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Fortnum & Mason Advent Calendar 2021 – Day 5

Finally! I’ve been looking forward to this one since ashmanra mentioned it’s her favorite of the breakfast blends in the advent! The leaf looks much bigger as well, where some of the other blends have had more broken leaf in order to steep up faster and stronger.

This another Ceylon and Assam blend. I steeped for a full 3 minutes due to the larger leaf, and there is nary a hint of bitterness here, and only a very slight astringency. It’s quite a mellow tea, despite the fairly dark color I’m not getting a ton of flavor from it. I’m a bit at a loss of how to describe it really… There’s a slight peachy note to it almost? Not tart though, very sweet and almost a bit creamy. A bit of malt, though not as much as I would expect. I suppose the main note I’m getting is wood, but it’s very soft.

Not sure how I feel about this yet, will have to give it another try soon!

Today’s jam is Raspberry-Rose Spread. We all know by now that I’m not a rose fan, but I still really enjoyed this one because the rose is just a subtle accent to the raspberry. Raspberry & rose is a classic French pairing, and for good reason! ❤

Bird & Blend Advent Calendar 2021 – Day 4

Like Courtney, I got a worrying fishy pu’erh smell while this was steeping. Luckily it doesn’t really come through in the taste.

However, this is very spicy. Not sure if I got unlucky in the distribution of ingredients in my sachets, but wow is there a lot of chili and/or pepper coming through! I can taste the mint in the background and in the aftertaste, but mostly it’s just spicy. The pu’erh base is mostly just earthy and very mellow.

Not a fan of this, as the spiciness is really overwhelming all the other components. I am glad it didn’t end up tasting like fish though, heh…

DAVIDsTEA Advent Calendar 2021 – Day 4

So I actually really love chocolate oranges, especially the dark ones. But I don’t tend to like teas with chocolate flavoring, so we’ll see how this goes…

Yeah… no. This tastes very artificial to me, in both the orange and the chocolate. The orange reminds me of some kind of cleaning product, very sharp but not in a natural way. I can definitely taste the chocolate flavoring, which reminds me of these chocolate-flavored vitamins I had as a kid. And then there’s the stevia adding a cloying sweetness, especially at the end of the sip.

So basically, I don’t enjoy any aspect of this tea ha ha. And then there’s the fact that’s it’s quite cloudy from all the melted chocolate chips, which I always find deeply unappetizing…

Fortnum & Mason Advent Calendar 2021 – Day 4

I feel like a lot of tea companies don’t seem to put much thought into the order of the teas in their advent calendars. Take this one, for instance – four black teas in a row, three of which were breakfast-type blends. I know there are plenty of flavored and other types of tea in this advent, so why so much repetition? And B&B had a similar issue for me, with herbal tisanes for the first three days. Anyway, it’s odd.

This is a pleasant enough tea. It’s Assam, which I prefer over Ceylon generally, so it doesn’t taste like Lipton to me. But it is fairly generic. There’s a nice maltiness of course, just a hint of raisin. Not much else though, making it a rather boring cuppa. Some astringency on the tail end, but nothing extreme. Then again, I did keep the steep quite short.

Added a healthy drizzle of extra creamy oat milk to the second half, which smooths it out a bit. Still, nothing to write home about. In fact it might be my least favorite so far?

Kiani Tea Advent Calendar 2021 – Day 4

So I wouldn’t normally drink this in the morning, but I was invited by a few friends to take part in a sort of group Instagram reel for this tea, and I recorded my part this morning so here we are! :P

Really enjoying it though! Just the sweetest and creamiest beany green tea with no hint of anything rough. Lots of light, sweet spring veggies like sugar snap peas, edamame, green beans, asparagus, and perhaps even a hint of summer squash. Very light and airy, it would be a nice tea to relax with in the afternoon or evening. It does lack a bit of depth, I would say.

