Kumquat Cucumber Chutney

Swap Sample Sipdown! (62)

So I haven’t been keeping up with my sipdowns lately, as I’ve become increasingly engrossed in gongfu teaware… XD So as much as I want to do a session now, I’m forcing myself to drink a couple of sipdowns first!

This sample comes from Kawaii433!

I admit, this sounds like an odd combination, but I do enjoy both kumquats and cucumbers, so I’m game!

The base here is lovely and well-balanced, with delicious and satisfying bready notes. The cucumber here reminds me of silver needle – I guess that’s just the association I make with tea and cucumber together. I’m not sure I get much kumquat, perhaps just a little hint of something citrusy?

I’m glad the chili is very mild. It does give a nice, subtle warming sensation that is very interesting.

I would definitely like to see this base in some future blends! It’s balanced and yummy.

Interesting tea. I put this in my daily sipper and I got kumquat notes and soon felt a weird feeling in my throat. At first, I thought “Am I getting a cold?” The back of my throat felt funny after I swallowed… Not unpleasant, just surprised me some. So I went to look at the ingredients. Ahhh, there is it… Cayenne peppers.

The heat spreads too as you drink this. It wasn’t spicy hot on my tongue, it’s like a funny feeling in the back of your throat and by the time I finished my first infusion, my whole throat was warm. I also got orange-kumquats-citrus notes, the cooling effect from the cucumbers but not the flavor of cucumbers so much, some sweetness, honey notes, malty.

Interesting tea but in a good way. :)

Currently on day three of drinking this and this is what I’ve got to say for now.

The pepper spice is really gentle so far. I’ve been shaking the pouch regularly. I hope that despite my efforts the peppers are not all crowding each other at the bottom of the bag.

Iced Tea Sipdown (590)!

Something about icing this tea really brings out the cucumber notes. I mean, they’ve always been there in the flavour but usually this is a mix of several different pretty equally balanced flavour notes that includes cucumber. Instead, this was dominantly cucumber with soft undertones of orange and mild chili spice.

I actually think that I equally love the more balanced and well rounded profile of this one when steeped up hot and the more cucumber dominant profile of it as an iced tea. They are different for sure, and almost feel like totally different teas in general. But both are super pleasant and delicious. Almost makes me feel like this tea can do nothing wrong; and that makes finishing it all the more sad…

I was very thrilled to win 52Teas monthly giveaway! It is extremely generous of them. I won once before as well, and it just happened to be for the month of Berried Treasure which became one of my favorite blends of all time. THIS time just happened to include a chutney tea. Somehow, Anne even remembered that I had requested a chutney tea a while ago, so this made this win even more special this month… (though I’m assuming it just happened to be a coincidence I won on the chutney tea month.) I’m very much appreciating trying this! The blend is a black tea with orange, cucumber, cayenne peppers and flavors of what I’m assuming are kumquat. I’ve never had kumquat before so I had to look it up — odd little oranges. The piece of orange in my scoop looked surprisingly fresh. I also noticed the little cucumber bits. The pepper pieces are actually larger than I usually see in blends, rather than something like the fine cayenne powder. Even though the black tea includes Assam, Yunnan, and Ceylon, the leaves together at a quick glance didn’t really look all that different. It looks like all of the same type of tea leaves. The black tea itself isn’t as strong as I’d like, but this allows the showcase of flavors. I’m definitely tasting hints of bright orange and a tiny bit of cucumber. I’m not really a fan of cucumber but I LOVE when it’s included in tea blends to create a unique flavor. The pepper isn’t too hot, probably because of the larger pieces. A chutney tea definitely needs more heat! Overall, I’m happy 52Teas blended up another spicy fruity cucumber creation!
Steep #1 // 1 heaping teaspoon for a full mug// few minutes after boiling // 3 minute steep
Steep #2 // just boiled // 5 minute steep