Hojicha Berry Shortcake

Actually managed to get in a September sipdown, which I had given up on! (Sipdown September is now going to be Sipdown October, them’s the breaks, er, sprains). Counting this as a hardest-to-reach tea for ashmanra’s sipdown challenge since it’s in my bottom drawer and bending down is still a project.

I picked this up in my jumbo order from Deb and this is my first sipdown from that order. Not because it’s my favorite but actually because it’s one of my least favorite, so it was an easy one to lean into when I wanted a flavored hojicha but maybe not one that I’ll miss when it’s gone or one that I feel the need to focus on a lot. This is fine, but just fine, which is made the more noticeable in comparison to some of the other teas in the order (Orange Creamsicle Mousse, for example, is an absolute killer). Made as a latte per package recommendations, this is a roasty hojicha base with a sort of muddled, generic tart berry flavor and a creaminess that’s amped up by the addition of oat milk. Not bad by any means, just not my favorite Deb blend. The Hojicha Cinnamon Raisin Bread Pudding and Matcha Key Lime Pie are calling my name though…

ETA I notice now, looking at other people’s notes on this tea, that they were struck by the hibiscus in it. Which yes dear reader, if you don’t like hibiscus this probably won’t resonate with you. Since I do generally enjoy hibiscus, I’m less sensitive to its overuse, but I can absolutely see how its presence in this blend could read as too strong – and indeed is probably what my brain was reading as “generic tart berry.”

I loved the Dessert By Deb tea I had a couple days ago, so I had to run and find this among the teas Cameron B sent. Thanks, Cameron B! The scent from the pouch is true to name. I didn’t even hesitate to bypass reading the ingredients list since it smelled so good, other than to check that the base is houjicha. Sadly, the steeped tea is FULL hibiscus. Just drowning in it to the point that I then had to read the ingredients list to see if there was anything else in it other than hibiscus… and houjicha. But there are plenty of lovely ingredients here! Even if coconut seems really weird with some tart fruit flavors — the problem is mainly the hibiscus. I really would have liked this if the hibiscus had been left out. Maybe I shall pick some of the hibiscus out in the future? The second steep seemed toned down on the hibiscus but the other flavors were still missing. What a shame!
Steep #1 // 2 teaspoons // 20 minutes after boiling // 2-3 minute steep
Steep #2 // just boiled // 3-4 min

This is a strange one.

The concept sounds feasible to me, but I’m not a fan of the execution. There is way too much tartness going on here from the hibiscus, and it doesn’t mesh well with the roasty hojicha and especially the coconut. The result tastes very acidic and the hibiscus sort of dominates the other flavors. I can taste some roastiness and a hint of coconut, but the whole thing just tastes acrid to me, and it’s turning my stomach as I continue to sip it.

I think a hojicha berry shortcake tea could make sense, but definitely without the hibiscus part, focusing more on the creamy and cakey elements and with more of a jammy berry versus a tart one.

Putting this into the rehoming box, though I’m not sure who would enjoy this. Maybe it would be more palatable as a cold brew? She suggests to prepare it as a latte, wouldn’t it curdle like crazy with all of the hibiscus…? O.o

The first miss out of the 4 new D by D teas that I’ve tried so far. And a surprise, because I usually love hojicha blends, even just because of the base! However, I found the berry notes here to be… too sharp? Bad description, but they just didn’t mesh with the base. I feel like perhaps there was a bit too much hibiscus? Or maybe the blend needed more of a creamy element? It just wasn’t great in my opinion.

Y’know, I would have really expected this to be something I’d enjoy a lot. However, something about the combination of a dark roasted hojicha with a little bit of a sharpness and minerality to that roast along with the coconut and tart berry really came together in a way where the only thing I could think of was the smell of stinky feet. It’s a harsh comparison and maybe not a fair one given the fact I was sort of in a foul mood due to a headache when I first tried this tea. However, it’s what kept springing to mind and it really muddied the experience.

I want to keep an open mind though, so I’m really gonna try to basically taste this again the next time I make it as if it were my very first time trying it. No feet.