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Mastress Alita’s Monthly Sipdown Challenge
July 2022 → A tea from a US company

Another herbal from vallhallow and one I’ve been very curious to try. This has an interesting aroma. It’s almost like overripe fruit and iced tea that’s gone sour, which sounds gross but it’s actually not. The flavor is sweet and reminds me of sparkling grape juice. This was definitely not what I expected from this tea, but it’s so unique that it’s definitely worth a try for anyone who’s thinking about it.

Mastress Alita’s Monthly Sipdown Challenge
July 2022 → A blueberry tea

I had intended to drink this tea from vallhallow during Pride month, but of course I missed it. So here we are in July! I woke up craving Blueberry Jam from DT. I don’t have any right now, but I remembered this blend had blueberries so I grabbed it. Lucky me, it also fulfills one of July’s new sipdown prompts! It definitely has some serious berry flavor, but I taste more raspberry than blueberry. Which is great! I love raspberries. Maybe not exactly what I was wanting this morning, but delicious nonetheless.

Mastress Alita’s Monthly Sipdown Challenge
June 2022 → A rose tea

There are tons of dried rose buds in this blend, but the dominant aroma for me is lemongrass. I do wish the rose and chocolate came through more. Maybe I’ll double the amount next time. Very soothing cup for nighttime.

Mastress Alita’s Monthly Sipdown Challenge
June 2022 → A tea with oceanic notes

This was the only non-caffeinated tea in my stash that had anything even close to oceanic notes. Even then, it was seaweed (not ocean air or ocean breeze or anything like that) and I believe only one person mentioned it. Even so, I’ll be using it for today’s sipdown prompt.

I wasn’t sure if I would like this because I thought it might taste like a green tea, but it’s so complex and interesting and I’m really loving it! I like it equally both hot and cold. No additions necessary. In fact, I think adding honey might overwhelm the flavor. It does look like a green tea once steeped, but the flavors to me are more reminiscent of a black tea. I taste fruit and dark chocolate surprisingly enough! I’m really enjoying this and will almost certainly add some to my next Verdant order.

Many thanks to vallhallow for sending some of this incredible herbal for me to try!

Mastress Alita’s Monthly Sipdown Challenge
June 2022 → A vanilla tea

I expected this to be a plain sort of tea with just enough vanilla to claim it as an ingredient. Not sure why those were my expectations, but that’s what I was thinking. Quite happy to find that this has great vanilla bean flavor and reminds me a lot of my favorite vanilla bean tea from Mighty Leaf. Not quite as good but very enjoyable.

Mastress Alita’s Monthly Sipdown Challenge
June 2022 → A tea smoothie

I’ve been excited to try this decaf Earl Grey, so I found a recipe using EG in a smoothie for today’s sipdown prompt.

https://www.rhubarbarians.com/earl-grey-tea-blackberry-smoothie/

Of course I had to try it before mixing it into the smoothie and it’s just really good. I don’t think I would have been able to tell it’s decaf honestly. It holds up really well to milk and honey, both of which I added before mixing with the blackberries, which doesn’t seem to be the case for other decaf black teas. Of course, to be fair, this was steeped up really strong for the recipe. The smoothie itself was alright, not anything incredibly special, but I do really like this EG.

Mastress Alita’s Monthly Sipdown Challenge
June 2022 → A tea that reminds you of your best friend

James loves hibiscus so I had to include this for him. I don’t particularly like drinking it on its own (or hot), so I added some lemon juice, water, and maple syrup to make a lemonade of sorts. It’s still not great, if I’m being honest. I think less water and more lemon and/or hibiscus would have been a better mix. It’s a bit too diluted. Not bad for a cold beverage on a hot day though!

Mastress Alita’s Monthly Sipdown Challenge
June 2022 → An orange tea

I’ve been pleasantly surprised with the decaf options from Plum Deluxe and this one is no exception. It has a very clear orange flavor, much like orange juice rather than orange peel. I think I still prefer lemon black tea over orange black tea, at least at the moment, but this is a nice change. Definitely a bonus that it’s decaf as well!