Sipdown (140/147)!
Thank you VariaTEA for the sample! I ended up splitting it so I could send a cup worth off to Cameron B. in the swap we just did, but first I made my cup! I think I’ve had this one for quite some time; I honestly don’t remember when you send it to me/which packaged you sent it in, but I forgot I even had it until Cameron requested it.
I had to fish it out of my sample bag stored in the closet! Honestly I probably put it off because of the spice. Oops! It really wasn’t so bad though.
I added milk to my cup, and the resulting brew ended up tasting like really weak hot chocolate or watery chocolate milk, with this odd spicy/peppery aftertaste that tickled my throat. I wish I knew what spices specifically are in this one; I didn’t taste cloves, ginger or cardamom which are “common offenders”, but I did get some cinnamon-ish notes (another common guy). More interestingly though, I got peppercorn/chili pepper spice, but I didn’t see anything in the dry leaf that would indicate that. There was also a really faint bitterness to the black base, but I think I may have oversteeped it a little bit, and that could be what was contributing that taste.
Overall, I think I just wish it was a tad bit richer in the chocolate department, but on the whole it was better than I was expecting it to be. I hope Cameron enjoys it!
I still have 17 more tasting notes to write, but I’m really tired and it’s three in the morning, and what I’ve done tonight feels like an accomplishment, so I think I’ll pick up where I’m leaving off in the queue tomorrow when I get up. Hooray for having the day off and not having plans/errands to run!
Flavors: Chocolate, Cinnamon, Peppercorn