1365 Tasting Notes
Day 9 of the Inoki advent calendar. I have a migraine so this was very welcome. Apparently the aroma is quite strong, as my partner can’t be in the same room with it. He says it smells like toothpaste. Which, yeah, I suppose it does have a somewhat toothpaste-y flavor. Sweet, menthol, gently cooling at the back of the sip. Nice when I’m not feeling well. Although now I can’t get that toothpaste comparison out of my head…
Technically, I still have a little sample packet of this blend, but this is a sipdown of the 1-oz bag. This was nice for when I had an evening thirst for a floral other than lavender. I have other blends that I want to finish off first, but I like this one enough that I could see it coming back into my tea stash eventually.
Sipdown! The pouch had a bit too much leaf for one mug but not enough for two, so I just used all of the leaf and brewed in one of my larger mugs. I never got bored of this one – there’s a very particular mood for which the cozy combo of creaminess and candy-like honeydew just hits the spot. Almost like the honeydew in Lupicia’s honeydew oolong, but I find that one overly sweet whereas this one is sweet but pleasantly so.
Sipdown! Thanks to Cameron B. for sharing this with me a couple of years ago. Made the last of this as an oat milk latte with my breakfast today. It cooled more than usual, so that may have brought out more of the flavor. I don’t know about “cookie,” per se, but I do like the almond and ginger in here. The almond is more biscotti than marzipan (which, biscotti is a cookie, so I guess technically it’s not a misnomer?). The base is nice and malty, even through the oat milk. The ginger in here evokes ginger candy more than fresh ginger – it’s zingy but not sharp. Overall, this is probably the best version of this cup I’ve made. At least it took a great final bow!
Had this as an oat milk latte today. It is one of those black teas that hurt my stomach, but it was also delicious. I accidentally steeped too long (about 9 minutes). With the oat milk, though, it didn’t taste tannic, brisk, or drying at all. Just like rich, creamy salted caramel.
Not a particularly insightful tasting note, but I want to mark the sipdown here. I forgot that I wanted to try to gong fu this; instead, I made it to-go so I could drink it while getting my hair done of Friday. Basically one of the worst brewing/tasting methods if you want to give a tea its best chance to win you over. It did serve my needs well, though. Roasty, mineral, cozy vibes for transitional weather.
Obligatory Passover tea note. Happy to see that this was still available! I thought it might get discontinued. I’ve been drinking it for the past few days. We didn’t get any almond milk this year, so I have just been adding honey. My stomach gets cranky if I’m not careful, since it’s a black tea. I just have it with a snack and a short or watered-down brew. Can confirm that it pairs beautifully with cheesecake, probably because the rose and cinnamon go well with the creaminess of the cheesecake. Looking forward to having it as an oat milk latte when Passover is over!
