Combray

On paper, pairing spicy-sweet cardamom with a green tea sounds like a tragedy of flavoured thin tea in the making. This is AU we are talking about though, and the green tea they’ve chosen is distinctive enough to hold its own: grassy, kind of nutty, and vaguely smoky (I almost want to say gunpowder? kind of looks like gunpowder. AU loves the smoke).

The result is a surprisingly full dessert tea that pairs well with the summer-fall transition. Cozy dessert lawn.

Ashmanra’s Sipdown Challenge | February 2023 | It’s Groundhog Day! Drink the same tea (or type) twice!

Yay, a new month and a new sipdown challenge! Thanks, Ashmanra! This is part one of today’s sipdown; later, I’ll finish a different August Uncommon green tea.

I am probably not doing this one justice by drinking it alongside a very aggressively flavored snack: Medjool dates with peanut butter and chocolate chips. Even an AU blend doesn’t stand a chance against those flavors! Not great planning on my part.

Anyway, I’m leaving my rating the same. This is still a very pleasant cuppa, even if there is a certain something in the scent of the brewed cup that’s just a tiny bit off-putting to me. I’m not getting much cardamom at all today; it’s just eggy vanilla custard all the way down. (Of course, I say that having not had eggs for over a decade, haha!) Actually, what I am noticing is a very mild numbing effect. Hmm!

2023 sipdown count: 17/75

I enjoyed this one more than some of my other August samples. It took me a while to try it because when I smell the dry tea the first sniff smells amazing but if I sniff again something smells off to me. Maybe it’s a conflict between the tea base and the flavoring for me? I’m really not crazy about how the wet leaf smells after steeping the tea. There’s some fruitiness coming from the tea leaves that mixes with the perfuminess of the cardamom in a way that doesn’t appeal to me. The brewed tea smells okay to me, though. The green tea has a bit of a bite but not too bad. The vanilla and cardamom give a lovely vanilla cake batter type flavor. It was really good with a shortbread cookie. This is a maybe for reordering. I wouldn’t make an order especially for more but if I was already ordering some other stuff I might pick up at least another sample bag. I really thought August’s black teas would be the ones I liked best but so far the greens and oolongs are working better for me.

2021 Sipdown #35
Final piece of sipdown spam! This was the next tea we used for my partner’s sore throat. I was sad to see this one go, as it’s one of my favorite green teas to have warm or cold but it went to a worthy cause. The next time I get anything from AU, I’ll definitely pick up some of this!

Sipdown! And the last one from my November Sips by box.

This one is fairly good. I like the combination of the cardamom with the custardy vanilla, it almost reminds me of eggnog in a way. But the vanilla can veer a tad bit artificial and cloying, and I feel like the base tea is just wrong for these flavors. It’s sort of harsh and grassy with a definite minerality to it, which conflicts with the creaminess of the vanilla. A softer base would be better, maybe a nuttier green tea or even an oolong.

It’s good, but with limitations that hold it back from greatness!

This is my current cuppa, and it’s not bad.

In terms of August Uncommon’s flavoured tea selections, I think this might actually be the simplest one I’ve tried in regard to concept/profile. It’s a smooth, grassier tasting green tea with some nutty elements paired with an aromatic and very custardy vanilla that finishes with a hint of warming cardamom. Nice and easy drinking, some layers of flavours but doesn’t make your brain hurt trying to digest the concept. I do wish it was a bit richer, but I think that also might be my hatred of green tea flaring up and wanting to cover some of the grassier notes.

Fans of creamy things and with an appreciation for smoother, delicate/gentle teas will love this one!

This is really just as described. A slightly grassy (albeit very mild) green base, with vanilla and cardamom. Both the vanilla and cardamom are strong and distinct, and work very well with the green tea. I really do like this one, but find it a bit boring, and probably won’t be purchasing it again once my sample is gone.

I like the cardamon. The usual cardamon bite is mellowed out by the vanilla. The green base seems really light to me. I’m used to black tea leaving me with a sense of fullness that I’m not getting with most greens and it leaves me unsatisfied. Glad I tried this, but won’t reorder.

I was intrigued by August Uncommon when I saw ads on IG. I’d gotten out of the habit of drinking tea, but decided to try a few blends. Combray was the only green tea blend that appealed. The first time I prepared it, I brewed 3 teaspoons in 750 ml water and steeped for three minutes. The vanilla and cardamom were strong, but were overpowered by the bitterness of the brew. The steeping recommendations that come with the tea are wildly off the mark, in my opinion. Rather than using a tablespoon of tea, steeping for five minutes, using one teaspoon per 8 ounces is more than sufficient. The second preparation I made steeped for only two minutes, which yielded a much more pleasant tea. The brewed tea has a nice vanilla scent, and the cardamom vanilla flavor doesn’t overpower the green tea base. It seems fairly well balanced. I’ll probably buy more of this tea when I use up my current stash.

The time has come. I get to see what everyone is freaking out about when it comes to August Uncommon. I’ve already tried three but have been too lazy to write any notes until now. Since cardamom and I are BFF’s—and because I got only a sample of this—first August Uncommon tasting note it is.

Hot, the cardamom and vanilla are ultra present whilst the base is mild. Initially, the first sip won me over and I immediately thought that I should order more before it’s gone. As this started to cool, however, the vanilla/cardamom and base are swapping places, and this becomes more vegetal.

The second cup I’m enjoying right now isn’t as creamily vanilla-esque as yesterday evening’s. I’d say I added less leaf than yesterday but tried to keep the rest of the steeping parameters the same. I’ll gladly finish the sample size but no more for me. I hands down prefer DAVIDsTEA’s Cardamom French Toast.

Second night this month when I haven’t slept a single minute and involuntarily witnessed the sun rise. Brain please shut up?