Tearunners

perfect tea for yesterdays thunderstorms. Cool air, smell of rain and this tea.

Gongfu!

There were a couple white teas in the box this month but the description of cotton candy in the packaging was very intriguing to me, so I’m steeping this one first. It’s certainly a very light and airy white tea with such gentle sweetness that hangs on the tip of the tongue after each steep. I don’t think that cotton candy is the tasting note that would have come to my mind were I not being influenced by the packaging descriptions, but I certainly understand the thought process behind it! I get more of a white Springtime flower and veeerrrrry subtle green grape, personally. That really fluffy delicate sweet profile truly does evoke the feeling of pillowy white clouds though, and makes me miss Spring and Summer weather even more than I already was…

Tea Photos: https://www.instagram.com/p/CaaMRwjuBax/

Song Pairing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fhyk9rchC2c&ab_channel=MunaVEVO

Iced Latte Sipdown (204)

This was much better iced than hot. Also better with added caramel syrup. Was it special? No. I’d probably take pumpkin chai for pumpkin/caramel over this but it hit the spot well enough as an iced latte when I wanted a tasty treat.

Strange VariaTEA TTB: Tea 14

I made this as a latte and I see a lot of potential but I don’t think I steeped it strong enough. I’m taking this out of the box though because I want to test it out more.

#mugtober

The theme on this particular day was “something orange/caramel” and since it was the day before Halloween I thought I’d deliver on both with this caramel and pumpkin blend! I made this in the biggest mug that I own and topped it off with a thick layer of caramel cold foam. It was honestly very good, though I got minimal pumpkin in taste. Mostly brisk, malty and full bodied black tea with a sweet, rich salted caramel flavour. I suppose doubling down on the caramel with my cold foam probably only amped that note up. Still, really good!

Song Pairing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1DZyRflDgro&ab_channel=Pink%24ock-Topic

Another tea from this month’s Tea Runners subscription box!

I’ll be honest in admitting I don’t really get the pumpkin in this blend but I will say that I also really enjoyed it. It has that particular kind of ‘sweet brown’ taste that is so hard to nail down any more clearly than that, but’s it’s really delicious and works well with the hint of salt and the deeper more molasses-like flavours as well. I guess the “brown” in sweet brown in like this weird merger or amalgamation of brown sugar, caramel, maple, golden syrup, and cake!? Like, if you took a sliver of all of those things and then blended them ‘em into one ’super brown’ delicious taste.

The other thing I really appreciated about this tea was that it was simple/straight forward in that taste direction and that a lot of the maltier and full bodied black tea comes through distinctly too.

Next time I steep it I might add milk and I definitely want to spend a bit more effort “looking” for the pumpkin but surface level and snap impression is that I enjoyed this more than expected!

I last had this one cold brewed, and it was nice but not spectacular. This morning I had it on my morning break. I very rarely work Sundays but this weekend is cut over for the new computer system at work. I know NOTHING about computers but somehow I earned the ‘honor’ of being on the test team. Ugh. Started yesterday at 9:00 am and went to 6:15 pm. Nothing worked well, so back today at 10:00 and it ain’t done yet.

Sigh.

As a hot cup this is nice. Again, not spectacular. A little bitter at the end of the sip. If I were ordering teas, this would not be included in an order. I won’t have any problem finishing it., Maybe I will add a touch of honey to the next cup and see if I like it better that way. I very rarely add anything to my tea. A little sweetener now and then, but never milk. Funny, because I cannot stand coffee without creamer. :)

Looks like the warm weather isn’t letting go yet. :( So I cold brewed quart of this one. I must have under leafed it because it tastes quite weak and is only a pale brown.

The flavor is quite nice, if weak. Sometimes I add sugar to my iced tea but I didn’t need it with this one. It had a bit of malt, and a distinctly sweet finish. It was nothing spectacular, but I won’t have any trouble finishing this one.

Iced Tea Sipdown (2484)!

Finished this off today with just a bit of added agave. I see that, in the past, I’ve enjoyed this tea. It wasn’t bad tasting today, but definitely I felt like it was just a tiny bit strange. Mostly I think that was textural? It was a pretty brisk and black tea forward iced tea – and even with the agave I was getting a decent amount of astringency which is always kind of strange when having an iced beverage.

