White Christmas

Erm yes. Bear with me, Steepsterites. It’s just because it’s now I’m drinking down Tea Corner and therefore I can’t wait another half year to use this one. It’s already a pretty old bag, predating my Sample Tracking Plan, so I’m clueless as to where it came from. (It came from H&S, hurr hurr hurr!)

So yes. Christmas tea in June with lots of sunshine outside. A far cry from the wet undies causing downpour of the other days, which I was forced out in as I needed to buy cat food. (It later transpired that there actually was half a bucketful left in the old bag and I could have saved myself the shower… Isn’t that just typical)

I can smell spice in here. I think it’s the cardamom primarily, but there is also something that makes me think ginger. Ginger. Oh dear. It’s mostly cardamom, though, and I like that. (Lovely in pancakes along with some lemon juice, actually. Don’t ask me for measurements. I tend to use a smidge and a squirt. Sometimes a large smidge and squirt, sometimes small)

It is quite cardamom-y in flavour, and I’m discovering that I actually quite like that. This is odd because I don’t customarily care much for spice in tea. I don’t like ginger at all, tea or otherwise, but can deal with a wee bit in cooking or baking. I like cinnamon in cooking and baking but not too fond of it in tea. But cardamom? Apparently this goes down a lot better with me than the other two when mixed into tea.

Since I’m used to cardamom in the combination with lemon juice in our saturday morning pancakes, the cardamom here does make me rather wish for something citrus-y. I should think a teensy bit of orange, or perhaps even mandarin or tangerine, would have done well.

I usually try not to look at other people’s posts about something until I’ve finished writing my own, because if I’m too aware of other people’s findings, it tends to pollute my thoughts and manipulate me to try and find the same things. This time, though, I accidentally cheated. This just goes to show that I ought to write my note in something else and copy paste it into the posting window here when I’m done. There were more than one person that spoke of white chocolate-y flavours, and I have to say, I’m utterly stumped on that one. This is not like any white chocolate I’ve ever had. I’m surprised so many people seem to have come to this conclusion.

As I drink this, the vanilla shows up, but only on the swallow. It’s one of those building-itself-up flavours that you can’t taste right away. Almond and chamomile, however, eluded me until I got further down into the cup where something strange happened.

The cardamom flavouring transformed! I’m pretty certain it was the same note that I was initially interpreting as cardamom, because it changed so slowly that I didn’t realise what was going on until I went ‘hey, wait a minute…’ Instead of being strongly cardamom, it’s now fairly strongly almond.

It’s a two-in-one tea, this. Cardamom flavoured first, then almond and vanilla flavoured second.

I quite like it, although it is rather out of season.

I love whites, I really do.

This tea was interesting – not at all what I was expecting when reading the ingredients. It was quite dark for a white. I got a large note of white chocolate, and then marzipan which will have been the almond, vanilla and mint. Zero cardamon, which is probably what threw me off the most since I was expecting it warily.

Certainly a tea that could be enjoyed year round.

Yep… I caved and bought the White Christmas gift box. Haha! Since my family is either a little intimidated to buy me tea (or thinks that I have enough tea) for a present, I have started buying my own tea presents! This year, I got myself this gift package as well as the 12 days (which I’m eagerly waiting to start!) box from 52Teas.

On to this tea. It is YUMMY… I like this very much – and I’m a little surprised because I tend to be a little disappointed with Harney’s sachets, but this one is good.

The almond and vanilla are very well pronounced, and I like the flavor of the cardamom. So good. Not too spicy, just warm and inviting. Cozy! Delish!!!

Another sample from my tea pimp, Jenn…. ;-)

I rather liked this but I am a fan of chamomile, almond and especially cardamom. It really smells like a yummy white chocolate dessert!

The flavor here is kind of subtle which is nice – I felt it needed something to “round it out” a bit so for me it was vanilla soymilk. Voila, perfection! I would like a small tin of this, do you think Santa will bring me one? :)

Little bit late for Christmas, eh?

I dug into this one today after a long day of work, and this one surprised me in multiple ways. The white tea leaves are a bit more pulverized than I usually like them to be. I’ve gotten used to seeing white peony/bai mu dan style teas with big, leafy, stemmy parts. These were more ripped up than average.

