonetheless. I am glad I tried it because I liked it more than I thought I would but at the end of the day, I don’t need more of this one.

Matcha Latte Sipdown (301)

I like this. I don’t get much earl grey or matcha, which for me is a plus but for others could make this lacking in some ways. It’s got a sweet blueberry vanilla flavor. It’s not true blueberry but candy blueberry. Honestly, it reminds me of the DAVIDsTEA blueberry matcha with a touch of vanilla creaminess.

Sipdown (304)

Thank you Roswell Strange for sending this my way and also for listening to my rant about wanting to be lazy and use the matcha maker but thinking all the flavors I had left would be better as a latte or iced. I narrowed it down to either this or Blueberry Vanilla that would work as a plain matcha and clearly went with this one.

I am happy with it. These matchas are all clearly sweetened so the peach flavor that comes through is like candied peach – like fuzzy peaches without the sour part. The blueberry here is less distinct for me but is similar flavor to the blueberry matcha from DAVIDsTEA. Despite the sweet and flavoring, I also do get some grassiness from the base. That gets stronger and slightly more bitter as I keep drinking but I think part of that is the matcha settled so I am getting more matcha.

Sipdown (199)

Thank you Roswell Strange for sending this my way. I really enjoyed it while it lasted. This last cup was a lot more cinnamon than I’d like but it was still nice.

C is for…Cinnamon Pear

Sneaking this in right under the wire. I decided to go for one more “C” tea and this has also become a quick favorite. Oddly enough it seems to be a free sample that Three 6 Tea threw in with the many matchas Roswell Strange bought me for the holidays. So thank you Roswell Strange for sending this one my way – I sent you a sample in the box and am hoping you enjoy it like I have since you are definitely a pear tea lover!

Anyways, this cup is heavier on cinnamon than usual but still has the underlying note of sweet pear. It is almost candy-like in how sweet it is. Super soft as well which contrasts nicely with the more rigid cinnamon top note. Warm and comforting but sweet and tasty.

Also, I think these past two days of “B” and “C” teas has spoiled me because I had a lot of good options. I don’t have quite as many “D” teas – i.e. I did not have a good “D” tea to cold brew for the morning – so we shall see how tomorrow goes…

This arrived in my order from Roswell Strange for the holidays and I thought it was meant to go to her since it sounds like her type of tea. I asked and turned out it might have been a sample – a large 50+ gram sample.

When I opened it, I was thrown because I could have sworn this smelled like banana runts. No clue why that’s what I got but it is. It came through in flavour as well. Some sips were banana runts, others were pretty accurate pear and candy-like cinnamon. Either way I like it but I am confused by it.

Thank you Roswell Strange for sending this my way, even if unintentionally so!

Matcha Latte Sipdown (326)

I’ve been really slacking at tea drinking in favour of drinking copious amounts of water. However, today I already had 2 litres of water and I just really wanted a matcha latte: the first couple of flavors I picked up (blueberry peach and pina colada) seemed less latte flavors but this one seemed perfect for one.

This one is alright. Less flavourful than I expected it to be. I was nervous because the raspberry flavor they use isn’t the best but this strawberry flavor is better. It is strawberry milkshake so not true to the fruit per se but still distinctive. Just light in flavor until I got to the end of the cup. It seems a lot of the matcha settled so it got a touch chalky and definitely more grassy/traditional matcha. I was excited for this one and while it was good, I did expect more than what it delivered.

Thank you Roswell Strange for sending this my way. It’s one I was definitely interested in trying so now I at least know what to expect if I decide I want more.

Matcha Latte Sipdown (287)

I have been enjoying this one today. The butter element that seems to be so strong in the other Three 6 Tea caramel matchas is a bit muted here which allows the sweeter and more realized caramel notes to come through. There is also a touch of toastiness that you would get in a macaroon. I think I still prefer DAVIDs caramel matcha but this is a good alternative. Thank you Roswell Strange for sending these along!