However the flavour was fine – I don’t mind a really black tea forward iced tea, and even with my agave addition this was pretty unsweet. I got the sharpness of the hibiscus with the tart but non-tangy peach flavour. Just a super different kind of peach tea than I usually go for.

Feels good to finish off one of these Tea Runner’s blends though – I have so many left over from when they were gifting me their subscription.

Cold Brew!

Happy to report that my second time around tasting this tea I found it just as pleasant. It’s a nice juicy floral peach backed by a pleasant and full bodied black tea and the faintest bit of sweeter and more berry leaning tart hibiscus that kind of makes that peach note a plumper and more ‘full’ tasting. Yummy yummy!

Sipping on this iced a couple days ago. I was worried that with the hibiscus it might be a little too tart or that the peach flavour could be masked, but I found this iced tea really flavourful and well balanced. I really liked the body from the black tea base and the slight floral undertones alongside the juicy peach! Thank you to Tea Runners for gifting this subscription box for me to try out; I got the Original Box but thanks to the great customization options I was really able to tailor my selection to remove teas I’d tried before or was confident I’d not enjoy – very impressed!!

Photos: https://www.instagram.com/p/CSFsvFpASfY/

Sipdown (204)

This is good but middle of the road as far as black teas are concerned. I can take it or leave it. It’s malty. Some cocoa notes. A floral finish. Thank you for sharing Sil!

Latte Sipdown (317)

Thank you for sharing this one with me, Sil! I am a gingerbread tea fan and this is no exception. This is a clove heavy gingerbread flavor but that works for me. Ginger is also strong, as it should be. It also had a touch of molasses sweetness. A standard gingerbread black tea, but enjoyable nonetheless.

Sipdown (325)

I was talking to Roswell Strange and asked her to pick a tea for me. Completely randomly, she happened to pick a tea she gave me. So thank you Roswell Strange for both sharing this with me and selecting it for me to drink today!

I started taking sips when it was very hot and the flavor was all plum. However, I am worried that as this cools, it will get a metallic twang at the end of the sip. Something gave me that impression as I drank. As such, I am trying to drink this while very hot. My brother distracted me with talks of Wandavision though so now I am drinking it warm.

As it cools, its more floral, as opposed to more metallic, which is nice. However, the plum flavor faded slightly and that’s less appealing. Good, but not a favorite. Happy to have tried it though.

Sipdown (321)

This is one of two Tearunner samples that I grabbed from Roswell Strange before sending her along her teas. I was interested in trying it but don’t drink straight oolongs enough to justify purchasing a bag for myself. With that said, thank you Roswell Strange for giving me the chance to try this one!

Drinking it now, I am glad I didn’t buy it. It’s not bad but its not to my tastes. The website claims there are peach notes here and while I maybe get that a little, I get more a metallic floral. It’s a classic oolong profile but not the oolong I personally enjoy. Its been fun to try though and now I know for sure that I was fine with the one-cup sample and nothing more.

Sipdown 53-2021
Goodbye black tea. I will not repurchase you.

Focusing on sipping through this. It’s rich and chocolatey, but I much prefer Verdant’s Laoshan Black, which I find a bit more smooth.

I’ve been toying with the idea of trying out Tearunners and finally went for it. My tea subscriptions are now up to 5: Bird and Blend, Mansa, 52Teas, SipsBy, and Tearunners. I’m trying to get my cupboard under control, but I also live trying new teas…the conundrum of a tea lover.
I actually have very few straight black teas in my cupboard right now, which is what I’ve been drinking the most of.
I was so excited to see a Laoshan black in the first box. Verdant’s Autumn Laoshan black is one of my favorite black teas.
This has the delicious, rich dark chocolate flavor that I love in a Laoshan black. So easy to drink and cozy. But, I prefer Verdant’s offering over this one. The dark chocolate isn’t pronounced enough compared to Verdant’s.

Another sipdown! I’m doing fairly well with these, which is nice…but also makes me want more tea NAO! Still feels like this is YS’s laoshan black but maybe not.