4376 Tasting Notes
Advent Calendar 2024 – Day 18
Yay, a holiday tea!
This smells like a mulled cider sort of blend, but kind of tastes like nothing? It’s a little bit like bland clove water, maybe I should’ve used even less than 8 ounces of water ha ha. I don’t taste the hibiscus at all, and only a faint whisper of fruit. Mostly I feel like I’m tasting the green rooibos? I have a half-ounce bag of this from the subscription this month, so we’ll see how that goes ha ha.
Flavors: Clove, Thin, Watery, Woody
Preparation
knittingopera Swap Advent Calendar 2024 – Day 18
Theme: Sparkling Frost
My pick: Jingle Bells from Lupicia
So… This mostly just tasted like rose to me, which is not my thing. Luckily it’s quite light, so still drinkable. But I’m not getting any sakura or strawberry, just rose and white tea.
Flavors: Floral, Hay, Light, Rose, Smooth, Soft, Sweet
Preparation
knittingopera Swap Advent Calendar 2024 – Day 18 (my pick)
Theme: Sparkling Frost
Her pick: Happily Ever After from Gilded Coach Teas
Yaaaaay, a favorite of mine! And I just bought the pretty, pretty tin from this season too! :3
Love the sweet, rich purple grape flavor of this. It always makes me think of drinking sparkling grape juice (and cider) during Thanksgiving, which I look forward to every year, and we always buy way too much and drink it all within a few days ha ha. Anyway, I think I would have to drink this and Muscat side by side to be able to tell which part of the flavoring is the sparkling wine, but it definitely does have a slight effervescent quality. Plus, the tea itself is so much cuter than Muscat, ah ha! Pretty little pink flowers.
Flavors: Black Currant, Candy, Effervescent, Grapes, Rich, Smooth, Sweet, Syrupy
Preparation
Advent Calendar 2024 – Day 18
One week until Christmas! I’m simultaneously sad for advents to end, and also relieved that I won’t need to take photos every day anymore, ha ha. XP
I actually picked up a bag of this tea with my advent, because it sounded good and I remembered enjoying it. It’s essentially an Earl Grey Cream with cardamom added. I’m actually not generally a fan of EGC, but here the vanilla is light and fluffy, and the cardamom really brings the bergamot and vanilla together IMO. I’m actually getting a hint of something fruity in this cup as well, I assume it must be coming from the bergamot, but it reminds me of a bright berry of some kind. The base is unobtrusive but not bland, and I would say midway between smooth and brisk. Makes a lovely latte as well!
From Bonne Maman, today it’s Caramel Coffee Spread! I ended up eating mine swirled into (and drizzled onto, heh heh) plain Greek yogurt with a sprinkling of chopped semisweet chocolate. Needless to say, it was heavenly! I could taste a hint of coffee, which was wonderful with the creamy yogurt. I adore Yoplait’s chocolate and coffee Oui yogurt, and this was even better!
Flavors: Bergamot, Cardamom, Citrus, Floral, Fruity, Light, Marshmallow, Red Fruits, Soft, Vanilla
Preparation
DIY Herbal Infusion Advent Calendar 2024 – Day 17
Name: Marmalade
Ingredients: honeybush, orange, ginger, turmeric
Movie: Christmas Chronicles
More orange ha ha. Can you tell I like citrus? :P
This was very mellow and gently sweet, with the nutty and slightly toasty honeybush and a kiss of sweet yet zesty orange. The ginger and turmeric were very minimal, just enough to add a touch of warmth and a subtle earthiness. Very low-key and perfect for enjoying a Christmas movie with the puglets. :)
Flavors: Biscuit, Bright, Earthy, Ginger, Nutty, Orange, Orange Zest, Smooth, Sweet, Toasty, Turmeric, Woody
Preparation
Advent Calendar 2024 – Day 17
Not the most exciting pick, but I did enjoy their Masala Chai more than I expected, so high hopes. And this one is lovely too! Definitely heavy on the star anise and fennel notes, but not in an overpowering way. I do taste the ginger, cardamom, and clove as well. It’s a nice blend of spices, and I love the sweetness the anise brings. Not actually tasting much rooibos, so it’s more like an herbal chai ha ha.
