Fava Tea Company

DIY Fava Advent Calendar 2025 – Day 16

Even though I haven’t loved a lot of these Fava teas so far, it is fun to do an advent with so many festive picks. This one is an orange and white chocolate black tea. I’m not sure how much a creamsicle type flavor makes sense for Frosty, but I’m enjoying it. The butteriness of the white chocolate actually causes it to remind me more of panettone or some other brioche-style pastry with orange peel or glaze. The woodiness of the black tea base also gives the impression of vanilla extract. Pleasant enough, even if it’s not a flavor I would personally purchase.

DIY Fava Advent Calendar 2025 – Day 15

Was not excited to try this when I saw how much coconut is in it, ha ha… But actually, I don’t really taste coconut specifically. It’s overall very mild, and has a buttery cookie sort of flavor to it. There is definitely a rich nuttiness, but I don’t think I would guess pistachio specifically. More of a buttery toasted almond cookie maybe. It’s pleasant enough, but not something I would gravitate towards, as I’m not big on dessert teas these days.

DIY Fava Advent Calendar 2025 – Day 14

I was surprised and impressed to see that this is a rolled oolong, as it’s hard to tell on the package, and quite dark in color. The ingredients call it “Jade oolong”, but it seems much darker and more toasty than that to me. It’s a nice smooth, toasty base with a mellow cinnamon flavor. It doesn’t scream cookie to me, nor is it a Red Hots style cinnamon candy note. Quite a nice one actually, it reminds me more of a toned-down version of rice pudding than it does a snickerdoodle.

DIY Fava Advent Calendar 2025 – Day 13

Not a huge fan of caramel teas, but I know this is one of their core bestsellers, so I chose it for my advent nonetheless. There is so much stuff in here, ha ha! Rice Krispies, toffee bits, big ol’ pieces of caramel… Thankfully it didn’t come out overly sweet, despite being quite cloudy in appearance. More of a mild salted caramel or butterscotch rooibos, it was enjoyable since the sweet caramel flavor wasn’t overwhelming. Still not my thing, but always nice to try something new!

DIY Fava Advent Calendar 2025 – Day 12

This doesn’t really taste much like a cookie to me. It smells a little bit like a cookie, there’s a touch of a buttery aroma. But taste-wise, I mostly get cinnamon and clove, and it definitely tastes like spice flavoring rather than the actual spices. It reminds me a bit of Adagio’s spice flavoring, actually. Not quite potpourri but it’s leaning in that general direction heh… Some ginger in the background as well.

DIY Fava Advent Calendar 2025 – Day 11

This is an incredibly chonky blend, a mix of big pieces of date with whole pistachios and sliced almonds, along with a few rose petals. I only used 6 ounces of water since it’s such a dense tea, and these samples are packed by weight.

It’s pleasant enough, sweet and buttery. It reminds me a bit of the buttered popcorn Jelly Bellies actually. Very light even at the high tea:water ratio I used. A nice enough cuppa if you like buttery teas, but certainly not something I would reach for.

DIY Fava Advent Calendar 2025 – Day 10

So my sample looked very different from the photo – there was a lot of lemongrass and not much green rooibos. It doesn’t taste strongly of lemongrass though. This is a mild and pleasant desserty/baked good infusion – similar to S&V’s blueberry crumble. The blueberry is sweet and a bit more candylike rather than jammy, though the touch of cinnamon helps pull it back into baked goods territory. I don’t get a lot of base flavor since there was so little rooibos, and the lemongrass doesn’t seem to have added a lot. There’s soft, slightly musty grassy note, and a touch of something oat-y. Pleasant, but I definitely enjoy S&V’s version more. I am thankful that it’s not a stevia bomb though (since stevia is in the ingredients).

DIY Fava Advent Calendar 2025 – Day 9

I’m not a huge fan of primarily nutty teas, as they tend to be a bit too decadent/rich for me. But this is actually quite pleasant, with a slightly buttery pecan flavor alongside a woodiness that I think helps tone down the richness. I don’t taste the cacao outright, but perhaps it’s adding a bit of depth and some toasty base notes. I wouldn’t buy a full size, since it’s just not my type of tea, but I’m enjoying it much more than I expected to. :)

Advent Calendar 2025 – Day 8

This reminds me of Forever Frosty, I think? It’s a Forever Nuts type blend, but then it has orange and some light spicing. It doesn’t list any flavoring, but definitely tastes like there is some sort of desserty flavor. Honey or vanilla maybe? Overall, it’s quite buttery but the tang of the apple and orange helps to cut through the richness. The spice is barely noticeable, just a bit of an anise note. I don’t notice the cardamom. It’s nice and cozy but not something I would want on a regular basis.

