Various Artists

Since I don’t have a booze-inspired tea to line up with Ashmanra’s 3/2 tea prompt to celebrate Irish Whiskey day, I made myself a fancy hot toddy of sorts for myself and a friend. Blended 50/50 Melbourne Bfast from T2 and LS from Camellia Sinensis, added a touch of honey and an appropriate amount of Suntory Hibiki Whiskey. Not Irish, but it still hit the spot. The smokiness from the Lapsang and creamy vanilla from the Melbourne Breakfast really punched up the whiskey so dang well.

Ashmanra’s Sipdown Challenge | March 2023 | A favorite herbal tisane

March has been abysmal for sipdowns so far! And I really need to step up my game: My 52Teas February subscription box just arrived, my parents sent me some herbal blends from a small Rhode Island-based tea company for my birthday, and my in-laws sent me a Simpson & Vail gift card, sooo… I’ve gotta make room! (On that note, would love to hear everybody’s favorites from S&V!)

Anyway! This is a sad sipdown of a cinnamon-cardamom blend my wonderful supervisor gave me for the holidays last year, along with a lovely little mug hand-thrown by her husband. (It has pleasing dimples where my fingers naturally fall and is a real pleasure to use.) I don’t know where this blend is from or exactly what all is in it besides cinnamon, cardamom, and pink peppercorn, but it’s very comforting and gently spiced. I’m drinking it alongside an amazing vegan peanut butter pie my partner made for my birthday. :) A good Wednesday!

2023 sipdown count: 23/75

Advent Calendar from Kaylee: Day 19

OK, so this is a review for “Red Fruits” from Alice’s Tea Cup. This blend is VERY SADLY not for sale on their e-store, so I can’t provide any details for a new listing or look up the ingredients. I say “VERY SADLY” because it’s really good! It’s a black tea laced with jammy berry flavors and manages to strike a great balance between the inherent taste of the tea and the sweet berry notes. I drank it a few days ago and don’t have detailed notes, but I’m looking forward to savoring the remainder of the packet!

There’s a “Black Fruits” blend online that includes black currants, blackberries, and blueberries, and I bet that one’s yummy too.

Lebensbaum Advent Calendar: Days 4, 5, & 6

Day 4: Blütenkuss (Flower Kiss): Featuring linden, lemongrass, elderflower, lime blossom, lemon balm, and vanilla. “Start your day with a gentle kiss of flowers on your lips and let yourself be enchanted by our special tea.” Well, don’t mind if I do! I actually drank this one on Sunday evening. TIL that linden = lime blossom (not citrus lime, obviously). Despite all the very light-sounding ingredients, this one smells and tastes almost musty when it’s brewed up.

Day 5: Minze, Minze, Minze (Mint, Mint, & Mint): Based on the name, one might expect a minty delight. One would be sorely disappointed. Somehow this is not terribly minty?! Google Translate says the ingredients are “Nana mint, peppermint, apple mint, and white lemon balm” but I just got muddy muted mint.

Day 6: Würziger Winterapfel (Spicy Winter Apple): I glanced at the ingredients quickly, saw “Ceylon,” and assumed this was a black tea blend — perfect for my second tea of the morning. Butttt then I saw that the recommended steeping time is 10 minutes and quickly realized that “Ceylon-Zimt” is Ceylon cinnamon, not tea. Ha!

This is a winter spice blend with wild apple as the first ingredient. I’m not getting much apple, though, just a kind of drying, muddy, almost woody cinnamon flavor followed by a mouth-coating sweetness. I initially thought it came just from the licorice root, but then I realized that “Honigblatt” (literally “honey leaf”) is apparently stevia! There’s maybe a little apple as it cools, but in a weird, kind of sour way. Meh.

Advent Calendar from Kaylee: Day 8

Last night I had “Chamomile Fields” from Dunkin Donuts! I had no idea Dunkin had its own proprietary blends. Funny. I grew up in Rhode Island, where there’s a Dunkin on every corner and people are OBSESSED with them. Truly obsessed. But I think their coffee is terrible, and they don’t have vegan doughnuts, so it’s been a while since I’ve visited one! (Saying that, though, the Dunkins in Europe have a bunch of vegan options! I had a strawberry glazed one in Germany and it brought me right back to childhood.)