Flavors: Anise, Cardamom, Cinnamon, Clove, Fennel, Ginger, Spices, Star Anise, Sweet
Preparation
knittingopera Swap Advent Calendar 2024 – Day 17 (my pick)
Theme: Santa’s Reindeer
Her pick: Reindeer Fuel from Adagio
Apparently I’ve never written a note for this?! I should really go through my virtual cupboard and find all the older teas that I haven’t tried or written about…
Anyway, I really like this one. It almost reminds me of a white tea, it has that same light and airy hay and oat flavor, with just a touch of green-ness. The oat tastes a bit raw, a touch earthy. It’s lightly creamy and then the caramel toffee part pokes it head out near the end of the sip to give a sweet finish. Just really unusual and lovely!
Flavors: Airy, Caramel, Creamy, Grain, Grassy, Hay, Light, Milky, Oats, Smooth, Soft, Sweet, Toffee
Preparation
Sipdown! (1 | 157)
Yep, first sipdown for the month lol! XD Hardly unexpected though.
I just got my winter OBTC subscription box, so I figured I would finish off this one last tea from the fall one! Really enjoyed this, Green Chile Biscochito is a favorite of mine, and the addition of more cinnamon really bumps up the cookie aspect. And I do think the woodiness of the rooibos goes very well with the other flavors. Perfect for winter, too!
As for the winter box… sigh. They did a sort of Mele Kalikimaka theme (they didn’t call it that, but that’s the vibe), which means half of the box is tropical and basically summer teas. I get it, they don’t want it to be the same every year so they come up with new ideas, but come on… Fall and winter are my favorite seasons, and summer is my least favorite! And no, I don’t really want a mango green rooibos in December! Obviously first world problems lmao, but I just thought I would whine a bit to my fellow teaholics. T.T
Flavors: Anise, Cinnamon, Earthy, Smooth, Spices, Sweet, Toasty, Woody
Preparation
knittingopera Swap Advent Calendar 2024 – Day 17
Theme: Santa’s Reindeer
My pick: Cereal Lover Caramel from Dammann Frères
Ooh! I’ve been curious about this for a while. It’s one of those teas that sounds good to me in theory – a chocolate mint black tea and maté blend – but that I’m hesitant to actually purchase in order to try. Chocolate flavoring and I don’t get along, plus Adagio and I often also don’t get along… So thanks Marjorie, for picking this so I get to try a sample!
As I expected, it’s not my favorite. The peppermint is very murky-tasting, and something else is very, shall we say, earthy. Maybe it’s the ginger? And then the chocolate flavoring is quite prominent, and has that fake, almost alcoholic chocolate taste. It’s all very sharp together, and a touch bitter (though it has also now cooled). Drinkable, but very, very muddled for sure.
But super happy to have tried it, now I don’t have to be curious anymore! XD
Flavors: Alcohol, Artificial, Barnyard, Bitter, Chocolate, Dirt, Earthy, Ginger, Hay, Herbaceous, Mint, Muddled, Murky, Musty, Peppermint, Roots, Sweet
Preparation
Advent Calendar 2024 – Day 17
Two literary black teas in a row? Interesting choice. Sometimes I wonder how much thought tea companies really put into the order of their advent teas ha ha. But we haven’t seen many holiday teas yet, so they must be saving them for the end, which does imply they thought about it…
Anyway, I wasn’t sure what to make of the ingredients for this one, but it’s actually quite nice! I was a bit afraid of the puerh, but luckily it’s quite mild and blends well with the black tea. The balance of black tea, puerh, and lapsang is very good – a nice mix of smooth, satisfying, earthy, and savory smoke without anything overpowering the other elements. I do think it needs a touch more bergamot, as all that is a lot to compete with ha ha. I can taste some bergamot, especially in the finish, but would like more to better offset the hefty base. My sample must have not had enough beet pieces in it, because my cup is a reddish brown at best.
Still, quite a nice one! Would happily sip again.
The jam today is… strawberry and strawberry ha ha. It’s Strawberry-Wild Strawberry Spread. I don’t have a concept of what wild strawberries taste like, the ones I tried when I was young mostly tasted like water. This was delicious though, very punchy and intense strawberry flavor and not too sweet.
Flavors: Bergamot, Citrus, Earthy, Heavy, Mineral, Rich, Savory, Smoke, Smoked, Smooth, Soil, Thick, Woody
The only drink that could be worse than bland clove water is strong clove water.
Ha ha, so true! You and I are on the same page with clove.
No Beeman’s Clove gum in either of your stockings, then!
Lol, thank you but no thank you! XP
I have a pack here that I bought to remind me of my mother, who loved it. It has been safe from chewing for about twenty years and will remain safe for the foreseen future!