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drank Fall Delight by Cuppa Geek
3226 tasting notes

Cuppageek Advent Day 6

I had this with brekkie today. It went really well with waffles and turkey summer sausage, which I only made because I wanted to give my dog a treat. Ha ha!

It is a nicely brisk tea and I mostly taste black tea and cloves. That made it cut through the maple syrup nicely but I really didn’t get the cranberry and vanilla flavors, probably overpowered by the sweet breakfast and salty sausage.

A great tea to go with my morning meal today, but not a favorite profile so not on my wishlist.

Dustin

Now I want waffles!

Nichole/CuppaGeek

I think I need to umpf up the cranberry flavor for this one. Glad you still enjoyed it tho.

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80

I completely get VariaTEA ‘s note of Fruit Loops. I don’t know if the taste same/very similar to our jelly rings, but hey it was exactly that flavour what I would expect from Fruit Loops as well.

Peach was the strongest note today, marshmellow in made the brew quite on sweet side and enjoyable. I don’t think I have noticed other fruits somehow distinctive; but it was mild and quite nice for the afternoon, lecture drink.

Flavors: Peach, Sweet

Preparation
205 °F / 96 °C 5 min, 0 sec 10 OZ / 300 ML
ashmanra

I have lots of this one so I can make big cold pitchers of it!

Martin Bednář

I shall come in summer :D

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77
drank Mornin' Waffles by Cuppa Geek
15019 tasting notes

Day 6 Advent

This was an oolong which was a pleasant surprise for something different. I liked the waffle like flavours from this one, but would have been interested in less APPLE. I don’t eat apples with my waffles, so that was not quite what i was looking for. But outside of that, i liked this one :)

Cameron B.

Now I’m thinking about waffles with some kind of cinnamon apple compote on top… NOM.

Sil

ew lol not my jam haha

Courtney

Ahaha, waffles with all the maple syrup!

gmathis

Waffles are good with fresh gourmet fancy-pants lemon curd.

ashmanra

Just FYI – Mornin’ Waffles and Eleven are the exact same tea so don’t order both! (Ask me how I know.) ha ha!

Sil

haha

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72
drank Blueberry Peach Crisp by Cuppa Geek
15019 tasting notes

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72
drank Blueberry Peach Crisp by Cuppa Geek
15019 tasting notes

Day 5 Advent

i think this was yesterday’s tea. i’m veen drowning with work this weekend – creating an org chart of 100+ people in post it notes on my wall. it was tasty, though more blue berry fruity than peach which was ok by me because i’m off of peach.

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drank Comforting Chai by Cuppa Geek
1541 tasting notes

Advent Day 6, From the Depths of the Grab Bag.

“Alright! Its got cinnamon and cloves, maybe some star anise, lot of clove though. Maybe orange, I’m not sure. Maybe it’s a little… Maybe it’s got a little fennel seed in it. I won’t be able to tell more until after I taste it, so don’t ask me cackle

It’s very holiday like. A lot of clove which is not my favorite thing but I can appreciate the clove quality. It’s alright. It’s.. it’s drinkable. I taste the flavor of green tea. I think it needs sugar. It’s ok, it tastes like a tonic. I’d say it’s like a 3 (out of 10) on the scale. I’d only recommend it if you like clove. If you like clove, it’s highly recommended. "

<me, poking> You pretty much just repeated yourself there.

“That’s right, except I said highly. burrp burrp sips Ohh ohhhhh.”

ashmanra

LOLOLOL!

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75
drank Vanilla Black by Cuppa Geek
6444 tasting notes

Sipdown (216)

I made this for the tea with a bean note prompt in Mastress Alita’s scavenger hunt and I think I did something wrong because this ended up being fairly astringent. It’s got a lot of vanilla flavour. But the astringency is what hits first and sort of ruins it. I previously rated this a 75 so that makes me think I’ve had this before and it was better. Thank you Sil for the chance to try this again, even if it didn’t go so well.

