1156 Tasting Notes
I think this is part of the newer line of chais that may end up replacing my precious rose chai. For my first try, I made it with a three minute steep and generous (for me) quantity of almond milk. (As with the rose chai, I made sure to eat first because the base for both of these is an Indian Assam and those have a tendency to hurt my stomach.) I found it surprisingly rich – sweet and flavorful without being overpowering. I don’t like things to be too sweet and grew up drinking 1% milk though, so YMMV! I suspect this will be downright indulgent with oat milk. It’s pretty creamy even with the almond milk, which makes me think that some of the creaminess is coming from the blend itself – almond milk is just relatively thin for what I’m picking up. There’s also caramel sweetness, some maltiness from the base, a whiff of salt, and maybe vanilla? Not sure about that last one, I might be imagining it. I just love the rose so much that it’s hard for me to find anything dessert-y to be an adequate substitute/replacement, but this is definitely a worthy addition to the Passover tea lineup.
It’s not Passover for me without this tea! They’ve come out with a new line of chai blends so I’m a little concerned that they will discontinue this one, but that’s future Kaylee’s problem. I had a cup of this with a touch of honey and almond milk. It’s such a comfort tea for me at this point. The rose and cinnamon are a great combo, and it’s strongly floral while staying just this side of pleasant rather than perfume-y.
Sipdown of the reblend. I made a big mug of cold brew for today, which is perfect because it was a genuinely warm day for a change. Unfortunately, I can’t make a particularly good tasting note because a) I have a migraine which is making it hard to focus and b) the cold brew was so cold that I think the temperature actually muted some of the flavor notes. It did seem much more flavorful after it warmed up. Tart raspberry, a sweetness that evokes crisp watermelon, and a somewhat dry base that keeps the blend from being too sweet. Mostly I just wish that I had allowed it to warm up a bit before drinking so much of it!
Sipdown! I’m surprised I don’t already have a note for this one! I finished off the last of it yesterday, getting two solid steeps out of it. The lemon and vanilla are definitely more prominent than the hint of rose. Altogether, it’s an airy, cakey effect that I really enjoyed. This is a blend I’d happily have again.
Sipdown of a convenient tea for ashmanra’s sipdown challenge. Ugh, I took this from the Strange VariaTea TTB months ago and was sure that I’d written a note, but Steepster didn’t even have an entry for the tea! I love this little corner of the internet but sometimes it really does make me feel like I’m losing it (those times primarily being when tasting notes disappear and then I’m not sure whether they ever even existed in the first place). Anyway, I really enjoy this as an iced tea! It’s like very thin peach juice. I like peach juice, so that’s a mark in its favor. This isn’t watery in an unpleasant way, just not thick and sugary the way juice is. And it’s convenient because it comes in those iced tea pitcher sachets.
Did anyone else notice that Steepster just 404’d? Sipdown of a tea that comes in a special shape for ashmanra’s sipdown challenge. This was part of the winter countdown box and I usually don’t count advents toward my sipdowns, but since it’s a coin and also I had forgotten that detail until I sat down to write the note, I’m making an exception. It’s got a hint of a honey note and a roasty grain note that’s reminding me of buckwheat today, though not quite. Looking at my previous note, apparently I had considered steeping this coin gong fu style since I did the first one Western-style. Alas, I drank most of this while working and didn’t want to be getting up constantly for more water (and had forgotten to check my previous note!).
I only got a couple of hours of sleep last night, so by late afternoon I needed something to maybe help get me through the rest of the workday without keeping me up all night again. I never know whether ginseng actually makes a difference, but I still had some left from when I was trying to break through post-Covid brain fog and this seemed like a good opportunity for a sipdown. The taste of ginseng is what I actually think of when I think “medicinal taste.” Tolerable, but generally not my favorite thing, and happy to have cleared the cupboard space.
I’m so behind on tasting notes! The past few weeks it’s just been harder than usual to stay on top of things. Plus I have been drinking a lot of the same teas over and over, because it’s easy or I’m working towards a sipdown or it helps with health stuff in some way.
But! I did manage a sipdown of this very enjoyable blend. It’s just well balanced, true to the name, and makes a great latte. One of my favorites from the 2023 advent calendar.
So tired from being up late listening to the new Beyoncé album the moment it came out! I thought about making oolong for my caffeine boost, but I really wanted something flavored and my flavored oolong options are rather limited at the moment. (Although I just remembered that I have DavidsTea’s Peaches & Cream Oolong and that would have hit the spot too, but apparently I was too tired to think of that earlier.) Instead I thought about what flavors I wanted and worked backwards, and landed on this airy, lemony delight. The hojicha is definitely stronger in the second steep than the first. While the first steep has lemon macaron vibes, the second is more tart and roasty. Definitely a good tea for a tired and cold spring day when you’re just waiting for the sun to really start shining again, but using the time to settle in and appreciate some new art.
