615 Tasting Notes
This is actually my first SBT, but I love the flavors that I keep seeing pop up, and I’m always looking for new things to try in the pitcher of iced tea in the fridge that Fiance and I share, so I thought this would be fun to try!
Creamy, orangey, tea-y and tasty. I don’t really know what else I can ask for, though I think maybe next time I’ll add a little sugar when it’s steeping. I think it would amp up the melted popsicle-ness here.
But after we ended up dumping out just under half of the last pitcher because neither of us cared for it, this was a nice change
There’s definitely more interest here than your standard breakfast blend. To my surprise, the Keemun is neither cocoa-y or smoky, but it does have a dry red wine kind of mouthfeel and a slightly oaky and fermented fruit flavor (which was also evocative of a rich red wine). I wasn’t necessarily blown away by the cup, but it’s very nice.
Preparation
Soooo. I forgot about this one while I was steeping it. Like I acknowledged the timer, and flipped it off, and then somehow I let the tea keep steeping. So it went about 5-6 minutes.
Luckily, it’s still good. A little bit of astringency in the cup, but no bitterness. It’s far more potent with the extra time. The graeen elements to the flavor are more vegetal and artichokey and less like the sweet hay present in shorter steeps, but the honeysuckle flavor is still delightful and prominent.
Refreshing and hits the spot.
Preparation
I cold steeped this overnight and while the flavor is very similar to making hot and icing, there is more juicy berry/fruit than floral this way. There is definitely still a floral component, but it’s not quite the level it was before. The green tea also comes through and adds a layer of veggie flavor in there. The almost powdery feeling at the end of the sip is also minimized, which makes this the better way to drink this tea (for me).
Preparation
I think this is a perfect late afternoon tea. It’s very gentle with a strong perfume scent. There’s a lot of whimsy in how this cup feels to me. It would probably also be fun for a fine linen and bone china kind of tea party.
The floral perfumed notes come out less in the final cup (but still a dominant flavor), but leave the steeped leaf smelling strongly like potpourri in my steeper. I really like the burnt sugar/caramel elements here.
Under normal circumstances, I would make Fiance drink this because he wanted the mate sampler, but he’s so adverse to any spicing resembling chai I didn’t think I could do that to him. So I steeped the last bit of this up today.
I’ll preface the actual review here by saying I’m not always huge on mate. Especially mate that tastes like mate. The roasted mate smells like wet dirt (but in a freshly fallen rain sort of way that isn’t off putting) and has a very full coffee-like flavor with green undertones. No bitterness or smoke flavors present. The cinnamon and spices here are far more subtle than I was expecting; it’s almost mellow and I found myself actually wanting a bit more. It’s a very warming and winter-like cup, though. The citrus just barely comes though, but adds a little bit of a bright counterpoint to the roastiness of the mate. I did eventually end up adding milk (skim was all that was floating around) anyway, because it was too coffee-like for me to drink it black, and enjoyed it more that way.
Preparation
I’ve never been a huge fan of mate, either, especially roasted. Smells and tastes like banana to me, but almost like what I’d imagine the peel to taste like.
I actually think normal mate is almost okay. I definitely get the banana peel connotation though. Roasted mate, though, kind of reminds me of decent quality mild coffee beans that someone rolled in wet mud, then once they were coated rolled them in maple leaves and bark.
I kept the parameters on this one the same but used a different steeper today. It definitely (and unexpectedly) tasted more balanced and the ginger was less overwhelming. A bit creamier too. I’m not sure if it was just the spoonful I happened to get or the steeper, but I’m upping the score a couple points because I appreciated it a little more.
There’s a strong nutty element (which I suppose you’d expect with something named Walnut Truffle), but it has a similar astringency to actual walnuts which I found more interesting. There is no oily residue from the nuts either. The apple pieces lend a very subtle sweetness, but impart no actual apple flavor, and the rose petals add a perfumed quality that’s actually quite evocative of French teas. Overall a very satisfying cup.
Preparation
I thought this was the second least weird (or maybe the least weird overall, now that I think about it) of the Savory Teas, because I love carrot juice, and I’ve seen carrot and curry spices in teas before, so I ventured into this cup tonight.
This steeps up literally smelling like a curry. Or at the very least like an Indian spice shop. The curry and carrot smells are most striking, but there’s definitely ginger and a subtle amount of cilantro.
The cup has an overall smoother and brothier mouthfeel than the Tomato Mint. There’s a fresh cilantro burst in the sip, as well as the salty umaminess I experienced with Tomato Mint. There’s definitely a carrot element that seems to hit right after the cilantro, and the curry seems to be a blend of spices, and reminds me of the McCormick Mild Curry spice blend.
This is kind of like a meal unto itself, and I really enjoy this. Definitely more of a soup than the Tomato Mint. This is an awesome winter drink.
