1996 Tasting Notes
Another chai, another favorite. I have a bit of eggnog left over from Christmas, so I added a splash just because. I’d say this one is probably more flavorful than the pumpkin chai I had earlier. Of course, I did add the eggnog so I’m not sure which flavors are coming from the tea and which from the eggnog. A very nice bold cup.
Preparation
ashmanra’s monthly sipdown challenge
January 2023 → a chocolate tea
Another favorite from 52Teas! I think I must have saved some of these older favorites trying to make them last forever, but I know I need to drink them before they lose their appeal. This one is still quite tasty and quite spicy. It’s definitely a chai spice blend first and foremost, but I do also taste the chocolate (even if only slightly now).
Flavors: Chocolate, Spices, Spicy
Preparation
I don’t drink PG Tips too often because it makes me jittery, but I had a cup today and lowered the steep time from my normal three minutes to two minutes to see if that would help. I think it did help with the caffeine, but the flavor still isn’t something I feel the need to reach for often. It’s pretty good but not something I crave, at least not currently.
Preparation
ashmanra’s monthly sipdown challenge
January 2023 → a malty tea
Not a fan of this one today. It’s malty, yes. It’s also earthy in a pungent, unpleasant sort of way. I may need to rethink how I steep this one in the future. I still have a few cups left and want to enjoy it at least a little before it’s gone.
Flavors: Earthy, Malty, Pungent
Preparation
ashmanra’s monthly sipdown challenge
January 2023 → a celebration tea
Always and forever my celebration tea! It’s sweet strawberry candy in a mug. I usually pull this one out for holidays and hard days. Or any day when I feel the need for something comforting. Today is a good day and it’s the weekend so why not celebrate? I woke up feeling pretty darn good today. I even made a simple Sunday breakfast! Not a bad day at all.
Second Steep
8 ounces water + 212 degrees + 20 minutes
Lighter but still flavorful. I don’t often have success with resteeps, probably because I drink mostly flavored tea blends, but this one usually works for me.
Flavors: Candy, Strawberry
Preparation
This is a sample sachet I received in my most recent Lupicia order. I don’t think I’ve tried any of Lupicia’s herbal or wellness blends until now. It smells mostly of strawberry flavoring but there’s also something medicinal about it. The taste is mostly rooibos. Maybe with some vanilla? I don’t know the ingredients since I only received a sample, but the description mentions honey, apricot, and berries. Overall, I think I much prefer the smell of this one over the taste. As it cools, it’s starting to taste flat somehow. Not sure I’ll be finishing it.
Flavors: Flat, Medicinal, Rooibos, Strawberry, Vanilla
Preparation
ashmanra’s monthly sipdown challenge
January 2023 → your oldest green tea
My oldest already-opened green tea, from way back in 2015. I do have one or two others that are still sealed from around the same time. Since this one was opened and had just a bit remaining in the pouch, I decided to go ahead and finish it off. I made this recipe again – https://www.ohhowcivilized.com/hojicha-tea-cream-froth/ – and quite enjoyed it. I’ll have to try to remember this for future cups of hojicha. I still have some others from 52Teas bumping around in my cupboard – Lemon Cheesecake Bar, Gingerbread, Chai, and a Caramel hojicha and white tea blend.
Flavors: Roasted, Spices
Preparation
Lol, my oldest is from 2013 if that makes you feel better!
And it’s not an aged tea?? That does make me feel better! Anytime I see someone talk about their old teas from 2019 or 2020 I hang my head in shame over here. XD
Well it is now XD No, my oldest intentionally aged tea is from 1989, I think. I also have a 1994 and then it’s a pretty big jump to 2008. I think 2013 is my oldest non-aged tea.
ashmanra’s monthly sipdown challenge
January 2023 → a tea that is hard to pronounce or spell
After reading my previous note for this tea, I doubled the tea leaves to see if it might make a difference. I enjoyed it before, but I didn’t seem wowed by it. Using two teaspoons instead of one takes it over into wow territory for sure. This is one I would order again, no doubt. I don’t taste the almond or cinnamon really, but the raspberry is extra. The base tea holds its own too. In this case, it looks like it’s a blend of Adagio’s Almond, Raspberry, and Vanilla Oolong teas. To further break it down, Ceylon black tea and Taiwanese oolong.
This tea fulfills my January sipdown prompt for a tea that is hard to pronounce or spell, since I am never successful at doing either of these things when I’m looking for this tea. Maybe this will be the year I finally try Doctor Who!
Flavors: Raspberry
Preparation
Great choice for the challenge because I have no idea how to pronounce that!
My guess was “hoo-full” but after falling down a bit of a rabbit hole it seems the pronunciation is “hoo-flay” – a mashup of Doctor Who and souffle because one of his companions makes lots of souffles and fans ship them together. Mystery solved, though that was probably more information than either of us wanted. I should have just googled it to begin with, but then I wouldn’t have been able to use it for this prompt. :D
Love it! And I think it absolutely qualifies for the prompt, even after being googled!
Good choice for the prompt! My brain read it as ‘woofle’ at first before correcting itself to ‘whoflé’ after I thought about it a bit more :’)
PS, you should definitely try watching Dr Who! (:
I’m still saying hoo-full (hoofle?) in my head, I can’t seem to help myself. I do want to try the upcoming season with the new doctor! I really loved Yasmin Finney in Heartstopper and I heard she’ll be in the new season.
She’ll be in the 60th Anniversary Special that comes prior to the next season, Shae.
Thank you! I’ll make a note in my calendar. It looks like it’s set for sometime in November. Also, it’ll be on Disney+ so I might actually be able to find it. :D
I’m really excited for the new series, it’s been a while since I watched it but I can’t wait for the return of RTD! Plus I loved Ncuti in Sex Education and think he’ll be a brilliant Doctor. I loved Heartstopper too and can’t wait to see Yasmin in the 60th special later this year!
ashmanra’s monthly sipdown challenge
January 2023 → a tea that goes with snow
Another favorite from 52Teas. I’m down to one serving of this blend, and I’ll be so sad to see it go. It’s a rich chocolate tea with just a hint of peppermint. Enough to notice but not so much that it overpowers the chocolate.
Flavors: Chocolate, Peppermint
