New Tasting Notes

Sigh! I was really looking forward to this tea. New Mexico is one of my favorite places in the world and I was delighted to discover their website from which I ordered a number of samples. When it came to this tea I ordered a bit more solely based on the description and ingredient list. Biscochitos are the iconic New Mexico cookie. Hard to describe them, but if you’ve ever had one, you never forget the taste of it. I was pretty psyched to see someone had made a tea inspired by it. I will admit to have slightly been put off by roasted rice in the ingredients list, but I figured it was still worth the risk.
But the minute I poured the loose leaf tea into my steeper I knew something was off. The smell was strangely biscochitos adjacent. I couldn’t quite put my finger on it but I poured the water in and waited for it to finish enfusing. After all you never know with teas, sometimes they smell one way in the cup and taste different on the palate. I drank a cup and while it wasn’t a horrible tea, it didn’t taste as it had promised. Something was off. I made a second cup and as the tea bloomed in the steeper I noticed what at first I thought were pieces of dried fruit. On closer inspection I discovered the issue. What I had mistaken for dried fruit -which I should parenthetically add would have had nothing to do with the cookie in question-what I had mistaken for dried fruit was actually a chunk of star anise. I went back and read the ingredients list on the package and even pulled up the page on their website. Both stated this tea included “anise seed.” Not star anise. But what was unmistakably in my strainer was star anise. Somehow they’d blown the recipe. I don’t need to explain to anyone the profound difference between anise seed and star anise. They are not the same plant and really register in very different ways. Somehow whoever came up with this tea didn’t know what they were doing. Or weren’t familiar with the New Mexican cookie in question. Star anise is not a substitution for anise seed, any more than orange peel is the same as bergamot. These are very distinct flavors and it’s the whole point of making good tea blends.
So very disappointed in this tea. While in and of itself it’s not a horrible tea, it is most definitely not what it was aiming for.

SIDE POINT AS SILVER LINING: I need to add that in looking for this tea to rate it, I came across a different tea company a few miles up the road in northern New Mexico. I managed to reach them to ask if their take on this tea included star anise or anise seed. Fortunately they didn’t laugh me off the phone and offered to send me a sample which they most assuredly told me included anise seed. They shared my confusion as to why anyone would use star anise. So perhaps a silver lining for me and a new customer for them.

Sipdown (272)

I always had this as an (iced) latte and its definitely better that way when compared to their plain cup. With that said, this was always sort of just ok for me. It’s got maple and coconut. The rooibos seems unnecessary and out of place. And without the latte prep method, it’s flat. I am ok with saying good bye to this one.

This is the last bit of my sample from VariaTEA, sadly!

Just as good as the first time — this tea is smooth with a healthy dose of vanilla that just tastes plain good. Theres some coconut in there too and it all just melds together nicely.

Thanks for sharing such a great tea!

I requested this tea as a sample because “Tea with Jann”, a lovely Canadian tea vlogger, recommended it! She said it was one of her favourites from the Dessert by Deb collection.

Unfortunately, I was not the biggest fan of this tea (despite wanting to like it!). Although this might come down to my personal preferences, since I normally dislike red rooibos. To me, this tea tasted buttery with hints of rooibos and coconut.

However, Deb is a wonderful person, and has some other fantastic blends that I adore. I think this one was just not for me.

This is a swap sample, I believe from Kawaii433. I wonder how she’s doing… Thanks for the sample, lady!

I steeped it Western-style, about 2 or 3 teaspoons for my mug. The leaves are huge and twisty, so it’s hard to measure by anything but eye.

This is mighty tasty! Very sweet and roasty, reminiscent of a mellow houjicha. There are light honey and sticky dried fruit notes that make me think of figs or dates. And a comforting gentle autumn leaf pile flavor that makes this a perfect tea for fall…

Ahhh…

I have plenty of houjicha at the moment so I don’t feel the need to rush out and order this one, but I will definitely put it on the list for the future.

I tried as part of the The Republic of Tea’s Day of Tea Assortment. Good black tea with bergamot shining through

Tried as part of the The Republic of Tea’s Day of Tea Assortment. Great choice for a black tea, bergamot really shines.

Weather and a poorly timed ear/sinus infection (it’s like trying to hear with corks in your ears) spoiled our plans to sneak down to the Ozarks today. But the antibiotics are kicking in, and I had a quiet morning to tackle The Corner of Guilt and Shame (piled up mementoes from mom and sister that I feel bad about pitching). Then we made do with a makeshift lunch date to a good pizza place about 20 miles south. We took the back roads and narrowly missed a dive-bombing by two buzzards that were as big as Thanksgiving turkeys. An adventure indeed.

So this is dessert, and a good one for a raw afternoon—damp and temps in the mid 40’s. When I initially reviewed this, I affirmed that the butterscotch flavor was accurate. Today I’m just getting caramel and burnt sugar. What licorice is in the blend just underscores its sweet pastry personality. I’ll still stand by my conclusion that this is a great little inexpensive grocery store treat.

A friend sent this to me as she was cleaning out her tea cabinet because she had too much. Clearly something I don’t understand. I had attended the same in home party she had when she purchased this and at the time, didn’t care for the smell of the mix.
On first brew, it did not taste much different than a basic black tea blend.
On second brew (as the package says it’s good for 3 steeps), it smelled stronger (but reminded me of wet dog paws) but tasted like hot water. I did let it steep longer (6 minutes) but it remained unimpressive.
Not an impressive tea.

Whether these mini tuocha came from White Antlers or from Mandala Tea, I don’t know. Either way, they were a gift of kindness :)

This morning, I stewed a 4.5g tuo in my work thermos to pour into a special mug. The mug is dedicated to shou and has an image of Prague on it, all in earthen tones. It makes me think of Martin Bednar and his benevolence.

