Sonnentor

There is not much to write about this tea. It’s plain sage, a herb that I would rather enjoy in Mediterranean cuisine than as a cup of tea.

It’s not bad. Just a bit boring. If you want a fresh herbal teas, Sonnentor seems like a good choice. Because it tastes indeed fresh, very strong and very herbal. Again, their loose leaf variant seems using very quality leaf.

But there is no reason to drink plain Sage tea to me, though.

PS: Gets much better with very long steeping time (I let the bag in all the time sipping)

Liberate your liver!
Ugh, a herbal tea and moreover functional. Not a fan of those in Advent calendar. But what we can do. Passing it, just because I don’t feel I need this? No, I will give it a try.

First sip is quite bitter. Dandelion and fennel are the culprits I assume. And overall it is just herbs and herbs, somehow mellowed by mint and/or lemongrass and my stomach feels heavy after drinking this tea. Maybe it is the key how to liberate the liver?

Not rating on purpose.

Whoa, what a blend! Just look at the ingredients list in description.

A buckwheat base? I haven’t got much buckwheat teas itself and certainly none where it is used as a base. Blood orange? Not in taste, maybe a refreshing bit. Cinnamon (Casia), certainly noticeable, allspice, star anise and anise… certainly there; as well the cloves.

Not so flavourful as Nabo tea; but very nice as well. I would gladly drink more. Also I love the box picture; and Gingerbread Time is English name for this tea. I also wonder if it is new relase for this winter, as I never heard nor seen it before.

Well. It’s pure peppermint. What can go wrong?
You just need fresh leaves. And this one is fresh. It smells and tastes very similar to two leaves and bud Peppermint.

If we didn’t had so much garden-grown peppermint, I would seek out the loose leaf — it seems they use whole leaves and do not crush them. 1 kilo available as well!

I will be honest. Already yesterday I took the bags for today to see what they are. I have seen plain balck and white/green tea. I took black one to the office (preparing a day before, because waking up early and I don’t want to wake up my brother — who is moody all day if I wake him up).

And plain black tea sounded so nice for cold morning and first mug in the office. Of course, as it is a tea bag, it wasn’t very high quality (but not only dust either), but certainly it was convenient.

Somehow, I don’t recall when I had my last plain Assam tea. Not even if I had bagged plain Assam before. But this one is good! Smooth, mouth-coating and very, very malty — almost sweet; with dates note, so much yum! I did rather short steeping, as it was colouring the water very fast… I think it could be 2, maximum 3 minutes. And even it was very strong, there was no bitterness nor astringency.

A funny story behind this tea. I had same named tea yesterday in the office; it has been Sogni d’oro Limone e Zenzero. That one was much more into lemon and somehow juicy, but very warming body up. And that was necessary, as our office is heated to lower temperatures than last winter, because expenses cuts.

This one is more towards ginger — but actually ingredients are very same, but in different ratios!

It is much more warming from ginger, even a bit tingling and instead of lemon I notice more lemongrass. The licorice root is making it a bit sweeter, but it’s tamed and not overpowering the cup. Enjoyable if you think it is flavour profile for you. I understand that ginger is not for everyone, especially when it is 1/4 of all ingredients. I can imagine it as a cold (flu) battler as well.

SONNENTOR ADVENT DAY 24

Thank you, Martin, for the adventure of having 24 new teas this month that are not available here! It has been great fun!

I love all the little reminiscences on the wrappers – someone did a great job of capturing the spirit of Christmas with just a few lines of writing each day. And the art work is pretty, too.

I switched it up and did Sonnentor this morning and will do Fortnum this evening. Both are herbal, but I am more likely to be sharing a whole pot this evening. Ashman woke up with a migraine but we threw everything we had at it and he feels much better, but we didn’t have breakfast together.

This is, like the others, a somewhat generic herbal tea but this time the licorice root is much more noticeable. I like licorice root so that is okay! Next I taste the Ceylon cinnamon.
The base is not too strong, a mix of mostly lemon balm and apple, with marigold, which I don’t really taste. Surprising, because marigold flowers have a pungent aroma and you would think it would be forceful in tea.

A good cuppa as I take a break from cooking!

Thank you, Martin!

SONNENTOR ADVENT DAY 23

Oooooh, this one is really lavender forward and I like lavender! This is a wonderful tea for relaxing on the eve of Christmas Eve.

Most of the Sonnentor herbals taste very similar, with just or two standing out because of some special ingredient. The lavender sets this one apart. Lemon balm is the first ingredient listed but lavender is the first aroma and taste I perceive. It doesn’t really last as the aftertaste, though. That resembles pretty much all the other herbal blends.

Hopefully the parsley and fennel will help with my overindulgence of warm cheese spread on crackers tonight.

SONNENTOR ADVENT DAY 22

Hmm, I think this is one of my favorites from this advent!

