Shae Send Message

2021 Homemade Advent Calendar Swap – Day 9
From Skysamurai.

I decided to make a latte with today’s Advent tea, so I’m not sure if it’s a true representation of the tea itself (since I added some tasty additions). I steeped the tea bag in a small amount of water, sweetened with honey, added frothed milk, and topped with a sprinkle of cinnamon. It was delicious! I can’t say for sure if this was an exceptional hojicha or if I just like hojicha lattes in general, but I loved this one.

2021 Homemade Advent Calendar Swap – Day 8
From Skysamurai.

This is a really nice minty herbal blend. I’m glad I saved it for bed because it’s making me feel so relaxed right now. Must be that chamomile! Love that it has lemon balm too. I’d definitely drink this one again.

I made an iced matcha latte with lunch today using a sample pack of this salted caramel matcha from B&B. I think I read a bad review or something because I’ve been putting off drinking this one for some reason. Turns out there was nothing to be afraid of! While I don’t taste salt or caramel, it’s really a pretty tasty mix. Oddly enough, it tastes most like chocolate. I guess maybe milk chocolate? It’s very similar to a chocolate milk, heavy on the milk.

2021 Homemade Advent Calendar Swap – Day 7
From Skysamurai.

I’m not usually a fan of soda-type teas, or I guess more specifically root beer teas. I think it’s the sassafras root that I don’t really like. This tea, on the other hand, tastes just like those cola-flavored Bottle Caps candies, and I’m kind of digging it. The ginger was more prominent in the dry blend but still present after steeping.

2021 Homemade Advent Calendar Swap – Day 6
From Skysamurai.

When I first opened the pouch, I was certain this was a green tea. My initial thought was that it smells vegetal, but after thinking about it I realized that it reminds me most of moringa or spirulina. Not being familiar with Wakocha, also spelled Wakoucha I think, I looked online and found that this is actually a Japanese black tea – what a surprise!

I steeped according to the instructions on the Global Japanese Tea Association website as this was apparently part of their Japanese Tea Marathon. Also, the Yoshida Chaen website is in Japanese and even after using Google to convert to English I couldn’t find this specific tea. After steeping, the leaves are very large and very green. Even more surprising, this black tea that smells like a green tea actually tastes like an oolong! It has a slightly bitter, roasted quality to it. While I love black teas and can enjoy an oolong on occasion, I think this tea would be better appreciated by someone with a far more refined palate than my own. It’s so unique and complex. I’m definitely glad I got to try it.

2021 Homemade Advent Calendar Swap – Day 5
From Skysamurai.

I’ve fallen a day behind in my Advent swap, so I’m starting my day with yesterday’s tea. I’ll forever be in awe of those of you who do more than one Advent calendar at a time. I drink too slowly or get distracted and take all day to finish my cup.

When I opened Day 5’s package, I thought at first it was another tuocha nugget. Much to my happy surprise, it’s a puerh-stuffed tangerine! I’ve always wanted to try one of these. I wasn’t sure how to steep it, so I watched a few videos but ended up following the instructions on Great Tea Road Co.’s website. I put the whole tangerine in a brew basket, did a quick rinse, then steeped with boiling water for 5 minutes. The aroma is floral orange blossom, so lovely! The flavor is lighter than I expected for puerh, so on the second steep I opened the tangerine to empty the tea and cut the peel into strips before steeping. I did another 5 minute steep with boiling water, and the color is much darker and flavor much deeper this time around.

This was such a fun experience and I’m so glad I finally got to try one of these. Thanks, Skysamurai!!

I missed my opportunity this morning for my Advent tea, so I decided to have a decaf blend instead since it’s later in the day. After reading AJRimmer’s note that this one tastes like a strawberry creme saver, I decided to have a cup tonight and try to replicate that flavor. My husband made it for me and admitted to being a little heavy-handed with the cream, but it works because it absolutely does taste like a strawberry creme saver! I’ll dig back into the Advent teas tomorrow, but for now this is really hitting the spot.

2021 Homemade Advent Calendar Swap – Day 4
From Skysamurai.

James and I like to open our Advent tea together each morning. Well, I like to open our Advent tea together each morning. I don’t know if he enjoys it as much as I do, but he humors me. He doesn’t normally drink the Advent teas anyway, just has a sip of mine then goes about making some tea of his own.

This morning, he very decidedly said that he wanted his own cup of this one. I was pretty excited about this blend too. If ever a tea smelled like Christmas, this is it. It’s mostly cinnamon, but there’s also that light citrus note mixed with the sweet spices that screams winter holidays. I should have steeped it all together and poured it into two cups, but instead I tried splitting the tea leaf into two baskets. I steeped a full ten minutes since both our husbands apparently prefer long steeps (according to Skysamurai’s note). The tea came out much too light for my taste, but James loved it. The flavor is Big Red cinnamon and while I don’t normally love the spicier cinnamon, it’s so good here!

2021 Homemade Advent Calendar Swap – Day 3
From Skysamurai.

A chocolate chai today! Not only am I excited for another chai blend, but I’m also excited about seeing another new-to-me tea company. I don’t think I would have guessed there was chocolate in this if I hadn’t seen the ingredients/description. I don’t really taste the chocolate, and the spices are somewhat subdued. There is, however, a unique quality to this. I think perhaps it could be the white pepper, but I’m not always great at picking out individual flavors. I’d say the cinnamon is most prominent, but I certainly wouldn’t call it a cinnamon chai either. I enjoyed it, though I think I prefer a spicier (more spiced) chai.

2021 Homemade Advent Calendar Swap – Day 2
From Skysamurai.

Starting late today. Having this highly caffeinated puerh at nearly 4pm probably isn’t my best idea, but here we are. After a quick rinse, this steeped up a lovely shade of red. As my husband said, it almost looked like hibiscus. Maybe not quite that red, but it definitely turned pink once I added my requisite cream (or in this case – half & half).

My first thought when opening this little nugget is that it smells just like chamomile. So interesting! It also has that earthy puerh aroma as expected, but it’s definitely not fishy like some I’ve had. The flavor is rich and also tastes a little like paper (?). But not in a bad way, if that makes any sense at all.

Overall, I really liked this one. Adding it now to my ever-growing wishlist which, much like my TBR, will likely never be completely whittled down.