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Sipdown! (3 | 37)

The last one from the January subscription! Just in time, too, as my February shipment is currently sitting in the mailbox… XD

At first, I was dreading this one because of the stevia, but it’s actually not noticeable (thank goodness!). It’s a very mellow herbal infusion, even the tulsi doesn’t stand out strongly. Soft with a subtle mintiness from the tulsi and peppermint, as well as a gentle lemony note from lemon myrtle. There’s a slight ginger warmth, and the other “immunity-boosting” botanicals contribute a pleasant earthy quality. The texture in particular is very nice, it feels soft and pillowy on the tongue.

A pleasant and mellow infusion, but not something I would feel the need to order. I love tulsi so would prefer more of it to shine through! I will recommend it though, as I feel it’s very well-balanced and enjoyable overall.

This is nice! The pineapple is definitely on the sweet/candied side vs. the tangy/fresh one. Apparently it has passion fruit, which I think I’m tasting as mango for some reason. It’s very mellow and subtly sweet, but the combo of the sweet candied pineapple with the toasted rice is giving it a sort of subdued pineapple cake vibe.

Speaking of which, I recently ordered a pineapple cake cashew butter as part of a trio from Rooted Fare and I’m so excited for all of them! :3

Finding this one slightly difficult to describe. I haven’t had a lot of GABA teas, and I think they’ve all been oolongs?

I’m definitely getting a tanginess, which the Internet tells me is common for GABA teas. It actually reminds me a bit of a mango yogurt drink or lassi, but perhaps a bit tangier. But then there’s also the earthy-woody black tea flavor, with a bit of musty hay as well. It makes for an interesting combo, and once again does not taste at all like I would expect for Assam. Closer to a second flush Darjeeling really, with those hay notes, but it does have some briskness to it, and a touch of raisin in the finish. An interesting experience to be sure!

Sipdown! (2 | 36)

Another one with that weird soapy thing going on, I assume the green tangerine here had some sort of essential oil component. Ah well.

Another Indian tea that tastes remarkably similar to hongcha! It’s the golden needle-ness of it all ha ha, it’s giving Yunnan vibes. It does have a bit of that sort of malty sweet potato note to it, though not as thick and rich as a Yunnan tea. Very honeyed and bready, with a stonefruity finish. No bitterness or astringency at all to my palate, which is very interesting for an Assam. I think if you told me this tea was from Yunnan, I would believe you!

I figured I would try another of these Lupicia Japan teas since the last one didn’t really count ha ha…

This one is nice enough. It pretty much tastes the same as their Tochiotome Black to me, and has a similar CTC base as well. Nice sweet-tart strawberry flavor that reminds me of freeze-dried strawberries. The base is brisk but not overly tannic, and I think they probably intend for this to be prepared as a milk tea anyway. Ooh, that sounds good… Might have to make one later! XD

Sipdown! (1 | 35)

Was excited to try this one (passion fruit, lime, grapefruit black tea) but I could tell from the smell of the dry leaf that something was off. They have some teas where they use essential oils or something for citrus flavors (their Grapefruit Green and Kumquat come to mind) and they tend to have a much shorter shelf life, and in less than a year they get this weird soapy flavor to them, I’m assuming because the oil degrades or goes rancid in some way.

Anyway, this has that soapy flavor so I’m assuming maybe the grapefruit here is the same one in Grapefruit Green. So sadly, tossing the rest of this… :(

This tastes surprisingly similar to a Fujian hongcha… It definitely has that dark wheat bread with caraway thing going on, and is much smoother than I would expect for an Indian black tea. Very chewy and satisfying, with a toasty grain note, and a touch of wood and hay. It’s a bit like a combination of something like a Bailin Gongfu with a late flush Darjeeling.

It’s a bit of a far cry from the notes it’s supposed to have ha ha, they describe it as chocolate orange and list a bunch of other sweet and fruity notes. I can see a touch of toasty, unsweetened cacao, but nothing about it tastes sweet to me at all. It’s more on the savory and malty side IMO. But I really enjoyed it, so I don’t suppose it matters ha ha!

Really enjoyed this one! The spices taste fresh and potent – mostly the cardamom is center stage, with ginger and a touch of cinnamon and clove supporting. And then the cocoa powder gives it a nice chocolaty flavor that isn’t artificial or over the top. It’s not a super dark chocolate note, I would put it somewhere in the middle. The CTC base is strong enough to stand up to the added ingredients, but not tannic, even though I’m currently sipping it cold.

I bet this would be wonderful prepared traditionally too! Might have to put a tin of this blend on my wishlist for later this year…

This one wasn’t my favorite. Chocolate teas and I don’t tend to get along, but also this type of hazelnut flavoring reminds me of hazelnut coffee creamer and for some reason that taste is just so cloying to me. Not sure why, it’s not like I had a bad experience with hazelnut coffee ha ha.

I actually didn’t get a ton of chocolate, but the hazelnut was quite strong. At least the glitter was restrained! ;)