Featured & New Tasting Notes

The second half of 2024 and moving into 2025 has been tough. I lost my sense of self, my sense of humor, hobbies, interest in tea. Everything has been off-center but my boyfriend helped me from shifting too far into the gnarled grip of depression.

It took me six months to finally sign up for the 6-week course at the lumber yard-converted-to-studio-space, but on Wednesday, I had my first introduction to pottery outside of making one lonely and lumpy pinch pot tea cup in an Environmental Lit class in high school (I didn’t realize until years later how much that class effected the trajectory of my life). Starting off with another lonely and lumpy pinch pot, I felt the slow release of all the stress and struggle that was trapped in my body. I felt true calm and freedom for the first time in months. I can’t wait to go back next Wednesday.

This tea, like the process of molding clay with the hands, aids in shifting the self into a centered state. So grateful to be able to experience its unwavering character with each bowl.

A sipdown! (M: 3 Y: 3)
I assume this was one of the teas that ignited my love for Georgian teas. I decided to buy this, with no or very limited experience with Georgian teas, especially different ones than black.

And well this tea delivered!
Today I prepared last 6 grams that I had in sealed wrapper for long time and apparently the best before day was the last day of 2022, so… yep, old! Especially for white tea! Vendor have still some available, but there is no harvest year mentioned.

Those 6 grams I have used in my teapot, used 90°C water and steeped for 2-3 minutes.
Naturally, it used to have much more flavour; but nevertheless there are notes of meadow flowers with flax notes.

Also the texture used to be more thick. But on the other hand it was light-feeling tea; good for evening, easy to drink even for not so experienced tea-drinkers as my family members.

Happy to have it finished, but sad to call it sipdown. Should I buy another 37.5 grams? Maybe one day… or other white from this region. Afterall, I still have some from the group buy that I organised!

Advent tea! Sweet tea with a slight chocolate aftertaste. The puerh base makes it savory and salty. I would probably overleaf a cup, especially in the morning like I am drinking it now. That may bring the chocolate out? It is an easily drinkable cup and I would add it to an order.

Ashmanra’s 2025 Sipdown Challenge: A leftover advent tea

Hehe, what an excellent prompt! This is from last year’s 52Teas box. I spent quite a while waffling about which tea to make this afternoon and ultimately selected this one.

I’ll stick with my rating from last year. I’m still not getting much of the caramel popcorn flavor, but that could be because I’ve been sick for nearly a week and I think my sense of smell (and taste) is shot. Still, I’m really appreciating the briskness of the base today — it’s making me feel a little more alive.

2025 sipdown count: 2

I see I never wrote a note of this, that’s rather surprising, but well here is the note:

I was in a mood to prepare a tea in a pot again, mostly because I was feeling cold all day somehow; and I wanted to had more than a single mug. This particular batch is from Autumnal Flush 2023.

So yep, I prepared 8 grams (or 6 grams? I don’t remember!) in the pot and used 85°C water. I wasn’t paying much attention to the scents, but taste was very nice. It was delicate herbal, creamy and smooth, with notes of hay, cut grass and citrus peels.

The liquor is very bright with green-yellow hue, very clear and there weren’t any dust in cups. Either the strainer is very fine or there is no dust in the tea.

Advent tea! This has an ok strawberry note, but it smells more like strawberry than it tastes like strawberry. The finish is astringent. Might make a nice iced tea, so I’m confused as to why it’s in a holiday advent. Not something I need to try again.

Had to get a sample of this to try, because I love cranberries and cranberry-flavored things.

Sadly, this tastes more like a cherry lozenge than it does like cranberry anything. Extremely medicinal cherry candy flavor with a very powdery undertone and a light hibiscus tartness. Nope, nope, nope!

Sipdown 1 – 2025

Finished this off this morning. Chain drinking cups of tea and worrying about the surrounding fires. Luckily we are not in immediate danger, but watching so many communities around us burn is pretty devastating. I hope everyone in the LA area is staying safe.