Zendo is fresh and has very little leftover fermentation funk. I mostly notice it as that kind of nutritional yeast flavor I sometimes pick up on in shou. Barely cheesy, barely bready, entirely welcome. Zendo is like drinking smooth, wet rocks with a hint of sweet dark earth. Not getting chocolate or fruit like Mandala.

I really like Zendo as a daily drinker (I finished both mini tuo within 24 hours). It’s so easy and smooth, clean and mineral. Ah, comfort.

I completely forgot about this one yesterday when I was craving an orange spice blend. How can that be?! My apologies, friend Vlad. I was reminded of you when I was on the Kusmi website this morning, ordering the advent calendar.

This tea is about two years old, so not quite fresh, but still has some good flavor. The orange is perhaps more subdued than it once was, but still has a nice zesty, essential oil sort of flavor. The spice is mostly clove, as is common with orange & spice teas. The bergamot is very light, I guess he’s a bit shy.

Still tasty. Oh Kusmi, how I love your Russian blends. I could never decide between them, which is how I ended up with four tins… (Ahem.)

A sample sent to me from VariaTEA :)

I am not generally a fan of earl grey teas. I’ve tried a number over the years and they never sit well with me. However, that doesn’t stop me from trying them every so often!

This one is not overly offensive with the bergamot, but still not my fav. I could maaaaybe get on board with a creamy earl grey. I was hoping for a creaminess I realized after my first sip.

It’s been snowing non-stop for days here, so creaminess seems perfect for the season. Back to the cupboard to find just that!

Thanks for sharing VariaTEA!

What you could find in a tea bag filled with spearmint only?

Yep, it was minty, quite sweet. Easydrinking liquid, no flaws. Probably quite fresh. I prefer peppermint though, when it comes to mints.

Thank you derk for new tea bag to my collection.

How strange that Nature does not knock, and yet does not intrude? — Emily Dickinson

I’m really enjoying the couple EG blends I’ve tried from Deb. I’m liking the bergamot she’s using, especially combined with the strong, herbal lavender. The honey/maple/brown sugar surprisingly don’t take the sweetness over the top, but balance the strong herbaceous qualities of the berg and lavender.

This came as a free sample in my most recent order. Unfortunately, it’s under a teaspoon, and since I only own giant mugs, I’m afraid I might have misjudged the amount of water necessary. I thought it tasted pretty decent, but I put it in the fridge overnight, and unfortunately, it was kind of weird tasting by morning. My first impression was that the flavoring was nice and rather accurate, but I wish I’d had more than a sip or two to go by!

This one is pretty well balanced. It’s a cider type tea with warm fruits and spices, but it works. I never go out of my way to buy these kinds of teas, but B&B’s versions are definitely better than most.

I’ll tell you what I’m in the mood for! For Steepster to load these damn pages instead of giving me an error/kettle page! Minor tangent aside… I still don’t get clear chocolate notes with this tea, but I am getting the deep malty notes which are really nice, slightly sweet. It’s good, but probably not a reorder.

This is a swap sample, I think it came from VariaTEA? If not, I’m sorry to whoever it was! XD

I love my Teavivre Fengqing dragon pearls, so I’m excited to try this version. I used all of the pearls for my mug – I think it was 6? I didn’t want to be left with any sad abandoned pearls!

This is definitely different from the Teavivre version. It’s lighter, with some musty hay notes that remind me of white tea. There’s a bit of honey here too, rather than cocoa. The bread is there, but is more of a supporting flavor. And I taste a hint of a metallic earthy mineral note. Some raisin starts to poke its head out in the aftertaste, and as the tea cools.

Overall, it’s yummy and still very satisfying for breakfast. However, I do prefer my existing black dragon pearls. Which is good, because they are probably cheaper and this one is out of stock! Thanks VariaTEA for the share, sorry it’s taken me so long to get to it!

Found this on a great sale and was excited to try it. The green tea is too bitter for me. I did not notice the jasmine flavor.

I like this for an evening sip. The chamomile is blended with enough other flavors to make it delicious and complicated.

This one surely took its time in my cupboard…
Very faint aroma, malty, the flowery and blossom notes are almost nonexistent.
Solid malty and earthy base black tea with slight astringency plus marigold and orange blossom flavouring in the background.
Not bad. Surely not as overdone as the majority of Xmas teas.

Another attempt; and little bit left. But Queen is Queen for a reason! said by gmathis

Meanwhile in the news: https://english.radio.cz/prymula-called-resign-after-violating-covid-19-measures-visiting-restaurant-8698006

Yep, our Minister of Heath violated his own rules that he declared earlier the same day!

To the tea…
I am incredlibly thankful for ashmanra ’s share. It is wonderful tea blend, and I liked the typical black tea notes. Yep, leather, creamy, smooth, hints of cocoa, red berries.

It was mild even it’s not top-notch quality leaf; not bitter at all, smooth and yet lots of to offer. Mild, but still full-bodied tea. Why exactly this one isn’t distributed by Czech distributor of Harney teas?

Yummy tea. No flaws. Mild, but caffeine boosting. Almost creamy.

Sipdown (273)

I found steeping instructions online for this. My cup was slightly overleafed but ultimately I think I stayed pretty close to the recommended steeping parameters. That definitely improved this cup from the last but I am still not overly enthused about it.

I get fruit. Subtle and soft fruits. Nothing really stands out though. I can arguably get either strawberry or kiwi but if I am being honest, I think it is more because I am looking for them and expecting them to be there. It’s fine but there are so many better fruity tea/tisane offerings, even just from 52 Teas so this won’t be a restock for me.