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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! :)

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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

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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…

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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.

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Yum, such a tasty genmaicha.

I love genmaicha in general, but there’s definitely a range of quality. A lot of them have too much or too little rice, or the base is just not good. This one has a standard bancha base, yet it’s so tasty with mellow notes of sun-dried grass, hay, and toasted nori. Super smooth and satisfyingly brothy. And of course, the rice adds a rich, toasty, nutty flavor that makes it supremely cozy.

Yum yum yum. Happily I have another full-sized pouch of this to sip through! :D

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So for some reason, I’ve been drinking a lot of breakfast black teas with milk and sugar lately, which is extremely unlike me. I think it started because I was craving some comfort with the onset of cooler weather recently, and then I just kept doing it. So that was the case for most of this mini tin, as Ceylon isn’t my favorite and lends itself well to additions.

Having this last cuppa plain though, and it’s fairly tasty this way. Getting a lot more sticky dried fruit notes than I remember, particularly golden raisin. Also tastes a bit like generic iced tea. Fairly smooth, though I did keep the steep a bit short because of the dusty bits at the bottom of the tin.

4 down, 20 to go! x.x

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Another one that I noticed was low after packing up a tea package!

Still one of my favorites from Lupicia, I actually like it better than both Melon and Momo oolongs even though those tend to be more popular (IMO). Such a lovely sweet, luscious mango flavor on a silky smooth green oolong base. The light floral notes from the base really melds perfectly with the mango, making it a touch more aromatic.

So yummy! Happily, I have another unopened package somewhere, and also this is a permanent tea so I can restock it whenever I please. :3

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I sent out a packet of this with a recent sample package for a new Instagram tea friend. And since that left me with only a single 5g sample left, I figured I’d finish it off! But never fear, I still have a couple of unopened 25g packages of this one… ;)

I love sakura… It has such an unusual but delicious flavor – light and floral, sweet and fruity, yet herbaceous and savory as well. Unlike anything else, really. This one doesn’t actually have any salt added to the sakura, but it still has that slight salinity to it. The sencha base is scrumptious as well, über smooth with a wonderful blend of vegetal sweetness, refreshing grassiness, and complex umami notes.

Such a well-balanced tea, and one I’ll have to stock up on each year while it’s available! I also have a sakura and mint tisane from Obubu that I’m excited to try. :D

So a couple of weeks ago, I somehow found myself on the Andrews & Dunham website. I don’t recall how, maybe I saw something on Steepster that made me curious to see what teas they had in stock. Regardless, I found this tea in stock and promptly ordered a tin. I have four of their other teas and they’re always enjoyable, if slightly neglected in my cupboard. I then promptly forgot about the purchase.

So fast forward to two days ago, this tea showed up at my doorstep and ooh, what a lovely surprise gift from my (slightly) past self! XD

I admit, I was slightly nervous when I smelled the dry leaf, as the smoke dominates the aroma. I don’t dislike smoked teas, in fact I often quite enjoy them, but it’s not something I drink often, and sometimes I do find them a bit too smoky. But I needn’t have worried, this is very well-balanced. The smokiness is obvious, but it’s not the only thing I taste, and it has a lovely savory meaty flavor as opposed to a charred or ashy one. Underneath is a lovely sweetness, an earthy woodiness, and also a satisfyingly chewy bread note. Perhaps a touch of dark dried fruit as well?

Very yummy, and I certainly don’t regret ordering it on a whim. I haven’t been disappointed by A&D yet! :)

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Warm, cozy chrysanthemum tisane. The little sample packets were stuffed to the brim with small white blossoms.

The main flavor note for me is somewhere between chamomile and musty hay. It has a very soothing gentle and sweet herbaceous flavor. There’s a touch of sweetness that reminds me of licorice root as well. And of course, that signature pepperiness that I always find in chrysanthemum. Perhaps a touch of cooling, menthol-like flavor at the end of the sip?

It sounds like an odd combination, but it comes together in a somewhat complex yet easy-drinking tisane. There’s a brothiness to it that just feels so restorative to me, perfect for winding down at the end of the night.