We dressed up in mild cosplay and went to a Star Trek themed afternoon tea at a local tea shop, and it was so tasty and cute! They carry teas from NM Tea Co, and we got to try two of them along with our treats! Unfortunately, this chai was pretty weak. It had no power, just meh and forgettable.

Ashmanra’s sipdown challenge – January 2025 Tea #2 – Your newest tea

This was just delivered in a 52Teas order, so it is my very newest tea.  A part of me felt I needed to buy this one, as I MIGHT be the person who has asked Anne to reblend Frank’s Black Silk Chocolate Milk Qu Hao the most.  Probably definitely.  It was still in stock on the site after a few months, so I decided to order!   It might be my favorite of Frank’s blends.  Definitely top five.  So I was thrilled that Anne tried to recreate a similar blend!  The Qu Hao base used in the original blend is rare, impossible to find when it isn’t expensive, so I understand it won’t be the SAME blend.  But I also was very happy that Anne aimed to recreate it.  The base in this blend is Gu Zhang mixed with Assam and Yunnan.  Sounds good to me!  Though I am not sure I have ever actually had another Gu Zhang leaf before.  (A quick search of all the teas that I have rated in my Steepster lifetime tells me no, no Gu Zhang in my tea drinking history, at least directly in the name.) I’m wondering if Anne has ever used it before? So I have no idea how the Gu Zhang tastes on its own. But I was also thrilled that Anne still has the original recipe for the Black Silk Chocolate Milk Qu Hao… as sometimes I hear many of Frank’s recipes were lost.  So there was a chance the flavoring would be similar!  AND IT IS.  The base probably isn’t as deep as the Qu Hao, but the flavoring is spot on.  It’s like a silky smooth mix of chocolate/ marshmallow/ vanilla and kahlua.  You know… exactly what the ingredients contain… minus the kahlua.  But wow, the flavors really meld together so well and very balanced.  (One of my favorite combinations of flavors is chocolate/marshmallow, so this is very much my thing.)  It’s amazing that the flavors are so spot on to the original blend.  It seems like a simple mix of flavors, but I have only ever noticed this exact flavoring with Black Silk Chocolate Milk Qu Hao before.  The third steep (milking the leaves for all I can) is quite good too — smooth, never harsh.  In a mystery taste test, I would definitely compare the two blends. So… mission successful!  I was so blinded by the lack of Qu Hao in the tea world, that I didn’t realize something similar could be recreated, especially by someone with Anne’s talents!  Thank you!  Very glad you put this together! 
Steep #1 // 1 1/2 teaspoons for a full mug // 23 minutes after boiling // 2 minute steep
Steep #2 // 10 minutes after boiling // 3 minute steep
Steep #3 // just boiled // 10 minute steep

DF Advent — Day 23

Still not a fan of Happy Dreams due to strong lemongrass but it was much better tasting than 4 years ago. Rich flavor yet soft and sweet with an exotic spice note lended by the star anise that really made this tea pop while overall remaining comforting like lemon fluff. Recommended :)

I’ll shout it from the rooftops- 52Teas banana flavoring is the GOAT of banana teas. It’s just so tasty, and I love it combined with the green oolong.

The first time I brewed this tea I thought it was a bit muddled, this steeping session, I lengthened the steep time and it came out a bit better. I think I prefer each of these on its own (the coconut does go well with vanilla rooibos) than together. There is an apple note up front and a coconut finish, but they just don’t mesh well together. I’ll have no problem finishing this little tin, but not something I need to mix up on my own.

Tea in the UK was a bit of an experience, though one I was surprisingly disappointed in certain ways. It’s weird because I know in general UK culture leans more towards coffee at the moment, and What-Cha with Alistair is easily the best loose leaf vendor in the UK, but I was expecting more loose leaf shops than there was. The cultural heritage/museum cafes in every undercroft in every cathedral and castle had amazing Earl Greys and Elderflower teas that were insanely good with a few good teas at some of the coffee shops like the Blueberry Matcha at the Black Sheep Coffee chain, but a lot of other places were mostly the same of what you’d see in the US.