I went into this one without really knowing what was in it until after I had made the cup and was sipping it. So hrm. The smell of the tea itself was mainly a white tea smell, meaning a sort of musty green smell, mixed with sweet notes hinting at almond.

And then I steeped the bugger up, and I could swear that this smelled like chocolate. The cup was unusually dark for a white tea. Goldenrod yellow, more like what some of the Chinese greens steep up to. But back to the smell. Like a cocoa powder scent. It was in the taste as well. I was thinking to myself, hrmmmm, this sort of is on the lines of a Florence, except with less cocoa and more of something else.

And then I read the description online. WHAT.

Cardamom? Vanilla? Almond? WHITE CHAMOMILE?

Okay, no. I started to sip this now more curiously. I can sort of taste the vanilla coming in at the tail end. It’s more of a bean-feeling, which might be where the cocoa is coming from, and there’s a sweet, very very slightly tart component that I can somewhat attribute to the chamomile. I’m not getting the taste of almonds at all. And as for cardamom, I’ve never really had it alone. But nothing is jumping out at me that would be the spice that tends to be the hallmark of chai.

The other flavor (beyond the flavoring, hurrhurr) is the white peony. It’s fairly decent, but lacked the depth of flavor that I’ve had in other variations of this particular tea. I’ve always enjoyed that dark-sweet taste that bai mu dan has, but this was sort of like swimming in the kiddie side of the pool. Nice to dip your toes into, but not much else.

I think that describes the tea pretty well overall, actually. Fairly enjoyable, but just not exciting. Better than average, but forgettable. And as I grow and change and learn about tea, as my tastes become more refined and honed, I start demanding excellence. There’s so much tea out there, and so little time. Why waste it drinking just okay stuff. I mean, this is better than okay. This is enjoyable, and nice and relaxing. It’s just not memorable.

The scent of the dry leaf transports me back to my (unfortunately shortened) life in Sweden where cardamom is a favoured spice in desserts. Every once in a while I’d treat myself to a cardamom bun, as it’s a favourite spice of mine too.

The cardamom remains at the forefront once steeped too, both in taste and aroma. Steeped, it vaguely smells like a baked item with cardamom. Like, it’s almost bready, and definitely cardamom, but it doesn’t scream cardamom buns or kheer or whatever.

The cardamom remains the star of the show from the first sip to the last. As it cools, the vanilla makes this a little creamier and sweeter.

It leaves a predominately white tea aftertaste in the mouth, along with a whisper of almond, and speckles of cardamom.

It’s one of those teas that while you enjoy it, it’s not restock-worthy. The sample pouch is the perfect amount.

I truly enjoyed this tea but the whole time I was drinking it I kept thinking it is missing something. Every sip kept trying to pull a memory out of me but because it was missing that ingredient I couldn’t quite grab it. Nevertheless, I still enjoyed the flavor and am very happy my dear husband and daughter thought of me and bought the tea set. I also got the Holiday Spice Black Tea but I haven’t tried it yet.

I loved the description of this so I decided to order some with my initial H&S sample order.

It’s got whole flower heads in it, which I thought at first might be chrysanthemums. Thankfully they are chamomile flowers as I don’t get along well with mums. The leaves are a green/grey, and look like white peony. The smell is, oddly, chocolate/vanilla mint/creme. Like Andes mints with vanilla ice cream. No idea where this comes from given the almonds and chamomile, but I’ll go with it as I like Andes mints just fine. ;-)

It still has that Andes note in the aroma after steeping and there’s some almond here as well. The liquor is sort of a light amber. A bronzed yellow. Clear.

The taste is pretty interesting as it’s very similar to the aroma but not at all something you’d expect from the ingredients list. For one thing, it’s like the cardamom is chocolate instead of itself. I wonder whether that’s why some chais that aren’t chocolate chais still have a sort of chocolate note to them. I don’t taste anything that tastes like what I’d expect cardamom on its own to taste like. This isn’t a spicy tea. It may be spiced, but it isn’t spicy. The almond is sort of hiding as well. The vanilla is there, but paying homage to the chocolate/vanilla continuum in that it’s kind of hard to tell where one flavor stops and the other starts. Though let me reemphasize that as far as I’m told through the ingredients, there IS NO CHOCOLATE in this tea. Tell that to my taste buds.