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75
drank Vanilla Black by Cuppa Geek
6444 tasting notes

CuppaGeek Advent Calendar – Day 6

I steeped this up and enjoyed it while procrastinating my studies and wrapping a few presents that recently arrived. We have a literal present mountain with presents sitting on top of other presents and more just keep arriving. It’s my nephew’s first Chanukah and between my sister and brother-in-law, he has 7 grandparents. He will be three months old when Chanukah starts and will basically be surrounded by endless gifts. And who is wrapping all these endless gifts? Me. It’s fun though.

Anyways, the dry leaf of this tea has a great vanilla smell, which made me excited to actually drink it. The vanilla flavor in the steeped tea is nice. It’s smooth and fresh and really good vanilla. Alas, being just a vanilla tea, I am getting more of the black base. The base can be a touch astringent/coppery in the end of the sip at times.

For me, 52 Teas is the company for vanilla teas and while this is a great attempt, it doesn’t quite beat the 52 Teas vanilla blends for me.

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I would never make it as a tea sommelier: my ingredient accuracy is about 22%. I was sure I was getting coconut out of this one, and there’s nary a shred in this blend. Chocolate, mint, and blueberries …. who’da thunk it? Very cheerful and tasty. (I needed the cheerful this afternoon.)

Courtney

Hahah! I love it!

Cameron B.

To be fair, any dessert with “snowball” in the name definitely has either a coconut or powdered sugar connotation here in the US! :P

Mastress Alita

I often smell/taste coconut from many teas using vanilla/cream/cake flavorings!

Lexie Aleah

Agreed Snowballs usually refer to coconut

ashmanra

Oh, I hope this one is in my advent!

Nichole/CuppaGeek

I never even thought about coconut=snowballs!

gmathis

Takes me back to those PINK marshmallow-covered chocolate cupcake things from when I am a kid. Memory is failing me (seriously, come see me in the Alzheimer’s unit…I’m about a week away) but I would almost swear they called those “chocolate snowballs,” pink notwithstanding.

tea-sipper

YES gmathis… anything “snowball” food related would be those for me.

ashmanra

Yes! We bought the pink ones when I was growing up! It was the only coconut item I ate back then!

ashmanra

I think they were called Hostess Snowballs. They started making them in white at Christmas and I think pastels near Easter.

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76
drank Frosted Punch by Cuppa Geek
1839 tasting notes

No, I am not stopping myself writing tasting notes of newly tried teas today.

At least I am on pace with the calendar now, so I can drink one from Shae and one from CuppaGeek.

There were lots of marshmellows, some apple pieces and green rooibos. It seems I get to try several blends with it. Anyway. I just added hot water and then the strainer with the blend and sugary cloud just appeared. Quite an interesting view.

Anyway, I notice mostly apple and mint in aroma. Yum, apple must with spearmint cooling. Interesting, though I don’t really feel it’s juicy as I have been expecting. But tasty nevertheless. The marshmellows made it bit on sweet side, but it’s not sugary sweetness.

Song pairing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z6NjTxs_MWo (it’s the song where I borrowed my Finnish sentence)
It’s sad song based on Google Translate(d) lyrics.

PS: My first scratched off label :D I had to use my box cutter used for opening the tea bags.

Flavors: Apple, Spearmint, Sweet

Preparation
205 °F / 96 °C 4 min, 0 sec 10 OZ / 300 ML
ashmanra

Another one I am hoping to discover in my advent!

Nichole/CuppaGeek

I think next year I need to nix the scratch off stickers and go with a different method :) I actually blended this one last year for my nieces and keep it on hand for them. They like to drink it as a cold brew while watching Frozen.

Martin Bednář

I think it’s a cool idea Nichole, just some easier to scratch ones than those… I like the idea you never know what you get. Of course, you can look on the other side to see; but I am not sure I am able to recgonize all the ingredients. At least it’s not numbered and everyday everyone got something different :)

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drank Fruit Salad Lemonade by Cuppa Geek
1541 tasting notes

Advent Day 5, From the Depths of the Grab Bag.

I liked the smell coming from the packet. It was interesting, very floral and blueberry.