Anyway, I didn’t get much more than chamomile in this one despite it including orange peel, lemongrass, licorice root, and cornflower. A promising blend! Buttttt I realized this morning that I’ve brewed my most recent few tea bags in a very tall and narrow mug, and I’m wondering if that vessel shape just isn’t conducive to well-brewed tea. So I might not have done the last few tea bags justice. :(

Lebensbaum Advent Calendar: Days 1, 2, & 3

I was in a grocery store in Amsterdam, saw this German tea brand’s advent calendar, and couldn’t resist picking it up! It was only 5 euro and was small enough to fit in my carry-on, so c’mon… anyone would’ve done the same. Of course it’s not really a calendar, just a box with a bunch of individually wrapped tea bags in it, but whatever. It was cheap and I’m a sucker.

I don’t think I’m going to create individual notes for each tea offering, because then I’d have to create new listings for each tea, and that seems too time-consuming for some fairly generic bagged tea! Instead I’ll probably be reviewing them in batches of tasting notes, like this one.

Day 1: Wärmende Winterkräuter (Warming Winter Herbs): This is a winter spice blend layered on a rooibos base. There’s star anise, clove, and orange, but there’s also a surprising amount of sweetness from blackberry leaf, which I could’ve done without.

Day 2: Linde & Lagerfeuer (Linden & Bonfire): One might expect a “bonfire” tea to include lapsang souchong for smokiness, but no — this is a honeybush blend with a ton of flavors: chicory, apple, black pepper, star anise, ginger, cardamom, vanilla, blueberry, linden flower, and more blackberry leaf. It’s interesting! And pretty good, with a sweet, almost honey-ish flavor that overwhelms the spices. When I used Google Translate to read through the description, it mentioned something about linden blossoms inspiring warmth and good feelings, and it looks like linden trees are pretty common in Germany. So there’s probably a cultural resonance to these flavors that I can’t understand. But that’s OK! I’m glad I tried this one.

Day 3: Earl Grey: Well, this is a bagged Earl Grey. It is very bergamot-forward, which does nothing good for me because I don’t care for bergamot. Nothing more to say here. :)

Didn’t drink much tea over the summer. I’m not really a fan of cold tea so I switch to iced coffee when it’s too hot for life and I can’t bear the thought of hot drinks. It’s starting to cool down a bit so I’ve been making tea more often lately but haven’t been keeping great notes. Mostly stuff from White2Tea subscription boxes, I think. I’ve tried to save enough of each for at least a teeny baby gaiwan session later to make more detailed notes.

Dahongpao
Stone Milk
Fireside Tgy
Chuan Huang yellow
Chuan Zibai slightly purple white
Coal Mtn Green maojian
Cloud Mist Green from Sichuan

The oolongs were okay, nothing life-changing but did help confirm my suspicion that I don’t hate oolong, I just hate oolong brewed western style. First yellow tea I’ve tried…seemed a lot like a green to me? Would like to try more because the type of greens it reminded me of are the sort I like. The greens and white were tasty. The Cloud Mist was more tropical fruity and the Coal Mountain more of the floral beany thing that sounds weird and gross but kinda works for me. Sorta snap peas and sunflower sprouts, maybe? With a fistful of clover? The tiny leaves of the Coal Mtn are cute.

I’ve been drinking teas but nothing really new or needing a whole note of its own.

Aiya Ceremonial matcha – as usucha/thin tea, not life-changingly good or anything but it’s drinkable, definitely worth the $8/tin clearance price, froths well when whisked, it becomes bitter if you veer into thick tea territory (didn’t measure, just dumped some in my bowl), lacking traditional Japanese tea sweets I’ve been having it with little maple sugar leaf shaped candies

Bonne Maman Serenity – my favorite of the Bonne Maman teas, nice before bed tea

Bonne Maman Dream – second favorite BM tea, nice before bed

Tea Drops Glow Sprinkles – much better than the sugary Tea Drops, cinnamon very prominent, grabbed several boxes when I thought this was being discontinued but it looks like they were just changing it from the powder packets to a solid “drop” like their other teas

White2Tea Planetary Shark Feed dragon ball – these are aging nicely, less young ripe wet pile flavors now, more yummy sweet molasses-y flavors

Yunnan Sourcing Taiping Houkui – always a favorite!

First teaware casualties of the year :’(
Matcha whisk holder died in the sink while I was rinsing teathings
Dragon yixing pot now has a small chip in the top edge from clumsily dropping the lid

Sipdown Unknown Sheng from Grandpa Tong (?)

I’ve been a way for a while, but be ready for some backlogs. lol. My wife needed the laptop during work, so it sat at her office for a bit, until her new one arrived.