I maybe get a little of the underlying white tea, but it seems mostly a base here for the flavors to do their frolic and detour on. Flavored white teas, it seems to me, are tricky. Not as tricky and more forgiving than flavored greens, but tricky nonetheless. The flavor of white tea can’t really stand up to anything intense. It does best with subtle fruit or floral flavors superimposed on it, nothing heavy which obliterates the tea.

This isn’t an unpleasant drink at all, it just doesn’t seem very self aware. I would think it could call itself White Chocolate and get away with it, but the Christmas name suggests something heavily spiced or appley, maybe. This isn’t that. Probably a good thing as I’d think that would make for an even worse white tea.

I don’t feel compelled to reorder this but I would drink it again if it were offered to me. And I wish there was some way to reconcile the actual ingredients with the flavor that didn’t leave me feeling entirely disassociated.

Christmas in July? White Christmas, nonetheless. Ah, well. It was there when I was looking for a less-caffeinated tea to drink this morning.

It smells minty and sweet. The taste is pure white chocolate. With mint. It’s surprisingly refreshing and makes my mouth tingle. More surprising is the fact that there is NO chocolate in this tea. It certainly smells and tastes just so. I don’t think it was smart marketing to label this one a holiday tea as it’s clearly one that can be enjoyed year-round.

So me and my compadres went on an outing today and ended up in a Barnes and Nobel. Thusly, I had to check out the cafe for tea and saw 10 tins of beauty. Harney & Sons? Do my eyes deceive me? I know my contacts need to be replaced, but seriously? Seriously. Needless to say it took me forever to pick out the kind I wanted and went with this one due to the outbreak of Vanilla and Almond. I regret nothing. I also bought Candy Cane Lane earlier in the evening, so expect a epic Virgel style on that later tonight.

The first thing I noticed about the tea was that the water was way to hot, and that the white was definitely being mistreated. Then across the store after stopping and examining books, that I forgot to take out the bag in a timely manner. Needless to say, the white was being prissy and bitter about the whole thing. After the initial shock of “how can a white be so bitter?” comes very enjoyable notes of almond with vanilla, vanilla lingering a bit longer on the tongue. There is some astringency that is ill-fitting with the texture of the tea, not as crisp as it usually feels. I want to say more and feel like I would have more great thing to say, if only the circumstances had been different. Thus, a relatively low grade, as it is very bitter.
This tea and the other Christmas tea are selling for like 16 bucks together (60 satchels overall), and there is no isolated tin of White Christmas. However, the other tins are like $10 for one so I might just have deal with having another tea when I return to buy it. Life is so cruel.
Also, mentioning being a “tea fiend” in conversation has become a new hobby, that annoys most of my friends.

i freakin love the smell of this tea dry.
i know a bunch of ppl don’t agree but i think i might really like cardamom in my tea.
but … i’m not sure i really like white teas.
interestingly without thinking, i brought 3 white teas and 1 black with me to work today.
the almond and vanilla and cardamom all come through in this cup. subtle, but they are definitely there.

i listened to the Tea Rage podcast as i rode my bike to work today. He talked about the Tea Cellar in DC which i will now plan to visit soon. he also shared this quote:

“I am so fond of tea that I could write a whole dissertation on its virtues. It comforts and enlivens without the risks attendant on spirituous liquors. Gentle herb! Let the florid grape yield to thee. Thy soft influence is a more safe inspirer of social joy.”
― James Boswell

I received this from Denise yesterday and BOY OH BOY did she send me a bag full!!! :) Thanks Denise!

almonds, vanilla and cardamom, accented by white chamomile flowers…hum…

Usually I don’t go around looking for any of these ingredients in a tea…but I have been trying just about anything lately – because you never know what you might like, eh!?

I can smell a veggie-type smell with vanilla and almond. Not bad for scent.

It’s quite dark for a white tea…a medium see-thru brown color.

I can taste the cardamom and almond mostly.

I must say this is a highly flavored white tea and while I don’t normally go for the ingredients in this tea – it’s ok. I would say I would drink it everyday or even every week but I am very happy I tried it and now have it as a part of my tea stash.

The more I sip the more the cardamom and almond and vanilla and blending together…this might grow on me more. For now I will rate about average.

Thumbs up for creativity and bold flavor on this white tho!!! :)

With Thanksgiving weekend coming to a close, the Christmas season can officially commence. Rachel sent me some of this to try (thank you!!!).

