I received this as sample from Bird & Blend with their Christmas in July sale. It’s one I REALLY wanted to try. I love a good jam and a good jammy tea. I’m glad I didn’t use more than one heaping teaspoon, as the black tea tastes richer here than the usual black tea from B&B (which I think is usually Ceylon unless they changed it). That is because this one is a mix of an Indian assam black tea and a Kenyan black tea. The black tea itself is definitely for breakfast, even if the brew color is more red than black. The flavor is malty, bready deliciousness. I really appreciate the different black teas used here, but the strength might overpower much of the raspberry flavoring. I think it’s all in the luck of the teaspoon scoop though because I might be tasting more hibiscus than raspberry. B&B is usually really great at taming that hibiscus. Or maybe I just like a ton of jam. Overall, this one just isn’t the blend that I’d hope it’d be. I’m very glad the base isn’t the usual Ceylon, as that would be even more disappointing. Nothing magical here like with their Jelly + Ice Cream blend (which sold out almost instantly for their sale…. maybe they shouldn’t offer some teas only during a sale? Supply & demand sort of thing?) But I have at least one more teaspoon to try — maybe the magic will be there.
Steep #1 // 1 heaping teaspoon for a full mug// 14 minutes after boiling // 3 minute steep
Steep #2 // couple minutes after boiling // 3 minute steep
This is You :-D
Profile
Bio
Hi! I love tea and trying new ones – it adds a bit of variety to my day! Books, music, TV & movies are my thing… and tea, of course.
Some of my favorite tea shops (still operating):
birdandblendtea.com
teavivre.com
52teas.com
svtea.com
whisperingpinestea.com
justea.com
harney.com
Dammann Freres
fusionteas.com
Javateaco.com
Lupicia
Octaviatea.com
Davidstea
eco-cha.com
what-cha.com
singleoriginteas.com
teasenz.com
tealyra.com
Mandala
verdanttea.com
Favorite tea shops (RIP):
butikiteas.com
steapshoppe.com
steepcityteas.com
aquartertotea.com
dellaterrateas.com
zentealife.com
angrytearoom.com
theteamerchant.net
joysteaspoon.com
tealiciousllc.com
Rivertea
Specialteas
My icon photo is Richard Mayhew from the graphic novel ‘Neverwhere’ by Neil Gaiman, Mike Carey & Glenn Fabry.
Most of the teas listed in my cupboard are actually sample sizes. I don’t really have 2,000 ounces of tea around here! Many of my teas have only one teaspoon left… maybe two. But I like keeping them in my cupboard list for reference to what I could be sipping. Usually, I write tasting notes once for each tea. I’m still drinking them, just not writing tasting notes each time!
I’m always in search of: Hattialli, Qu Hao black, Jin Jun Mei, teas using marshmallow root.
My dislikes: hibiscus, ginger (unless in chai), turmeric, bee pollen, charcoal type flavors
My ratings:
95-100 – Super awesome deliciousness favorites – cupboard essential
80-95 – Also pretty delicious
65-80 – Pretty good
50-65 – Okay
1-50 – Probably won’t want to sip it again
I’m planning on being a Steepsterer as long as there IS a Steepster, so if you’re not hearing from me, that means something happened to my health… if you know what I mean. (Or as evidenced by the great computer hiatus of 2019, something happened to my computer… I have a dumb phone so can’t access internet on that. As of 12/20/21 my wifi might start getting unreliable.)
Happy sipping!
Location
USA
I found it really finicky, but when it’s right, it’s really right.
Hopefully the next cup is better…