Cuppa Geek

my order is here! and that makes me happy even if i’m going to have to take the time to add a bunch of teas to steepster lol

Day 10 Advent (yes i know day 9 is missing but i haven’t had a chance to add the tea to the database lol)

I was happy to see this one today – i love a good basic vanilla black. I have none in my cupboard at the moment as i finished the last of my version from Capital teas and my order from 52 teas isn’t here yet. I’m also hoping Ann will create a new vanilla black.

All that to say, i’d consider picking this one up when i’m out in future. The base was nice, the flavouring was good – it wasn’t extraordinary, but i don’t want or need that in a vanilla black :)

A balanced blend where peppermint and cream are the stars and the black base takes a back seat. I got three delicious steeps from this with the peppermint fading a bit by the last steep. It’s not a very complex tea, but it does peppermint well and isn’t artificial. I’d be tempted to get more of this one!

CuppaGeek Advent Calendar, December 10
14 days remaining. It flies!

2 steeps today, 5 and approximately 10 minutes long.

First steep was full of maple syrup for me, but ginger was lacking, it is rather bit on creamy cinnamony note. It reminded me a lot a Mornin’ Waffles, maybe with bit less sweetness.. The cinnamon was strong. In second steep I notice some tingling ginger, but weak. Unfortunately, I expected something else than maple syrup & cinnamon tea. The ginger is indeed missing here. It’s tasty nevertheless.

Cuppageek Tea Advent Day 9

Yaaaay! I was hoping for Vanilla Peach and Vanilla Black, and today I pulled Vanilla Peach.

This was, once again, my breakfast tea. On the packages where I can see the leaves from the back, I am saving the ones that appear to be herbal for evening tea with my husband so he can try them, too.

I will agree with derk’s housemate that this is a nice, brisk tea and very suitable for breakfast. I drank it without milk or sugar, as usual. The peach flavor is light and the vanilla is warm but not heavy and not super strong. I really mostly taste the tea base.

It reminds me a bit of a vanilla black from Nina’s Paris years ago that, at the time, felt like a vanilla tea for real grown ups, not something you would feel equally comfortable giving to a child. This is grown up tea with grown up vanilla, not candy-ish or desserty like the ones I had tried up to then.

I think it was a good choice to have with my waffles and maple syrup. Yes, I have really been stuck on those lately but I swear I plan to shake it up a little and have oatmeal or something tomorrow. I just got super burned out on eggs and bagels are special weekend breakfast so I am flailing about the kitchen lately trying to find something that sounds good.

Advent Day 8, From the Depths of the Grab Bag.

Hey y’all. The housemate wanted me to introduce her to Steepster as Kiki. That’s actually her name.

“[The packet smells like] peppermint and uhhhh maybe some vanilla. Some kind of holiday blend.

You know, it’s been a really rough week. lots of joking

Smells like uh Christmas, the cookies, the peppermint sticks. It’s like a Christmas cookie.

It’s got the peppermint. sip Did I say that already? sip Kinda buttery. lottasips This is really good. I like this one. I recommend it. I like it. I’d rate it a 9 and a half. Yeah. It’d be really good with some brandy in it or something. Cognac, some kind of alcohol. Chocolate, it’s got chocolate in there, chocolatey, buttery, pepperminty. It’s like a Thin Mint. burrp Ope, she’s gonna put my burp in there now. She likes that. burrrrp HAHA! It’s like I could lick the bowl!"

Good gravy, you all have been busy. It’ll take me from now until Twelfth Night to catch up with all your sip-ventures.

I took a time out to have one of my own this evening with this frilly, fruity, little herbal treat from the Cuppa Geek Advent calendar. The green rooibos (which I am loving—hadn’t tried it before sampling these CG blends) sets the table perfectly for this sweet little fruit punch buffet. No one fruit stands out more than the other here, they all have lovely table manners. I have no grands of my own (Dear Santa..), but I have a little gaggle of 10-year-old Sunday girls who are pretty good substitutes. This would be perfect to share with them.

CuppaGeek Advent Calendar – Day 9

I was really excited about this one. It smelled awesome and sounded great. However, brewed it was too clove heavy I think. I like clove but the clove sort of muddled out a lot of the other ingredients. Perhaps it was just the balance in my sample but this wasn’t what I hoped it would be.

Day 8 Advent

Yesterday’s cup. Nice to have an oolong as a surprise but this was an entirely maple tea for me. I didn’t get any ginger so it was just a lovely cup of maple, cinnamon oolong. I like it, but not exactly what it was supposed to be

day 7 advent
yes i’m behind…drinking the teas every day but have been incredibly exhauster by the end of the day and too busy during the day. I was a fan of the blackberry flavour in this one – worried about the lavender…but shouldn’t have been. If you like floral teas, this one might disappoint as i didn’t really get lavender from it…which is great for me, but bad for someone looking for that. :)

I was disappointed in the first steep of this tea, as it was rather bland. I tried a second steep, and actually forgot it was brewing, so it steeped a good while. It was very forgiving in that it was not bitter after oversteeping, and the blackberry was much more prominent. Overall it was just ok.

It’s my turn to try this tea.

CuppaGeek ADVENT CALENDAR, December 9

Another tea with marshmallows. And it smells like chocolate cappuccino.
Brewed… well it’s pretty much expected — creamy milk chocolate with sweet aftertaste. Not bad in matter what it should be, a chocolate covered marshmallow, but not a fan ofthis somehow. Maybe it’s too milky and waxy to me, instead of my favourite dark and bitter chocolates? Maybe it’s sweet for me. IDK.