I’m not sure it says “Christmas” to me. There’s a hint of spice, but nothing that you’d be able to point at and say “this is xx spice”. The white tea is nice, and there’s also notes of vanilla and almond. And the chamomile is there as well…but its kind of unsure of its role in the blend. Its okay, but it’s not really anything to write home about. And it certainly doesn’t live up to its name.

I bought this for my daughter to try and we shared a pot this afternoon. I was very careful about temperature and time. There is no bitterness, but also…I can’t say this is rocking my world. I would much prefer a white tea from Teavivre to this. There isn’t a lot of flavor here, and I would put it down to my own error but I was extra careful with all parameters since that daughter is new to tea and I don’t want her to get a false impression of any of the teas she agrees to try.

She drank it, shrugged and said, “It is tea.”. She drank two cups but wasn’t impressed. Maybe it just isn’t our thing.

When I opened the tin the first thing I thought was “Mmm, white chocolate…drool” -as you can probably guess, I’m a huge white chocolate fan, lol!

The taste unfortunately….really isn’t. It has a sort of green, vegetal taste to it with a touch of cardamom spice. It’s a taste that’s juuuust on the verge of being bitter, but not quite. Still, I was expecting something considerably sweeter and smoother. Maybe the water I used was too hot?

I bought myself this for Christmas since my family didn’t get the hint when I got the catalog in the mail and I circled this one in the gift set and left it on the coffee table for all to see (I left it open on that page too). Anyways, I’m on my second cup and it’s a decent blend. The tea base is a stronger white tea than I prefer and the immediate smells and taste coming from this tea are almond and vanilla. I can get a hint of cardamom in the aftertaste, but I can’t say I taste the chamomile at all. This tea isn’t bad, although I think it would be better with less almond in it.

After a lot of mixed and bad reviews on this I was very hesitant to try it. I ordered a sample anyway as anything with the word Christmas or Holiday was appealing when I was ordering tea last week. I have to say I like it. It’s complex and yummy. And complex. It keeps me thinking about what I am tasting while I drink it.

Initially I taste a nice white tea. Then it morphs into a light orangey creamsicle. Then I get the cardamom. Then I get the almond. And then in the finish, white tea. It’s got a nice nuttiness under the whole sip.

I definitely like it. Not sure I’d want a whole tin, but I like it enough to throw another sample into my cart the next time I order from them.

I tried this tea last night, I have been wanting to try this for a while now and thanks to TeaEqualsBliss I was able to :-D The tea smells pretty sweet, almost like a snickerdoodle cookie! While steeping I noticed that the tea was fairly dark for a white tea, which I thought was a bit odd, but figured it may have been from the spices. Now, when I took my first sip this Immediately reminds me of a sweet, powdered chai mix that you would make at home like a pack of hot chocolate…except it was missing that oomph or perhaps depth, maybe even boldness? After all this is a white tea instead of a black tea so what could I expect? All in all I believe this was a pretty good tea, but not my cup of tea since it reminds me too much of a chai and for me I need a black tea to enjoy a chai…but, putting my biases aside and rating this solely on what this tea brings to the table I would say it is a decent tea and will rate it accordingly.

Bagged
Aroma when Dry: Sweet, like store cake frosting, dusty
After water is first poured: overpowering SWEET
At end of steep: sweet, almost like baby shampoo
Tea liquor:
first color: light brown
At end of steep:
Color: same
Staple? No.
Time of day preferred: undecided, first tasting
Taste: flat, dusty, bland
Additives used (milk, honey, sugar etc)? No
Lingers? Yes, leaves a sour note

Upon suggestion, I tried a 1min steep
Taste: Soapy, but not sour
Lingers with earthy, dusty notes

Since I forgot to give this a try before Christmas, a week after will do. I am finally slightly back to normal, although I have to go to my parents yet again for a couple days. I just want to stay home for longer than 24 hours aghhhh.

This really tastes like white chocolate, despite there not being any in here. I think the vanilla is probably to blame, but it’s not a bad thing. I love the slight spiciness from the cardamom. Since I’ve been eating a ton of Vosges chocolate, I now want a cardamom white chocolate bar. That must exist.

I think next time I will get more than just a sample of this. I wasn’t sure I would like it but I wanted to give something different a try. I’m glad I did.