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B&B Advent Tea #3

All of these will be done out of order because I do non-caffeine days and caffeine days.

I’m not a big fan of turmeric, so this isn’t my ideal tea. I like the ginger and cocoa. I also taste coconut and cinnamon. It isn’t bad, but I find it tastes a bit like ground roots. Turmeric has a very dirty clay taste imo. The cocoa shells are a saving grace. It isn’t a bad blend by any means, I’m just not their target market. I would love to see a chocolate covered ginger tea with similar ingredients but without the turmeric.

Homemade Advent Exchange Tea #4

This tea is delicious! It’s a really nice oolong with a good balance between toasty and vegetal. It is slightly sweet and creamy, but not quite a milk oolong. There is an orchid floral flavour in the background. I love that this tea is not drying at all. It actually is quite thirst quenching. No bitterness or buckwheat/tasoted rice that some oolongs have. It leans towards a green oolong but has a tiny hint of tastiness in there as well. It reminds me of oats.

I found a bunch of individual tea bags at a little tea shop in Sidney and wanted to try this brand. I love being able to buy small quantities of tea to try so that I don’t have to drink 18+ teach bags in a box.

The tea was fresh. The bergamot was citrusy, fresh, slightly bitter (in the way orange peel is bitter – so not bad) and had some mineral notes. The tea itself was quite strong and the potent tannins were much better once I added soy milk to help make this blend creamy. I did not find it stood out from most Earl Grey blends, but it was definitely one of the good ones.

Homemade Advent Exchange Tea #2

1 sachet in 450mL hot water. Steeped ~3-4 minutes and added a dash (~1 tbs) soy milk.
2nd steep same parameters but left the tea bag in while I drank it so it steeped much longer.

This tea reminds me so much of Lupicia’s Caramel and Rum rooibos! I get a lot of vanilla and caramel in this one, along with the typical honey sweetness + woody minerals of rooibos (which pairs really well). I don’t taste any dried fruit or dates but it’s still an excellent blend. Second steep was a bit weaker but still excellent.

Homemade Advent Exchange Tea #1

This tea is delicious. A little bit sweet, fruity and floral, and some vibrant tannins. I was actually craving lychee because I bought some recently but ate them all. This made two delicious cups. Both steeps were equally strong. The liquid is very light but is fragrant and smells divine. The tea base is a nice background flavour but the fresh lychee taste is present at the forefront (which I like). No bitterness! I enjoyed both of my cups of this. I have enough leaf to maybe try a cold brew and/or another hot cup in the future. I’m a big lychee fan so this one really does it for me.

Although I like this tea, I find it is only good as a latte. It has dark chocolate/cocoa as a strong flavour and is good with vanilla soy milk. The Earthy flavour is nice combined with the intensity of the black tea. This is best brewed strong.

I think I messed up brewing this because all of the other reviews tasted some cookie and desserty notes. Steeped 3g leaf in 500mL hot water, not quite boiling. Steeped 5ish minutes and then 10 minutes in lukewarm water for a second cup. I really only tasted cocoa nibs, tannic lack tea, a bit of sweet licorice root (minerals, a bit metallic) and not much else. Going to try again and add milk before I review it properly.

Free sample that came with my advent calendars. 1 mesh teabag in hottish water. I forgot about it for a while but the tea was still fairly weak so I steeped for longer. My water was not very hit since I do not have a kettle available.

This reminds me of a gingerbread cookie. I get lots of ginger, cinnamon, and a bit of nutmeg and clove. I don’t get much cookie flavour, unfortunately, but there is a hint of sweetness, nuttiness, and vanilla. I don’t taste the caramel strongly. I would have liked a lot more cookie and caramel notes.

Another sipdown to make room for my horde of B&B teas coming in the meal. lol

This is a lovely fall cup and I have enjoyed it. The honeybush really makes a nice base because it is sweet but also flavourful, cozy, a little woody, and reminds me of oatmeal. I get a lot of cinnamon, some creaminess from vanilla, and general spices. I can’t make out whipped cream flavouring in particular but I added a dash of vanilla soy milk and it made a desserty cup to have with breakfast. A lovely blend! It tastes a bit like cinnamon oatmeal cookies but with some nutty and vanilla notes.

Trying to clear out old tea bags in my travel bag. I made this with boiling water and added a dash of soy milk. It’s fine, but not exceptional. I get some tannins and malt, but without the milk it wouldn’t be an enjoyable cup.