446 Tasting Notes
2025 Bird & Blend Advent: Day 7
Yikes, this one is weak as hell! Weak rooibos, weak (though not terrible) cocoa flavor, nonexistent cream but maaaybe a smidge of vanilla. Meh.
Rereading my first note on it from four years ago, I mentioned a mustiness from the coffee beans. At least that wasn’t a problem this time around!
Flavors: Chocolate, Cocoa, Red Rooibos, Watery
2025 Steepster Advent Swap: Day 7
I’ve seen this tea reviewed a few times, and every time it crosses my dashboard, I think that it sounds intriguing and worth a try — so, thanks to Michelle for including it in the advent swap!
“Intriguing” is probably a good word for it. I mostly smelled cinnamon and cocoa in the dry leaf, whereas brewed up I’m smelling both those ingredients plus a bit of vanilla and a gentle hay-like chamomile. It tastes of cinnamon and a very light milk chocolate laced on a light chamomile. The green chile is incredibly mild, but comes through at the veryyy end of each sip as a light and tingly heat.
I think I can see (err, smell/taste) the sort of cinnamon-sugar cookie inspiration, but I don’t think the blend really screams “cookie” overall. Still, it’s different and surprising and really quite lovely.
Flavors: Chamomile, Cinnamon, Hay, Milk Chocolate, Vanilla
2025 Steepster Advent Swap: Day 6
Today’s advent pull from Michelle definitely makes up for the lackluster B&B oolong from this morning!
I accidentally oversteeped the first cup, but got it right on the second. This is so good, and I can see how it could become a daily drinker! It’s just a little bit malty and bready, with hints of molasses and brown sugar. Almost no astringency here.
Smooth, tasty, and eminently drinkable… what a winner!
Flavors: Bread, Brown Sugar, Malt, Molasses, Smooth, Sugarcane
2025 Bird & Blend Advent: Day 6
This would be a lackluster but inoffensive generic, semi-artificial “berries and cream” blend if not for the hibiscus, which takes it from lackluster to unpleasant. :( I feel like a Grinch griping about the B&B teas two days in a row, but come on… the hibiscus here feels so unnecessary! It just makes the whole thing way more tart than it needs to be.
Not a fan!
Flavors: Artificial, Berries, Cream, Hibiscus, Tart, Watery
2025 Bird & Blend Advent: Day 5
Bleh. Leaving my rating of 55 from a few years ago, and I stand by my previous review: This is far too hibiscus-forward, yet also somehow weak? The mulling spices seem one-note and flat, not bold and fresh.
Flavors: Cinnamon, Clove, Hibiscus, Watery
2025 Steepster Advent Swap: Day 5
Such pretty leaves! Dry, they remind me of calendula seeds — tightly curled and toasty-golden (though without the little nubs of calendula seeds).
Steeped, I’m enjoying this one quite a lot. It’s terrifically smooth and honey-like, but with enough of a “bite” to keep things interesting. I’m getting a bit of woodiness and sweet potato, but just a little. Yum! Thanks for sharing, Michelle!
Flavors: Honey, Smooth, Sweet Potato, Woody
2025 Steepster Advent Swap: Day 4
This is a very nice cinnamon rooibos, but horchata it is not! There’s nothing rice-y about it, although I do get a little hint of creaminess toward the end of the sip that’s quite pleasant.
Definitely a good cold-weather sipper!
Flavors: Cinnamon, Creamy
2025 Steepster Advent Swap: Day 3
What a delight! I enjoy mulled wine and in the past have enjoyed making it for holiday parties, but it’s not exactly an everyday thing. This is a really nice replacement! Hibiscus works beautifully as a stand-in for red wine, with its slight tang and tartness, and the other ingredients are nicely balanced: Cinnamon, dried orange, cloves… all the usual “warm spice” suspects. I’m also getting a little sweetness, probably from the apple, which works very well. I’m drinking it from a gluhwein mug I got at the Dusseldorf Christmas market a few years ago, which is obviously very fitting.
I usually don’t love fruit-heavy blends, but this is hitting the spot.
Flavors: Cinnamon, Clove, Hibiscus, Red Wine, Spices, Sugar, Sweet, Tart, Warm