Tasty goodness, and extremely easy to drink!

https://www.instagram.com/reel/CXExKOKFdG0/

Bird & Blend Advent Calendar 2021 – Day 3

Hmm… This is just okay for me. With tisanes like this, I always want more chocolate. And that’s the case here as well, the peppermint overwhelms it and the chocolate is just a slight hint in the background. I will say, I do enjoy the roasted dandelion root here, it adds a nice depth and cozy toastiness. Although I’m getting a slight banana flavor from it? Not that I mind, it’s just a bit out of place he he.

I haven’t had many dandelion root teas. I know there’s a brand called Teeccino that makes a variety of them, I’ll have to keep an eye out for that…

DAVIDsTEA Advent Calendar 2021 – Day 3

So this smells really good. But that’s pretty much where the good things end ha ha.

It tastes like a green apple Jolly Rancher, and there’s a weirdly musty and bitter aftertaste. Not sure if that’s the blackberry leaf or the apple pomace? I get a hint of creaminess I suppose, but mostly it’s apple candy.

Nope, can’t finish it. A shame, as I love apple cider… :(

Kiani Tea Advent Calendar 2021 – Day 3

I’m sure this is the same as one of the Jin Jun Mei varieties on Kiani’s website, I really wish they would stop having different names in the advent…

Anyway, this is a scrumptious tea! So thick and satisfying, and has a lovely yeasted bread flavor to it. Very sweet as well, with rich dark unsweetened cocoa notes making up the base. Also present are dark, syrupy raisins and a hint of golden honey. Just a touch of caraway gently reminds me that this is a Fujian tea. The bread notes transform slightly to unbaked dough or yeasty wheat beer in the aftertaste. And throughout the sip is a crystal clear sweetness that also lingers at the very end. Perhaps the lightest whisper of honeysuckle nectar as well?

TL,DR: NOM!

Fortnum & Mason Advent Calendar 2021 – Day 3

Another black blend! I tried to guess the teas from the dry scent, but I was completely wrong, lol. This is a blend of high and low-grown Ceylon teas.

I admit, I was not excited after reading that, as Ceylon doesn’t tend to be my favorite. I steeped for 2.5 minutes just to be on the conservative side (my usual time for black teas is 3 minutes). Actually, I’m quite enjoying this one. It does have that sort of Lipton-esque “tea” quality than I just absolutely fail to find another way to describe, but there’s also a pleasant woodiness underneath that smooths it out a bit. There is a bit of a metallic note here, which seems to be characteristic of Ceylon teas (I see it described as “brassy” or “coppery” often but lack the knowledge to be that specific XD). But it’s not overwhelming and does contribute a bit of brightness. Slightly tannic as expected on the tail end, but it’s a pleasant astringency.

I’m having a hard time describing this, but it’s pleasant enough. Not something I would run out and buy, not being a Ceylon fan, but pairs well with a slice of toast. For me it would be more of a morning tea rather than afternoon though.

As far as the toast, today it’s topped with Bonne Maman’s Lemon-Yuzu spread from the advent calendar. I admit, I’m not generally a fan of yuzu in sweet applications. I just find its pine-y notes a bit odd combined with sugar (even though I love it in tea and with savory things). But here I’m mostly tasting the sharp citrusy notes which makes for a delicious bright and sunny jam. There’s a hint of pine but not enough to lessen my enjoyment!

Bird & Blend Advent Calendar 2021 – Day 2

Odd that they chose to put two such similar teas in a row… This is yet another fruit tisane with hibiscus and holiday spices. No stevia though, so that’s good.

Honestly, it’s quite bland? I used two sachets for 14 ounces of water, which seems reasonable to me. The color is a beautiful rich red, but I’m not getting a lot of flavor. There’s a bit of apple, hibiscus, and clove, so it does sort of taste like a weak apple cider? The ginger shows itself a tiny bit in the aftertaste as well.

It’s fine, but you would certainly need to use a lot of leaf to get a decent flavor out of it. I definitely prefer yesterday’s version, even with the bit of stevia.