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Thank you, AJRimmer! Man, if I don’t even like this one… I’m about to give up on T2. Fig! Dates! Caramel! In reality, this mainly looks like rooibos and marigold petals. The flavor of this one, I swear, is mostly from the marigold petals. It says marigold petals, but I swear it’s calendula, mainly from the appearance and also because it has a similar flavor to Bird & Blend’s Rhubarb and Custard. Is it possible both these teas have the same flavor from the calendula alone? I almost wish I had some calendula to steep alone to see what it tastes like. Otherwise, the flavor is mostly just sweetness… maybe a bit rum-like. Definitely not like figs or dates. At least I also wasn’t tasting the chicory.

Another chai for chai day! Might as well drink this with those greener coconut shards. Not bad, but not great anymore.

It’s National Chai day! So I’m having a couple on this rainy autumn day. This is a never-fail favorite. Nothing new to really say though I will miss it when it’s gone… it might be my very favorite among many from Fusion. It must have rose up the ranks of all the others.

Mastress Alita’s sipdown challenge Sunday, September 19th: Talk Like a Pirate Day Tea #2

Another pirate tea… it’s the rum!  I really like this one.  And great for one of the last warmer days of the year, trees just now turning orange.  Which is yet another reminder of the Western US fires, and as of an hour ago, the sequoias are now in jeopardy.  I always wondered how they were spared every year.  I’m hoping for the best….  I’ve probably already said it somewhere this year, but the new Lord Huron album really helps, so I’m listening to it now.  It’s still one of my favorite albums of the year so far.

Mastress Alita’s sipdown challenge Sunday, September 19th: Talk Like a Pirate Day Tea #1

Rather than any sad attempt from me to talk like a pirate in a tea note (I’m sure anyone else who tried writing a tea note like a pirate would do a better job than me), I wanted to pick some teas that might seem pirate themed.  This one works!  Buried (berried) treasure! I might drink this the most of any tea and it is now almost gone.  So much fluffy marshmallow root!  And that is only one of the reasons I love this tea.

additional notes: Just a note to say I’m trying to recreate the original steeping parameters where I originally gave this a 98 rating even if that is slightly impossible with a tea from 2014… and also what I bought never really tasted like the original sample I had, despite both being the 2014 harvest. It doesn’t seem like YS really has this sort of assamica anymore. Too bad, I liked it. This steep method tastes really good – strong but not oaky overboard:
Steep #1 // 2 teaspoons for full mug // 10 minutes after boiling // 3 minute steep
Steep #2 // just boiled // 3 minute steep

Mastress Alita’s sipdown challenge Sunday, September 12th: National Grandparent’s Day

I DID start drinking tea because my grandma had teabags lying around her house.   This was now sixteen years ago. (ONLY sixteen years!?)  However, this one in particular reminds me of my grandma because it was one of the only teas she had in her house  (same house) a few years ago while I was staying with her when my dad was in the hospital after his brain hemorrhage caused by his mouth infection.  (Just as a warning again to everyone – he went to the dentist a lot for cleanings! So that was not the issue! ) So as soon as I saw that ‘Harney – Vanilla Comoro’ tin sitting in a drawer, I was thrilled —  I knew it was an old standby of much needed comfort.  Still is. 

A sample from B&B, thank you!  I never really wanted to try this one, the ingredients don’t thrill my particular tastebuds:  chamomile, ginger, licorice root, peppermint.  I just don’t really gravitate to the first three ingredients, especially ginger and licorice root.  But the overall flavor isn’t bad.  The first steep tastes of noticeable licorice root.  The second steep is surprisingly sweet and somehow almost tasted like lavender.  Maybe I just expect lavender to be in a blend like this at this point. I will say the filled teabag definitely had more than a teaspoon of tea in there, which I can appreciate.  This isn’t bad.. it’s an agreeable nighttime blend… but there are other types of blends like this that I like more, that don’t contain ginger or licorice root.
2021 sipdowns: 122

Additional notes: Just a quick note-to-self to add this to the focus box, as it’s a rare B&B tea with stevia and I think stevia gets weirder the older it gets. Drinking it now and it does seem more stevia is taking over.

additional notes: Neglecting this tea! Forgot how fruity and delicious it was. I should have been drinking this in the hot months. I have a few great raspberry black teas now (this is also papaya.) The flavors are holding up.