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Sipdown (204)!

Got a sample of this from Janelle awhile back and have been waiting to drink it up. Mostly my dilemma was that there was just one jellybean in the same but enough rooibos/other stuff there for two or maybe even three cups. The solution, of course, was the beautiful Mason Jar mug from Keychange which was large enough to let me steep up the whole sample and make sure that the jellybean was included in everything.

That said, while the mason jar is amazing and has practically not left my hands since getting it, the tea fell flat. Really flat.

The taste I got was this super artificial and soapy muddled orange/strawberry flavour with wood chippy and borderline medicinal rooibos. I really don’t often get that medicinal quality from rooibos – but when I do it’s quite unpleasant and very unwelcome. I did finish the full mug in the hopes that the flavour would shift for the better as the temperature changed, but no such luck.

Yucky.

Having this as tea slush, as well! I thought it’d be a good idea to try something non-fruity as a tea slushy too just to see the difference in taste/“vibe” (or whatever you want to call it). Since I have a ton of this, I opted for this to be the one I tried.

It’s actually pretty good! I get lots of hazelnut/sweet licorice taste and a little bit of chocolate. A nice, tasty treat!

Although, it’s making me realize just how stupidly hungry I am. I haven’t really stopped to eat much at all today – just been chugging back tea all day and taking advantage of having Tre’s laptop. I’ll need to stop and take a break soon so that I can make something actually nutritional.

So, when I had this cold brewed I didn’t like it at all – and I blamed that on my general fickleness when it comes to mango/chamomile which are both key ingredients in this tisane. For that reason I left it unrated. However, I still have some of this left to play around with so today I decided that I’d try it hot instead of cold brewed (and possibly as a slushie, down the road).

Parameters: 1 1/2 tsp. of leaf in 10 oz. of boiling water, steeped for seven minutes.

Steeped up, it actually does smell ok: very strong mango smell with minimal chamomile. Taste wise, it’s ok – the chamomile isn’t overwhelming at all and the mango is creamy with some lovely vanilla notes. Surprisingly, this is significantly better hot. I mean, that said, I’m not going to buy anymore of it but I’m very happy I’ve figured out a way to drink it down without choking it down!

Also, I have another interview tomorrow! Although, it’s inconveniently located and a pretty shitty job – but despite that I’m hopeful because it’d be fulltime work. It’s really early in the morning so that means I’m gonna have to go to bed a lot earlier today than I’m accustomed to…

Made this up when I first woke up, along with the first mug of Paris that I initially botched. So, this also got an ungodly steep time but I found I was ok with that because it’s an all fruit blend.

Also, I wasn’t making this to drink hot anyway. After my semi-failure at doing a tea slushie yesterday I decided that I’d try making some different kinds and this was the first that immediately came to mind as something I wanted to test out that way. And I have to say, I did a much better job at taking this out of the freezer before it became a giant, frozen ice cube.

This totally gives off a slushie sort of feeling! Yay for semi frozen tea!

I’ve had this a few ways now: cold brewed, hot, and now in slushie format. Quite honestly, it was best as a cold brew (much less sour) and worst as a hot tea (way too sour). As a slushie it’s just right in the middle. It’s like drinking a melon/kiwi slushie that was very fruity/flavourful and then you added in a pump or two of that ‘Shocker’ flavouring that just makes things sour. I like shushies with shocker in them (sometimes I get like 5 or 6 pumps of the stuff) so it works perfectly!

Yummy! I think this would be an amazing treat in the summer time.

And on the seventh day of Christmas Steepster gave to me seven swans-a-swimming!

Thank you TeaTee for the very generous sample you sent in the 12 days exchange (Seven cups of swan tea) and all the beautiful origami swans! They’re kind of hidden away in my tea closet right now, but they always make me smile whenever I open it up to rotate teas/grab something.

I’ve actually had this once before (on the seventh day), but I didn’t log it. So, I’m making sure I log it now – especially since I decided to make it in the beautiful mason jar that Keychange gave me!

Parameters: 1 tbsp. of leaf, steeped for about three minutes with a huge splash of milk added in!

Taste wise, this one makes me really happy because there’s not even the slightest bit of bitterness or astringency and – even without milk – it has a nice, thick and full mouthfeel. Also, it’s neither horribly and shockingly strong but it’s not weak either, which makes it perfect as an early morning/starting the day sort of tea (and yummy with Nutella toast). I get a little bit of maltyness and earthy notes balanced by a small dose of natural sweetness and even some very subtle background floral notes.

Doesn’t blow me away – but is a nice strong, balanced straight Ceylon.

Sipdown (205)!

