1248 Tasting Notes

73
drank Mixed Berries by Loyd
1248 tasting notes

I’m just finished off this box of teabags that was gifted to me from my friend Todd as a souvenir from his trip to Scotland.

The instructions say to use one teabag, but I found there wasn’t enough tea in the bag for a standard 12 oz. mug and the flavor of the cup was really weak and watery, so I had to use two teabags per cup. This provided a strong and flavorful cup with a very sweet berry aroma on the nose (makes me think of strawberry Jell-o) and a generic red berry flavor that has a sort of dessert-esque quality… there is something sweet here, and it comes off sort of biscuity? The citric acid adds a little bite to the end of the sip, particularly in a hot brew preparation.

While I’ve had a few warm cups, mostly I’ve worked my way through this box making liters of cold brew, for a sweet and refreshing fruity and thirst-quenching drink.

I quite like this, as long as it’s brewed strong! Thanks, Todd!

Flavors: Berries, Biscuit, Citrus, Fruity, Red Fruits, Sweet

Preparation
205 °F / 96 °C 8 min or more 2 tsp 12 OZ / 350 ML

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70

This tea is cocoa shells mixed with chai spices. The preparation instructions on this tea say to use 1-1.5 teaspoons but prepared this way, the tea is really weak… since the base is cocoa shells, it just comes off a bit watery and the flavor came off really strong on the anise, tasting like the much cheaper and more accessible Stash “Licorice Spice” teabags from the grocery store. I really needed a stronger “base” and it was pretty decent brewed with an additional plain breakfast black teabag, or a teabag of Sobacha to keep it herbal for an evening drink.

To get anything close to “dark chocolate” like the name, you need to use a lot of leaf per cup, which used up the 50g within a few servings, making it not a very economical tea. But when there is an over-abundance of cocoa shell, left to steep for a hefty time (I just leave the bag in the cup), it does get pretty chocolately and less licorice-y. The pepper is pretty strong though, which adds to that “bittersweet dark chocolate” flavor but feels like just a bit much.

A nice, rich cup is very nice, but for how impractical it is to get a good flavor it isn’t anything I would recommend or seek out again.

Flavors: Bittersweet, Cinnamon, Dark Chocolate, Licorice, Pepper, Spices

Preparation
205 °F / 96 °C 8 min or more 2 tsp 12 OZ / 350 ML

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70

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.

Flavors: Floral, Hay, Pear, Woody

Preparation
175 °F / 79 °C 3 min, 0 sec 1 tsp 12 OZ / 350 ML

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75
drank Lime Bomb by BrutaliTeas
1248 tasting notes

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.

Flavors: Citrus, Cucumber, Green, Lime, Spring Water, Tangy, Vegetal

Preparation
Iced 8 min or more 5 g 32 OZ / 946 ML

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77

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!)

Flavors: Apple, Caramel, Cinnamon, Fruity, Honey, Rooibos, Sweet, Woody

Preparation
205 °F / 96 °C 8 min or more 2 tsp 17 OZ / 500 ML

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90
drank Melon Oolong by Lupicia
1248 tasting notes

I went through my entire package of this preparing it coldbrew, and it was absolutely delicious! The melon flavor is really sweet and juicy, that sort of hybrid cantalope/honeydew flavor I get from other Japanese melon-flavored products. The base oolong is very silky and smooth with a bit of a fresh green vibe that carries the melon flavor perfectly. I probably should’ve tried this with some added sweetener and carbonation just to see how close it could get to melon soda, but just as a straight coldbrew it was perfect. Very gulpable. I really love Lupicia’s flavored oolongs for coldbrew!

Flavors: Cantaloupe, Green, Honeydew, Melon, Smooth, Spring Water, Sweet

Preparation
Iced 8 min or more 5 g 32 OZ / 946 ML
amandastory516

Lupicia’s melon flavor is unmatched. So good!

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80

I received this as a gift from Todd back in 2020, and I’m working on sipping it down by enjoying it in the mornings. The hojicha is lightly woody/nutty, and I like how it compliments the spices — in particular, the citrusy notes of the cardamom really pops. In some sips the woodiness of the hojicha mixed with the cardamom create an almost piney sort of flavor. It is the strongest spice I’m getting, though I do taste a bit of the ginger and the cloves and the cloves in particular leave a strong aftertaste. Apparently this tea is supposed to have chocolate flavoring and cocoa nibs according to the ingredients? I don’t taste even a hint of chocolate. (I know it’s old, but it has been kept factory-sealed in the tin since I received it, so I thought at least some of the flavoring notes would survive…)

This is very enjoyable… definitely a cozy-feeling tea.

