Nattie Send Message

I was originally planning on using my last two teabags in the same mug to get more flavour from this, because it was so weak last time. The lovely gmathis however suggested that you can leave these teabags in, so instead I popped them in a teapot and settled in for a cosy, slow-drinking afternoon. I’m glad I did, because I got a lot more tea out of them this way! And what do you know, after about half an hour or so of steeping in the pot, the tea was actually at a drinkable strength. Hah! Thanks for the tip, gmathis! I thought I’d be able to pick out more notes when the tea was stronger, but as it turns out it’s just not the kind of tea that has ‘notes’ per se past sweet barley milk and orange. Maybe it did once upon a time, given the age that this is now, but I don’t think it was ever particularly complex. It’s still nice though, and a decent one to sip at slowly while reading.

I’m struggling with writing up a note for this tea because it’s just – in my opinion – so unusual. It’s not very much like other milk oolongs I’ve tried, but I also don’t get the notes from this tea that other reviewers seem to have gotten. It has such a specific and unique scent and flavour to it which I don’t know quite how to pin down. There are definitely notes I do pick up on and can relate to other things I’ve tried, and other teas, but over it all there’s this note which is just an enigma to me. The same note which pervades both scent and liquor, and just strikes me as totally unique to this tea. Of what I can pick out though, the body of this tea is strongly creamy. It comes across to me as more of a ‘buttery’ than a ‘milky’ sort of creaminess, though, and it’s accompanied by strong notes of sweetcorn and orchid. In very light sips, and at the back end of each sip, there are raisin notes and something citrusy which is conjuring images in my head of small cubes of candied lemon and orange rind in syrup, the sort you might use in baking. That mystery note covers everything with a blanket of I have no idea what. I couldn’t even tell you a general ‘family’ it belongs to, except that it’s maybe a little umami, sweet and savoury at the same time. I wish I knew what it was, or at least had something to compare it to. Anyone have any ideas?

Edit: For now I’m going to use ‘paint’ as a descriptor of the note I couldn’t quite pinpoint, but a delicious paint, if that makes sense?! Thanks to ashmanra and CrowKettle for helping me out with that, and the late K S for coming up with the comparison.

I think the instructions on my package of this tea telling me to steep it in boiling water must be an error. The Steepster instructions say 185F, which I’m assuming was taken from the Butiki website, so maybe the wrong label was put on my package. I brewed it at the lower temperature this time and it is so much better. Now it really is astringency-free. The liquor is light in colour but thick and quite luxuriously silky in mouthfeel. It’s a very juicy, fruity Darjeeling with notes of white grape, peach and grapefruit. I added a pinch of sugar and the grapefruit, which was dominant without additives, drops to the background and now the peach dominates. There are quite prominent vegetal and floral notes, reminiscent of rose, gardenia, buttered green bean and wildflowers. What surprises me most about this tea is the spicy kick towards the end of the sip. Stacy’s description mentions ginger, but to me this comes across more as a black peppercorn note. As the cup cools it becomes slightly drying, though still without astringency, and the floral notes become heavier and more dominant. Upping my rating from the 62 I gave it previously, to reflect that this is a much better brewing temperature for this tea, despite what my pouch says! I don’t often drink first flush Darjeelings, but this is one I am happy to have around. Plus, the ethical farming approach of the Glenburn estate is definitely something to be admired and encouraged.

Bumping up my rating a little from 83 because I managed to get a hot pot of tea and two cold brews from the same leaf, and they all tasted amazing. I think I could probably have done another cold steep, but I wanted to make something different for my next cold brew. Now this really is a sipdown.

Another ‘butterbeer’ tea which is actually rootbeer flavoured. Sigh. Aside from my hang-ups on the name and the fact that butterbeer would never have rootbeer in it, the tea itself isn’t bad. The chicory adds a nice roasty body to the medicinal rootbeer flavour, which melds better than I expected with the rest of the ingredients. The rootbeer isn’t overpowering, and the black tea base actually shines through with the help of the chicory root. I know there’s supposed to be butter flavouring in this too but I can’t pick it out. Maybe it’s because of the age of the tea though, so I’ll reserve judgement on that. I’m sure Frank had a rootbeer or rootbeer float tea too, so I’m not totally sure why they needed both when I imagine they’d be pretty similar. (Wait, was the rootbeer float one a rooibos base? In which case I am happy to have the black tea version!) I’m never going to be the best judge of a rootbeer flavoured tea, but as far as execution goes this is done well. As a concept, though, I will never understand the association between ‘butterbeer’ and rootbeer. I’m pretty over Harry Potter at this point though, so I’m not sure why I still care, haha.