I really ought to write labels for my teas, but I’ve only realized this now, after 8 years in the tea game. This unknown sheng is absolutely stunning. I knew it was prior to dipping into the remaining 10gs, but I forgot a lot of the notes that jump around during the session.

Dry leaf: apricots, brown sugar,
Wet leaf: plums and black licorice.

Flavor: First few steeps, I noted peaches, pears, plums. I got lost in the the steeps between 4-15. I noted in my notebook (and transferred to IG and here): “An endless session of some of the unknown sheng (acquired in 2018ish?). Astounding longevity. I thought I’d’ve been done with this after an hour in, but I’m still going at 15. Plums & peaches. Sugary sweet on the nose.”

Bonus Poem Entry:
Liquid sugar,
Plum galore,
Keep it steeping,
I want more.

100/10

Backlog—2/14/2022

Rou Goi from Maunamoku

Grandpa Styled/Gongfu’d

I had two sessions during the shift.

Work notes (grandpa styled): Deep roasted notes. Toasted chestnuts. Warming the body. A lot of energy and great focus while drinking.

Work notes (gongfu’d): Cinnamon, caramel, and fruity (peaches). Roasted note present, but not as intense or noticeable as it was grandpa style.

Backlog—2/14/2022

Hermits Headstash from Wuji Tea Co.

Gongfu’d

I think this is a milk oolong, but it lacks that creamy/milky vibe. It’s still a beautiful tea though. It has notes of dandelion and pear. The session lasted approximately 10-12 infusions before the leaf was no longer capable of producing any flavor

“2007 Bulang-Sheng”
Sipdown

Sample provided by a friend via a swap. This tea has been steeping since 2:00 today. I’m quite tea drunk and been moving around a lot.

Notes: Deep mineral earth and a lingering bitterness that is actually not bad.

Ripe Mini—Grandpa Tong

Sipdown

Backlog 2/7/2022

Grandpa Tong apparently closed shop. That’s quite too bad on the account that the material that they carried was often quite lovely. I figured that the lack of content posted on IG meant that their days had ended. I purchased a 100g bag of these minis in 2018ish, and finally finished these off on Monday. My work notebook reads: Very deeply sweet cocoa and earthy undertones. Rich like hot cocoa. Perfect for the cold winter evening. Milky texture and lingering sweetness that I could cherish the rest of time. Good-bye dear tea. If only I had sipped more often. 9.9999/10

Backlog 2/4/2022

Tea Company: Senbird Tea
Tea Name: Hime Sencha

Sticky Note-Note: Dry leaf aroma: Grassy

Wet leaf aroma: mushroom, grass

I needed a boost at work. I wanted something other than black tea or puerh. I wanted a green tea, which is a rarity and limited in my stash. I pulled out the “samples” drawer, and found this HIME Sencha sitting at the top, from the December Tea and Me Blog Advent Calendar. Perfect. I brewed the leaf at 158 F for 2 minutes. The liquor drew out this green-vibrant Mountain Dew color. The liquor smelled grassy and sweet. The flavor had a sweet, grassy, and hint of umami flavor at the back of the mouth. No bitterness or mouth drying at all. I noted to look more into this company.

7.5/10

Backlog 1/30/2022

Sipdown

I brought out the 7g sample of the Puerh.uk’s 2003 Yiwu Wan Gong (later to be confirmed by the seller that it may be closer to a 2010 leafy material from unknown regions. They posted a blog on the mix-up/added an update to the name/threw a discount on the tea) during a virtual session with a friend. We’ve started to take time on Sunday mornings to sip and catch up for 30-60 minutes. We live a few hours away, so it’s difficult having the time to meetup with both of our work schedules.

I was given a coupon code to redeem some money after a specific amount spent, so I took the luxury to try some higher graded material that I’d typically avoid, due to my rule of “drinking good tea on a budget.” This was an inexpensive tea sample, but it came highly recommended by the vendor.

Dry leaf: Woods chips & timothy hay

Wet leaf: wood, minerals, campfire, timothy hay, pine sap

1st and 2nd infusions—Steeped at 15 seconds. Flavor profile: crispy like a pear and lingering woody notes.

3rd and 4th infusions—Steeped at 25 seconds. Flavor profile: Steamed fruits (pears and peaches) & hay. Starting to get mouth-drying.

5th and 6th infusions—Steeped at 35 seconds. Flavor profile: Lingering bitterness, very mouth drying; unsweetened pears.

