2170 Tasting Notes
Mastress Alita’s Monthly Sipdown Challenge
May 2022 → A grape/muscatel tea
I chose this one for today’s sipdown prompt because another note mentioned it had grape notes. I don’t personally taste grapes. For me, it’s mostly a malty beverage. Not as bold as I’d like but it’s pretty good.
Flavors: Malt
Preparation
Mastress Alita’s Monthly Sipdown Challenge
May 2022 → A “geeky” tea
I think this tea is meant to be a Doctor Who reference, but I’ve only ever seen a couple of episodes so I don’t know what it means. I’ve always wanted to get into the show, but there are so many seasons – and doctors – that I never know where to start. I keep hearing that the upcoming season with the new doctor has great potential, so maybe I’ll just start there? It does have Yasmin Finney who was in Heartstopper which I absolutely LOVED. I feel I should try it for that reason alone. Any Doctor Who fans here? Where should I start?
The whole time I’ve had this tea, I thought it was an oolong. It does have oolong in the blend, but it also has black tea. So I steeped it today as if it were one of my normal black teas. It’s an enjoyable raspberry-flavored blend. Not anything too extraordinary though.
Flavors: Raspberry
Preparation
Doctor Who fan here; the series started back in ’63, but the series has lapsed multiple times. Many folks started at what is now called “New Who” which was the return of the series in 2005 (after a brief TV movie came out in the 90s, and the main show before that ended in the 80s). The 2005 season is Christopher Eccleston and Billie Piper and while not my favorite in retrospect, it did get me into the series (definitely needs at least a 4 ep trial, as I almost dropped after the first episode of the season which was a bit weak). My personal favorite season is David Tennant and Catherine Tate (who will be returning for the 60th Anniversary Special coming out next year).
Ahh, thank you! That makes it seem much less daunting. I did try the first episode with Jodie Whittaker but couldn’t get into it. Maybe I should have given it a few more episodes. I do like Billie Piper, so that sounds like a good place to start.
I’m a big Doctor Who fan, but the Jodie Whittaker era just sucked. Really bad writing (including a Ret-Con I just can’t forgive). I think even a lot of the long-haul fans gave up during Whittaker, heh.
Oh that’s too bad. Fingers crossed for better writers with the new doctor then!
The showrunner is actually returning to the one that ran the Eccleston and Tennant eras, so I’m super hopeful!
Another restock of an old favorite! This one is full of large coconut shavings and smells just like gingersnap cookies. It’s nice to have it back in my tea cabinet again. If Satori ever goes out of business, I’ll be so sad. They have so many good blends!
Flavors: Cinnamon, Cookie, Ginger
Preparation
Thank you, tea-and-cats, for sending me a few teabags to try! I’ve had this one once before and thought it was very watery (if I remember correctly), so I dropped the water to teabag ratio this time. I think that’s the secret! I can smell the hazelnut this time around and I can taste the chocolate. With a splash of cream, it’s almost like a nutty hot chocolate. Bumping my rating up for this one!
Flavors: Chocolate, Hazelnut, Nutty
Preparation
2022 Spring Tea Swap – Day 3
From Emilie!
Interestingly enough, the first thing I noticed when I opened the pouch is that it smells like cacao shells. But I don’t think there’s any chocolate in this blend. I don’t taste any chocolate in the finished cup either so that’s strange. Not sure where that came from. The tea is light in color and flavor but definitely on the fruity side. I’m not sure I would have guessed cranberry though and I don’t taste any of the chestnuttiness. To be fair though, I’ve never had an actual chestnut so I couldn’t say what it even tastes like. Aside from being nutty. I wouldn’t have guessed oolong either, but the description mentioned Darjeeling so maybe it’s leaning more toward a Darjeeling black for me.
Flavors: Cacao, Fruity, Mineral
Preparation
Reaching for a favorite today. Its chocolatey goodness never fails. So reliably good.
Flavors: Chocolate
Preparation
2022 Spring Tea Swap – Day 2
From Emilie!
So fun to try a tea from a new-to-me tea shop! I love smoky teas so this was a winner in my book. Not only was it smoky but it had an intriguing spiciness to it as well. I wouldn’t say it was complex – just a straightforward, enjoyable smoked black tea.
Flavors: Smoke, Spicy
Preparation
2022 Spring Tea Swap – Day 1
From Emilie!
Finally getting started on my spring tea swap with Emilie and pulled this gem of a blend from the pouch. This is one I put in the cart on my last order and then removed at the very last minute because I thought, “hey, it’s in the permanent lineup – I’ll just get it next time.” Has there been a next time yet? Nope. So I’m super glad to see it in Emilie’s swap!
I need to stress here that I never drink my teas straight. Never. But I do try to have at least a sip before adding anything to see what kinds of flavors I notice. It surprises even me when I say that this is a blend I could drank without any additions whatsoever. What?! It’s so incredibly smoooooth. There is a slight bit of smoke in the dry blend, plus the maple syrup of course, and once steeped I get a really rich malty aroma from the tea leaves. A lot of maple blends are too overwhelming to me. The maple flavor just smacks you in the face. For me, it can be too much. This one is confidently maple, but it doesn’t hurt my senses when I open the pouch.
I used one actual teaspoon this go around (as opposed to the perfect teaspoon I normally use) and opted for six ounces of water. It’s just really really good.
Thank you, Emilie!
Flavors: Malt, Maple Syrup, Smoke, Smooth
Preparation
James’ second pick from the TTB, also from Inkling.
This has a very strong artificial aroma. It reminds me of banana Laffy Taffy. Does anyone else get that strange feeling in your throat when you eat Laffy Taffy? I feel it now before even taking a sip! So strange.
The flavor is sort of like green apple Jolly Ranchers. The taste is better than I expected but it’s making my throat uncomfortably dry. This isn’t one I would drink regularly but it’s not so bad. Another that James really likes so I’m not worried about it going forgotten in the tea cabinet.
Flavors: Apple Candy, Artificial, Candy, Drying
Preparation
James pulled a couple of teas from the TTB that he really liked, and since I haven’t tried them yet I thought I’d have a cup of each today. This one was from Inkling, I believe. I’m not a fan of green teas in general (broken record, I know), but this one does smell really nice and has fruit in it so maybe I’ll like it.
I don’t. :/
It’s vaguely fruit and somewhat nutty, but mostly just tastes like a plain green tea. James really likes it though, so I know someone will be enjoying it.
Flavors: Fruity, Nutty