“[Dry contents] smells like perfume in a good way. [Brewed] smells like soap.

sip Oh my GAWD… what is that?! Oh my god, I’ve never tasted anything like this. a series of small coughs Oh I dunno. lots of laughing Eeeuuauugh. Oh — my god! I don’t know if I can drink that! I can’t recommend that! lots of laughing It’s almost like drinking vomit. Does this have rose hips in it? Sometimes they can taste like vomit. Hibiscus can do that, too. 1/10."

She obviously didn’t finish her cup, so I scavenged her mug for some sips. The brew was a velvety indigo from all the butterfly pea flowers in the blend. Her sample packet came with a bunch. I thought it smelled pretty good, like tangy-sweet blueberry and flowers. It was indeed acrid in the back of the mouth (too much hibiscus), but this really interesting aftertaste bloomed large that reminded me of something and I couldn’t figure it out. Candy necklaces or those sweet white candy Fun Dip sticks, but it was also tart and floral and fruity. Was that the mix of blueberries with strawberry and wild cherry flavors? I also tasted quite a bit of lemongrass, which isn’t listed in the ingredients (whoopsie?). I didn’t think it was necessarily bad and it was fun to sip lightly. Maybe it needs sugar.

Obviously don’t approach this one if you don’t like hibiscus.

Leafhopper

LOL! I love your housemate’s reviews!

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drank Vanilla Peach by Cuppa Geek
1541 tasting notes

Advent Day 4, From the Depths of the Grab Bag.

Haha, the gears were turning in her head as I watched my housemate stuff her nose into the tiny open pouch. Her brows furrowed; I could sense confusion.

“Strawberry jello again.”
<me, knowingly> Really?
“It smells like candy.”

“[Brewed aroma] smells like lime.”
<me, knowingly> Really?

“Got a lot of black tea in it. Tastes kind of like jasmine in a way. It doesn’t have a lot of flavor. Kind of a little bit of a citrus thing but that could just be the tannins in the tea. Maybe it’s got a little hibiscus. Not a lot of flavor. Black tea like, drying (as she smacked her tongue and pushed it out). 5/10, neutral.” She didn’t want a second steep.

I smelled the empty packet and it smelled like the peach gummis that are 2 small bags for $1. Very granulated sugary, sweet peach smell.

Cameron B.

LOL, I love the knowing “Really?”s! XD

“Is that your final answer…?”

derk

She’s having a lot of fun doing this. She’s bold and visceral in character, just like the way she approaches flavors in cooking and her chosen art of glass making. Not a nuanced kind of lady but very open-minded.

Cameron B.

That’s what makes it so much fun to read. And her brutal honesty, hah!

ashmanra

I love it! I would be too hesitant and afraid of guessing entirely wrong! She is fun!

Leafhopper

Agreed, I love her honesty. I’d also be too afraid of getting it wrong to do this.

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75

Thanks to steepster I can now scratch off to see what advent tea I am drinking instead of peeling the sticker off(and trying to decipher what is left underneath).
The first cup was yummy, chocolate and creamy, with a hint of mint at the end? Not sure about the caramel flavoring in the first steep, but it replaces the marshmallow in the second steep and I’m getting weaker chocolate with the caramel. Overall an enjoyable cup, but I liked the chocolate covered snowballs better. Maybe I just don’t think marshmallows belong in tea, they belong in hot chocolate. Glad I got a taste of this though, I am enjoying this advent.

Flavors: Caramel, Chocolate, Cream

Martin Bednář

They are scratchable? How?

Michelle

It takes a bit if effort, and you might use a coin or knife, but she put scratchable stickers over the tea names. I put the tea in my infuser then I scratched to see the name. Makes a bit of a mess, but it’s better than trying to peel the sticker.

Martin Bednář

Hm. I tried but nothing. I will try again then. Maybe something sharper than my nails.

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This wasn’t bad tea per se, but I had higher hopes.

It was mellow green tea with cloves, but that’s all I have noticed.

This blend isn’t too spicy and has the added caramel and cider flavors to give you the sense of fall without being overwhelming. I don’t noticed any caramel nor cider flavours. But certainly it isn’t overwhelming and isn’t too spicy. Bit boring.

