Cuppa Geek

Sipdown (219)

P (again) is for…Peach Ice Cream

I have been terrible at this so this alphabet is taking forever. And I decided to do an alphabet teas day today and technically already did P but then did O after and I was more excited about my P teas than the Q teas so I’m doing P again.

Part of the reason I was more excited about P teas is the new caffeine free teas Sil kindly shared with me. Thank you!! This is one of those teas and I don’t think it’s one I had before.

I was okay with it but it was more tart than I expected for something called peach ice cream. It was sort of peachy but mostly hibiscus. Nothing that said ice cream to me. Not a bad tea but not peach ice cream either.

This tea is pretty refreshing cold. The coconut is fresh-tasting. There might be a bit of pineapple in there too. The black tea is light, but pleasant. When it warmed up to room temperature, the flavor became more boring, so definitely have this one cold!

A very sad sipdown…one of the best summer iced teas. Lemony but not acidic and tart, sweetly satisfying to drink on these miserably hot and humid days.

May prompt number five! A lemon tea…

Already hot and humid so I made lots of this before breakfast and kept two cups for my breakfast, pouring the rest in a mason jar to chill for lunch.

Lemon drop candy melted in hot black tea could describe this, because the lemon is so smooth and just-right-citrus without any pucker factor. It is so fresh and satisfying.

This is another that is nearly gone. I will miss it.

I love this tea. It is so blasted hot here, with a heat index of 118F a few days ago and miserable humidity.

I made this iced and sweet and it gallops right down the gullet. Served it to neighbors over the fence a couple of months ago and they loved it. Served it to the family yesterday and same reception.

The lemon is just right, much better than how tart it ends up when I just add lemon juice to tea, and this way I don’t have to amp up the sugar to take that edge off. This is a really smooth and mild lemon flavor, candy-like. So good.

Based on the name, I expected a really marshmallowy flavor from this, but I only taste tart fruits without much body. It’s sort of mild and definitely missing something. I made sure to keep the steeping time a little shorter the next time, and it’s still a bit tart for me and just not at all special. I used up the last of it in a large pitcher with the remnants of a few other similar teas.

Cold Brew Sipdown (1419)!

I think I liked this better as a hot tea, but it was enjoyable cold brewed too and one big difference I did notice is that the flavour was a lot more blueberry/peach focused with the backing green rooibos – not really any of the “crisp”/cinnamon flavours I found when hot. Very light and refreshing still, though!

Thanks again for sharing VariaTEA!

Late night cuppa from earlier this week – I think it was shared w/ me by VariaTEA so thank you for the share! I should probably stop trying new teas so late at night because then, when I go to write about them a few days later, I don’t remember the details super well…

I was trying to think of the last time I saw both blueberry and peach in a tea together, and I think it may have been one of the blends from Bird & Blend’s “Battle of the Peaches” last year!? I feel like they’re such a nice combination together though that more companies should try them out – and I especially liked this lighter and warmly spiced combination of them. I thought it was fruity in an approachable and restrained kind of way, and the nice addition of cinnamon brought out more of those baked/cobbler kind of notes from the peach!

I had this warm, and it was really pleasant. It’s mildly spiced and fruity. I didn’t notice the black tea in the taste, but it wasn’t thin or lacking in flavor. Not something I’d order, but I’m glad I tried it! The strongest flavors were probably cinnamon and apple, but it managed to not taste like the million other teas with this flavor profile.

I still have plenty of teas from Cuppa Geek, but this is finally my last sample from the advent calendar! I really enjoyed most of the flavors, and at $18 for 26 teas, there’s no better deal out there. I’ll buy one every year if there is one!

I drank this tea to keep me awake on a long drive. The flavor is pretty simple. I get some toasted mate and a bit of dessertiness from the chocolate chips. I had it with almond milk, and it tasted decent, but not very interesting or special. It needed something to amp up the chocolate. As it was, it was mostly just toastiness, and it could have used some added complexity/intrigue.

This was a little bitter and meh without milk, but once I added it, the flavor transformed. It totally tastes like berries and cream (I wish their actual berries and cream flavor had been more similar to this!) The milk brings out the creaminess, and there’s a light berry flavor there too, though it’s hard to tell what kind of berry. The berry could have been stronger and more authentic. Overall, it’s probably not something I’d choose again over other choices, but it’s good.

This has the same pumpkin flavoring that I dislike, but with milk, the spices make it taste okay enough. The fake fruitiness isn’t great, so this advent sample has been plenty. Without that one flavoring, the spices would have made this a pretty nice chai.

