A Quarter to Tea

Cold Brew!

Something about this was a little artificial and chalky tasting, and based on past experiences with AQ2T blends I think it was the raspberry flavouring used. It wasn’t terrible, but it added this “Flintstones Vitamin” quality to the remaining tart rhubarb, berry, herbal raspberry leaf notes and the overall body (and slight floral note) of the black tea. Didn’t not like it, but I think it maybe would have been better hot?

Samurai Travelling Tea Box – Tea #44

When I picked teas for Shae to include in the box, I must have REALLY been feeling spiced apple because this is one of several spiced apple blends that I requested. At the time, I didn’t realize exactly how much of the blend is chamomile so I was a bit disappointed when I saw the dry leaf but it’s actually not bad at all!

A Quarter To Tea used what I think it arguably the best apple flavouring I’ve ever tasted in a tea, and it’s so good and sweet/floral and aromatic that it was even able to get me to enjoy a predominantly chamomile based tea! Yes, the chamomile still is very distinct but I know that some people find that straight chamomile actually has an apple note to it – I’m not one of those people, but I did think it complimented pretty well. The ginger was mild, and I felt it’s tickly warmth more than I tasted it but I thought it was nice.

This didn’t drive me crazy, but I’m really happy I tried it because it’s one of those blends that was just enough outside of my comfort zone to be a really educational sipping experience.

I enjoy the taste of coffee every now and then and typically have a cup of decaf when a craving hits. I thought this blend looked interesting and it smelled promising so I made a cup. I normally sweeten my coffee with sugar but used honey today since this is really more of a coffee-laced tea. And I enjoyed it at first – nice coffee flavor, a sweetness from what I’m guessing is the whisky. But after a few sips in, I’m bored with it. It’s not quite coffee and not quite tea, so neither elements are holding my interest.

Sipdown (271)…sorta

I remember Roswell Strange really disliking this tea and then I checked the tea page and Sil rated it a 13 and started her note by calling it so gross. So I was really excited to try this…

It’s not good. They’re both right. It’s not. However, it’s not as bad as I thought it would be. Perhaps age has helped this because I’m getting a lot of orange and almond. It’s artificial tasting and not great but not terrible either.

Honestly, I thought it would be one sip and then a dump but I was able to finish the glass. Doesn’t mean I want to have it again though so this is going into the swap box.

Sipdown (1076)!

I wasn’t really sold on the “Baklava” profile this time around – perhaps because I’ve very recently had some seriously good baklava! The cup was still nice though, with a really strong and thick floral/rose and pistachio profile, with honey notes. Almost more of an intensely flavoured Turkish Delight vibe!?

Samurai Travelling Tea Box – Tea #17

Thanks Shae for including this one – it looks like I totally missed it when AQ2T was still open, and it’s a flavour profile I would have been all over if I’d seen it…

It smells really familiar dry (good!) and I struggled to figure out what was giving me the aroma deja vu but once it was steeping it was easily to put my finger on – it’s that distinct AQ2T honey flavouring coming through in full force! I like it here paired with strong pistachio and rose notes, but interestingly I’m getting much more of a “Turkish Delight” flavour than a Baklava – I think it’s because it’s a little too floral in general for what I associate with baklava?

There’s another serving left, but I’m keeping it for myself. It might not be baklava, in my opinion, but it is really good!

My first attempt at this tea followed package directions and ended up being an almost clear liquid. Convinced I must have done something wrong, I doubled the tea leaf and increased the temperature and steep time. It came out clear again. What’s going on with this tea?? Granted, it’s an older one but I’ve never had a black tea look like this. And there were plenty of tea leaves in the scoop. Very curious. The coconut, I’m guessing, left a shiny film on the surface which was at the very least unappetizing, but the flavor was fine (if light). I tasted the cherry almond flavor that I noticed in the dry blend and it was enjoyable, but overall this tea left a lot to be desired.

This one’s a sipdown, folx! I’ll be honest, I have no idea what a currant is supposed to taste like. The taste of the tea is unique – fruity but also floral. I think I was expecting currants to taste like grapes maybe, but maybe they don’t.

Second Steep
8 ounces water + 212 degrees + 20 minutes

Still some flavor in this second steep. Picking up more of the floral in this cup. As it cools, more flavor is coming out. Now it’s just as flavorful as the first cup.

Backlog from a week or so ago.

I’ve been wanting to do more iced teas now that the weather is warmer, plus I thought cold brews might be a way for me to start drinking some of the green and white teas that sit languishing in my tea cabinet. This was a nice start – it was light in flavor but there was definitely flavor there, which I don’t always experience with white teas in general. That said, the major downfall here for me was the soapy taste. I immediately checked the ingredients for coconut but didn’t see any so I’m guessing this is coming from the lavender. Maybe just my associate of lavender with soap, I don’t know. I have a bit more of this left so I guess I’ll try a hot cup eventually and see how it goes.

Sipdown (263)

I snagged a sample of this from Kittenna just before AQ2T went on hiatus. It’s an alright tea. Sorta peachy. Not very special. Still, thank you Kittenna for the chance to try something new.

sample from VariaTEA. I’d forgotten that i like kukicha. This tea doesn’t really come across as “cake” to me but it was a pleasant creamy tea that i was enjoying until it got cold. shudder as it cooled there was an off taste about this that made for a cup of tea that just wasn’t good.

From the weekend.

Unfortunately don’t remember a lot of the nuances of the cup, but the dry leaf smelled quite lovely and enticing while the steeped cup was more of a generic fruit/fruit salad type of thing. Gotta take better notes next time I steep it, but as a lighter fruity tea? Not bad. I just don’t know what it was trying to be…

this was a better cup today. Nothing i need to be in the cupboard full time but it’s a nice cup. I need to play with this a little more and see if i can coax the flavour out a bit more though.

Need to try this one again bfore rating it. Drank this yesterday and i don’t remember it tasting like much of anything in particular. That is, there was nothing offensive about this tea but it was just sort of a muddied black tea. Hoping it was just something i ate haha

tea from this morninf and while it was a pleasant enough tea, I’m for sure over “peach”. If you’re in to peach, this one was a nice one. not too sweet, not spicy but a pretty good tea overall.

Sipdown (285)

I never reach for this tea and the couple times I had it now, I don’t really like it. It has a cherry element that is nice sometimes and also like cough syrup other times. It’s also quite floral at times. It’s just not a favorite so the rest is in the swap box.

Perfect cup send off of this tea. I’ve had it a couple times now since VariaTEA gave me some and each time it was kinda “meh.” Today though, it seemed to work out well. I feel like this is a tea that has potential but is too fussy for me lol

Iced Latte Sipdown (262)

This was my afternoon drink and it was really good. The almond comes through with an extract sweetness as opposed to being true to the nut. That pairs with a lot of raspberry flavor. I don’t usually like the extract quality but here it worked and worked well.

Sil didn’t get almond coffee from this but I’m getting a whole lot of almond. It’s bordering on marzipan but I made this as a latte and I think that helps level out the flavouring. In addition to the marzipan, there is sweet raspberry candy flavor as well, like Swedish berries. Every so often, I maybe get wisps of coffee, or I just think they should be there so I’m imagining them. All in all, it’s a pretty nice latte and could be tasty as an iced latte as well.