1443 Tasting Notes
A.C. Perch Advent 2021 Day 14
I could smell hints of smoke in the dry leaf, so I was already worried. Steeped, that subtle hint of smoke was still present.
I managed to get halfway through my cup (frankly a miracle for me with any hints of smoke) and the subtle smoke was in and out with each sip. The base was very smooth and this was similar to a breakfast tea, but not quite as bold as some.
Preparation
2021 sipdown no. 112
Wee sipdown of this tea from Cameron!
I have determined I quite enjoy an Alishan (Ali Shan). Well, the two I’ve tried haha! Perhaps I will eventually pick up a more oolong appropriate tea-drinking apparatus (can you tell I’m not sure where to start here?).
1st steep: 1 minute
2nd steep: 2 minutes 30 seconds
Preparation
Well, this one smells delicious. Similar to Yuchi Wild Mountain Black with the sweetness emanating from the cup.
The flavour is very honey-like. Wow! I often find honey has such a strong flavour of it’s own, I would struggle to add it to much else than peppermint tea when I’m not feeling well (if I ate it!). However, it’s delicious as a unique flavour found naturally in this tea.
1st steep: 1 minutes
2nd steep: 2 minutes 30 seconds
Thank you to Cameron for all of these wonderful teas to try!
This harvest was picked either 2020 or 2021
Preparation
B&B Advent 2021 Day 12
This one is fairly tasty. Almost like the gingerbread chai, but not as heavy as on the ginger (which I prefer). I’m getting mostly a rooibos base with some chai like flavours, but no real banana. I forgot about it and threw it in the fridge to chill, and I found the banana bread came out much more once chilled.
Preparation
A.C. Perch Advent 2021 Day 12
This one came in a larger tin that can be repurposed as a wee ornament, which I love. We decided to do a teapot since there was more tea.
I found this one interesting as a Christmas tea, since it was just clove and orange and the majority of spiced holiday teas I’ve come across usually also have cinnamon.
I would say this one was more clove heavy and I had a bit of trouble picking out the orange. The base tea was again incredibly smooth with not even a hint of astringency. Lots more to experiment with of this one, so hopefully I can tease out some more orange here.
Preparation
B&B Advent 2021 Day 11
This one I don’t think I was a huge fan of last year, but this year I quite enjoyed it. It came across very much like a baked good with perhaps hints of butter or almost caramel in both scent and taste.
Preparation
Another delicious tea courtesy of Cameron!
This one has a mix of dates and maple sweetness and even a subtle scent of cinnamon. This is a very smooth tea as well and it comes across as an oolong mixed with a black almost — not quite fully oolong. I’m really enjoying this one. We’ll see what a second steep brings!
Preparation
A.C. Perch Advent 2021 Day 11
I can’t tell you how happy I was to hear that all my married-in Italian family was so excited to see another African black tea (like the Kenyan a few days ago)!
This one is quite tasty as well. Absolutely no astringency (how!) and overall a smooth cuppa. This is a strong black breakfast-type tea, and the perfect way to start a Saturday of paper-writing. This one has that hint of syrup flavour that I find in some English breakfast teas (and I generally prefer a cleaner taste), but it’s quite subtle here.
If I had to choose, I would take the Kenyan tea over this, but I’m quite happy with both.
Preparation
A.C. Perch Advent 2021 Day 10
This one has a sort of melon scent and a lovely light flavour of papaya and mulberry – truly! The tea base is also lovely against the fruit pieces and it’s nice to have a white tea with some flavour (but not an overwhelming or fake flavour). The ingredients also include apple and jasmine, but I wouldn’t say I get either of those very clearly.
I imagine this would be delightful chilled.
Lexa loved this one! She drank down her whole cup before I went for a second sip!
