2023: Sipdown Progress Thread
Honestly, I am not necessarily sipping down to reduce my collection. I’m sipping down so that I can actually try everything I own and figure out what my true preferences are and what are absolute staples in my stash. At the moment, I mostly have black tea. I love black tea but my favorite is actually green. I think I also want to sip down the blends that aren’t staples in order to be able to grab some more new stuff and purchase new loves that I have discovered through swaps.
Sipdown goal for 2023- 50
I know that 50 isn’t a lot but I just wanted a smaller number so it didn’t seem too insane when I sipped down 100 and bought a ton more to replace them. Does that make any sense? No, but I’m not a math teacher I don’t need to make mathematical sense.
January- was a bust, I only sipped down one tea: Maple Espresso from Trader Joe’s. It was a hard month because I went back to school in person for the first time in three years since I’ve been online and it was messy.
February- 6 sipdowns:
- a sample of David’s Tea’s Cherry Blossom Matcha (loved it)
- a sample of 52 teas Marshmallow Treat Genmaicha (loved it)
- 25g bag of Dessert by Deb Peaches and Cream Chai (loved that too)
- 1 oz bag of Simpson and Vail Bronte Sisters blend (loved it, esp. iced)
- 50g bag of Trader Nicks Enchanted Rose (one of my favorite blends)
- 50g Java Momma Strawberry Serendipity
For March:
March 25 – The end of American Chocolate week – have a chocolate tea, a tea with natural cocoa notes, or tea paired with chocolate!
- Belle’s Library by Trader Nicks, a cocoa bourbon puerh and black tea blend
Tea from your biggest tin
- Winter White Earl Grey by Harney and Sons (8 oz tin finally down to 2 oz)
A tea you won’t repurchase
- Platinum Jubilee English Breakfast from Buckingham Palace, for context: I just wanted the limited edition tin and I wasn’t thrilled by their English Breakfast. The Green tea with lemon and elderflower was delightful though!
A shelf staple tea
- Oohh this one is a hard one, I think I’m going to have to go with Krampistachio by Brutaliteas, it’s one of my favorite dessert blends that tastes like the old-fashioned pistachio icecream with the green maraschino cherries in it! I especially love it cold-brewed!
A favorite herbal tisane
- I think my current favorite Herbal tisane is Hades by Tradernicks, it tastes like a slice of lemon meringue pie. I have slight sensory issues and I don’t do the texture of actual lemon meringue pie but I love the flavor so it’s the best option for me!
Your oldest black tea
- Lilac Bouquet by Simpson and Vail, the funny this is that I got this blend in September. Starting in May, I go into cold brew and iced tea mode and have about 5 cold brews going at a time to sort through the oldest teas in my cupboard. With that, in july – October I go into extreme sipdown mode and I sip down everything in my collection aside from a few staples. From there, I tend to place and order per every fifteen sip downs and replace all of the staples I finished as well as adding new to me blends to my collection. However, the new teas go into a lockable storage bin until after Christmas in the closet of doom so that I finish EVERYTHING else first and I start every year with fresh, new teas. Extreme? Yes… Efficient? Let’s just say I get a lot done in the summer with the caffeine I consume.
Ok, let’s try this again!
January – a bust
February
[X] February 2 – Groundhog Day: drink the same tea (or type) twice!
February 11 – National Latte Day: Make a latte!
February 21 – Both National Pancake AND National Sticky Bun Day:
Have a tea flavored like either one!
[X] A flavored white tea
A least favorite tea
A tea swap tea or gifted tea
[X] Your oldest oolong tea
An afternoon tea
A grocery store tea
Self care – Have tea and do something that feeds your soul!
Love the scavenger hunt themes for sipdowns! I have so many odds and ends of tea that have been going neglected around my house, so I am joining in. I am also going to San Francisco this weekend, so undoubtedly i will be picking up some new teas from teahouses in Chinatown.
February
[x] February 2 – Groundhog Day: drink the same tea (or type) twice! – drank some Nepalese green tea this morning, So i’m going strong with a sencha at work!
[x] February 11 – National Latte Day: Make a latte! Used some Jun Chiyabari Second flush with some honey and oat milk to make a latte this morning :)
[x] February 21 – Both National Pancake AND National Sticky Bun Day:
Have a tea flavored like either one! New York Breakfast by T2
[x] A flavored white tea – Melon White Tea from Lupicia
[x] A least favorite tea – Matcha Black Soybean Rice Tea from Lupicia (I used to love this wierd tea, but time hasn’t been kind to this blend)
[x] A tea swap tea or gifted tea = Finished a sample of Mirkwood from Whispering Pines
[x] Your oldest oolong tea – Aged Traditional Anxi Tieguanyin by Verdant Tea
An afternoon tea – each tea I drink every afternoon is afternoon tea to me muahahaha
[x] A grocery store tea – Orange Spice by Stash
[x]Self care – Have tea and do something that feeds your soul! Sipped on some Yuzu Hojicha from Yunomi while painting a box I paper mache’d :)
ETA: Using this thread mostly as a challenge to drink the teas I already have, not necessarily as strictly sipdowns
Yayyy March! I did pretty good last month, actually finished some teas and re-homed a bunch that I was holding on to without really thinking about drinking them. I’m sure my cupboard will produce some more teas to let go of or finish. Bless you ashmanra for updating this month’s scavenger hunt:)
March
[x] March 2 – International Irish Whiskey Day: Drink any boozy tea! What about putting whiskey in tea? Made a hot toddy with a blend of Lapsang and vanilla black. A++
[-] March 14 – Pi Day – Have a pie flavored tea or tea with pie!
