Mackintosh (formerly Dots and Loops)

Previously, I gave this one a rating of 30. Now I’ve decided to not include a number since I don’t like savory teas, and this tea is decidedly savory. I liked the flavor of real apple in the black, but the fennel killed me. My family members make fun of me because I try to pawn off teas I don’t like on them, and they’ll ask, “Is it savory?” Because they don’t want to be tricked into a savory tea either. I mean, I saw the ingredient list before I bought it, so I should’ve been ready, but I was not. Now I don’t buy a tea if it includes savory herbs in the ingredients.

I didn’t expect to like this one so much, but it is actually one of the most unique and delicious blends I’ve had in a long time.

This is very heavy on the clove, some nice fennel, some vegetal but fruity notes (green apple). The black base is absolutely perfect for this blend. I used 2 tsp leaf in 500 mL cold water, 45 min steep. I appreciate how refreshing this is iced, but I wanted to comment how much I like the apple flavour. It is present, but it isn’t like green apple candy/apple skin from most green apple teas. I’ve always disliked green apple flavour, so I was pleasantly surprised at the flavour in this blend.

104/365

This one came to me free from AU’s recent “try for a dollar” promotion. In the event, it went through the checkout without asking me to pay anything, and it arrived a week or so later. I’d been curious to try this one, so I was stoked to see it in my mailbox!

It smells wonderful. The apple and fennel are both really clear, even from just the dry leaf. Brewed, it takes on a slightly candy-like vibe – one of my colleagues said she could smell bubblegum, and it is a little like that. It reminds me slightly of apple Hubba Bubba, in the best possible way. It’s more nuanced when it’s actually brewed up – the apple is the main flavour; a touch sharp and acidic initially, with a slowly-developing sweetness. It’s definitely green apple! The fennel comes through second and helps with the sweetness, while adding a licorice-like note all its own. There’s a hint of clove in the background, making this a little less like candy and a little more like apple pie, plus a touch of malt from the black tea.

It’s delicious, and I love it!

The last few months have been a bit of a struggle both mentally and healthwise, but the better weather here on the West Coast seems to have given me back some energy. I’m looking forward to drinking teas besides Cold 911 (maybe iced tea is in the cards?).

This one more than makes up for my poor experience with (cue Twilight Zone music) the Black Lodge. This easy steeper had such a lovely balance of sour-sweet green apple, fennel and citrus zest that I ended up never drinking it with milk- the cloves and strong herbs make me mentally group it as a chai but I’ll have to order more if I want a latte or iced cup now!

The description on the back makes me laugh though. “Melodic sonic modulations” what now?! This is a pretty happy tea drinking experience and it got me through quite a few sick days, so I’ll go with it. This will be on the reorder list when I eventually run out of Psychocandy.

Sipdown (603)!

Another sipdown that definitely hurts. However, if AU releases a new collection of teas any time soon and this is still up on their site I’ll definitely order a tin worth of it for myself since I greatly enjoyed this one – and haven’t seen anything comparable from any other company.

This cup was more cooked/baked green apples with a touch of cinnamon/malt from the tea base to strengthen that comparison. Then plenty of fennel/anise deliciousness! Man, I freaking love this tea. It was so tempting to just hoard the last cup of it for forever…