Bare Leaves (Sips by)

Sipdown! (47 | 299)

From my Sips by.

This was a nice enough dian hong, with a smooth and satisfying bready-earthy-woody flavor and thick texture. There aren’t many golden tips, resulting in a deeper, darker appearance and taste, with hints of honey but not much in the way of stonefruits (which I often taste with more tippy varieties).

Makes for a nice morning tea since it’s dark yet smooth, and doesn’t upset an empty stomach like more tannic black teas sometimes can. Not one I would specifically order, since I have other similar teas, but I enjoyed having it in my subscription box. :)

ETA: Also, I updated all of the “Sips by exclusive” AKA made by Sips by brands to be indicated as such, because it sort of irritates me that they don’t make it clearer that those are their in-house brands… I do think their brands are cute and the teas seem fun, but still just seems like a ploy to fill my box with 50% of their own teas. (shrugs)

Drank 1/15/22
I loved this tea! I’m not normally a huge fan of green teas because they can be super finicky with water temps, but this came in my Sipsby subscription in march of last year and I finally got around to trying it. It was grassy in the best way, like the air after a spring rain when the shoots are just poking up out of the ground. Fresh, bright, and almost fruity, with a hint of depth and dryness at the back of the tongue. Really enjoyed this beverage.
Also, my dad tried it with me and he loved it (with lots of sugar, because that’s how he drinks every tea) and said it was refreshing.

Sipdown 42-2021
From a SipsBy box. I temporarily cancelled my SipsBy again as I try to sip through my stash.
I really didn’t like this one. I found it to be a pretty boring roasted oolong, and lacked any complexity or depth. I’m actually quite sick of this flavor profile.

Sipdown!

I figured I would go ahead and finish this one off. One fewer tea to worry about!

I’m getting a bit more char this evening, which I don’t love as it covers up the sweetness a little. This doesn’t have a ton of complexity to begin with, so losing that dried fruit note makes it even more blah.

Overall, this one was fine but just a bit flat and lacking in dimension.

From my December Sips by box.

Because this has a very mild and sweet dry scent, I was surprised by how roasted the wet leaves smelled. The steeped aroma is somewhere between the two, with a light-to-moderate roasty scent.

This is a mellow dark oolong, and a bit one-dimensional. There is a light roasty note, not nearly as strong as I would expect from the wet leaves. The main flavor is that of fallen autumn leaves and wood chips, moistened by a recent rainfall. I also taste a very subtle dried fruit-like sweetness and a hint of earthy and mineral charcoal.

It’s pleasant enough, but very one-note. Still, its slightly toasty flavor is quite comforting in the evening. :)

This tea is a very classic gunpowder green, defined largely by vegetal/grassy flavors and hay-like astringency. Clean with a gentle smokiness that lingers for only a moment. Smells like hay, sweet grass, and a hint of charcoal. Slightly astringent, a dryness that compliments the grassiness. I’m not a huge fan of teas that are really grassy, but this one was still pleasant to drink.

Sipdown from an older Sips By box.
This was just OK. Like a slightly sweet Assam. Didn’t re-steep well, which is disappointing in a black tea. Apart from that, it was just another plain black tea. Not really memorable or worth repurchasing.

Another one from Sips By. Clearly they really wanted me to try some Indian black teas… XD

I actually steeped this one twice, the first time with a conservative time of 2.5 minutes. It came out quite bland, so I steeped a second cup for 4 minutes. I tend to err on the side of shorter steeps with Indian black teas, but maybe that’s not necessary for Nilgiri?

Anyway, it’s still rather lightly flavored. There is zero bitterness or astringency, which is rather shocking to me. Mostly there are soft notes of hay, malt, a bit of wood and earth near the end of the sip. Perhaps some tobacco and leather in there as well, and a hint of dark raisin. It reminds me a bit of a cross between Assam and a Chinese black tea?

Nothing spectacular, but very drinkable.

A delicious, roasted tasting oolong. From my January 2020 Sips By box.

Dark golden tea with a warm, almost leathery aroma.

The first sip is almost shockingly sweet: reminiscent of honey. Warm dry grass on the follow through with a clean finish.