[x] March 25 – The end of American Chocolate week – have a chocolate tea, a tea with natural cocoa notes, or tea paired with chocolate! 2016 Mengsong black tea cake from White2Tea
[ x ] Tea from your biggest tin – Gorgeous Geisha from T2
[x] A tea you won’t repurchase – Lishan Matcha from Red Blossom Tea company
[ x ] A tea with a leaf in the logo – Fig Cake Spice from LeafPeeper Tea
[ x ] A shelf staple tea – Keemun confu from Joseph Wesley (The staple being a Chinese black tea)
[ x ] A single origin tea – Meijawu Long Jing from Camellia Sinensis
[ x ] A favorite herbal tisane – Ginger Tumeric by Trader Joe’s
[ x ] Your oldest black tea – Jin Die from Camellia Sinensis
Happy April Steepers! I’ll be getting shipments of fresh spring tea rolling in all this month, and telling myself that I’ll be satisfied for the year. We’ll see how that goes XD
April
[x] April 5 – National Caramel Day: Drink a tea with caramel notes or flavoring! Sugabou Karigane Hojicha by Yamane-en from Yunomi
[x] April 17 – Herbalist Day: Drink an herbal tea! Garden mix of herbs from a friend in Massachusetts :)
[x] April 29 – National Sense of Smell Day: Drink your most aromatic tea! The Moon Represents My Heart by Ette Tea
[x] A grassy tea – Sencha Konnichiwa by Cha Ginza from Yunomi
] A finicky tea
[X] A tea from Africa. Kenya black tea from McNulty’s
[X] A tea you serve to tea newbies. Genmaicha by Kyoto Obubu farms from Yunomi
[x] Your “fanciest” tea. Snowflake Queen by W2T
[x] Your oldest white tea. Brick aged white by Shang Tea
[ A tea sample you put off trying
“It’s Gonna Be MAY!” The months are marchin on, fellow Steepsters. Here’s to more sipdowns this month!
May
[x] May 8 – National Coconut Cream Pie Day: drink a tea with coconut! Beachside breakfast by Ohana Botanicals from Yunomi
[x] May 11 – National Eat What You Want Day: drink what you really want! Big ole jug of sweet tea from a po boy spot in New Orleans ;)
[x] May 20 – National Pick Strawberries Day: drink a (straw)berry tea! Gorgeous Geisha from T2
[x] A rose tea – Massachusetts herbal from my friend :)
[x] A flavored oolong Jamacian Ginger from McNulty’s tea
[x] A flavored black tea – cinnamon wood smoked tea by Kanneroku tea farms from Yunomi AND Melbourne breakfast from T2
[x] A limited edition or seasonal tea – White Christmas from Harney and Sons
[x] A tea available almost anywhere – Throat Coat from Traditional Medicinals
[x] A tea with a three word name – Bai Mu Dan
[-] An Earl Grey plus tea
it’s June already?? What the heck. Excited for these prompts this month :)
June
[x] June 1 – World Milk Day: drink a tea with milk! Lattes count! – made a milk tea with T2’s New York Breakfast the second I saw this prompt!
[-] June 9 – National Earl Day: drink an Earl Grey type tea!
[-] June 29 – International Day of the Tropics: drink a tropical tea!
[x] A minty tea – Just Peppermint by T2
[x] A true sipdown tea – Kamaricha from Yunomi, Peach Matcha also from Yunomi
[-] A tea that was a gift
[-] A lingering holiday/advent tea
[-] An iced tea
[-] A favorite bagged tea
[-] A tea sipped while watching the sunrise/sunset
July
[-] July 7 – World Chocolate Day – drink a chocolate tea or have chocolate with your tea!
[-] July 16 – National Cherry Day – drink a tea with cherry flavor!
[-] July 30 – International Friendship Day! Do your thing – have tea with a friend, send tea to a friend, write to a friend, make a friend, or call a friend while you have tea and let them know you are thinking of them.
[-] A cold brew tea
[-] A breakfast tea
[-] An apple tea
[-] A tea that makes you smile
[-] A tea with more than 5 ingredients
[-] A tea you regret not buying more of
[-] Your most unusual tea
I’m off to a slow start this year.
January:
Premium Alishan, Spring 2020 by Tillerman Tea (50 g)
February:
2021 Shan Cha by Wang Family Tea (25 g)
Snowflake Dancong by White2Tea (50 g)
March
Shan Lin Xi 2022 Winter by Floating Leaves (30 g)
Ancient Spirit by Whispering Pines (15 g)
April
Lishan Hongcha by Bok (150 g)
Alishan High Mountain Osmanthus Oolong by Wang Family Tea (25 g)
Alishan, Spring 2020 by Tillerman (12.5 g)
May
Feng Huang Hong Cha by Camellia Sinensis (50 g)
June
Spring 2023 Huo Shan Huang Ya by Yunnan Craft (50 g)
Zijuan Hong by Daxue Jiadao (50 g)
July
Spring 2022 Dayuling by Bok (150 g)
August
Handmade Ming Qian West Mountain Dong Ting Bi Luo Chun by Teavivre (50 g)
Osmanthus Fragrance Dancong by One River Tea (25 g)
In: 225 g
Out: 730 g
I haven’t kept a list just yet but I’ve been making great progress getting rid of extra bits and pieces from my stash that are old (pre 2015).
I have been mostly sipping down alot of my Plum deluxe teas. I am trying to create my tea taste profile through sipping down all the teas I purchased last year and this year.
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