7th and 8th infusions—Steeped at 45 seconds. Flavor profile: Hay, wood chips, lingering pear notes, impossibly mouth-drying, and no bitterness.

9th-13th infusions—60 seconds. “Losing track of all thought and spacing out. Super tea drunk. Energetic and tired. Might nap or I may venture out into the wilderness/run my errands.”

Tea Company: Asami
Tea Name: Ashanti Cocoa
Backlog 1/24/2022

Ingredients: Kenyan black tea, cacao shell, cinnamon, ginger root, clove, cardamom, black peppercorn, chili flake

Sticky Note-Note: Very spicy and sweet. Used two teabags and nearly coughed with so much chili. Very warming for the cold day. I want more of this when I run out. 9/10."

Tea Company: Asami
Tea: Zambia Untamed

I was offered a gift to try a few teas after reviewing another blend from Asami. I happened to be on their website at the time that they sent the message, so I told them which teas I had purchased; however, they wanted me to list four more blends to add to the order. This was one of the four blends they offered.

Ingredients: Cinnamon, ginger, red rooibos, cardamom

I forgot the ingredients after a few seconds. While this was steeping, I got distracted with work emails. I started to sip the tea and I tasted ‘lemon ginger.’ I was a bit confused on the account there was zero lemon in the blend. After a few moments, I realized that the reason my brain tasted lemon was due to lemon ginger chewable candies I eat for migraines or an upset stomach. I’m totally going to get some more of this when I run out.

8/10

I’ve been on a bubble tea kick lately while at the office. It’s the one thing I have to motivate me to be there. I’m the only person alone in a 2500 sq ft space for the past month, so it’s all I have. Hopefully they’ll send me back to remote working next week. I’m starting to lose my cool. ;)

Anyway, back to the bubble tea. I’ve had several teas that were really really amazing. I noticed a new barista, so I asked my age old question, “What do you recommend?” They said to try the “Black Cream Bubble Tea,” so I went with it. I disliked it. A lot. It reminded me of Lipton tea with cream and very little sugar. The tapioca was the only thing keeping me from throwing the cup away, but that was barely.

So, it looks like I’ll just stick to my Brown Sugar Black with pudding balls or the Kiwi Strawberry.

I discovered this single serving packet from the TTB on the floor covered in chew marks from my cats, so I guess this one has been cat approved. My partner knows a little Chinese, and he says the packet says “dew pearls chestnut matcha”. I actually really like it! It has a nice desserty flavor. I wouldn’t have guessed chestnut specifically, but it’s really pleasant sweetened with milk. This is a nice quality matcha.

I tried my very hardest to figure out where this tea is from, but the ingredients are too generic, so I’ll have to just post it here. It’s from the TTB, and it’s called Very Berry. The listed ingredients are rosehips, hibiscus, chamomile, and rooibos. The flavor is pretty generic. I get a tart fruit flavor, but it still manages to be thin. It could definitely use some other elements going on here. It sort of gets gross the more I drink of it, unfortunately.

Unbranded tea bag from the last tea box. It says Hey There Blue-Tea-Ful, but I can’t find anything about that online! This one is a bit fake and astringent. You get some fruitiness, but it’s not super fresh or flavorful. It ended up being too fake for me, so I poured it out.

Unbranded Awa Bancha tea bag from a tea box. This is a pleasant tea. The person wrote on the ziploc bag that this tea is known for being sour, but I’m not getting that at all. For me, it’s pretty smooth. It’s not my favorite flavor profile, just sort of plain and green.

Unbranded loose leaf from the tea box labeled Peach Lemon Herbal. Luckily I don’t love it enough to buy, but it would still be nice to know the brand! It’s heavier on the lemon, which isn’t my preference. The flavors are light and decently authentic, but sort of weird for me. The resteep was even more lemony, which didn’t taste great. Not one of the better herbal teas I’ve had recently, but nice to try.

A red tea in the middle of the Galician countryside. Tea options have been black and mint for most of the Camino, but I have had some decent puerh tea here too. Stopped for a late breakfast (seems that the Spanish do everything a bit later than I am used to, breakfast, lunch, siesta, late dinner too) and asked for tea. The cafe owner didn’t speak much English, and my Spanish is not fluent, but he did ask black or red, so I had a nice puerh that steeped twice, wasn’t fishy and had a nice earthy taste that went with my tomato, avocado, ham toast.