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Thésaurus Tea Fandom Advent Calendar 2023 – Day 4

Okay, now this is interesting. What a pretty tea, a mix of airy bamboo leaves, big pieces of dried lemon, and tiny elderflower blossoms.

I really like it. To be fair, I love lemon and elderflower, separately and especially together. The lemon is quite present and has a nice tartness, and the elderflower has that ethereal, almost effervescent quality to it. What I didn’t expect is the sweetness from the bamboo. I don’t think I’ve ever had bamboo leaf in enough quantity to know what it tastes like, but it’s definitely contributing a sweet quality. I do get a bit of almost grassy freshness as well.

So unusual and tasty, and I think the balance of the ingredients is spot-on.

Beach House Teas 12 Teas of Christmas 2023 – Day 4

Similar to their Starboard Spice, this one is quite subtle on the added flavors. The base is a smooth and earthy/woody black tea, and then there’s a swirl of creamy almond flavor. According to the description, it’s meant to be caramel and almond, but it reminds me of an almond cream, sort of like the filling in an almond croissant. Maybe with a bit of vanilla whipped cream as well.

It’s very nice. The flavoring is a bit decadent, but because the amount is so light, it doesn’t end up being too desserty for me. I’m not sure I would run out and buy it, but I’m enjoying my mugful and I’m glad I have at least one more serving to try. The name is lovely and evocative as well. :)

Bird & Blend Matcha Advent Calendar 2023 – Day 4

This one is so interesting. I quite like the mix of berries they have – it has a nice balance of more bright/tart and also quite deep and syrupy notes. Definitely seems like there’s some black currant in there. I do think it leans the tiniest bit medicinal, but maybe that’s because of the herbaceous nettle flavor? It’s almost a bit piney-tasting, and while I do like evergreen and berry together, I think with this particular berry mix, it’s bringing out the more medicinal notes.

Still quite enjoyable, though it’s not one I would go out and buy.

Compagnie & Co Advent Calendar 2023 – Day 4

Honestly, Sri Lankan black teas are probably my least favorite, so I was not excited to see this one this morning…

It’s pleasant enough – bready and a touch creamy up front, but then some bitterness and astringency creep in at the back of the mouth in the finish. Quite metallic and acidic, as I would expect from this type of tea.

It’s fine, just not my cuppa tea! :P

Beach House Teas 12 Teas of Christmas 2023 – Day 3

This one sounds good in theory but… stevia. So much stevia. It mostly tastes like very cloyingly sweet rooibos. Maybe I get a touch of cinnamon?

Nope nope nope!

Tea at the White House Advent Calendar 2023 – Day 3

They didn’t seem to have this blend on their website. There was one called Donut but it looked to be a Forever Nuts type tisane. This is also a fruit tisane, but it has a strong cherry smell and no beetroot. (ETA: They did add it to the website after I wrote this!)

It’s quite nice really, especially since I don’t tend to love cherry teas. It does taste a bit like a jelly doughnut, albeit with quite a bit of apple in there. The cherry does taste like a generic cherry candy, but it’s pretty well tempered by the tarter apple and it doesn’t overwhelm the blend. There is a sugary sweetness to it that makes sense for a sugar-dusted doughnut.

Anyway, a pleasant fruity tisane for the evening! Not something I would go out and buy, but I did enjoy my small cupful. Very sweet though.

Sipology Advent Calendar 2023 – Day 3

I was excited when I saw coffee beans in the little Sipology tin this morning! And I do love tiramisu, so even better.

However… I don’t understand what they were thinking with this blend. There is so much cinnamon, it’s by far the strongest flavor. And unless I’m mistaken, tiramisu doesn’t even have cinnamon in it? So a strange choice IMO.

So it ends up being more of like a cinnamon coffeecake paired with a cup of coffee to me? I do taste the coffee beans, but they’re somewhat subtle compared to the sweet and even the apple.

I do like it, but it’s not tiramisu to me. More of an apple cinnamon tisane with a touch of coffee.

DIY Kyoto Obubu Advent Calendar – Day 3

Ooh another hojicha today! Not complaining, roasted teas are so perfect for this time of year.

Interestingly, I’m actually getting a cardboardy note from this today. Not in a bad way, it’s just a gentle woodiness that leans toward papery and comes out tasting like cardboard. And then of course, there’s the toastiness, those classic crisp autumn leaf notes, and a light savory flavor. I do get a bit of a charcoal minerality as well. It’s interesting that the description mentions citrus, I guess I could see that but I would never have picked it out on my own.

Yummy tea, as always!

Compagnie & Co Advent Calendar 2023 – Day 3

Ooh, this is one of their holiday teas! It says it has orange, chocolate, and spices, which sounds interesting.

The orange is definitely the strongest, and it’s a very bright orange oil-y sort of flavor. I do get a little bit of chocolate mid-sip, and it’s on the lighter side, more of a mild milky chocolate. Doesn’t taste like chocolate flavoring, which is nice. As for the spice… A hint of cinnamon, perhaps? I feel like it’s melding in with the orange so it’s a bit difficult to detect. There is also a touch of bubblegum, which is something I sometimes taste specifically in Dammann Fréres’s orange teas. Thankfully, it’s quite subtle here.

Very enjoyable! I like the brightness of the orange quite a lot, but would like a little more of the other flavors. The flavoring is also quite strong, I don’t taste the green tea at all here.

Thésaurus Tea Fandom Advent Calendar 2023 – Day 3

This is meant to be an apple and pomegranate black tea with fennel, but honestly it didn’t really have much flavor to me? I did get a little bit of the fennel, but nothing fruity at all, and the black tea itself was very light.

Not sure if there just wasn’t really enough in the packet for an 8-ounce cup or if I maybe got unlucky with the distribution of ingredients? No idea…