August Uncommon is churning out some very unique blends. Some…amazing! Others…not so much (I’m looking at you, Black Lodge!). Yet with each new August Uncommon tea, it is clear that you are about to experience something different, at least something different from other tea companies and this tea, Breathless, is no exception.
*PSA:* If you’re already intrigued and want to check out the tea, please note that the images on the Breathless page might be a little NSFW if you are employed in an uppity office like I am. Just saying. You’ve been warned.
Anyways, back to the tea…
The smell here of the brewed tea is creamy and dessert-like thanks to the white chocolate and hazelnut brittle. That creaminess comes through in taste as well with the overarching flavor being the brittle. There is also a booziness here that blends seamlessly with the stonefruit flavors that make up the body of this tea. At first it feels like a rich and creamy dessert, a little bit boozy and a lot sweet. However, I will say the more you drink, the nuttiness builds and it almost begins to take on burnt quality that I just don’t enjoy.
This is a nice tea, though probably best in smaller doses. It has a nice flavor and one that you won’t find anywhere other than August Uncommon. For that reason, it is a fun tea to try, though maybe not one I personally will keep stocked.
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: August Uncommon
Description
This tea has a boozy aroma with soft tannins, and a touch of fruit and leather. It is inspired by our favorite ice cream flavor in the world: Agenaise. It’s a luscious ice cream laced with armagnac-soaked prunes made by the incomparable Parisian brand Berthillon. White chocolate gives it a super silky mouthfeel and a creamy finish reminiscent of ice cream melting over hot pie. This tea practically begs for milk to turn up the richness of its flavors.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Passage du Desir from August Uncommon. . . . .
Fun fact – If you google “Passage du Desir”, your top result will be for an adult shop and not this tea. I suppose that makes sense given that roughly translates to “Passage of Desire”. However, it took me by surprise because for some reason, in light of my tea obsession, I always figure that the teas I look up will be the top result.
Anyways, when I finally found the webpage for this particular blend, I noted the description said it was a rich black tea with chili and chocolate. So imagine my surprise when the first thing I tasted was roasted chestnut?! I scrolled down on the page and realized that that flavor was indeed supposed to be present so I kept drinking. The nuttiness builds and compliments the cocoa flavor. Since it is cocoa husks, it is a little earthier than I personally like but by no means offensive – just preference on my part. As per the site, this should also taste of honey and dark rum and though I can sort of see where the rum component is coming from, the honey, much like the chili, is lost on me.
Ultimately, I don’t think this blend was for me. The flavor notes I was looking for seemed to be hidden from my taste buds while those tastes that I don’t particularly enjoy have taken over. This is not to say that this is a bad tea as it is very rich while still being smooth. Though I can see how this would be well liked, it just wasn’t to my personal preferences.
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Black Tea
Where to Buy: August Uncommon
Description
Ingredients: black tea, cocoa husk, hazelnut brittle pieces, cocoa beans, flavoring
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Big Easy from August Uncommon. . . . .
Everyone in my office is sick, and I’m trying to fend it off with a mix of witchcraft* and green tea. The green tea is probably the more socially acceptable of the two.
* This is a joke, though if you saw the way I dressed, you might believe it.
Today I picked the green August Uncommon Big Easy from my “Treat Yoself! Try It!” pile. And it’s a SUPER choice. It’s got zippy lemongrass, juicy pineapple, and this roasty under note that might be the barley. If I were to choose a color for this tea, it’d be the Pantone Color of the Year.
It really is a tea with oodles of flavor and personality. It’s like a cartoon character, so vivid and distinct. It seems a bit perky for August Uncommon, a company I associate with “coolness.”
But then again, maybe I think of “coolness” as “that guy who wears leather and rides a harley and cares about NOTHING.” Maybe I should redefine “coolness” as “someone who cares about stuff and enjoys life.”
If those two definitions of cool were people, I’d definitely want to hang out with the latter person. If those two definitions of cool were substances, the first would be cigarettes, and the second would be tea. Tea is about caring about flavor, and is used as a tool for enjoyment.
This turned into a digression about what constitutes “cool,” and I apologize for that.
Please feel free to weigh in on your current definition of “cool” is.
Or if you think “cool” is conceptually irrelevant for adults.
Anyway, try the tea.
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Green
Where to Buy: August Uncommon
Description
Tastes Like: pineapple cake, caramel beignet, dried lemon peel
Feels Like: a lazy stroll through the french quarter
You’ve never had a green tea this rich and sweet. When you taste it, you’ll swear you just had a bite of pineapple cake and a caramel beignet. If you’ve ever thought green tea is too bitter, try Big Easy. It’s as simple and delightful as a stroll in New Orleans.
A tea for those sweet and easy days
Ingredients: chinese sencha green tea, thai pineapple, rosehips, german barley malt, lemongrass, caramel, dried orange, flavoring
Contains gluten from barley malt and dairy
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Dark Iris from August Uncommon Tea. . . . .
