4349 Tasting Notes
Sipdown! (33)
From the January subscription. I’m actually sending the rest of the pouch to a friend, but having a cup from my own tin to mark the sipdown (shipdown? sharedown?).
I will say, the age of this tea is definitely noticeable after tasting the fresh batch. The blueberry is much more muted, which could be a good or bad thing depending on your preference ha ha. Still a nice tea, but I feel like green teas in general suffer from age more quickly, so I’m not getting much flavor from the base. Still an enjoyable and mellow cup, but next time I think I’ll add more leaf.
Flavors: Blueberry, Dried Fruit, Grassy, Hay, Smooth, Sweet, Syrupy
Preparation
Sipped this last night and don’t recall a whole lot other than I enjoyed it. The spices were well-balanced, potent but not overly strong, and I could mostly taste cardamom and ginger. I didn’t specifically taste lavender, but I feel like lavender and cardamom can be somewhat similar, so perhaps it was just melding in there. The base was smooth and inoffensive, maybe a tiny bit nutty. Overall it was a pleasant afternoon/evening cuppa sipped while knitting. I’m not sure I feel the need to have a green chai in my cupboard, but this would be a good choice if I did.
Flavors: Cardamom, Earthy, Ginger, Grassy, Light, Nutty, Smooth, Soft, Spices
Preparation
Sipdown! (32)
From the January subscription. The name of this tea made me laugh because it’s so vague compared to what I’m used to. Going to assume it’s a TGY since that’s the most common, but who knows ha ha.
It’s good though! Definitely on the greener side of things, but still has some nice bake-y sort of notes to it. Silky smooth with a nice balance of fresh green and sweet grainy notes and a touch of floral in the finish. I wouldn’t seek it out again, just because I tend to prefer Taiwanese oolongs, and anyway I generally buy flavored and unflavored teas from separate sources. But enjoyed my 3-ish cups!
Flavors: Clean, Floral, Grain, Green, Mineral, Silky, Smooth, Soft, Spring Water, Sweet, Thick, Toasty, Woody
Preparation
Another Tea Girl sample down!
This was a nice enough blueberry black tea. Not candylike or jammy, but not quite fully fresh blueberry either. Dried blueberry perhaps, like Blueberry Morning cereal? There is something that’s giving me a slightly hint of almond or grain as well, so maybe that’s why my mind goes there. The base is Ceylon, which is never my favorite, but I found cutting the steeping time short by about thirty seconds really helped to smooth things out.
An enjoyable morning cuppa, thanks Courtney!
Flavors: Acidic, Almond, Berry, Blueberry, Dried Fruit, Grain, Metallic, Nutty, Sharp, Sweet, Syrupy, Tannic, Vanilla
Preparation
Sipdown! (31)
From the January subscription.
I had the pleasure of trying this in the advent calendar, so I already knew I liked it. It was nice to have a chance to try it a few more times, though! A very mellow and well-balanced blend, with a nice amount of smoke that isn’t overwhelming. The bergamot is subtle but adds a welcome brightness to the earthy base. I’m not sure I would order the full size, just because I have a somewhat similar blend in my cupboard already. But really enjoyed my three cups!
Flavors: Bergamot, Citrus, Earthy, Lemon, Malty, Mineral, Savory, Smoked, Smooth, Woody
Preparation
Another of Courtney’s Tea Girl samples finished off. These are only two servings, but you know how it is – too many teas, too little time ha ha.
This was a bit similar to the French Toast Crunch black tea, but perhaps a bit less specifically maple and more brown sugary (but still buttery). The base also seems a touch smoother, but she doesn’t specify what type of tea it is. Looking up Canadian butter tarts, they seem a bit like a runnier pecan pie without the pecans. I’m not a pecan pie fan, I find it too sweet, so I doubt I would like these either, but at least the tea was nice! I laughed at the “mixed in raisins for controversy”, it make me think of oatmeal cookies and the raisin vs. no raisin camps. Personally, I am always pro-raisin ha ha.
Flavors: Brown Sugar, Buttery, Caramelized Sugar, Maple, Rich, Smooth, Sweet
Preparation
Poor, neglected Herbs & Kettles samples… Oops? This is why sipping through samples is one of my tea goals for this year. XD
Anyway, this is nice enough. I don’t taste rose, but there weren’t a ton of petals in the leaf, and honestly I don’t mind that it’s missing ha ha. Cardamom is definitely the predominant spice, as I would expect. There’s some clove and ginger in the background as well. The CTC base is fairly smooth, but still adds flavor (I do think I underleafed this cup slightly, but it’s not overly thin).
I mostly just ordered this to be thorough, because I am not a rose fan. But it made for a pleasant cuppa this morning!
Flavors: Cardamom, Clove, Floral, Ginger, Smooth, Spices, Thin
Preparation
Sipdown! (28)
The last of my Murchie’s teabag samplers! I do still have some loose leaf to sip down, but still nice to get the teabags cleared out.
I’ve been really interested in trying all of their green-black blends, and this one is similar to the No. 10 (one of my favorites). It seems to just include a stronger Ceylon base, which looks to be a CTC (and the description mentions a touch of bergamot, but the No. 10 already has that as well?). It’s lovely though, a nice balance of jasmine and citrus with the green and black teas. I always steep these using green tea parameters, so the difference in the Ceylon may not be as pronounced as it would be if you steeped it hotter. It does have a brisker edge to it, and I do think I prefer the No. 10, but it was fun to try!
Flavors: Brisk, Cardboard, Citrus, Floral, Grassy, Jasmine, Mineral, Sharp, Sweet, Tannic
Preparation
From the winter subscription box.
This sounded like a weird combination, but I’m mostly just tasting the coconut with a touch of cinnamon. And since I’m not a coconut fan, this is going into my rehoming box. It’s not bad though, it actually reminds me a little bit of horchata, but coconutty. There’s a distinct toasted coconut note to it.
Flavors: Cinnamon, Coconut, Creamy, Custard, Rich, Sweet, Toasted
Preparation
I’ve been wanting to try The Tea Girl for a while, but she doesn’t ship outside of Canada. Miss Courtney was so sweet to send me a tea care package with a dozen Tea Girl samples, plus a few samples from her own stash and some fun candies. Tea friends are the best friends! :3
This one is a tasty maple tea. I wouldn’t call it specifically French toast, more of a slightly buttery maple black tea with a teeny hint of cinnamon. The base is an Indonesian black tea, and to me it tastes similar to Ceylon – fairly acidic with a metallic edge and a brisk finish. Not normally my favorite kind of black tea, but I actually kind of like it here, as I feel like the sharpness of it tones down the decadent maple and keeps it from being too cloying. Not one I would order for myself, as I just don’t reach for desserty teas, but I enjoyed the sample!
Flavors: Acidic, Artificial, Astringent, Brisk, Brown Sugar, Buttery, Cinnamon, Drying, Maple, Metallic, Mineral, Pancake Syrup, Rich, Sharp, Sweet
Both “downs” mean the same. And that’s first “down” — a sipdown :)