Daylon R Thomas Send Message

This one worked for me better than expected. Nice with honey to bring the mint and jasmine together. Even without honey, this tea actually did not clash in the way I thought it would. Will have to write more notes on it.

Okay, I’m being a picky jerk about this one. It’s really tannic and easily bitter with boiling water. I only did this for a minute and it’s still to heavy on the tannin for me.

The cream and bergamot ratio is good, but the aftertaste is something I really don’t like. I’m going on full teasnob with it. It needs cream and sugar. I wouldn’t be so bitter if I didn’t pay six pounds for it. I could have gotten Harney and Sons for much cheaper at this rate.

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.

I was craving a good black tea for the winter, so with the infused chocolates they sold, I got this tea. I thought about the sampler, but I’m iffy with minty black teas and I had a feeling the choice of magnolia may have been too heady for me in a black tea….even though I drink floral black teas often.

Anyway, I’ve had this one western and tumbler style, and it’s very, very good. Bourbon, vanilla, oak, nutmeg, and woody qualities come through easily with a little bit of malt. I didn’t expect how sweet this tea would be. Sometimes, the woody tones meld into a raspberry tone. Even smelling the sample of the plain black tea base I got, there’s a very raspberry quality in the smell, and I got it in the taste for this one.

I peronally couldn’t get much more than three true rebrews of it, while the 4th is weak. I’m going to have to try this one gong fu. I really enjoy it, but it’s just rich enough that I may slow down on consuming this one.

I’ll need to make a page for it, but I’m low on time. Magic Hour recently started selling more straight up tea blends with no flavor this year, and they sold a Dong Ding that they use for one of their green oolong bases for the Yuwa Goddess Blend. It’s floral, creamy green oolong that’s pretty solid. It’s notes kinda lean towards lily territoy that you’d get in some high quality Jin Xuans, but there’s enough depth in the body that makes me think MAYBE Qin XIn. I’m almost done with it and not bad to have around at all.

I do need some tea peoples thoughts-I’m visiting Edinburgh, Oxford, Reading, Isle of Wight, and London this year during December.

SIPDOWN! I’ve had this one for over a year. I had high hopes, but the cinnamon and other spices dry this tea out. Preparation on their website usually turns this into a latte, but I like it better with honey and no other additives. It gets more of a cidery or spiced mead vibe with honey and is much more enjoyable. The ginger is also much more prominent. I personally recommend the White Marzipan and the Cake Batter Pumpkin Spice teas from this collection personally.

I was really excited about the currants for this one, but it clashed a little with the spices despite liking it. Overall, it was a disappointment, but really approachable with honey. Magic Hour has other better blends imo. I honestly prefer the Capricorn if you want maple/fall vibes.

Drinking this one up, it’s very light on the strawberry and more heavy on the tieguanyin floral oolong. I get more orchid than strawberry at first, then it transitions into the strawberry. It’s not fake, but it’s light and candy like. I would have liked a little bit more strawberry that’s redder. It’s refreshing and thirst quenching. Might be better light. Needs more umph.

2024 western, 3 minutes, 4 min, 5 min, and 3-4 grams in 8 0z.

Plumeria heavy in the flavor this time. More floral than last year, but not as fruity. Extremely comforting. Perfect on a summer day slipping into fall at 62 F. Perfect weather. I don’t want to return to anything above 75 F in climate for a while.

I’ve had this one for over a year, and I tried it on it’s own, not as good. Too much cinnamon. Better as a latte, but needs a longer steeping time to get the spices more balanced.

I finally did this Chai Wallah stlye today on the last day before I go back to school. Boiled the pot, put leaves in, shifted back to rolling boil, cooled down, added sugar, rolling boil, lowered heat, added evaporated coconut milk, went to rolling boil, and finally cooled off for 3 minutes then served. I know, complicated, but I’ve found that doing chai this way is better. I added a little bit too much sugar since I made it for my girlfriend, yet still so much better with slightly caramelized sugar from the boil.

I officially like making masalas and spiced chais this way. I was able to get a much better balance of the pumpkin spices and cinnamon without taking away from the cardamom and other spices this blend has. I’m so relieved. This blend is usually to heavy on cinnamon for me personally, so this sipdown was a vast improvement.

This is a much newer season, 2023 spring (?) I think. It’s pretty good. Cedar there, heavier on grass, milk, pear, and florals. I’m saying this a lot, but its yet another favorite I horded. If you ever decide to get a Whispering Pines Tea order, this is my personal recommendation out of the oolongs offered.