Advent Calendar 2025 – Day 7

This is mostly a straight-up marzipan black tea. Unsurprisingly, it’s not my favorite, but thankfully the flavoring isn’t overly strong, so it’s still somewhat enjoyable. Sweet and almond extract-y, on a smooth and unremarkable black base. There is something that’s giving a hint of soap? Not sure what, but I only taste it every now and then.

knittingopera Swap Advent Calendar 2025 – Day 23
Theme: A song that mentions Santa
Song: Santa, I Been Bad All Year by Benny Grunch & The Bunch

Okay, so I was going to give this one a second chance despite hating it in my DIY Fava advent, but the dry scent actually made my stomach turn, so I decided otherwise ha ha. The song is very fun though!

https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=bJxF6mKUtNI&si=wojZ7F-21Zw1W1o9

Advent Calendar 2025 – Day 6

I love maple, but this is awful ha ha. It smells and tastes strongly of nutmeg, and then there’s a pile of stevia on top. I don’t get maple at all, just nutmeg and maybe cinnamon, a lot of sweetness (it has sugar and stevia) and a touch of questionable coconut tang.

No thank you!

Advent Calendar 2025 – Day 5

Hibiscus time! This is actually not bad though. It’s well-balanced, tart but not overly sour, very juicy in a forest fruits kind of way. It’s not necessarily specifically cranberry to me, but I think the flavor is in that general area. I wouldn’t go out and buy it, but as far as hibiscus blends go, it’s decent.

Advent Calendar 2025 – Day 4

This one is quite tasty! It’s primarily caramel, but also has some hazelnut coffee creamer vibes going on. It’s sweet and buttery, but thankfully not overly cloying to me. I think I’m getting some almond extract/marzipan type notes as well, but it’s blending in quite well with the other flavors. Overall, it reminds me a bit of a French pastry filled with chestnut cream, but instead of chestnut it’s hazelnut and almond. And drizzled with caramel, of course! Or perhaps some kind of nougat? I don’t know that I would order the full size, as it’s probably a bit much for me every day, but I’m really enjoying this cup.

Advent Calendar 2025 – Day 3

I was excited to try this one, as I love peanut butter and chocolate (as I’m sure most people do!). However, sadly I’m not tasting much of anything other than just rooibos. There’s a toastiness that actually makes me think of coffee, but otherwise it’s just woody rooibos. Maybe there’s a slight peanut aftertaste? :(

Advent Calendar 2025 – Day 2

Oops, apparently I forgot to write a note for this one last night!

It was pleasant enough, I was expecting a generic Forever Nuts type blend and was happy that it wasn’t. Pear was the strongest flavor, and it was sweet and syrupy, like canned pears. The cinnamon was subtle but added warmth and a bit of a baked goods vibe. However, there was a slight Juicy Fruit or bubblegum note in the finish that wasn’t my favorite. Still made for a nice evening cuppa though!

https://www.instagram.com/p/DRyMnnqjflI

Advent Calendar 2025 – Day 1

My last tea advent for this year – Fava! And like Lupicia, it’s not an official advent calendar. I’ve been tempted by Fava’s cute reindeer line of teas for a couple of years, but hadn’t ordered them. I don’t generally buy from purely wholesale resellers like Fava, but they got me with the cute marketing. So since I couldn’t get the advents I originally wanted this year, I ordered 25 of their samples and made my own Fava advent!

This seemed appropriate for the beginning of the advent, and funnily enough, we are still working on a giant Costco pumpkin pie from Thanksgiving. So very appropriate, indeed! :P It does remind me of pumpkin pie – it’s sweet and somewhat buttery, with pumpkin pie spices and a touch of caramelized sugar. There’s a bit of a cinnamon candy flavor as well. It would definitely make a delightful latte if you were so inclined. Seems very similar to DT’s Pumpkin Chai, but I haven’t had that one in forever, so can’t offer a more specific comparison than that.

TTB 2025. This tea reminds me of a family that I encountered in a theme park once. The sunscreen or whatever they were wearing wafted through the air as they walked by. I remember turning to my husband and saying, “Wow, that family smells really good, now I want coconut.” This tea tastes exactly like I imagine the coconut scent I smelled that day would have.

2025 TTB. Love me a coconut oolong, but this one is just ok. The coconut flavoring is tasty. I think it’s just that the base tea is finicky. I made two mugs of this and while I can confirm that it’s better with sweetener and careful monitoring of steep time, I don’t feel any great need to hold on to it.

This tea smells very good, but unfortunately, it doesn’t taste good. It’s very mild and tastes more like leftover tea than freshly brewed.

I don’t recall who sent me a sample of this, but I had one serving left hidden in the depths of my cupboard. I wasn’t expecting to like this much and I find I’m enjoying it. It was the rooibos part that made me wary. I get almond mixed with some mellow spices. Maybe not enough to call chai, but a mix that works. There is also something bringing a slight sweetness to it. I think I can pick out some dried apple notes that mix well with cinnamon. Apple almond strudel? I think I’ve had it for a few years now and the flavors hold up well. I don’t think this is a tea I’d run out and buy, but I’d drink another cup of it for sure! Thank you forgotten steepster for sending me this sample! You have lovely handwriting!

TTB sample! This tea tastes strongly like honey. It’s really authentic and interesting. The black tea beneath could be a bit heartier for my preferences, but it does really let the honey shine. I’m not a honey fan, but I enjoyed this one a decent amount!

Inkling Advent Day 24. This sounds so tasty! The flavor tastes really biscuity! It’s like a buttery cookie! I wouldn’t have guessed pistachio or truffle, but this ends up quite tasty! The resteep was nice too! I liked it with milk. I’d consider buying more!