Adding some dairy would be again interesting with this blend.Too bad I almost never do any tea lattes. I think it’s because I am afraid of ruining it; hihi.

Deep baked-fruits aroma/flavor and sweet, pastry-like cinnamon without actually being sweet. The aroma is a bit too artificial for my liking, but it’s a nice, strong scent. The blueberry and peach are well balanced. The Lipton-like black tea brings a grounding, woody tone, while the hibiscus/rose hips/cranberries (whatever amount ends up in a mere teaspoon) bring just enough tang to brighten the brew. I think this one is really well done, well balanced. While not something I would find myself craving, I do recommend it. Of all the times I’ve brewed it, the last cup has been the best with 1 tsp to 6 ounces instead of 8.

Mechanic friend Jacques wanted something peachy and poured over ice, so I brewed a liter just for him. I couldn’t help but notice the aroma as it brewed — it really is full on blueberry peach crisp, very sweet smelling cinnamon, cooked-down-fruity vibe. I took a small taste and the black tea taste is best described as Lipton-like, tea-ish, a bit lemony. The tannins cut through, balancing the cup. There’s a peach tone, a blueberry tone. The pastry aspect remains mostly in the aromatics.

Jacques says it really hits the spot and has great, refreshing flavor. It all sits in the middle of the tongue and releases the flavor from there. He gives it a chef’s kiss :) And this is coming from a man with very refined taste. So this is a hit with both Kiki and Jacques. Only a serving or two left; I’ll give it a proper try soon.

Advent Day 7, From the Depths of the Grab Bag.

deep sniffs from the packet "Ohhh, nice. It’s berry something.

Smells like peach. I like it. It’s very pleasant and satisfying. Comforting. I recommend it. Smells good. I do recommend it highly. I go 9, say 9 (out of 10)."

CuppaGeek Advent Calendar – Day 8

It’s funny Sil said she expected apple because if I am being honest, I had to double check that there wasn’t apply in this because I was getting a lot of what I thought was a tart apple flavor. I guess the tart is the cranberry. I think something about the mix of spices and fruitiness read apple cider to me and tricked my brain a bit. It’s nice. It’s Fall. It’s maybe a bit middle of the road for me though.

Cuppageek Advent Day 8

This is one I was hoping would be in my advent and I picked it today! Yay! And DANG, but it smells good dry! Berry candy!

I was expecting this one to be similar to be Chocolate Covered Marshmallows but it was nothing like it. With breakfast, this was a really minty black tea. I did taste it before I started eating so I would have an idea of the unadulterated flavor! The peppermint tingles your whole mouth. For the first two steeps it dominates the cup. Two of my kids are mint fanatics but I am less so, although I don’t hate mint. I just don’t reach for it often, especially mixed with other things.

My favorite steep came after I cleaned the living room in preparation for my students. My feather duster (or as my husband calls it, “the dust spreader”) had to be brought out to dust the nativity scene across the piano and it decided to go through a winter moult or something because feathers went EVERYWHERE so I had to vacuum again, too.

After finishing the cleaning, I sat down for a third steep and the mint has now receded waaaay in the background and the berry flavors have moved forward. Nommy!

Cardamom and clove chai? Yes.
Comforting? Maybe.
I wish this had more cinnamon or ginger, it’s kinda boring. I added some new sweetener I’m trying out, agave inulin powder, to the second steep. I’m more interested in how slightly sweet this is than the tea.

And… this is my December 8 CuppaGeek tea.

Explosion of raspberry tea which was genuine and tasty, hints of lemon and lemongrass and lavender aftertaste. I liked the floral note of this tea, as well the mellow and noticeable base black tea. It has reminded me a bit of Vicky’s sponge cake from Bird and Blend Tea Co. and as I have loved that blend, this is very close to! Of course, there are differences, as for example the UK tea isn’t lemony and lavendery, but in raspberry flavour it is fairly similar!

Oh well… a tea I need a pouch of.

Hooray! I got a new (to me) tea yesterday for the advent random draw!

When I saw peppermint stick I was disappointed at first because some mint teas I have tried are just harsh black tea and sharp mint. I generally prefer spearmint to peppermint but there are some mint teas that I really love, and often they feel very soothing to me even if they are not my favorite.

But when I smelled this I was really happy because clearly there was more here than JUST black tea and mint! It smelled a lot like the Red Bird mints that dissolve super fast in your mouth and feel like they are soft and full of holes. I checked the ingredients and saw the cream flavoring and I cheered.

This smells so good! It is exactly what it says – black tea, peppermint, and cream. Nice balance. I got out three pieces of Quality Street candy, called my bestie to Facetime, and downed three lovely steeps as we chatted and sipped for the first time in a long time.

Check on all your peeps and make sure they are okay! And if you are not okay, check in with someone! You are loved and you are not alone.

Edit: So I just realized that there are peppermint sticks with the texture of Red Birds! I think they sell them as hot cocoa stirrers a lot and that is no doubt what this is named for. I have only really had candy canes and the hard candy sticks that come in tons of flavors like root beer and orange and peppermint.

The first steep was a bit clove heavy, but then I did brew it strong. There is a caramel/apple flavored aftertaste. Second steep is much more fruity, lots of sweet apple, the clove is gone, and there is a slight caramel note. I did a third steep for 10 minutes, and it’s the most balanced of the three, no clove, but the caramel/apple/cinnamon is weaker but certainly still there. This was a nice warming cup but I’m not sure I need it in my cupboard.

CuppaGeek Advent Calendar – Day 7

I really liked this one. I didn’t get any bitterness like Sil did. It was just sweet cranberry flavor that is reminding me of the Cranberry Pear tea by DAVIDsTEA. It made me happy and went down real fast.