I have a beef with the iris family. My irises didn’t come up last spring. After several years of faithful blooming, they just gave up the ghost. Literally zero emerged. I have no idea why. I’m irritated about it. There was a huge hole in my garden. Luckily, it was off to the side, but still.
This tea is called “Dark Iris,” which reflects irises, and my feelings about them at the moment.
According to August Uncommon, it’s a “rich oolong with peach, pistachio, and lime” that “feels like Georgia O’Keefe flowers.”
The primary flavor I taste here is the peach, made spiky and edgy by the lime. Yum. Whoever came up with this is pretty smart. This is really well-balanced. I wish they’d release a Sprite/Sierra Mist with some peach in it. I’d drink it. There’s also some deep/spiciness, which might be the lime, but I think is the oolong and maybe some spices. After I’ve swallowed, there’s a very faint hint of floweriness. Rose is an ingredient. I could be imagining it, though, just as I’m imagining the nuttiness. I think there’s a tiny bit of cream, which could be “nut” or “sweetness of flower” or “just my imagination.”
Either way, this is a really great, unique blend that I recommend you try!
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Oolong
Where to Buy: August Uncommon Tea
Description
The iris is a flower long revered for its majesty. It has been a favorite of royalty and artists for centuries. One of the most intriguing depictions of the iris is found in the graceful curves and vibrance of Georgia O’Keefe’s paintings. The aroma of this tea is flamboyant, its texture silky. It has the unmistakable scent of iris: an accord of lime blossom and creamy vanilla. At first, the bright acidity of peach and lime dominate. The next sip deepens with the velvetiness of roasted oolong. Peach and rose are the notes that linger. Adding milk introduces pistachio and white chocolate flavors. Chilling this tea deepens its earthiness to bring out roasted peach and dirty rose notes. An experience as mysterious and elegant as the intoxicating spring flower.
A tea perfect for afternoons and evenings of luxurious reverie.
Ingredients: formosa oolong tea, dried peach, persian pistachio, white chocolate, rose petals, flavoring
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Cocteau from August Uncommon. . . . .
Tea swaps are a thing of beauty. They really and truly are. Switching out your unwanted teas for hard-to-find favorites or samples of new blends…what’s not to love? And sometimes if you are lucky, tea swaps can lead to making tea friends. You know…the people who you meet up with to exchange teas and talk about your lives. Now, if you are REALLY lucky, you might even find a tea twin. For me that person is the wonderful Roswell Strange, a former Sororitea Sister. Her and I started our tea journey at the same time and quickly learned we liked the same flavors. We began to swap teas constantly since we knew the other would love everything we sent (or at least appreciate the opportunity to try it). Swaps grew to gifts and now, even as our tastes have grown apart, we have maintained our tea twin love and continue to share our tea stashes.
More than just tea, we have realized we share other interests as well and as Roswell Strange decided to make her tea drinking an experience by adding song pairings, she graciously gave me the opportunity to partake as well. My awesome tea twin took the time to not only pack up a bunch of tea samples but she provided me a song pairing for each, creating a mix tape of sorts. Now for those wondering what I mean by this, Roswell Strange picks a song that she thinks matches the tea in some way, thus making for a heightened and more focused tea drinking experience as you combine your tea sipping with a complimentary song.
For this particular blend, she picked the song Electric Feel by MGMT. Now, while most other songs she picked were new to me, this is an old favorite of mine (it might even be my ringtone). Knowing the song, I definitely expected some whimsy from this tea and the dry scent with its creamy citrus and light vanilla showed promise. So I got my song ready to go and my tea brewed up and began.
The first thing I noticed was the smoothness of the tea. With strong flavors like grapefruit, mint, and vanilla, it seemed like there should be more of a disconnect but everything blends into one harmonious taste. This to me reflects the song since there is also a lot of different components that come together to make up one awesome whole. Yet, if you focus, you can detect each distinct flavor hiding in the mix or lingering in the aftertaste. The slight tang of the grapefruit starts the sip, and just like the intro of the song amps you up for whats coming. The vanilla slides in and levels everything off, just like the vocals of the music coming in and taking over the music. Well the mint lingers underneath it all, like the base note, adding depth and keeping the beat going under the vocals. And even though this tea should be harsher, it is calming, which is what has always been my thoughts on this particular song. I mean just listen to the lyrics about being “shocked like an electric eel” and yet the melody is almost poetic in how relaxing it can be. In my mind, like the song, this is not something that should work but it does. It definitely does!
Thank you tea twin!! And for those who don’t know the song, check it out here.
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Flavored Rooibos/Honeybush Blend
Where to Buy: August Uncommon
Description
A dazzling synesthetic experience where sound is like temperature and color has flavor. Warm and cool sensations move in textured rhythms. The myriad of tastes and scents wind and twist like shifting colors of an opal. With each sip there is a distinct, dreamy dominant note. One moment, it’s pale yellow vanilla, then another, electric pink grapefruit. Yet another time it’s bluish green mint, then brick-red earthy rooibos. Beauty is not always linear.
Ingredients: south african green rooibos, south african honeybush, grapefruit peel, peppermint, flavoring
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!