Flavors: Cardamom, Clove, Ginger, Nutty, Pine, Spices, Woody

Preparation
205 °F / 96 °C 5 min, 0 sec 1 tsp 12 OZ / 350 ML

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78

I pulled this out some time at the beginning of summer and am now close to finishing it off when it is more seasonally appropriate. I wouldn’t say “pumpkin” is really where my mind goes when I drink it, but despite that, I really enjoy it! It reminds me of the “Honey Apple Cider Green Tea” from 52Teas that I had earlier this year. It has this strong apple note that comes off with a very fresh feeling on the green rooibos base, and the allspice is very nice. The aftertaste does sort of give me something squash-adjacent if I really focus on it. It’s nice hot and plain, but Anne’s suggestion of a little honey is nice, too.

Flavors: Allspice, Apple, Fruity, Green, Sweet, Warm Grass, Vegetal

Preparation
205 °F / 96 °C 8 min or more 2 tsp 17 OZ / 500 ML

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15
drank Malloween by BrutaliTeas
1248 tasting notes

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.

Flavors: Campfire, Pine, Smoke

Preparation
205 °F / 96 °C 3 min, 0 sec 1 tsp 12 OZ / 350 ML

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72
drank Assam a go-go by BrutaliTeas
1248 tasting notes

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.

Flavors: Earthy, Hazelnut, Nutty

Preparation
205 °F / 96 °C 3 min, 0 sec 1 tsp 12 OZ / 350 ML
Cameron B.

You’re probably right, Brutaliteas seems to often just mix Adagio teas together.

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Profile

Bio

Hi! I’m Sara, a middle-aged librarian living in southern Idaho, USA. I’m a big ol’ sci-fi/fantasy/anime geek that loves fandom conventions, coloring books, simulation computer games, Japanese culture, and cats. Proud genderqueer asexual (she/they) and supporter of the LGBTQ+ community. I’m also a chronic migraineur. As a surprise to no one, I’m a helpless tea addict with a tea collecting and hoarding problem! (It still baffles me how much tea I can cram into my little condo!) I enjoy trying all sorts of teas… for me tea is a neverending journey!

Favorite Flavors:

I love sampling a wide variety of teas! For me the variety is what makes the hobby of tea sampling so fun! While I enjoy trying all different types of teas (pure teas, blends, tisanes), these are some flavors/ingredients I enjoy:
-Dessert/chocolate/vanilla/caramel/cream/toffee/maple
-Sweet/licorice root/stevia
-Vegetal/grassy
-Floral/lavender/rose
-Spices/chais
-Fruity
-Tropical/pineapple/coconut
-Bergamot (in moderation)
-Roasted/nutty
-Tart/tangy/hibiscus/rosehip

Disliked Flavors:

There are not many flavors or ingredients that I don’t like. These include:
-Bananas/banana flavoring
-Hemp/CBD teas
-Smoke-scented teas/heavy smoke flavors (migraine trigger)
-Perfumey teas/extremely heavy floral aromas (migraine trigger)
-Gingko biloba (migraine trigger)
-Chamomile (used in blends as a background note/paired with stronger flavors is okay)
-Extremely spicy/heated teas
-Medicinal flavors/Ginseng
-Metallic flavors
-Overly strong artificial flavorings

With the exception of bananas and migraine triggers, I’ll pretty much try any tea at least once!

Steeping Parameters:

I drink tea in a variety of ways! For hot brews, I mostly drink my teas brewed in the western style without additions, and for iced tea, I drink teas mostly brewed in the cold brew style without additions. Occassionally I’ll change that up. I use the https://octea.ndim.space/#/ app for water-to-tea ratios and use steep times to my preferences.

My Rating Scale:

90-100 – Top tier tea! These teas are among my personal favorites, and typically I like to keep them stocked in my cupboards at all times, if possible!

70-89 – These are teas that I personally found very enjoyable, but I may or may not feel inclined to keep them in stock.

50-69 – Teas that fall in this range I enjoyed, but found either average, lacking in some way, or I’ve had a similar tea that “did it better.”

21-49 – Teas in this range I didn’t enjoy, for one reason or another. I may or may not finish them off, depending on their ranking, and feel no inclination to restock them.

20-1 – Blech! My Tea Hall of Shame. These are the teas that most likely saw the bottom of my garbage can, because I’d feel guilty to pass them onto someone else.

Note that I only journal a tea once, not every time I drink a cup of it. If my opinion of a tea drastically changes since my original review, I will journal the tea again with an updated opinion and change my rating. Occassionally I revisit a tea I’ve reviewed before after a year or more has passed.

Inventory:

My Cupboard on Steepster reflects teas that I have sampled and logged for review, and is not used as an inventory for teas I currently own at the present moment. An accurate and up-to-date listing of my current tea inventory can be viewed here: https://tinyurl.com/xjt9ptx3 . I am open to tea trades (within the United States only!) at this time. Note that I will not trade teas that I currently have in a quantity less than 50g (samplers, 1oz packages, etc.) or any teas that are currently still sealed/unopened in my cupboard.

Contact Info:

Feel free to send me a Steepster PM, or alternatively, check the website URL section below; it goes to a contact form that will reach my personal e-mail.

Location

Idaho, United States

Website

https://teatimetuesdayreviews...

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