BrutaliTeas

BrutaliTeas Advent Day 1

After a lot of black tea I wasn’t terribly excited for this one, but I was pleasantly surprised. The coffee is a strong flavor over the black tea, though you can taste the tea as well. Not sure if the extra 5 degrees above recommended is what made it so bitter or if it’s just inclined toward bitterness (sort of feel like the latter seems more likely, but who knows). I think I generally prefer to keep my tea and coffee separate. Still, it was fun.

I had a hard time with this particular sample – I didn’t really feel either of the namesake ingredients came through. Lavender isn’t my favorite anyway, so I didn’t necessarily miss it, but it did make me wonder if the sample itself was unbalanced or if that’s just the tea.

This one just felt like the winner for a quick cup before trick-or-treating and other Halloween shenanigans.

After the last two struggles with oversteeping I stuck with the short end of the suggested window and I loved this cup. The tea itself was light but it wasn’t used as an excuse to skip out on the spices. The ginger was dominant. I’m not a big coconut fan, but this just added smoothness without an overwhelming coconut flavor. It tasted like a spice cookie with a little cream.

Probably a brew that would benefit from more careful attention on the timer, with a steep closer to the beginning of the recommended time. Even so, I enjoyed this one. While the bitterness was forward (hence the steeping note), it mellows into a pleasant and even sweet toffee profile that lingers.

I’m not giving this a number just yet, because I would not be charitable to this particular cup and I think I need to try again with a lighter hand. This round was acid and bitterness and only the slightest caramel finish. So note to self – experiment with less tea, shorter than recommended steeping time, etc.

A good balance of creaminess and light spice in a chai I could drink regularly. I even liked it better as it cooled. I don’t know that it stands out enough for a purchase out of so many good options, but I wouldn’t be mad about having more.

I wanted more berry from a tea with this name. It appears slightly at the back of each sip and leaves a tiny bit of aftertaste, but I’m mostly getting the genmaicha flavor. Still tasty!

I’m pretty sure this is a blend of Adagio’s “Rooibos Caramel” and “White Pear.” I’ve always liked Adagio’s “White Pear” which is fortunate because this a blend like this, no matter how much you shake up the bag, the rooibos falls to the bottom and what is left at the top is mostly just the white tea, so the majority of my cups have just been the pear-flavored white tea with the tiniest hint of caramel rooibos. The white tea is a mix of dewey floral and hay and the pear flavor works really well with it, and it shines even more after I’ve fallen asleep on the couch and wake back up to find an ice-cold cup waiting for me.

Now that I’m on the last cup in the pouch, this cup is all the red rooibos that shifted to the bottom… even with that abundance in this cup, I pretty much just taste the white pear. I get a bit of the woodiness of the rooibos, but the caramel flavor just isn’t popping at all.

I love the idea of caramel flavor mixed with pear, but this tea just doesn’t succeed at it. I do enjoy the pear, but there is no reason to get this over just ordering the plain “White Pear” straight from Adagio.

I’ve been making this as a cold brew, and it’s pretty good. The lime flavor is present, but not quite as strong and juicy as I would like… It has a nice citrusy tang, but pales in comparison to the lime flavoring used by 52Teas. The oolong provides a pretty vegetal backbone that enhances the slight cucumber notes and goes nicely with the citrus, too. It’s pretty gulpable as an ice cold drink.

I suspect this is a blend of Adagio’s “Rooibos Caramel” and “Rooibos Cinnamon Apple,” and I really like this combination. It has a strong cinnamon aroma which made me expect one of those strong Market Spice/cinnamon candy-esque rooibos blends, but it isn’t like that in flavor. The caramel flavor actually comes through the most, with a little apple sweetness and the cinnamon a lighter note that lingers a bit after the sip. I actually get the mix of caramel and cinnamon apple pretty well, and they are flavors that I quite like on the strong rooibos base. The rooibos flavor is very strong here, though, so I wouldn’t recommend to those that are red rooibos averse. I’m enjoying my cozy warm pot of this tonight with some pumpkin choco-chip cookies and leaning into the autumn vibes (it’s not that cold yet here, but the trees are shedding like crazy!)

So this tea appears to be a blend of Adagio’s Vanilla Oolong, Black Cream, and Lapsang Souchong, with marshmallows added. Since the Lapsang was listed last I thought it wouldn’t be very prevalent in the blend, but I was wrong… all I taste is Lapsang Souchong, not a hint of vanilla/cream/marshmallow in the flavor. It’s just pure pine smoke, which I’ve always had major issues with… the smell gives me migraines and the tea irritates my throat and makes it scratchy and causes me to cough like crazy. This is all campfire, no s’more.

Ya, nope. I’m not even going to push myself through the rest of the sampler bag. This is going in the bin.