Flavors: Cloves

Preparation
175 °F / 79 °C 4 min, 0 sec 10 OZ / 300 ML

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85

This was a perfect start of the day. I was craving for fruity, but with caffeine-included base and black tea is great.

I agree with a ashmanra saying it’s more Peach-blueberry blend, but that is only flaw with this tea. I agree with another her statement “baked cobbler taste” yep — exactly! It is pie crust as well, just like a hot and liquid cake. I guess this is something I will place order once… as it is delicious, fruity, and with caffeine. I will prepare more than one steep, but writing this just after one. Yummm!

“Mutta et tiedä miltä minusta tuntuu.” ehm, no, my Finnish isn’t that great. I just copied that from song. I feel down. I need to write me semestral thesis, if possible today to have it done; but I just can’t make it happen in three days. LIke I have no idea what to write there! I just want to cuddle myself in blanket, enjoying all the tea I have next to me and watching some sense-less TV shows or movies. Nothing from that will happen.

Flavors: Blueberry, Cake, Fruity, Pastries, Peach

Preparation
205 °F / 96 °C 4 min, 0 sec 10 OZ / 300 ML
White Antlers

Martin break your task down. Write for 30 minutes. Set a timer. Then take a tea break for 10 minutes. Set a timer again. Then go back to writing for 30 minutes. If you break a task up into smaller bits, it does not seem quite so daunting.

Martin Bednář

Edit: no more steeps made, as the tea bag attracted some small flies and I thought it isn’t safe anymore.

ashmanra

You can do it, Martin! I am rooting for you!

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drank Blueberry Lemon by Cuppa Geek
3226 tasting notes

Cuppageek Advent Day #5

Since this has no caffeine, I saved it for this evening. I dislike red rooibos very much but enjoy a lot of blends with green. I doubt I have ever had it by itself.

This was an enjoyable cup and my husband had some as well and said he liked it. I did find it to be more lemon blueberry than blueberry lemon. My husband said he did not taste blueberry, and the prominent flavors for me were lemongrass, lemon, and green rooibos. And that was fine with me, as I really enjoyed it. I think Harney’s Blueberry Green has a real PUNCH of blueberry flavor and I was drinking that at supper, so maybe that is why the blueberry seems muted to me.

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72
drank Fruit Salad Lemonade by Cuppa Geek
15019 tasting notes

Day 4 Advent

I remember this one being ok. Nothing special and more generically fruity tha lemonade. But it was a nice cup and good to have a herbal for the day yesterday. Really having fun with the advent.

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drank Lavender Earl Grey by Cuppa Geek
15019 tasting notes

Day 3 Funny that both VariaTEA and i had this one on day three. I don’t like Blergamot. I don’t like floral teas. Sooooooo this one was not one i was looking forward to having. But i drank it and can say it wasn’t a strong EG and the lavender took a back seat. So i drank it…but yeah. lol

VariaTEA

Yeah, as far as Lavender EGs go, this wasn’t bad. But its still a Lavender EG so it wasn’t good either lol

Sil

haha yeah

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70
drank Peppermint Stick by Cuppa Geek
6444 tasting notes

CuppaGeek Advent Calendar – Day 5

I made this earlier and then got stuck acting as a human gate responsible for keeping the dog in the house while my sister stood in the doorway socializing. So I made it but only got a chance to drink it cold.

It’s good. Vanilla and peppermint are clearly the stars. And while they are nice in flavour, something is creating an oily mouthfeel that I could do without.

Cameron B.

Ah ha ha, I know how you feel! One of ours would love nothing more than to bound out the door and have a big adventure. The other is too scared to go down the front steps… XD

VariaTEA

Haha well if my sister would have just gone out, I could have enjoyed my tea and done my work but instead she decided to make it my problem to deal with so I played dog wrangler. I finally caught her and then she squirmed for the rest of the time my sister did that.

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70

The Cuppa Geek advent has small packets, so I have been using about 6 oz for each cup as I like a strong cup in the morning. The berry and lemon flavors are the strongest in this cup, nice and light for a black tea. The lavender comes in as an aftertaste, very subtle. The first steep had a weird metallic note lingering on after I finished the cup. The second steep is weaker, with raspberry dominating and lemongrass in the background. Not my favorite of the advent so far, but an enjoyable cup.