Schutz means protect and Engel means angel. So Schutzengel means Guardian Angel. Lots of good herbs and spices here – coriander, fennel, spearmint, anise, and lemon balm, as well as apple, rosehips, and cornflower. Most of these are good for the tummy, I think.

First sip was so round and sweet I thought it had licorice root but there is none. I guess the apple is just that sweet. It steeps up a goldy-brown and really isn’t too tart or overpoweringly minty. It is a little drying but not puckery as too much rose hip can be. The more I drink the more earthy it tastes.

Mild cup and very chill.

SONNENTOR ADVENT DAY 21

This is one of their “Wieder Gut!” teas, an herbal remedy for what ails you. I suppose tummy troubles like indigestion are likely around this time of office parties, family dinners, and seasonal sweets.

The taste is quite mild, maybe a good thing if your tummy is suffering. They describe it as spicy floral but other than very soft spearmint and a hint of Greek Mountain tea, I didn’t find it spicy. One would expect the heat of ginger in a tummy tea. None here. Even the marigold is mild.

I didn’t have a tummy ache, so I don’t know how good this would be at soothing one, but it is a pleasant, easy to drink no caffeine cup for bedtime!

SONNENTOR ADVENT DAY 20

This is the first one that really turned red! I have been leaving the bag in on all the herbal blends.

Even so, it is not too tart for me and I am glad this is the first tisane in this advent that really has this profile. I get mostly hibiscus and very little spice, to be honest. It is an easy bedtime cup but nothing to write home about – if you have had a mild hibiscus tea, you can imagine this one.

SONNENTOR ADVENT DAY 19

This is a basic, mild herbal tea, easy to drink and also one you have to pay attention to if you really want to notice it, because it is easy to drink it forgetfully. Does that makes sense?

It doesn’t help that I ate a half pack of lavender CHoward’s candies. The aftertaste made me think the tea was floral at first until I realized I was tasting lots and lots of lavender! Ha ha!

An herbal with no chamomile and no mint is somewhat unusual. I liked it!

SONNENTOR ADVENT DAY 18

Although this is a green tea, you could have fooled me! There is a lot of other stuff in this one, and that is what I taste most.

The first thing I notice is the mouthfeel of licorice root, which I happen to like. The only thing is, you are supposed to have only a limited amount if you have high blood pressure, and mine does, sometimes. Anyone know just how much is safe? I am sure this one cup wonkt hurt, but how much it too much? Three cups a day? Four?

The second thing I taste is ginger, that bit of heat and tingle. Next comes lemongrass for me.

I really don’t taste the cinnamon. It must be pretty mild. And after having our first celebration of Christmas with half the family today, I am too tired to dig out more! But it is a nice cup to sit and relax with now that everything is cleaned up and put away.

SONNENTOR ADVENT DAY 16

We had a beautiful warm day today but I was cooking and preparing for “first Christmas.” I never made it outside to enjoy it. After grocery shopping tonight, it was still quite warm and after bustling around putting away groceries I was not in the mood for anything hot. So I decided to ice this!

It looks like the blend has changed a little since Martin had it two years ago. The sentiment on the wrapper is still the same. I love the little short stories or memories on each one! They are a tiny snapshot of Christmas.

Martin lists chamomile but my box says apple mint, lemon balm, peppermint, blue mallow, daisies, blue cornflower, and marigold. It could be that one of these is another name for chamomile?

I made a cup of hot tea (Christmas Wreath by Lupicia) for the Ashman and a glass of this, sweetened and iced for me and we sat in the rockers and enjoyed the warm evening.

I think the lemon balm came out most for me, followed by apple mint and peppermint with the floral tastes rounding out subtly. It was just what I wanted, a refreshing drink to enjoy while relaxing.

It was good enough to make me want to ice more of these if we have more warm days, and we are supposed to hit 73 tomorrow and 76 Saturday. The next two in the advent don’t look like good icers to me, though. We will see.

SONNENTOR ADVENT DAY 15

Reading the description of baking an apple on the wrapper makes you really want a baked apple…

With all of the herbal blends in this advent (I think only three of the teas are not) I am leaving the bag in the cup as I sip. This one is decidedly apple, with a bit of gentle cinnamon. Almost every herbal apple tea I have had was more like a chamomile tea with added apple. This one is really an apple tea with no chamomile fighting for attention.

The body is thin as I find most dried fruit and herbals to be, and it makes a pleasant bedtime cup. Because of the flavor this is trying to evoke, a baked apple with cinnamon and brown sugar, I think most people would enjoy it even more with sugar or honey, but I just generally don’t add sweetener and am almost always disappointed when I do.

SONNENTOR ADVENT DAY 14

My first darjeeling ever was baaaaaad because I didn’t make it properly. I discovered that I liked cooler water, short steeps, and enjoy second and Autumnal flushes. My favorite black teas are still Chinese, but I can enjoy darjeeling now.

