71
drank Not So Vanilla by Tippy's Tea
4170 tasting notes

I bought some of this in Ost’s sale. (Thank you Ost!) It’s one of those teas I’ve always wanted to try. And I am keeping aware that these teas that Ost is selling aren’t brand new fresh teas, but whoa, the vanilla is really lacking in this one. I can’t taste any. At all. I’ve always wondered at the name… ‘not so vanilla’? So maybe the trick is that vanilla isn’t in this tea at all. Haha. But the ingredients actually list actual vanilla beans, which I love when it’s included in a blend. I thought the black tea itself would be this very chocolate flavor, but the flavor was really just a middle of the road golden monkey. I wish I could try it fresh. I thought it would remind me of the French Breakfast blend from Octavia I wanted to buy for Black Friday this year. I didn’t expect magic from an older blend, but I did expect more than this… It’s almost like this is a completely different tea than most of the tasting notes mention. Sadly, it looks like Tippy’s is long gone so I suppose I’ll never try this tea fresh.
Steep #1 // 1 1/4 teaspoon // 18 minutes after boiling // 3 minute steep
Steep #2 // just boiled // 3-4 minute steep

My rating of 67 actually made the Steepster rating go down a point, so I will raise it until it was the same. Eh, actually I had to make the rating too high to change it back. So I will remain at a neutral 71.

VariaTEA

This tea was sooooo flavorful when it was fresh but it quickly lost the delicious vanilla. Given this tea is likely 2+ years old, I’m not surprised the vanilla is completely gone.

tea-sipper

But if there is actual vanilla beans, there should be SOME vanilla beans.

Cameron B.

I would expect real vanilla to lose its flavor much faster than vanilla flavoring.

tea-sipper

Hmm, well I did not know that. I wish teas didn’t age. haha

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VariaTEA

This tea was sooooo flavorful when it was fresh but it quickly lost the delicious vanilla. Given this tea is likely 2+ years old, I’m not surprised the vanilla is completely gone.

tea-sipper

But if there is actual vanilla beans, there should be SOME vanilla beans.

Cameron B.

I would expect real vanilla to lose its flavor much faster than vanilla flavoring.

tea-sipper

Hmm, well I did not know that. I wish teas didn’t age. haha

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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!

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USA

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