Flavors: Lemongrass, Raspberry

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73

Another Advent Tea session brought to you by CuppaGeek!

Ah well. Not in mood for trying being funny.

This tea is tasty. I noticed apple must, orange zests, raisins… such a good combo of all fruits that come to mind. There is little of clove and cinnamon making me feel it’s bit like a pie/cake, but missing the pastry part a bit.

Flavors: Cinnamon, Clove, Fruity, Raisins

Preparation
Boiling 4 min, 0 sec 10 OZ / 300 ML
ashmanra

I liked this one!

Martin Bednář

It’s certainly tasty, but I felt something missing. I don’t know what exactly. Truth is I wasn’t paying much attention to tea as well :)

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72
drank Strawberry Sangria by Cuppa Geek
6444 tasting notes

CuppaGeek Advent Calendar – Day 4

Made this one iced since it seemed like it should be cold but I was already using the bottle I use for cold brewing for Strawberry Lemonade.

It’s nice. It’s not sangria for me, but its nice. What it does have is a lot of strawberry flavour. Natural strawberry flavour which is pretty uncommon since strawberry tends to be sweet and candy-like or milkshake-esque. This is more true to the fruit and thus not overly sweet. I do like it. With that said, there is something else here that I don’t like so much. It’s sort of medicinal and that leaves me sad. I wish this was just that strawberry flavour.

ashmanra

Oh, I hope I have this one!

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As I need to keep up with the date, I decided to brew two CuppaGeek teas. I have to admit, i was bit cheating today as well, as I needed a caffeine-free blend as… it’s evening again.

Time flies!

Anyway to the tea… I was quite afraid being hibiscus heavy (so, maybe a cup for Mastress Alita?) The brew is having deep red colour and aroma? I think I notice cherries and strawberries; that is probably the expected flavour profile. Yep, it’s pretty strawberry/cherry forward in taste as well. Hibiscus was strong too. !EXCEPTION AHEAD! I did an exception and added a teaspoon of sugar. I think I get more from cherry.

Now I am confused. My blend is having a lemongrass in. Fruit salad lemonade doesn’t contain lemongrass on CuppaGeek website. Other tea called “something” (scratched original label by tearing off the silver one) lemonade is Rose Lemonade and that one includes the lemongrass, but I don’t think it’s only rose and lemongrass. The image on the label looks like Fruit salad lemonade one. Mislabeled? No, taste is indeed bit more on cherry than on rose. Holds on rating

Song pairing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-4BBQ6Pni7c — you never heard about Publisher? Well, I found him approx. 6 years ago. I was browsing through Jamendo for some free songs, easy-listening genre. I listened to one, two (of four) from him and I knew I wanted to download them. So I did. And to be honest, I prefer bit more his Never Wanted track :) .

PS: Those silver labels aren’t scratchable, are they?

Preparation
205 °F / 96 °C 5 min, 0 sec 10 OZ / 300 ML

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80

Received my second ADVENT CALENDAR today and, as you can see, it’s from CuppaGeek. 4 days late isn’t that bad at all, especially when I have ordered it 17th November.

I like the idea of teas not being numbered. I get as well one reusuable tea bag with Nichole’s business card in. And tea!

I just randomly picked the one from quite small, but very cute paper bag and my hand selected this tea.

I used whole small pouch in a mug. Mug of 400 ml volume and let it steep for maybe five minutes. The aroma of prepared tea was quite on chamomile, but taste was certainly apple-y, pie-y and overall cozy and enjoyable. There is slight hint of rum indeed, but I am glad it isn’t boozy.

Enjoyable simple cuppa which delivers what is expected from it. Apple pie.

Flavors: Apple, Cinnamon, Pastries

Preparation
Boiling 5 min, 0 sec 10 OZ / 300 ML
gmathis

I think this is my favorite CuppaGeek herbal.

Martin Bednář

Indeed it’s very tasty!

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