Mastress Alita Send Message

For the sipdown prompt, “A tea with honey added.”

This packet is from the 2018 Advent Box, so it is overdue for a sipdown. I had worked my way to the last serving, and figured I’d add honey this morning to tick that sipdown prompt box. I don’t normally put additions in tea, but I recognize that sometimes doing so can really elevate a cup, too.

While this cup is perfectly fine plain, it is a good one for a little added sweetness, too. The black base can hold up to it, and the bit of extra sweetness brings out a jamminess from the blackberry and a sweeter pastry element from the bread notes in the base.

I had grand plans to clean my house over the holiday weekend, but I’ve come down with Shingles and the new plan is laying on the couch with the cat and trying to move as little as possible. And sip tea, of course. So nice to have a comforting cuppa when feeling like hell.

Another old T2 tea bought during a deeply discounted sale. Prepared coldbrew.

I taste something melon-esque, but it doesn’t quite read as watermelon to me… maybe a somewhat muddled honeydew melon flavor? Mostly, though, this just tastes like a hibiscus mint tea, emphasis on the mint. It’s a very refreshing spearmint, but leaves a strong cooling menthol on the tongue each sip. It really dominates the flavor, and nothing about a “watermelon sorbet” makes me think of spearmint.

I’m fine with the taste, it’s a good iced tea, but it wasn’t what I was expecting at all. My head was thinking something heavily flavored with that fake “watermelon candy” sort of flavor used for watermelon things in the US, not honeydew drowned in spearmint leaves. If it were named “Minty Melon” I think I’d be more on board…

I had a small sampler of this acquired back in 2018 from Meowster’s cupboard de-stash (Thanks, Meowster!) and I imagine the age of the tea is older than that. I decided to coldbrew the entire 6g sampler overnight.

I don’t think I’ve ever coldbrewed a silver needle tea, but this is delicious! It has a strong citrus flavor, like lemon in mineral water, as well as a florality that reads a bit like the peppery-floral taste of crysanthemum and a sweeter pollen-floral taste. Very refreshing!

For the sipdown prompt, “a tea you’ve never tried before.” This is one of my oldest teas, from the final “Here’s Hoping Traveling Teabox.” Thanks for sharing, tea-sipper!

I brewed the 4g sampler in 12 oz. 205F water with a five minute steep.

It tastes like shou… it doesn’t seem to matter the type or age, it all tastes the same to me. Musky wet, swampy earth, and a little smoke. Still not a flavor profile I care for much, but as an occassional cup on a rainy day, it’s okay.

For the sipdown prompt, “a tea chosen at random.” I use a spreadsheet to inventory my tea and have a function built into it that will pull 10 random teas from the list. This was the only herbal that was selected on that list, and I only drink herbal teas after 6 p.m., so this was my choice.

It’s been a long time since I’ve had this tea. The aroma wafting off the hot cuppa smells divine… a sort of “too tart to be strawberry” rhubarb aroma that hits the nose first, followed by a softer, creamy vanilla fragrance. It’s so pleasant… rhubarb and cream on a woody rooibos base. I like the sharpness of the fruit note, but am finding the fruitiness makes the rooibos lean a little into the medicinal notes I don’t care for as much (which I encounter often from fruit-flavored red rooibos blends). It isn’t unpleasant, but I may try this with some milk next time to see if that enhances the cream notes while hiding the medicinal notes.

For the sipdown prompt, “a cheap tea.” I purchased a tin of this on a very deep discount during one of their after-Christmas sales. Prepared as coldbrew.

I had a sampler of this long ago, but the bulky fruit nature of the tea made me misjudge my water ratio and it turned out extremely weak, too weak to properly review at the time. It’s kind of nice to try it again after all this time. But honestly, I still find it a little on the weak side?! I think because this is a fruit tea lacking hibiscus, so it doesn’t have a lot of body to it. The flavor is a very generic “fruit punch” sort of flavor without a lot of distinction… I mostly get a red berry flavor with a bit of pineapple and papaya. It’s also really sweet, which is another reason why I think some hibi would be a nice counter-balance.

I never expect too much from fruit teas besides being pleasant and thirst-quenching, and it does fit the bill there. Would I get more of this particular one? If it is on sale for the same sort of low price point, sure. Otherwise, nah. There are better options out there.

For the sipdown prompt, “a marshmallow tea.”

Such a simple yet effective tea. The assam is rich with malt, honey, and golden raisin notes, but is incredibly smooth. The vanilla flavor leans towards more of a bourbon note with a sharp alcohol flavor toward the end of the sip. While I don’t notice any difference in taste, marshmallow root adds a sort of silkier mouthfeel to a tea I find hard to describe, but it is very noticeable to me, like a slick and pillowy coating of the tongue. There is a mild drying sensation after the sip.

Very satisfying morning cuppa. I’ll likely cold brew the rest of the packet because hot summers are hot.

For the sipdown prompt “a tea the flavor of a trail mix ingredient.”

I haven’t had a warm evening cup of tea in ages due to the sweltering weather, but some rain has pushed in tonight and I really felt in the mood for some houjicha. I’ve already sipped down all my houjicha except for this pumpkin-flavored one, but I felt the flavor profile of this tea matched this sipdown prompt nicely: notes of oats, nuts, and a very savory pumpkin flavor. It’s giving me granola and pumpkin seed vibes, two of my favorite trail mix ingredients.

For the sipdown prompt, “a melon tea.” Prepared cold brew.

So delicious! Lupicia’s melon flavor is that Japanese “melon” that, to me, tastes like a lovely amalgamation of honeydew and cantalope, though this is leaning heavier on the honeydew (or maybe it’s just the name affecting my perception). There is a sort of sweet creaminess present in this as well. Though no longer the freshest, the green rooibos still brings this slight vegetal backdrop which, combined with the melon, leans a little into cucumber water territory for me.

An excellent and refreshing cold brew!

For the sipdown prompt, “an Indian tea.” I received this from Meowster’s cupboard de-stash back in 2018 (thanks, Meowster!), and suspect the tea is a lot older than that, so well past it’s prime.

We are finally getting some respite from the constant heat with a rare rainy day, so I’m taking this small window of opportunity to actually enjoy a hot cup of tea rather than the cold brew I’ve been sucking on for months now. No doubt I’ll be cold brewing the remainder of this when the temperatures jump back up to mid-90s after the weekend…

The aroma off the too-hot-to-drink cup smells grainy, like a hay/wheat/oats aroma, with a subtle florality in the background. I’m a bit unimpressed by the taste, and I’m not sure if that’s just me not vibing with this tea, or if the age is bringing out less than favorable qualities… It has a strong dry hay flavor, with a more subtle oatiness, and a bit of a citrus quality, though it leans very dry and herbaceous (the best I can use to describe it is “stale lemongrass.”) There is a sort of bitter aftertaste that has a sharp pollen taste to it… makes me think I’m chewing on dandelion heads.

Perhaps cold brewing will mellow out some of the sharper edges a bit. If not, I’m sure a little lemon juice and honey will make it easy enough to clear out the bag.