5272 Tasting Notes
Sipdown!! (155)
Dexter3657 was kind enough to send this my way before I discovered that me and hibiscus are not really friends. So, after trying the first cup, I have been putting off having another taste. But I knew I would give it another chance before totally writing it off. However, the sample Dexter shared was so generous I was not very sure how I would finish it off.
Then yesterday I saw Roswell Strange had cold brewed this tea and I thought I would follow in her footsteps. More and more I realize I am not a huge fan of hot tisanes so I figured I could try something new and finish off the sample of Kanpe at the same time. I am definitely glad I did. I am still not a huge fan but it is definitely better cold brewed imho. I am picking up the hibiscus but it is a bit less prominent when prepared this way. I am also tasting the cinnamon and a little bit of fruity sweetness. Thank you Dexter for sharing with me :)
Well three things are causing sadness in my life at this moment:
1. I have a paper due at midnight that I have been writing since yesterday. That means no sleep and I really like my sleep. Plus, paper writing is never fun especially when I only have 8 pages to address the ever-so-broad question, “What is the meaning and significance of religious freedom as a human right?” for a class called Religion and Human Rights.
2. I have been checking the tracking number on my BF Herbal Infusions order and as of last night it said it was “processed at local delivery facility” at 8:43 Sunday morning. When I checked today, expecting it to say out for delivery, it said “processed at local delivery facility” at 10:42 this morning. How many times must this package process before it comes to me?!?!
3. This is a sipdown which means no more Hello Sweetie for me until Stacy makes some more :(
In light of all the sadness, I just really wanted something that would make me smile and Hello Sweetie was the first thing that came to mind. So, this cup is bittersweet as it is delicious as always and that only makes me realize just how much it will be missed. Oh well, nothing to do now but savor the cup and get back to paper writing. Thank you JustJames for providing me a little ray of sunlight on this gloomy afternoon.
ETA: So I just noticed I have been way underleafing this (as in 1.5 tsp in 12 oz) everytime I made it and it was still amazingly flavorful. Hmmm….
Preparation
Oh god, I can relate to obsessively checking delivery status sites. So frustrating! I hope your package arrives soon.
haha. I did not have this problem until I discovered tea. Now when I send a package and when I know I am meant to receive one, I go insane. Luckily (or perhaps not so luckily) I have the Canada Post app on my phone so I put the tracking numbers in and they are all listed in one convenient location. However, when I refresh the tracking page like every hour or two I don’t think much time is being saved.
Also, Della Terra is driving me nuts because they sent me an email over 10 days ago saying my order shipped but there is no tracking info. I thought there was because there was a link to check my order status but that just says “shipped” which I already gathered. I also got an email to review the teas I bought but I don’t have the teas to review :(
Hmmm, my dt orders usually don’t take very long, and like you, I don’t usually get actual tracking information, so my obsession has to be kept at bay haha. And if you read one of the older notes I wrote about black jasmine tea, you’ll know just how crazy I am (the mailman put the box through the mail slot and I literally stood on the other side and pulled it through!).
Sipdown!! (157)
Thank you Roswell Strange for sending this my way. I recall last time I had it, I did not find it particularly flavorful but i dropped the temperature a bit and shortened the steep time. The result is a delicious cinnamon, bread-y tea. I would say Monkey Bread was more accurate because there is less cinnamon than you would expect in a cinnamon bread and a bit more breadyness. Honestly, I am quite enjoying this cup and I am sad to see this blend go. Perhaps I will pick up some more in the future. Thanks again Roswell Strange!!
Preparation
I have 2 oz. coming my way, so if you ever want to throw another sample into one of our frequent swaps just let me know and I’ll definitely do so :)
Thank you for the offer and perhaps I may take you up on that as we do swap frequently. Although, I leave for Florida in a couple of days so no swaps for a while but on the plus side, when I return I am sure I will have plenty of new teas to share. My dad is sending all my BF orders to me and my mom has already found a couple tea shops for us to visit. Plus, I emailed Nina’s Paris in hopes of finding a Miami location and though they don’t have a store, they told me I could come by their office and try out some teas.
Usually I go out to eat when I am in Florida. I guess this time I will be venturing in search of new teas. haha.