This time I made sure I was diligent in steeping this up correctly (ie. not a 20+ minute steep time). Again, this was sent to me from Keychange and is in sachet form. Finally I can taste this properly: no funny taste buds from being sick, and no ridiculous bitterness from careless steeping.

Taste wise – I get lemony citrus notes and caramel notes, especially in the tail end of the sip/aftertaste. The bergamot isn’t super strong/bold which is nice, as well. There is a touch of astringency that I’m not fond of, but thankfully no bitterness.

I think, overall, it’s a pretty good tea but it’s just not doing it for me compared to some others. I’m realizing more and more than while I enjoy earl Grey or other bergamot flavoured things, it’s not a flavour I often crave outside of the early morning/breakfast so it’s not something that often gets consumed – and therefore I’d never want several bergamot teas in large quantity. Also, compared to my delicious experience with Boston – this doesn’t even come close to that.

So while this is tasty and I’m happy I finally produced a good cup I don’t see myself seeking or wanting anymore of it. Thank you so much Keychange for providing the sample, though! You’re essentially my HS sample dealer – letting me try things before making a purchase ;)

And, you know, thanks for everything else too!

coughmasonjarcough

Woke up this morning and went to check the mail for my RiverTea order. Instead I saw a large DAVIDsTEA box and was heavily confused because I’ve never placed an online DT order in my life – especially not recently. I thought that maybe it actually wasn’t for me, and my landlord’s daughter had ordered it, but nope my name was on it.

Brought it inside and opened it up (still very confused), and immediately saw the little note card which read “From Keychange ”. Instantly, I realized that it must be the tea she’s sending me – a few small samples and then a lot of HS’s Boston Blend. I figured she’d just parceled it in a DAVIDsTEA box because maybe the Boston she sent was really that much? And that it had just got here really fast…

But nope, I kept opening only to see this beauty:

http://www.davidstea.com/david-s-mason-jar?&TF=69F219E5A1A1&DEID=

Remember the mason jar she was raving about? Yeah – she sent me one. Seriously, the kindness of people here on Steepster is sometimes just absolutely too much! And, totally out of the blue! I’m overwhelmed by the generosity. May Keychange receive all the good karma! ALL OF IT.

Consequently, right before I went to check the mail I started steeping a sachet of this, which Keychange also sent me. My first taste was when I was sick and I feel like I wasn’t really tasting it properly so I wanted to make a cup now that I can taste it ‘correctly’.

Except, then I received random good karma mail and I forgot I was steeping anything because I was so overwhelmed and I immediately had to go to (Tre’s) computer, and write her a thank you note and post in the ‘What Did You Recieve in The Mail Today’ thread and by the time I remembered there was tea steeping in my kitchen it had been like 20 minutes…

So…

This is insanely bitter to the point where I don’t really even taste the bergamot. Plus side #1 is that I can taste some caramel. Plus side #2 is that I still have a sachet of this left, so I can go make another cup (and this time be diligent in steeping it correctly). And finally, plus side #3 is that since there’s only one sachet left I can make it a sipdown.

So, I think I’m going to go do that! And then, I’ll likely make something in this beautiful mason jar.

Last of the backlog from last night!

Made this right before bed and added a splash of milk! Despite Tre remarking it looked like I was drinking dishwater, this was insanely good – although it did start to get a little less yummy as it cooled down.

Thanks VariaTEA for sending it over – I know you didn’t like it, but I’m enjoying it quite heavily.

Sipdown (203)!

This is backlog from last night, after Tre took back his laptop.

I do prefer this one to the plain Cacao, I’ve decided, however after brewing up an extra strong 10 oz. mug of this (2 1/2 tsp. of leaf, effectively using up the sample from *variaTEA) and letting it brew for 30 min. so it was extra strong, I still felt dissatisfied with the taste. It was too weak and thin tasting, despite having split second moments of tasting like Strawberry Nesquik syrup or melted Neapolitan.

Just not my thing, I suppose.

This tea pleases me greatly in practically every way.

Except the totally lame name. I’m not gonna drop that. This tea is delicious and so deserving of a cooler, way less generic name.

It feels like this has been on my dash a lot, but I guess not because the only three reviewers thus far are myself, VariaTEA (whom I sent this to), and Cavocorax. Maybe it seems like more because the few times I’ve seen it pop up I basically freaked the fuck out with excitement and we had massive comment conversations about it?

Anyway, when I pulled out DT’s Cranberry Pear I caved and pulled this one out too. And then impatiently waited for the water to cool while I steeped up Cranberry Pear. Brilliant cup like always – absolutely a restock, though thankful I still have a fair amount of it.

The papaya is strong today.

EDIT: I increased my rating a little.