This one is really unusual. It is herbaceous like the herbal teas. Is it just like this or has it absorbed flavors while stored? It is also a bit floral. I am drinking it while eating a Lindt Stracchiatelli and it goes really well. When I ran out of chocolate I could detect the briskness I expect from darjeeling, but there really is floral taste and a hint of mint.

Overall, it was a nice cup of tea!

SONNENTOR ADVENT TEA DAY 13

Well, this advent has taught me one or two new German words and also a new flavor.

When I started steeping this, I smelled nettle right away! I am not nearly as good as some of you at identifying aromas and tastes, so I was pretty happy with myself.

Once the cup has finished steeping, the nettle aroma has died away. I taste the linden first and the spearmint with it but not strong. This is a little more floral tasting than the other herbal blends so far.

Overall, it is a nice relaxing cup for bedtime!

Sonnentor Advent Day 12

I am not a fan of really hot ginger and thought this tea would be a struggle since it has so much ginger in it, but I am actually liking it, far more than I expected, in fact!

Ginger is the star of course, coming in at 33% of the blend according to the box. Lemongrass is listed second and is also what I taste right behind the ginger, and I like lemongrass. (Ashman thinks it tastes like Lemon Pledge dusting spray. Not that he has eaten Lemon Pledge, just thinks it smells the same.)I like the way the lemongrass swells at mid to late sip. I also like licorice root and I know I am in the minority here on that, but it is nice here and not too strong. I had to look for it. The cinnamon is softer than I expected. I would not have guessed it as an ingredient if I hadn’t read the box.

Nice one!

SONNENTOR ADVENT DAY 11

Well, I can say with great relief that this tea tastes better than the teabag smells.

I didn’t know what Brennnessel meant. But after I opened the pouch and smelled it I needed to know what I was getting into. There was a lovely story on the wrapper about vanilla but this was not vanilla scented. So Brennnessel means nettle.

It smells like Sucrets according to Ashman. It smelled like fishy puerh to me. With a hint of Sucrets. Ashman smelled no fishy musty odor. Until I steeped it. Then he agreed there was something going on.

The taste is not bad at all, though. As I sip I still get the fishy aroma but the flavor is just herbaceous. This isn’t an herb I would normally go for unless I really needed it for a specific medical use.

I am loving the little notes the company put on every teabag wrapper! Martin has typed them all in his reviews, but reading each one as I prepare the tea really adds a nice little peaceful touch with a little extra Christmas magic.

This one has spearmint which I generally prefer over peppermint. I thought the thyme might make it overly savory but really even the mint was light. Spearmint and chamomile were the main flavors I tasted. I have felt stressed for some reason today and I don’t know why, so I welcomed this tea and its gentle soothing!

Thank you, Martin!

SONNENTOR ADVENT DAY 9

I saw that today’s tea is the first TEA rather than herbal blend, so I decided to have it early as I was feeling sleepy this afternoon.

I steeped it at 185F for three minutes and it is a rich, deep, golden color. The taste is pretty much what I would expect – hay and a tiny hint of sweetness from the floral notes. It was a decent bagged white tea and certainly produced a stronger cup than expected. It perked me up to stay awake for the afternoon, but now I am sitting in front of the Buck Stove and feeling mighty dozy….

Sonnentor Advent Day 8

Yesterday I said that these herbals were much the same. Only one has had really noticeable tartness from hibiscus and rose hips.

This one seems to have a little more flavor than last night’s tisane, and although it touts itself a morning blend, it went nicely with bedtime snack and I know it will not keep me awake. Many of these blends have been chamomile forward, but not this one.

SONNENTOR ADVENT DAY 7

Here I was so happy about night time herbals, didn’t check the translation (I knew Hol Dir but not Schwung) and made this only to discover that it means Get Some Momentum. Ha ha! I am pretty sleepy so hopefully it isn’t going to work like an energy tea tonight. Clearly I should have had it this morning!

It has chamomile in it, so maybe they were counting on the spearmint and hyssop to pep people up just by the minty freshness, but I find mint calming most of the time and the chamomile will probably just amplify my already drowsy state.

Tastewise – honestly lots of these taste much the same, this one being a little drier than some of the others, but chamomile kind of makes itself known in a blend in a big way and my tastebuds are not keen enough to get a huge difference. It is definitely minty, too.

Again, a pleasant final evening cuppa to sip on as I read my last chapter before bed.

Sonnentor Advent Day 6

This one was not in the database and is no longer listed on their site as far as I can see.

The ingredients sounded really great, but alas, all I taste is rose hips and hibiscus. I really wish I had detected the pear and vanilla. I am okay that the cloves were hiding.

I didn’t notice until several days in that all but one of the Sonnentor advent teas are herbal and caffeine free, which makes it really nice to have a regular morning advent tea and an evening advent tea that won’t keep me up!

I didn’t mind the hibiscus too much in this one. It was tart but the others have been varied and not just assaulting me nightly with tartness. With a little leftover popcorn and the last of a chocolate orange, it made a good bedtime snack.