Sounds like quite the adventure! I’m envious ;P
There’s only three tea places in Saskatoon (well, four – but two are the same). We have Tea Desire, McQuarrie’s (which is a local one), and two DAVIDsTEA locations. Regina, the city I moved from and will b going to in January for a late Christmas, isn’t much better. But, I am excited to go to Cuppa’T Specialty Tea (their local store) and go back to the English Tea Room (it’s a traditional styled tea room that’s only 2 blocks from where I moved from – they have AMAZING teas imported from England, and really good food too).
Awesome. I am actually lucky when it comes to tea shops as I am in two major cities. Where I live in Montreal, I am between Camellia Sinensis and Kusmi teas (each about 2 blocks from my house). Plus in the mall a couple blocks from my campus there is DAVIDs and CaesarsTea. And there are a more around which is nice because I get to try a bunch of different things.
Then when I go to visit my family, I am in Toronto where there are a bunch of tea shops as well. However, I haven’t really explored any tea shops other than DAVIDs and Teavana yet because I haven’t been in Toronto long enough to venture downtown.
I live in Regina and I did not know about the English tea room….I need to check it out now!!!
Oh wow – didn’t realize you were in Regina! If you’re up for it, we should have tea together when I come up in January! Maybe at the English Tea Room? :P
As a rule, I usually hate hibiscus in teas. Especially herbals. They always smell so sweet and delicious and then BAM!! hibiscus is all you can taste. So with that in mind, it is probably a wonder as to how I like a tea that is predominantly hibiscus.
I think the answer is it is honest. The hibiscus is not lying in wait to ruin a perfectly sweet treat. Instead it is proud and advertising itself as tart. And tart this tea is. Not my favorite cup, and I probably won’t restock after I get through my 100 grams, but I also have confidence that I will be able to get through the tin just fine.
Preparation
Sipdown!! (158)
Thank you Roswell Strange for sending this my way but I finally got through the sample and I am glad to see it go. It smelled so delicious but each time ended up tasting like a generic grocery store tea. At least it was consistent!
Preparation
Sipdown!! (159)
So I have no idea how long I steeped this for and it was quite overleafed but it managed to be nutty, smooth and delicious as always. This is always reliably tasty and it will be missed. I am sure it will return to my cupboard in time but until then I have Pistachio Cream to keep me happy.
After seeing this mentioned by Roswell Strange I decided to have a cup. I also decided to follow her lead and cold brew some teas to enjoy tomorrow.
Anyways, as far as this tea is concerned, I think it is tasty but I have fallen out of love with it a bit. When I first discovered loose leaf and all I knew was DAVIDs, this was delicious but now that I know there are much better rooibos blends out there so once this is gone I am not sure I will be restocking. Nevertheless, it is maple-y and sweet and is a pleasant enough cup on occasion.
I decided to move into whites for the evening (and by evening I mean 10 at night) to cut down on my caffeine. I decided to go with this one because Lovelylotus sent me so much and I am trying to work through it. I also had the thought to add just a smidge of the Honeybush Mango MissB sent me, as I have a lot of that as well and thought the two would make an interesting flavor combination.
So how does my concoction actually taste? Weird. There is strawberry, there is mango, there is sweetness, but each component seems to be in conflict with the others as opposed to being harmoniously intermingled. Oh well, it was worth a try. Thank you both Lovelylous and MissB for so generously sharing your tea stashes with me!
Why do you insist on tasting like Tetley’s Orange Pekoe? When I read the name “Velvety Vanilla” and smell a delicious vanilla scent, I expect some vanilla in my cup. Instead I got generic Orange Pekoe tea. I have one cup of this left and I may just drink it down to get it out of my cupboard. Thank you Roswell Strange for sending me this sample – if nothing else, you helped me permanently cross this off my list :)
you know, i was a keystroke away from buying from red leaf the other day, but it’s just too expensive compared to the amount i would get…. but this is one of the flavours that tempts me most….
It is quite tasty. I am sort of wary cuz of the price but honestly I think I have like 2 cups per day so it is getting to the point where I know I reach for this so I might as well just man up and buy. With that said, I sort of lucked out because I shared some matcha with a friend and she liked it so much she was going to place an order herself and then we decided instead to buy together and get the buy 5, get 2. That way we can try more and if we don’t like any flavors we are not stuck with a whole lot that cost us a bunch.