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Sipdown! (4 | 45)

I’ve been sipping this one with milk and sugar lately, as a sort of lazy London fog. Having this last cuppa plain though.

Honestly there’s not a lot of flavor to it? Bergamot is mild, vanilla is very mild, base is mild… It’s a bit bland overall. The black base is smooth and softly woody, but lacking in flavor.

It’s not bad per se, just bland. And at this point, I’m not sure how I feel about New Moon anyway after they claim to blend their own teas and yet confirmed that many of them are from a wholesaler after I confronted them about it…

Sipdown! (3 | 44)

Finishing off this tasty tea from S&V. This and Almond Sugar Cookie are the first two teas I remember loving from them, and I’ll probably reorder both at some point in the future.

I will say, this doesn’t really taste like French toast to me. It actually reminds me of Quaker instant oatmeal, a combination of the apple cinnamon and maple brown sugar flavors. And I used to loooooove instant oatmeal, so it’s a bit nostalgic for me. It does taste a tad bit artificial on the maple part, but not enough to bother me. Mostly it tastes like syrupy apply cinnamony oaty goodness. :3

Sipdown! (2 | 43)

A sweet Insta friend was nice enough to send me a sample of this (very expensive) tea. I’ve tried one other tea from Paru before, it was a black tea with Okinawan black sugar. It was good but too sweet for me, and not worth the high price IMHO. But I love lychee so I’m excited for this one.

It’s very tasty! The base is a nice blend of earthy, malty, a touch of honeyed sweetness. Very deep and dark and satisfying. And the lychee is present but it’s not over-the-top, quite authentic tasting with a sweet and juicy, slightly floral note. I will say I’m not sure I get much in the way of lemon, a little bit maybe? I would like a bit more I think. Chrysanthemum adds a slightly musty, somewhat floral herbaceous note. It throws me off a bit, I’m not sure I like the combination with the lighter, sweeter fruit notes.

Anyway, I do like it. The base is nice and the lychee tastes fresh and juicy. I don’t think I would pay the high price for it, but I’m thankful I had a chance to try it. :)

Sipdown! (1 | 42)

I ordered a t-shirt from Obubu recently, and they included a 5g packet of this tea as a free sample. :3 (Because, you know, I really need MORE Obubu tea… XD)

It’s very smooth and somewhat sweet, with a lovely brothy richness to it. I’m actually getting rather strong notes of sakura, which I didn’t mention at all in my previous note. So that’s interesting. Otherwise it’s all steamed green vegetables, especially bok choy. Very silky and satisfying to sip on, like some kind of tasty vegetable soup. There are some deep umami undertones as well, but they don’t overwhelm the lighter veggie notes. Also I think I’m getting a hint of pine at the very end? Which is an interesting and nice pairing with the sakura.

Now I’m craving gyoza soup with bok choy for dinner…

Sipdown! (41 | 41)

Another sample packet from Teavivre.

The jasmine here is lovely, sweet and creamy with a lush floral flavor. A bit of a juicy, fruity undertone as well. Apricot, perhaps? But I’m not getting a whole lot of flavor from the green tea itself, which is a shame. Apparently even though this is called bi luo chun, it only refers to the snail shape and it’s not the same tea as their plain bi luo chun.

Still yummy, but I wish there was more of a green or vegetal note going on.

Sipdown! (40 | 40)

This was fine. I’m not a Ceylon fan, so it was never going to be my favorite. It is fairly smooth at least, with hints of wood and bread. Mostly it tastes like Ceylon though, tea-ish (lol) with a metallic edge and some astringency at the end. I found this one didn’t take milk that well either, it tasted a bit bland compared to the other Fortnum black blends I’ve had that way.

Anyway, another one done at least!

Sipdown! (39 | 39)

Another oldest tea finished off! This was from August of 2018.

I really like this one, thought perhaps not quite as much as its sister tea, Kumquat. Both are winter exclusive teas from Lupicia. It has a high quality sencha base that’s well-balanced, a nice mix of rich, buttery, vegetal, and umami flavors. There’s actually a hint of mineral smokiness in this last cup, which is unusual.

Yuzu is actually sort of a hit-or-miss flavor for me. I don’t tend to love it in sweet applications, just because it has that sort of piney note that, to me, makes it skew a bit savory, and I find it a bit weird with sweets. But it’s very popular in Japanese confections, so clearly mine is an unpopular opinion. I do love it in savory things though, my favorite ramen that I tried in Japan was actually a yuzu shio variety and it was delicious. And since this is a sencha base, with some nice savory qualities, I really like the yuzu paired with it as well. It adds a nice bright citrusy pop, along with hints of evergreen.

Happily I bought a new tin of this a couple of months ago, so I’m good to go! :)

Sipdown! (38 | 38)

So this is a swap sample labeled “Taiwanese Roasted Green Oolong” from the company “Taiwanese Tea Store”. I puttered around a bit on Google but didn’t find any promising leads, so decided to put it here rather than creating a new tea entry that would never be used again.

It’s a tasty lightly roasted Taiwanese oolong. The roast complements the other flavor notes instead of completely overpowering them, which I feel happens often with more heavily roasted oolong. Here I can still taste the sweet and creamy oolong, with its nectarous floral notes and a touch of ripe peach. But then the roastiness adds a nice comforting grainy note, along with hints of sweet honeyed dried fruits and cozy autumn leaves.

Very yummy overall, and perfect for a somewhat chilly day. :3

Sipdown! (37 | 37)

Another one I’ve been enjoying with milk and sugar lately. Apparently I’m on a tea with additions kick?

Anyway, having this last cuppa plain. I’m rather partial to Assam over Ceylon generally, and that’s the case here as well. This has a nice rich yet smooth malty flavor, pops of tart dried fruit and bottom notes of caramelized dark brown sugar. There is a touch of astringency at the tail end, despite my somewhat short steep. But it’s not enough to be distracting.

A pleasant Assam but not necessarily something I would specifically order. Enjoyed it while I had it though. :) I’m only at 5/24 for Fortnum sipdowns, heh…

Sipdown! (36 | 36)

More chrysanthemum! This one had two big, beautiful blossoms with long spidery petals inside. The shape reminds me of some kind of anemone, so pretty.

I was surprised by how savory this one tastes compared to other chrysanthemum tisanes I’ve had from Teavivre. The predominant flavor for me is eucalyptus, with a nice aromatic herbal coolness to it. I get rosemary as well, which is something I don’t remember finding in other versions. There’s also that familiar mellow musty hay with a bit of honeyed sweetness, and a touch of pepper. I usually find chrysanthemum a bit sweet overall, while this one veers more into savory territory with its strong herbal notes.

It does taste a bit medicinal overall, but not necessarily in a bad way. I feel like my sinuses are being cleared as I sip it. Different from other chrysanthemum tisanes I’ve tried, but still yummy. I could imagine it being wonderful for when I’m feeling under the weather as well.