The spices here are much too mild. The main flavor reminds me of the flavoring Adagio uses in their honeybush pumpkin chai. It’s just such a strong, fake fruity flavor that doesn’t work for me at all. I tried my final cup of this with some milk, and I feel like that helped cover up the fruity sweetness and bring out a slightly more chai-ish element. I wish I’d done that with all my cups of this!

Hmm black tea was a weird base choice for this flavor profile. Hot, I didn’t feel like I was getting the optimal strawberry or mint flavor. Cold, I felt like the black tea didn’t taste its best. I would have preferred this with a green or herbal base because it is a flavor profile I enjoy a lot. Sadly, it didn’t work for me at all here.

The berry flavor turned out a little fake and chalky. Maybe it’s underleafed, but the black tea is a little watery as well. Unfortunately, this isn’t very tasty.

The orange flavor here is so creamy and lovely. The orange is bright, juicy, and authentic. There’s something marshmallowy and fun in there too. I only have the advent amount, but I’d love to have more! I don’t notice the black tea or the rooibos really, which is fine because the flavoring is great. The resteep was super strong and tasty as well.

Having this for breakfast with an English muffin this morning. I started the day with watering the garden because it was still only in the 70’s and we are supposed to hit 91F later. Watering means carrying a five gallon bucket (35ish pounds) of water from the rain barrels to the garden…about eight trips usually does it. Then there was scrubbing the small garbage can and vacuuming in preparation for the day. So even though I wasn’t broiling hot, I wanted something light and lovely instead of my usual black tea.

This has lots and lots of lemongrass (which I usually grow and forgot to plant this year) and apple pieces, and I see some lavender flowers and a little oolong in there. The flavor is largely lemongrass forward with creamy vanilla and lavender rounding it out. The color is deep gold so there must be more oolong than I realized. I followed my usual Cuppageek protocol and made three steeps in the Kamjove, all combined to keep it evened out.

I really didn’t know if I would like this one, but I am enjoying it. It certainly does seem to be making me feel very chill and relaxed. I had waaaay too much caffeine yesterday and didn’t sleep much last night, so the relaxation is much needed.

This is one of the best EGs I’ve had in a while! It tastes creamy and delicious even though I don’t think it has any cream flavoring. The black tea is smooth and tasty. There’s a hint of lavender. I don’t really notice the bergamot, but that’s okay. In the resteep, I definitely tasted the cream and bergamot. This tea is great!

I’ve been craving maple, and this didn’t quite hit the spot, but it’s a decent cup of tea. It reminds me of the flavor used in Adagio’s maple creme oolong, which always hit me as more smoky/woody than maple. I get a bit of earthy ginger as well, which goes well with that woodiness. It tastes nice enough with some milk, but it’s far from a favorite.

At first, I get a lovely combination of spices and black tea. It doesn’t need milk, but I’m glad I added some because I feel like it helped bring out the subtler flavors. When I came back to the cup a little later, I definitely tasted the fruitiness, along with some sweetness that must have been the caramel. This one ends up pretty layered and nice!

This is a mild, fruity green rooibos. Without looking, I couldn’t say what fruit it’s supposed to be, maybe citrus? There’s a slight tang in there that I don’t love that could possibly be smoothed out with some additional marshmallow root. I don’t enjoy this one quite as much as other CG blends – it could use a few tweaks.

Any evening cuppa sipped over the weekend.

Since I’m a Hufflepuff and, obviously, biased towards my own house I want to like this more than I actually do. It’s not unpleasant but it basically just tastes like vaguely creamy chocolate. Admittedly, that feels like it makes a fair amount of sense for the house, but when a tea just tastes like chocolate that feels a bit too plain/simple for me personally, I want a little more dimension. Plus, I just don’t love chocolate teas.

So it’s fine and well executed for what it is – but not a personal love.

I’m pretty impressed with this one. The strawberry flavor has the quality of strawberries you might find in a drink, but there’s something like carbonation or juice in there too. I think it really captures what it’s trying to. You also get the honeybush flavor, but it tastes pretty good here. This is another one I wish I had more of!

Once again, I come on here to remove from cupboard and I had never added it to cupboard.

Was it good? It is gone quicker than most teas. First pot or two was enjoyed hot, then big, cold, sweet pitchers to beat the June heat.

Not tart, but just enough tingle to feel fruity and fresh.

Parting is such sweet sorrow…