No. 22, National Parks Dept.

Started the morning out with this one. Having a bit of a rough day and wanted some delicious cups of tea today. I still need a couple sipdowns before the end of the weekend, but for the next couple of days i may just focus on drinking up teas with larger quantities and see if i can get the weight down :)

Sipdown #52
This is another one sent to me from Sil, thanks!
Not sure what to say about this one. I like the way the cedar aroma rises up into my nostrils, I’ve always loved the aroma of cedar. The tea is a little on the bright side for me, & I’m really craving something bassy & satisfying right now.

I couldn’t resist breaking into this tea after bringing it home from the tea meet-up!
The base to this tea is strong, malty, and smoky in the way that I always imagined smoky teas to be, but never experienced before. The smokiness is warming and comforting, not obnoxious and overpowering like lapsong souchongs. The woody cedar and the deep, sweet juniper berries further mellow out the smoky aspect.
The pine in the aroma and aftertaste reminds me of summers in Maine! It’s so relaxing! I really like this blend. It really makes me want to try White Wolf, which has cedar in it, when it comes back in stock.

This has a strong base that is a bit astringent and smoky. I found there was an Earthy/lightly roasty flavour (kukicha). I did see in the loose leaf there were juniper berries and cedar tips, but I did not taste anything piney or resiny. I was really hoping to taste that cedar. It ended up being a generic black tea made slightly interesting by the kukicha.

Thank you, Cameron, I had this last night. I finished all your samples except one (the peppermint cream) and enjoyed them all so much!

Interesting and yummy tea. Unfortunately, I accidentally threw out the tea after the first infusion. Doh. I was cleaning out my other gaiwan and went on cleaning autopilot. At least I got to drink the first infusion. I do not know what juniper or cedar tastes like but whatever all the flavors in this tea, it was tasty and different. It was sweet, had honey, smoke, malts notes with a nice roasted-toasted comforting flavor. I enjoyed it so much. Thank you again, Cameron B.!

Pulled this one out today after seeing a note from amandastory516 for a similar tea. I admit to not having the highest of hopes, due to this being somewhat old, though it turns out it’s only two years old which I wouldn’t consider to be that bad…

This tea always makes me chuckle a little bit when I’m scooping it into the steeping basket, because it literally looks like I picked up whatever was on the forest floor and put it into my cup. There are giant cedar tips and big twigs, along with juniper berries. The black tea seems a small volume by comparison, so I used more tea than I generally would for my 12-ounce mug.

I am so happily surprised to find that this still has plenty of flavor left, and a very pleasing woodsy flavor at that. The base tea is a little bit astringent, and I think it’s likely an Assam based on the flavor profile. But mostly here it provides body and a nice base for the added ingredients. I get the light roasty autumn leaf note from the twig kukicha. The cedar tips have such a nice evergreen flavor, but also a light aromatic woody note like one would expect from cedar or sandalwood. I’m not sure whether I get juniper? It’s hard to say since it has a bit of a piney flavor to it as well. There’s a lovely cooling sensation as I exhale.

So happy this is still viable, especially given the price… But honestly I would order it again because it’s such a unique tea. And it’s perfect for autumn and winter with its lovely, slightly toasty woodsy notes! This is one of the few teas that really takes me away to a different place as I sip.

Of all the amazing teas that Sil sent me – this was the one I was most worried about.
There are pieces of pine tree in here. The leaf looks like it’s been picked up off the forest floor. Now I’m sure this would excite some people, but it kind of scared me.
The first cup, I under leafed and under steeped – I was afraid….
That cup was really mild and didn’t really taste like much more than black tea – ok so far so good – not as scary as I had feared.
The second cup I steeped longer and with more leaf. This is a little piney and a little fruity. There is hints of woody and smoke. It’s like being out in the woods.
While I can appreciate how balanced and interesting this is – these flavors are not really to my liking. Not nearly as bad as I had feared, but this still isn’t really to my tastes.
Thanks Sil for this interesting experience – I would never have chosen this to myself and would not have tried it if you hadn’t sent it to me. :))

This tea smells like the northwoods, and I love it. The taste is also great. I found it a very mellow, smooth black tea with hints of a forest-y taste. This will definitely be a staple for me.

This is an “assam-y” black tea blend, with a twist to the finish and lingering flavour- subtly composed of nutty cedar chips and sweet juniper berries. I’ve had other teas that have combined cedar and juniper berries but I like how this one mixes those flavours with the base blend.

Oh, I have this one! It’s not labelled with this name, but that’s OK. I think this name is way better than the old one.

Anyways, it looks and smells super cool. I think it might be an assam base, as it smells SUPER malty. The juniper berries and tree bits should add an interesting flavour!

And it is interesting. It’s surprisingly sweet, and very malty. I can’t really tell there’s tree bits in here, but it’s really nice.

Would I get more? Maybe. I mean, I just did a tea count and am still rather overwhelmed. Maybe if I ever get down to 100?