AffogaTEA

Backlogged sipdown, cold brewed of course.

This one just didn’t work for me. The coffee is pleasant enough, and I enjoy coffee-flavored things. But there’s definitely some almond flavoring in here or something, because I got distinct amaretto-like notes. And I honestly never like amaretto or marzipan in tea these days, don’t ask me why. So that was the first strike against it.

Also, what’s with the tartness? I would have guessed hibiscus but it looks like it’s down to the apples and rosehips. I don’t understand why either of those ingredients is here at all… Tartness in a creamy coffee tea? Why?

Anyway, this was meh for me. Not awful, but disappointing.

Strange VariaTEA TTB: Tea #2

I couldn’t remember if I’d tried this tea before, so I wanted to make a cup of it. I think it is new to me, and I was thinking of one of Bird & Blend’s other coffee teas – like Fairytale of NY. I didn’t love this one, but I’m glad I got to try it – it’s just a bit too much of a realistic coffee flavour to me. Very roasty and not sweet at all; I also felt like there was a bit of a sharp/sour edge to it alongside those roast notes. Probably would have been better with milk or sweetener, but that’s not exactly what I was feeling in the moment.

I’ve been drinking A LOT of water lately. Not so much tea. Part of it is water has no decision factor. Tea does. Today I wanted tea but had no idea which so I just decided to make myself a cup of my oldest tea. My cupboard isn’t too bad in the sense of age since this is the oldest and its from July 2019.

This tea is fine but honestly not one I really care for. It’s got a coffee flavor but also a touch of hibiscus. I think that’s where this loses me. The coffee would lend itself nicely to a latte format but the hibiscus means I can’t do that. I think I will toss this into my swap box since I am just not feeling it.

Delicious! I bought a small bag of this the last time it came around as a seasonal without realising that it was a seasonal — very distressing when I came to re-order and found I couldn’t! There’s a lovely light, sweet nuttiness to this blend that goes along with a very rich mouthfeel to make a really delicious cup.

Cold brew in oat milk overnight.

April 2020 subscription, but decided to cut open this tea today.

I needed a strong caffeine boost as I need to do lots of study. And I have slept badly. And I had a headache. Almost a migraine. But I hope it’s not that.

Worked well. Okay I took painkiller, but this tea was so caffeine strong! Yeah!!

And in taste? Well, it was mellow and creamy, with coffee notes and overall very enjoyable. Vanilla here as well, with bit juicy from currants and cranberries maybe? I noticed both of them there today. I wonder if they reblended it or I was just more lucky with ingredients in my DIY tea bag?

Such a random mix of ingredients! For some reason, I had to try it. (Probably based on the description – “The classic Italian ice cream dessert, vanilla notes with a shot of espresso!”) There are coffee beans in here (LOTS), along with things like rosehip, hibiscus, and cranberry. Quite odd.

The fragrance from the bag of tea is absolutely divine – if you like coffee, that is. Heavy coffee aromas, with syrupy sweet caramelly/vanilla notes. It really smells like an iced cappuccino from Tim Horton’s tastes. Since I happen to like (sweetened) coffee, this aroma was quite appealing to me! Brewed up, the aroma is a bit weaker, but remains the same – and it’s still quite powerful. Flavourwise is where it’s a bit odd… because it tastes like an unsweetened, uncreamy iced cappuccino. Which, frankly, is not as good as it sounds, if it even does still sound good. Definite coffee flavours and lovely vanilla, but without sweetness, it’s undrinkable for me, as a person who does not drink straight coffee. It’s not even the bitterness that’s bothering me though (it’s not all that bitter); I can’t put my finger on what’s strange about it (maybe the sour dried fruits?). However – adding milk improved it greatly, and adding some maple syrup made it taste pretty much, to me, like a deliciously fattening iced coffee drink (note: it was cold by the time I got around to doctoring it). So basically, I strongly recommend having this as a latte (or even just with added milk), preferably sweetened. I’m not sure what the purpose of the rosehip/hib/cranberry are…

Note: I just picked up Vanilla Cappuccino from DavidsTea, and this definitely has a similar vibe to it. I’m interested in trying the DT one to see how it compares. I suspect it will be sweeter, at the very least, which isn’t necessarily a good thing.

ETA: Oh yeah, getting some marzipan-y notes too, along the vanilla/caramel.