Simply The Zest

#tiffanys2021sipdown Tea #164 overall / Tea #35 for April
Saturday 4/24 — Bird & Blend Simply the Zest. oh B&B, LOL on the name. Anyway, this was a nice size sample (they are always so generous) and as always I made this 20g into a cold brew pitcher. Started Weds 4/21 and finished pitcher 4/24. Nice fruity black tea, not necessarily a future purchase but nothing to complain about!
#tiffanydrinkstea #tiffanys2021 #tiffanysfaves #tiffanyinthe614 #tiffanysteasipdown #sipdownchallenge

Sipdown!

Still working on some of these older B&B subscription packets, though I think everything left after this is caffeine-free. I’m hoping to finish off the rest of them before I get the next subscription package. We’ll see!

This is a bit underwhelming. It just reminds me of a plain iced black tea with lemon added, which is not something I generally like. The base tea is very plain, with nothing much besides “tea” flavor to it. The tangerine tastes quite lemony to me, though I can see the bit of orangey-ness to it as well.

I do enjoy citrus teas, but they need to have a little something else, like a nice grapefruit flavor or some kind of dessert element, to hold my interest.

But I just finished watching Schitt’s Creek a week or so ago, and the name reminded me of it. :P

I was craving citrus today (sunny and cold!) so this was a natural pick. Two teaspoons, two steeps.

Zesty and bold, complete with some pithy bitterness and citrus oils that enhance the brighter tones of the base Ceylon black tea, though I didn’t taste much tea. Good body that makes an easy sipper or gulper, whichever one prefers.

This might not make sense but somehow this bold citrus zest black tea, even with bitterness and tanginess, managed to be so smooth that it was inoffensive in all manners. I came away thinking that Simply the Zest is ultimately forgettable. Maybe I like teas with edgier personalities too much to be truly happy with this smooth baby. Great tea for today, though. Thanks for the share, Martin :)

Another go with this one.
I need some strong tea with nice flavours so hopefuly it would be good. Why? Because my one of the most favourite aunts died today. Because of cancer of adrenal glands. Month ago they found it, in terminal state. “It is matter of weeks.” She was really “simple the best” aunt.

Oh well…

Tea is indeed quite strong. As last time – citrus fruits are overwhelming tea base. But today it is somehow enjoable. I steeped it longer, so orange flavour is most dominant, with bit of tangerine. In background lemons and limes.

PS: Yesterday was my third day without a tea this year.

So that interview I had. I waited over an hour and a half at reception, before I finally gave up and walked out. No-one I spoke to was able to explain what had happened, or seemed to be able to contact anyone who might feasibly know. I came back home to a half apologetic, half rude email saying that organising interviews in a busy building is very complicated, and that it was my fault anyway for not confirming that I’d be attending. I had confirmed, and have since provided a copy of my email, but despite making several complaints (including one half rational, half pissed-as-hell burst of eloquence that I’m quite convinced would inspire abject sorrow in an inanimate object) I don’t feel I’m getting anywhere. This from Cambridge, one of the most well-known and respected Universities in the world. I just expected better. And not to make a 100 mile trip purely to sit in a reception and stare at a wall for the better part of the morning. I don’t know what to think or do at the moment, but I am sure that this has been quite a week.

This tea was today’s cold brew. I used up the rest of my sample to make it – just over 2 tbsp of leaf in 2 litres of cold water, into the fridge for 10 hours overnight. Despite the slight overleafing, I actually think this one came out a bit on the weak and watery side. It wasn’t bad exactly, but it definitely had less flavour than I was expecting. Mostly, it reminded me of citrus fruit pith, but there were brighter bursts of orange towards the end of the sip. It’s a shame they didn’t really linger. This is definitely a tea I prefer hot!