3240 Tasting Notes
SONNENTOR ADVENT DAY 22
Hmm, I think this is one of my favorites from this advent!
Schutz means protect and Engel means angel. So Schutzengel means Guardian Angel. Lots of good herbs and spices here – coriander, fennel, spearmint, anise, and lemon balm, as well as apple, rosehips, and cornflower. Most of these are good for the tummy, I think.
First sip was so round and sweet I thought it had licorice root but there is none. I guess the apple is just that sweet. It steeps up a goldy-brown and really isn’t too tart or overpoweringly minty. It is a little drying but not puckery as too much rose hip can be. The more I drink the more earthy it tastes.
Mild cup and very chill.
FORTNUM & MASON ADVENT DAY 22
A repeat! I had this one just a few days ago. I think I would have skipped it entirely but today was tea party Christmas celebration, so i figured I would make a pot for that.
I picked out all the clove I could see in hopes that by diminishing the clove (which was not too strong anyway) I would taste the elusive chocolate. The tea was okay, but hard as I concentrated, I still didn’t really find chocolate. Maybe if I thought about chocolate really hard I could get a whisper of it, but it was beyond subtle.
At least the citrus is really nice here, and it doesn’t bite like a lot of cinnamon/orange/clove Christmas teas do!
SONNENTOR ADVENT DAY 21
This is one of their “Wieder Gut!” teas, an herbal remedy for what ails you. I suppose tummy troubles like indigestion are likely around this time of office parties, family dinners, and seasonal sweets.
The taste is quite mild, maybe a good thing if your tummy is suffering. They describe it as spicy floral but other than very soft spearmint and a hint of Greek Mountain tea, I didn’t find it spicy. One would expect the heat of ginger in a tummy tea. None here. Even the marigold is mild.
I didn’t have a tummy ache, so I don’t know how good this would be at soothing one, but it is a pleasant, easy to drink no caffeine cup for bedtime!
FORTNUM & MASON ADVENT DAY 21
The first Earl Grey teas went okay, even though I am not a huge fan of bergamot. I like it well enough on a Chinese black tea base, preferably Keemun, which is why the first one went well. I really do like smoky tea so the Smoky Earl Grey was my favorite of the Earl Greys in this collection. The Green Earl Grey was okay. The bergamot wasn’t too strong,
It seems this one has a little more bergamot. I wish they had left out the licorice root, not because I don’t like it but because of the affect on blood pressure. I actually like the taste and mouthfeel of licorice root. But why honey flavor AND licorice root? It is the second ingredient listed on their site at 6% of the blend. But I really am not tasting it, I suppose because the bergamot is so strong.
Overall, it isn’t a bad Earl Grey. It has lavender, which I like. As I said, I can’t taste the licorice root and I really don’t detect the honey, but I had this was a lemon biscotti so maybe all the citrus overwhelmed those flavors.
I think most Earl Grey lovers would like this a lot. It is a gloomy morning with rain on the way and I am breakfasting alone, which I like. But Earl Grey goes best with tea parties, laughter, and a well lit afternoon tea table for me. In that context, I would probably enjoy it more.
SONNENTOR ADVENT DAY 20
This is the first one that really turned red! I have been leaving the bag in on all the herbal blends.
Even so, it is not too tart for me and I am glad this is the first tisane in this advent that really has this profile. I get mostly hibiscus and very little spice, to be honest. It is an easy bedtime cup but nothing to write home about – if you have had a mild hibiscus tea, you can imagine this one.
FORTNUM & MASON ADVENT DAY 20
I had to add this one to the database, and it does not show up on the F&M website, so I am guessing this is exclusive to the advent calendar.
This smells super sweet dry! The leading aroma dry and steeped is anise. Tastewise, I get the spices which (hooray!) does not include clove, the mouthfeel of the licorice root, the thick sweetness of coconut, and a little warmth (very nice) from the pink peppercorns. This has been one of the more complex of the teas in the advent.
Ashman enjoyed it and his first comment was that he smelled a lot of anise. God bless the man at work who brought him lumpia today, because it meant I didn’t have to cook lunch (Ashman has a half day) and also went really great with this tea!
Cameron: do you or your friend who has this advent ever have trouble getting some of the tins out? I have small hands and some days I still struggle to wiggle these tins out of there! They catch on the bottom lip, and if I lift they hit the top lip. Either the tins or the box need a redesign for next year! I vote the tins, so those of us who already have the box can buy the refills!
I remember a store (Macy’s?) many years ago that used to do one incredibly extravagant gift per year for the mega millionaires who had everything. I remember they sold a tabletop mouse ranch one year with sterling silver round up tweezers. As I wrestled with this tin, I thought, “those tweezers could come in handy for wrangling these tins out their slot.”
Ha ha yes, they can be rather difficult to get out! I find it works best to have a corner edge of the tin facing the opening and pinching it between my fingers instead of trying to pull the tin out by the sides…
That’s what I have been doing, too! But it can be hard to maneuver it into that position. I think I will be making my own little advent goodies next year to put in this box.
mouse ranch what the
I finally remembered – it was Neiman Marcus and nit Macy’s who did the exclusive one gift a year of something horribly expensive and very…different.
SONNENTOR ADVENT DAY 19
This is a basic, mild herbal tea, easy to drink and also one you have to pay attention to if you really want to notice it, because it is easy to drink it forgetfully. Does that makes sense?
It doesn’t help that I ate a half pack of lavender CHoward’s candies. The aftertaste made me think the tea was floral at first until I realized I was tasting lots and lots of lavender! Ha ha!
An herbal with no chamomile and no mint is somewhat unusual. I liked it!
FORTNUM & MASON ADVENT DAY 19
I had to check the tin to make sure this was the right tea.
I really don’t get excited about orange and clove Christmas tea. When I smelled the steeped tea I was pleased that the orange was really prominent even though that old bully clove was in there. Clove is okay, and I like the scent (especially in a Christmas candle) more than the taste, because it seems to erase others flavors to me.
What confuses me is…I didn’t get chocolate. There are cacao nibs in this, and supposedly chocolate flavoring as well. But I had no idea until I fetched the tin to make sure I was logging this in the right place. I saw no nibs in my scoop, so maybe if I can nab one I will taste it better.
I definitely didn’t get chocolate either, and I think I did see a nib or two in my scoop. Mostly it was clementine, orange, clove, and ginger for me.
That was my experience, too! I could have done with less clove but I liked it better than many of the ‘orange and spice’ Christmas teas.
We had first Christmas today as my son, his wife, their twins, my daughter and her husband came. This was one of my gifts from daughter Superanna. She gave me Laponic White a few years ago, and I believe Laponic Black but I don’t see any notes from me on it. Hmm.
This one smelled great from the get go. Chamomile and citrus hit me first. And the blend is so pretty! The chamomile sets off rose petals and deep pink peppercorns, and lemongrass adds visual texture.
Best of all, it tastes good! Laponic White and I had an odd relationship. I drank most of it, but it was just so….odd. I couldn’t figure that tea out at all! This one is much easier. Very nice and very easy drinking.
Main flavor is chamomile, then lemongrass and a bit of sweetness, with the occasional zip from the pink peppercorns warming things up but really just zippy and not HOT HOT. It is a very sweet and gentle blend but with color, to the eye and the taste.
Superanna and I finished off a really big pot as our celebrations were drawing to a close. I look forward to more of this one, though I do wonder how much of it I can have with the licorice root in it considering that my blood pressure has gone unruly again of late.
Superanna dislikes both licorice root and lemongrass, but seemed to really enjoy this blend.
