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I noticed that Capital Teas recommends that the water be 195°F for this tea. Last time I made this the water was closer to boiling, so I lowered the water temp, and it made a difference. Now I taste fig. Yum, yum, yum. There is still the cherry note, but the fig has equal footing, and the two play very well together. I like.

There’s no way I’ll get through all four ounces of this the during the holiday season, but I’m ok with that since I think this will make an equally lovely spring/summer tea. I’m also curious to try it iced. Me thinks it’ll mighty tasty that way, too.

This was my daughter’s tea choice this morning. She loves this tea. She says it’s , “a peppy happy tea,” and I totally agree with her. I resteeped her leaves, and I’m enjoying that this tea is light but still has strength. There is also a zippy bell pepper-ish note that I’ve never tasted in any other tea. I’m liking it here. It gives a balance to the natural sweetness of the tea. Really, really good.

I ordered this tea on a whim with my last H&S order thinking it would be nice to have in my cupboard in the wintertime. I figured if this is the style of tea the East Frisians drink to warm themselves up there by the North Sea then surely it’ll do the job for me. And it does! As an added bonus I now have a new place to add to by list of places to see before I die. Although I think I’ll visit in the summer. Northern Germany during the winter doesn’t sound like fun to me even if there is tea.

The tea itself is a mix of Assam, Ceylon, and Darjeeling. It has a thick malty note from the Assam that’s brightened mid-sip by the lemon flavor of the Ceylon. The Darjeeling also adds a lighter flavor, and it also adds some astringency which works really well in this tea. This is definitely a milk and sugar tea, and once added this is comfort in a cup, pure and simple. It’s doing a great job of waking me up and chasing the chills away.

I think I’m going to pick up heavy cream when I’m at the store today so I can try this tea with rock sugar, which I already have, and cream since that’s the way they drink it in East Frisian. I have a feeling it’ll be good.

Yum. Lots of almond flavor with vanilla. It really does remind me of cookies. Great afternoon tea.

I’ve spent the morning working on a spreadsheet for my teas while sipping on this. I enjoy this blend a lot. It’s smooth with nice deep cocoa notes and just a little bit of smoke at the end of the sip. Perfect for today’s rainy cold weather.

Back to spreadsheets… I’m thinking about having a separate spreadsheet for my samples/swap teas. Does anyone else do this? I’m trying to find a way to stay organized, but I think I might be making this overly complicated.

My morning cup of cranberry almond yumminess. I’m going to miss this one when it’s gone, which will be soon, but I’m sure I’ll order more next year. This is one of my favorite fall teas.

Whew! I spent the day planting bulbs and putting my vegetable garden to bed. I also managed to weed my front flower bed and get most of the pruning done. We’re supposed to have a mix of rain, sleet, and snow for the rest of the week, so I’m glad to have a lot of my end-of-the-year gardening chores done.

After being outside for so long I wanted something light for an afternoon tea. This tea I usually prefer iced, but I like the bright pineapple flavor and grassy note of the green tea hot, too. It’s simple, but good.

My first cup of this was fairly sweet with lots of plum and date-like notes. There was also cocoa, malt, and honey. Really nice. The resteep was much more earthy with lots of wet earth and grain notes as well as something else a wee bit dark that I’m having trouble identifying. Again, really nice. I may go for a third steep in a while just to see how the flavors play out. Right now I’m going to go plant bulbs. It’s December 1st and the high today is 60°F. There’s no way I’m staying inside!

I used the last of my tea bags for this cup. Of course since it was my last cup it was also the best. It actually tasted more like gingerbread this time. In the past I thought this treated like apple crisp, but today the spices were really apparent with the ginger heating up the back of my throat. So, not perfectly gingerbread, but closer than all the previous cups I had.

I can’t see myself buying more of this, but it was a nice herbal to have on hand.

I like the strength of the malt note in this tea. It’s significant, but it also helps to highlight the cocoa and sweet potato notes. And then there is the salted caramel note at the end of the sip which I absolutely enjoy. This is a nice tea to wake up with.

I’m thinking this tea will pair well with Christmas cookies. With any luck I’ll get to find out in the next few days. :)