I managed to go to Whittard of Chelsea and Bird and Blend, but Fortnum and Mason was really hard for me to reach since it was just off from the sites I was going to. It was also in a different terminal altogether at the airport, so I decided not to go.

Bird and Blend was hugely disappointing. I’ll go on a mini rant on that later.
I was pleasantly surprised with the teas from this company, beginning with this one. It was a round bagged tea in the Discovery collection box sampler that was a little overpriced, but this assam was exceptionally smooth for a round compostable tea bag. I’d easily rank it above Twinings, Numi and some Republic of Tea blends (though not all).

This was a straightforward assam, but not too astringent after 3 minutes. Had a really nice malt body that wasn’t overpowering, a little bit of a cocoa and toffee vibe in the aftertaste rather than flavor. It’s simple, but effective and easily better than most teabags and way smoother. I was surprised with how good it was for a teabag. Color me happy after a persnickety rant.

Sipdown! (8 | 8)

Another oldest tea bites the dust! This was one nice enough, but I always felt like it needed more flavoring, and found it odd that they added hibiscus to a tea with vanilla in it. I get it, it makes the orange pop more, but I feel like it works against the vanilla. Still a perfectly fine blend, just ends up tasting a little more generically hibiscus than I would prefer (though not very tart). The green maté base is soft and haylike, gently herby and earthy.

As for the company, note sure if they went out of business or…? Their website is there but checkout is disabled. A shame, I was curious to try a couple of their other blends.

2024 Advent Calendar #4

I don’t think I’ve ever had sweet potato pie. We love sweet potatoes in our family so I may have to try my hand at it.

The dry sachet had fabulous scents of cinnamon and clove. I, impatiently, let it steep for the full recommended 7 minutes and then snuggled in my arm chair with the mug. It was full of warm and comfort but not so strong with the chai spices. I do taste the cinnamon and clove and sweet potato. There is a flavor I can’t quite pinpoint and I googled Tulsi to see if that was it, as it’s the only ingredient I wasn’t familiar with. Still not sure if the Tulsi is what I’m getting. There was a creaminess to it that I think is coming from the sweet potato.

Sipdown! (7 | 7)

One of my oldest teas down, yay! This was purchased in the spring of 2021.

For some reason I’ve just never loved this tea, which is why it stuck around for so long. I think it’s the salted aspect of it, which I do enjoy with sencha, but find a bit odd with hojicha. There is a noticeable salinity and slippery texture, and I just don’t love it with the toasty base. Obubu has a hoji sakura sencha sometimes and I definitely prefer that one, but I do tend to prefer Obubu’s sakura teas in general because there is no sugar or salt, only dried blossoms and leaves. But Lupicia’s Sakura & Berry is still a favorite, and one that I will repurchase in the spring! :)

Day 12 of the 52teas advent calendar. I made this as an oat milk latte because the word “chai” always makes me think I should add oat milk. The spice balance here reminds me a lot of the gingerbread blend, in a favorable way. The cinnamon, clove, and pepper are clear but not overpowering. Not sure I’m getting “chestnut” per se, but there’s a nice creaminess that goes deeper than the oat milk. Another one that’s risky because of my stomach but I’d recommend for flavor.

Overall, this continues to be an excellent advent. There were some returning favorites (banana eggnog oolong! candy cane marshmallow treat genmaicha!) as well as some new and new-to-me blends that I found quite enjoyable. The gingerbread green and raspberry lemon linzer black were particular highlights there. The quantity of tea is just right – enough to play around with but not so much that it ends up sitting around forever. This calendar has quickly become a constant in my advent lineup; I expect that will continue to be the case.

