1711 Tasting Notes
Advent Day 11
Tastes like chamomile, but without the H and with a bee pollen strangeness to it.
Other than this tea being warm on a night I was drinking it out in the cold, it was utterly forgettable. I’m not familiar with the taste of bee pollen and what I picked out in the tea as bee pollen just tasted strange. I could only detect it in the start of the cup, then the camomile taste took over. I’d prefer Celestial Seasonings Honey Vanilla Chamomile to this tea any day!
Preparation
Getting close to the bottom of this tin and am falling for it all over again! Guess I’ll have to hunt down an alternate now that ATR is gone. The first two steeps of this today were lovely. I’m on a third now and the baked cinnamon is more pronounced. The end of the sip seems a little weaker and hollow, but that is to be expected when steeping the crap out of a flavored tea. The finish is still pretty nice too. It’s a damn good tea!
Preparation
Advent Day 10
Boring! I mean, this would be okay for a generic grocery store bagged chai, but for a loose leaf tea company it leaves a lot to be desired. The steeping instructions say 5m at boiling and I only did 4, but it already had a bitter tinge to it by then. Adding cream dulled that, but it lacks flavor and spice. It’s like chai set to a level 2 intensity with nothing outstanding or noticeable about it. There are some muddled spices that have merged into one dull flavor. If I wasn’t so thirsty I’d have dumped my cup, but I’d never buy this. I guess if my choices were this or hibiscus, I’d choose this chai, but I wouldn’t be happy about it. Glad it was only one bag that crossed my path!
Preparation
If it were me, I’d take the hibiscus… but then, I like hibiscus, and this review makes this chai sound terrible. And I really don’t like bitter chai with muddled spice (or worse, that taste like they only have one single spice in them instead of four or five, like only clove, or only cardamom… bleeeeeh)
Advent Day 8
This is nice… if you like licorice (or liquorice) and I do! I can smell the mint and verbena when I sip, but the licorice is what is most striking taste. I don’t think it’s super strong as far as licorice can go. The mint comes back a little at the end, but the verbena doesn’t really stand out. Could be that it’s blended so well I don’t notice it in this well balanced and pleasant cup.
Preparation
Advent Day 6
This has a nice buttery feel to it! The mint is mild on the sip and comes out more in the finish, but it isn’t the star of the show there either. I would expect the mint to be sharper or stronger. Perhaps this is another instance of older tea? This is a pleasant tea, but it isn’t sweeping me off my feet.
Preparation
Kicking back and trying to unwind after a rough day of learning curve fail. My new 3D printer has it out for me. Fortunately this tea does not! Not a huge rooibos fan, but this blend has enough flavors that the rooibos takes only a supporting roll. I get lavender at the front of the sip, then it quickly turns to lemon chiffon, a rooibos blend I’m familiar with. Did they just add some lavender to lemon chiffon? Maybe I’ll have to try that with the LC I have! Ha! Just what I need in my life… more learning curves!
Preparation
Feeling okay about this tea today. Looks like I have had this tea for a year and the coconut is still holding on! Someone at Tea Embassy must love the coconut and almond combo because I swear they must have five or more versions! Drinking it without any cream added. Today this is a nice warming smooth comforting cup on a cold rainy day.
Preparation
Advent Day 5
This has a very floral scent to it! It is smooth on the sip with a tart tannic bite at the end of the sip and hints of rose in the finish. I’m not accustomed to darjeelings and it’s looking like I may have steeped this at too hot a temp. If so, it held up surprisingly well with only a little bitter bite. I’m not taken by this tea, but I’ll gladly finish the cup.