When I looked at the ingredients for this, I thought it might scratch the itch left from finishing off Lupicia’s “Chocolate and Strawberry Pu’erh.” The ingredient list sounded really promising, mixing assam and pu’erh with strawberry, hazelnut, and cream flavors, but unfortunately, I’m not really getting that from the flavor. The flavor of the assam is just not coming through the pu’erh at all, while the black tea added to the Lupicia tea really smoothed out the pu’erh flavor in that tea. So I pretty much just taste pu’erh, which isn’t my favorite tea type… it isn’t too “dirty” tasting here, thankfully. But the earthiness is very strong due to the hazelnut flavoring, which is really strong and prominent. I don’t taste strawberry or cream at all. If I had to wager a guess, I bet this is a blend of Adagio’s Black Cream and Strawberry and Hazelnut Pu’erh, as that hazelnut flavor is very distinct. I’m sad the other flavors aren’t popping, though (I’m actually a fan of that Cream flavoring Adagio uses).

So ultimately, I’m just getting a cup of hazelnut-flavored pu’erh, which is fine, but not what I was hoping for. I was really hoping for some malty and fruity notes. I’ll finish up my sample with breakfast but probably would not reorder this.

I really like this one. I’m so thankful for the minisample-now I’d definitely reorder some next time.

I was worried it would be too earthy and herbaceous, but even opening the bag, the earthy elements compliment the orange and the lavender very well. The cocoa beans actually prevent the orange and lavender tasting soapy which what I was worried about. The Pu-Erh is also not prevalent, with maybe a mushroom earth quality that is occasionally there, but it’s not forward in the taste at all.

Drinking it up 2-3 minutes ish western, orange and lavender are immediate in the smell followed by earth and chocoalte. Drinking it, Orange and Chocolate lead the start, and the end in the finish with a very balanced creamy lavender. The overall vibe of the tea tastes like a Terry’s Chocolate orange infused with lavender. It’s not too malty, and it’s not bitter at all.

I like floral and desserty teas, and I personally really like this one because it’s very balanced. I can see it being too faint for some people and the chocolate may not be forward enough, but any tea with lavender is going to be a hit or miss for people. It actually chills me out and I wouldn’t mind having some on hand.

I pulled this out a week ago when my friend Todd was visiting for the weekend; I have chronic migraine and kept waking up with my head being uncooperative, so I was hitting it with all the things first thing in the morning, including a stronger-than-usual hit of caffeine. I think this was the only “coffee tea” in my current cupboard that wasn’t an herbal substitute to coffee and would actually have the caffeine I needed.

It’s pretty good! I have been brewing it a bit stronger than I would typically brew blacks or mates, so that combined with the coffee beans does make it a little bitter, but that bitterness also just sells the coffee flavor, which is pretty prominent. I can taste a bit of vanilla on the backend, but mostly I taste the really sharp notes of coffee bean and the roastiness of the roasted yerba mate. Very nice for a kick-in-the-pants morning, or a drizzly rainy afternoon at work.

2024 Sipdown Challenge | April | A tea from a swap or a sample

Yikes, I haven’t written a tasting note in two months! I’ve been distracted by some life transitions — all planned, intended, and positive, but still, I’ve been working to rediscover my rhythm and balance. That leaves less time for internet stuff and more time for real-world stuff… which includes drinking tea, but not necessarily logging it!

Aaanyway, I finished this one a few days ago after grabbing it from a TTB last year. The first few cups had a lovely (if understated) cherry cola vibe laced with a bit of peach, but the final two cups were a bit lacking on the cherry flavor. Still yum.

2024 sipdown count: 15

Also bumping up this rating. Has become one of my favorite when in the mood teas. Have now sipped my last cup and will do a bigger order as this is a permanent keeper shelf item for now.

Nice chocolatey, nutty goodness with more sipping of this one. Indulged with a mystery book in a bath after a tiring day. Does make me remember I forgot my order of chocolate though

This was a letdown. The ingredients list has so much going on – pomegranate, raspberry, vanilla, caramel, bergamot – and yet I couldn’t pick out almost any of it in the flavor. I wouldn’t have even recognized it as an earl grey if not for the name. There is a subtle generic berry aftertaste, but I’m not getting anything else. The tea itself is fine. Just not anywhere near what I expected.

(This was part of the 2023 advent calendar that yes, I am still finishing, after basically neglecting advent season).

Almost done with this one – will definitely be a re-order later. The small chai or cinnamon (one or both?) comes through and it’s well blended still. Has held up with multiple sippings.

Second brew of a 3 cup pot was more yummy than the first sampler. Perhaps the name or the smell, reminds me of morning coffee a bit. Will likely be a keeper staple after out of the small size.

Another NO-keeper for me – I usually love Brutaliteas but doing a clear out of this one and The Tart of Ruin. There’s just something unpleasant and borderline bitter with both of them for me.

BrutaliTeas advent, day 8

This was a wild experience.

I notice the lime first in the scent. In the taste, the green tea is up front, followed by a slam of chili pepper that bites my lip. Then it settles into mostly coconut. Not really getting any lime, but this ingredient list suggests an awful lot going on. Spicy sour might be a great flavor profile; I don’t know about it in tea though!

BrutaliTeas advent, day 7

I wish I liked red rooibos so I could really enjoy this blend. It’s Nilla Wafers in a cup! Unfortunately for me, it’s a little like the Nilla Wafers have been sitting on a wet wood plank, absorbing the flavor.

I don’t know if I’ve ever had such a strong desire to eat those cookies as I do now.