Thanks MissB for sending me yet another fandom blend I wanted to try!

Adagio’s Perfect Carlos mixed with DAVIDsTEA’s English Breakfast. Pretty nice! Mostly a malty EB-type tea with a hint of sweetness and nuttiness about it. I’ve been busy with fixing my broken wardrobe for most of today, so this was really the only tea I had before I got going on that. I also drank a cold steep of 52teas’ Graveyard Mist, but sadly that was contaminated by fridge taste and not particularly enjoyable.

Not at all to do with tea, but I also tried my hand at making an Amaretto Sour for the first time tonight and it came out really well. I was a professional mixologist for a time, but that’s not ever a drink I got to make at my job. It is one I like to get when my partner and I go out for drinks, though, so I was looking forward to trying a homemade version. My mam was a big fan, and drank a lot of it before I could take it back from her, but my dad not so much. I really enjoyed it though and will be making them again. I’m thinking after this quarantine is over and I can finally see my boyfriend again, I might suggest a cocktail-making date night. That would be fun!

59 for the Perfect Carlos + EB blend. 28 for the fridge-y Graveyard Mist.

86 for my Amaretto Sour if anyone wants to know. (:

A huge thank you to MissB, who was kind enough to send me a sample of this wishlist tea that I wouldn’t have otherwise been able to get my hands on. The UK Adagio site is a lot more limited than the US site in terms of stock, and the fandom blends in particular are very limited over here. It’s a shame too, because the fandom blends are what I’m most interested in with Adagio.

This tea reminds me of another fandom blend I really like, but I can’t quite put my finger on what it is. Sort of like the Mycroft blend, if it didn’t have the chai spices? A little of Mrs Hudson thrown into the mix? It reminds me of pancakes. The flavour of the vanilla and almond without milk is absolutely delicious, if a little artificial-leaning, but as I find common in Adagio blends, the tea is too astringent for me to handle without adding milk to temper it. Unfortunately this tones down the almond and vanilla, but brings out a hint of the chocolate more and this is when I get that ‘pancakey’ sort of impression. I could swear there’s a hint of cinnamon in there too, but it’s not listed in the ingredients.

It’s a tasty mug of tea and I’m super happy to have had the opportunity to try it, but thankfully it’s not so amazing that I’m overly upset by the fact that I can’t get my hands on any more of it. As long as I can still have Nine, I’ll be okay as far as the Adagio fandom blends are concerned. Sipdown 225/400.

Considering how small the leaf is, I was expecting this to have more astringency. Actually, it’s pretty smooth and malty. I’m pleasantly surprised. I added just a splash of milk so that it went better with my very sophisticated adult breakfast of Lucky Charms, even though it was completely drinkable without. It doesn’t scream ‘English Breakfast’ at me immediately. It’s not as brisk as I’d expect, and there’s a floral note which I wouldn’t associate with an EB either. It is however very tasty as a breakfast tea. Smooth, malty, a touch of citrus and some lingering floral notes. It’s not overly complex, which actually suits my needs well for a breakfast tea, but it’s not too simple either. It takes milk well, but is good without, and I imagine it would work equally well with lemon or sweetener added if that’s your preference. Though it’s not a stand-out, it’s a very decent blend and a good first cup of the day.

Sipdown ):

This is a tea I hope finds its way back into my collection at some point in the future. I’m not much of a fan of green teas, but here I think the base complements the flavour nicely without being overpowering. Cream and lime are a combination made in heaven, in my opinion. I wish I’d had enough to try this iced. At least I have a few other lime teas in my cupboard for now!

224/400

This was received in a swap with Jennkay a while back, and for some reason I never added it to my cupboard. The sample wasn’t quite enough to make a flavourful cup, so I stretched it out as best I could and will be leaving it on my wishlist until I’m able to try enough of it to give a fair review. Though mild, toasty rice and hay notes are quite forwardly present, with a whisper of chocolate in the background, followed up by a prominent bean-like note which lingers on the palate after the sip. A pinch of sugar brings out the chocolate more, and the bean note seems to take over the sip. It’s a very comforting cup with an almost starchy presence even when significantly underleafed, and I imagine it would be a real treat when brewed using the recommended amount.

Thank you for sharing, Jenn! Sipdown, 223/400.