So one of my tea goals this year is to have matcha at least 3 times a week, because I haven’t made any in months and I have quite a stash of unopened packages. Obubu has sent matcha in their tea club multiple times, plus I chose a matcha set as part of my pledge in their first Kickstarter, so I have no fewer than six unopened 25-30 gram pouches from them! (They’re actually running a campaign at the time of this post to start a bus line so people can more easily get from Kyoto or Osaka to their farm, so go check that out!)

Anyway, I opened my oldest package, from the spring of 2023, and was delighted to see how green it looked and how fresh it still smelled. It was a bit clumpy, but nothing that a good sifting couldn’t fix. Huzzah for airtight packaging! It’s been a while, but my oat latte with maple syrup still came out scrumptious, and the matcha is deliciously smooth with mellow earthy and fresh grass flavors and not a hint of bitterness in the slightest. Looking forward to having this multiple times a week! :)

The Kickstarter campaign: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/obubuteafarms/shuttle-to-tea-wonderland-community-bus-line-to-wazuka-cho

A sipdown! (M: 2 Y: 2) prompt: A tea you put off drinking

I don’t really know why I put this tea off; maybe because I was afraid it would be too smoky, or just haven’t got a mood for gongfu, or…

It seems that all smokiness is gone by now. Smooth and floral cuppa, with hints of red fruits and some woodiness. Works well to me, however I am not able to point out exact flavours. But it’s cozy enough in snowy afternoon.

2024 Advent Calendar #3

Happy New Year! Taking a moment this morning to sit with a mug of this before undecorating and calendar planning. It’s the first one that I missed in the actual Advent season. It’s also the first disappointment for me but I would say, it is exactly as described. The color of the tea is a light cranberry color and the scent is strong with strawberry It’s very sweet, dry, tart with strawberries and hibiscus. For me this would be a better pick for summer than a New England summer

It seems the trend lately is caffeine-free coffee teas (which, don’t get me wrong, I quite enjoy!) but sometimes what I am really craving from a coffee tea is the stimulation of coffee as well as the taste, and I have to say this one holds up pretty well. It has a very strong black coffee flavor, which mimicks the flavor well but also comes off just a tad artificial. The dry leaf smells strongly of the cocoa elements but I don’t really taste that in the cup… it just tastes like black coffee with a roasty undertone, as well as a strong hit of cinnamon. I really like the cinnamon, and somehow paired with the black coffee flavor it tastes more like nutmeg to me on the tongue (still very pleasant!) I also like that the base is a combination of roasted yerba mate and black tea, doubling down on the caffeinated potential.

I’ve mostly been drinking this tea plain, but this morning opted for a sweetened vanilla almond milk latte since I’m trying to use up the carton. Adding the sweetened vanilla almond milk really brings out the cocoa notes that were hiding otherwise. Very delicious! A very good coffee alternative for those that like the taste but may have other issues preventing a morning cup o’ joe (for me, the acidity of coffee beans really does a number on my GI!)

Happy New Year, everyone!

December Sipdown Prompt – get a final sipdown for the year

Apparently this exact blend is no longer available. This was a sample from the Communitea pack for Dec 27, probably for 2022 or 2023. It came to me as a gift so I don’t know how old it is, for sure. There is a tea by this name on the site but not with these ingredients, and another tea named Warm Up By The Fire, also not with these ingredients.

And that is a shame! This is one of the first blends by Adagio that I have rather taken a cotton to! Ginger and clove made me dread it, but they were both so tame they didn’t offend. Maybe that was die to age. It was a true cold weather comfort warm up mug of tea, and I enjoyed it for breakfast.

Since it was only a sample, it wasn’t listed in my cupboard and therefore the numbers don’t go down but nevertheless the number of grams of tea in the house DID go down.

2024 sipdown no. 87

I’ve brewed this at 3, 4, and 5 minutes and it always tastes the same. Like muddled maple water. Such a shame considering the ingredients.