Windy City Blend

Another tea I’m finishing up. From Sil. Ages and ages ago.

It’s decent. I’d like the strawberry-vanilla better on a black tea base rather than a mixed tea base. The oolong/green is upsetting my tummy today.

Thank you for sharing, Sil. :)

(I have no idea what temp the water was at, because my kettle has decided that today is the day it will boil forever. So.)

This blend certainly sounded intriguing and I needed something to go with my Panna Cotta Rhubarb in my order. So many nice things in the blend! Not only three base teas: black, oolong, green but also osmanthus blossoms, sunflower, jasmine, rose blossoms, strawberry caramel, vanilla bits. Sadly, the flavor isn’t as magic as I wish. I tried this tea twice. Once with one teaspoon and once with two. It seems like the results are the same. I really tried to shake up the bag but I don’t see many flowers. I don’t taste them either. The flavor seems very light and I can’t really tell which types of oolong, green or black tea are thrown together here. The only flavor only seems like candy strawberry. I wish all of the ingredients made an appearance.
Steep #1 // 2 teaspoons for a full mug// 15 minutes after boiling // 3 minute steep
Steep #2 // just boiled // 3 minute steep

Caramel and strawberry notes. Wet autumn leaves. Medium mouthfeel. A hint of mineral taste. Roasted notes.

Thank you to Sil for sharing

Had to pick up this blend during my first visit to their Chicago store on Division. Great store. Really wish I could have geeked out more but it was hot out and I was with my family.

Anyway. Very unique blend! The black tea comes out the more you steep it. Really an interesting blend. So much going on. Don’t even know where to begin.

Sipdown (113)!

Thanks to Sil (I’m pretty sure) for the tea! I remember asking for this one in a swap once, I’m pretty sure, though I don’t recall with who. They only had a cups worth though, so I was more than ok with not trying it. And turns out it worked out so I get to taste it anyway!

I cold brewed my sample; it’s been absolutely, breathtakingly gorgeous here lately so I’m not making hot tea for my commute to work anymore – which means I’ve had to be a little bit creative with what I’m picking out for cold brews. And since it’s a jumble of tea types, part of me was also relieved about not having to figure out what temperature to brew this one at hot.

This was a very weird tea; there’s certainly a lot going on with it. I tried it semi blindly; I hadn’t looked it up before hand but I had seen reviews on it so I knew to somewhat expect strawberry and caramel notes. Otherwise, I had no prior knowledge.

My experience was that the oolong stood out the most of all the teas mixed in here; and then the black tea – didn’t really pick up anything particularly like green tea. Perhaps the little bit of nuttyness at the front of the sip? But that note could be attributed to the other base teas as well. In addition to some nuttyness, I noticed a fair bit of toastier notes and mineral notes at the start of the sip; this is partially what made the oolong stick out a little more for me.

This transitioned into the body of the tea, which had a sort of ‘medium’ sweetness and richness to it; definitely the caramel. While this flavour was strongest in the middle of the sip, it was still present all throughout. The finish is where the strawberry kicked in for me; though I found it more of a soft, generic red berry sort of flavour and a lot less distinctly like strawberry.

Now that I’ve looked up the tea I know there are also some floral ingredients. I don’t recall pinpointing anything distinctly floral at all – but it is possible (though perhaps a bit of a stretch) that the presence of these flavours, if there at all, were just kind of smooshed in with the flavour of the oolong for me. With all that was going on with this tea I think it’d be perfectly reasonable for me to have missed them again.

I would totally drink this again; the impression I got is that this is definitely one of those teas that gets better the more you drink it. Thank you Sil!

Thank you Sil for letting me try some of this tea! However, seeing as it was a blend of green tea, black tea, and oolong, I had no clue how to steep this. I tried 3 minutes at 175F and the result is an oolongy caramel tea. As in the oolong is the main component I am tasting while the caramel just creeps up near the end of the sip. Plus, as I bring the tea to my mouth, I get just a hint of vegetal flavoring from the green. It’s not bad but not something I will be seeking out again. Still it was fun to try. 197.

Another one from Sil! And it’s another multiple base tea, although this one is black/green/oolong. Interesting… The leaves are quite large, and I can see all three kinds. The oolong in here is definitely an oxidized and unrolled variety, though I don’t smell any roastiness to speak of. Dry scent is vaguely caramel-y.

I can definitely smell a touch of roast in the steeped tea, as well as the oolong itself and strawberry and caramel flavors. Hm, this kind of just tastes like a generic roasted oolong with not a lot of distinguishing characteristics. I’m not picking up on much flavoring either, maybe a tiny hint of caramel. Sad panda.

Part of a generous sampler I received from Sil!

Okay – any time I see blends and realize they are a mixture of tea types I get so nervous. I mean, black and oolong and green? What am I supposed to do about temperature? And strawberry, caramel, and jasmine? What a combination – I was curious to see what the final result would be.

I ended up going with an oolong temp (195) and black steep time (4 minutes) and came up with a light liquor that looks a lot like dan cong oolongs do, so kind of light amber. The scent is all strawberry and caramel/vanilla. I can never bring myself to add anything to oolong or green teas, so this is going to be a plain tasting.

And, surprisingly, it reminds me of the strawberry shortcake blend from DAVIDsTEA. Weird, especially because that’s a black tea I always had with milk and sugar, and this tea manages to have a strawberry and cream quality without any additions.

Yes, I quite like this, though I do think its more of an afternoon than a breakfast tea. But it’s a cold morning here so any warm beverage is appreciated…and this, I’m sure won’t be the last tasting note for me today. :)

This was another tea from yesterday – you’ll have to wait for a proper review, but this has jasmine in it…and i still bought it. and it taste like NOT JASMINE, so that makes me happy…instead it’s more strawberry caramel vanilla, hello! :) so nyah!

Final Count: 87