Singapore Breakfast

Kelmishka Homemade Advent Day 13! The strongest flavor here is the toasted rice, which is really warming and lovely. I also taste a bit of coconut that’s right on the edge. The base is a nice background, creating quite a well-rounded cup of tea. One of the better teas I’ve had from T2 for sure!

Of the 20+ teas I ordered during T2’s closing sale, this one was my favorite! Unexpected, since the inclusion of both puerh and genmaicha in the same blend made me dubious of the result. But the blend turned out to be very creamy, rich, and coconut-forward with a nice richness coming from the genmaicha. The mouthfeel was smooth and buttery like an oolong and overall it gave off STRONG popcorn vibes…my husband always refers to it as “that popcorn tea”. Both of us love it and are hoping we can still find a way to order it from Australia in the future!

Sipdown! (17 | 97)

Sadly, this little tin got dumped. I could smell rancid coconut as soon as I opened it, even though I just got it a couple of weeks ago and it has a “best by” date in 2024. I even tasted a piece just to be sure, but sadly it had indeed gone bad.

A shame, as I was excited to try this one. I’m sure I’ll be ordering from T2 in the future, so I’ll have to remember to pick some up then.

This tea could 100% be renamed “Buttered Popcorn” or something along those lines! The genmaicha here leans heavily into popcorn territory rather than anything more roasty, and then the pandan flavoring gives it a smooth buttered note. (At least, I assume it’s the pandan!) The pu’erh is the backbone, I think, with an earthy note underlying it all. I’m weirdly not getting much coconut at all, which is a shame, because I think it’d add a welcome bit of sweetness.

I honestly can’t decide how I feel about this tea. There’s a mustiness to it that’s a smidge off-putting to my nose, alongside a whiff of something artificial. “Day-Old Buttered Popcorn” might describe the effect for me! At the same time, it’s quite unique, and I keep going back for more.

As soon as I opened the packaging, I knew I’d enjoy it from the strong aroma of toasted coconut and pandan. The tea is subtly sweet, so it’s nice unsweetened and plain. It’s refreshing and light while still rich and toasty. I feel it can be enjoyed at any time of day, any season.

I really enjoyed this!

After the recent announcement that T2 would be closing their stores and online presence in the US and UK I knew I had to place an order. I managed to scoop up my two favourite blends, and several that are new to me, before they sold out and I’m very grateful for that! As you can see in the second picture, I just had to make a cup of Singapore Breakfast ASAP – it had been far, far too long since my last. It’s always been very challenging to get ahold of any of T2’s teas from here in Canada and unfortunately it just got a whole lot harder; my heart breaks for all of their fans in the US and UK who are now facing the same reality.

I saw a lot of differing opinions from people in the tea community following the announcement of T2’s closure and not all of them are something I would call positive. Personally, if you are a lover of tea in any capacity, I think it’s naive to celebrate the closure of ANY tea company. For something enjoyed globally, our industry is small. T2 was (and still is) a pioneer of specialty tea across the globe. Whether the style of tea they sell was something that appealed to you or not, it’s ignorant to ignore that they introduced tea to many people who may have never touched a cup at all otherwise. All awareness is good. And, I cannot stress this enough, ALL tea and tea companies are good – even if it’s something you eventually move away from in favor of another company or style of tea, like a more traditional straight tea oriented route. When one of us succeeds, we all do.

I know I usually stick to more light-hearted tasting notes and reviews with pretty teaware, but I just wanted to share this perspective as the reality set in today that this is probably the last tea mail I will receive from T2 for quite some time.

Tea Photos: https://www.instagram.com/p/CnnVTMuOuJU/

Song Pairing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3U1Zr0mP-44

Advent Day 14

What is this?! Little genmaicha popcorn puffs? It smells of creamy coconut and pandan. Smells the same once steeped. I just finished eating a waffle with peanut butter, so my taste buds are a little overwhelmed. I get the roasty light gen flavors and the coconut. The pandan presents as a creaminess too. It’s another very Indonesian flavor combo. I’m liking this, but it’s missing something that elevates it to amazing.

Such a disappointment!
Firs of all – there is a mistake in the description. They’ve called it ‘Black & green tea mix’ – well, my darlings at T2: please note that puerh is not black tea, it’s red. You can definitely smell and taste the puerh, which is not a bad thing for me (I’m a big fan). It is earthy, dark and a bit ‘muddy’. However what I don’t like is the artificial coconut flavour (awful, made me feel sick) and the distinctive oiliness that it leaves in your mouth.
Moreover the second brew was very weak and even more disappointing. Such a shame, I saw potential in it, but it left me very underwhelmed.

This is a mega-popcorny genmaicha with coconut notes, and one of the few green teas I can drink without milk and unsweetened. I particularly enjoy this when fasting.

This was included in T2’s breakfast set that I purchased as part of their Boxing Day sale. It really tastes like kaya toast. It’s rich, buttery, and coconutty. I had it at work, so I didn’t have any milk to add to it, but it seems that would have elevated it. There is a bit of an oily mouthfeel that I didn’t care for, but overall it was a pleasant cup.