Apple Strudel

Bear with me as I don’t think I’ve ever had a “proper” apple strudel! (Surely one can’t count Tim Horton’s apple strudel as “proper”… I’m pretty sure it has more in common with a danish, at best!)

This tea was such a surprise to me. There was an interesting “dryness” to the mouthfeel it gave that put me in mind of a powdered (apple) jelly doughnut, and the flavour of an apple fritter. I’ve become so accustomed to teas with both apple and cinnamon to have this mysteriously sharp sweetness to them that this one, lacking that, was a breath of fresh air! I think what I’m finding with the Bird and Blend teas so far is that they don’t seem to lean so heavily on sweet flavourings as other teas I’ve become accustomed to, that sometimes the flavours are allowed to shine without such added sweetness. Instead I’ve been reminded of the sweetness by association of the rest – the flavours, the textures.

I paired this with a dash of milk, and found it lovely. I always feel like I’m searching for something slightly more full bodied, but with this it was hard to complain when I felt like the entire tea was such a treat just the way it was. Would I have loved for it to have been more full bodied? Absolutely. But it was sufficient to fill every other desire I might’ve had.

I will say that (quite sadly) I let some of it get cold – not enough, I told myself, to bother warming it up. Only a couple sips at the very end. And, cold, it did nothing for me. It felt like a huge waste on my part to have drunk it without joy like that, even such a small bit (as the B&B Advent Calendar really doesn’t give you enough for anything more than a small cup. I feel I’ve been pushing it with 16 oz cups – 10 oz would probably be better, but I can’t bring myself to have such a small cup juuust in case it turns out it would have stretched to 16 oz just fine!)

As an aside, so far I’ve been really loving this calendar, and it feels like I’ve been judging them with unfairly high scores. There is no bias – I’m just enjoying this journey thoroughly. I had no expectations of the calendar (which was a gift), and have had Davids Tea’s advent calendars in past years. I think the thing that has stood out so far with B&B’s advent calendar is that every tea so far has evoked feelings and flavours I associate with the holidays, whereas DT’s calendar tends to touch on the holidays here and there, but is primarily more like a 15 day “DT Sample Pack” with 9 days of festive cheer. (Why they don’t include more of the holiday blends they’ll release each year is a mystery I’ll never understand.) I often find myself skipping days with DT’s advent to reach for something more festive. This has not been the case at all (as of Day 5) with the B&B advent calendar, and I would absolutely recommend it to someone who really wants to indulge in wintery holiday cheer via tea, where every day truly does feel like consideration has been given to the lead-up of Advent.

Bird & Blend Advent Day 3 (3-December 2020)

This tea smelled so good, however, I had to open the sachets and mix them in infusers because one sachets has only rooibos and the other sachet had only apple pieces.

Hot: The apple and cinnamon are lovely here, but I wouldn’t say I’m getting anything strudel-esque or pastry-like. It’s a good apple cinnamon tea.

Cold: I prefer this cold. The apple is present in a similar amount and the cinnamon is there, but a little softer. There are subtle hints of pastry as well.

Time for a caffeine-free selection! Still making my way through this Bird & Blend packet backlog – I’m not sure if this is from the subscription or one of many samples I bought at some point. This smells lovely in the bag, very apple crumble!

I’m actually surprised how much I like this, since I’m quite picky about red rooibos tisanes. I don’t even mind the small amount of hibiscus! The flavor is a little thin, as always with fruit-based tisanes. But it has a nice cooked-yet-tart apple flavor and the perfect amount of cinnamon to complement it. I don’t feel the hibiscus is needed, but at least it doesn’t overstep its bounds, as it is wont to do. There’s not explicitly a pastry flavor, but it does go to a nice apple crumble sort of place.

I’ll have to consider this one for a restock when I get around to ordering from B&B again. It’s always nice to have more caffeine-free options! :)

My grandma is celebrating 79 on the 29th, so we had a small celebration today (only day we agreed on, whole close family)… counting people, it was 13 people. One of my brothers is working unfortunately today.

The tea, was delicious once again — apple and its skins, vanilla, pastry notes, quite high in cinnamon. It is respectable opponent to its opponent, granny’s real Apple Strudel. I think that granny’s won a tiny bit — because raisins, but it is really tiny bit!

It’s interesting that other family members weren’t that impressed about this tea though (when I prepared it in big pot for everyone) but they like the real strudel. Give me more!

Sipdown (351)

This has a 2013 Great Taste award but I was never able to enjoy it. This last cup is somehow simultaneously bland but cloying and artificially waxy. Not a good combination and definitely not for me.

I had this sample before bed last night. It was good. I didn’t even taste the hibiscus. Mostly it was a warm, lightly spiced, lightly sweet cup. Very enjoyable, but I won’t run and buy 50 grams of it. I have GOT to stop buying tea and drink what I have!

Adventaggedon Day 3 – Tea 6/6

Last up and, I hate to say it, maybe the biggest let down of the day!?

I think what made this tea really disappointing was that it’s one I’ve got familiarity with and have enjoyed it the past – but when I made today’s cup I just thought it seemed weak and underwhelming. Like, there were no off notes and the baked apple flavour was actually very enjoyable… there just wasn’t enough of it.

My B&B advent chat group on instagram all seemed to have pretty similar opinions. Most people either really didn’t like it or just thought it was lacking. I wonder if there was a recipe chance from a few years ago when I last had it? Or if, maybe, there was just less tea in this year’s sachets?

Whatever the case may be, I just don’t think it was a memorable cuppa overall.

Today’s Advent Photos: https://www.instagram.com/p/CIWncwXAAaA/

Currently sipping on this as I wind down and start thinking about my bed. It won’t be my last tea of the day, but it’s a lovely one to aid the transition between evening and sleep. This is also a great seasonal choice, given how absolutely freezing it is tonight! Brrr!

Sadly, there’s not much left in my packet of this. I was a bit stingy with the measuring for this mug, as there’s only enough left for one more and I’d rather my last brew was a perfect spoonful. Actually, there are a few Bird & Blend packets I’m almost out of. I noticed the Christmas blends were up today and I’m so tempted to put in another order, but, arghh, must not buy more tea!

Anyway, this one! There are huge chunks of apple pieces in the packet. Even in my measly measurement I still managed to get several in the spoon. There’s lots of rooibos too, though that might be because I’m down to the last of it. This smells so comforting, both dry and in the cup. And it does actually taste like apple strudel! Granted it’s been a long time since I tried apple strudel, but this evokes memories of times that I have. The apple is dominant, but there’s a really nice, light spiciness that instantly warms me up. The rooibos does taste stronger than I remember it doing so in the past with this blend, but again, this could be due to me being at the end of my packet.

I do think this would be on my repurchase list, though probably not this year. There are other Bird & Blend teas I prefer, and other blends of theirs I haven’t tried that I’d probably order over this one. Overall though, this is a very enjoyable, autumnal, cosy cuppa.

The tea leaves smell amazing. The apple was very sticky so I tried to make sure it was mixed evenly with the rest of the ingredients. I initially brewed the tea for 5 minutes, which resulted in a tea that was very much the taste of rooibos with a hint of fruit.
The second pot I added more tea and brewed for longer. The tea was initially just a stronger version of the original flavour. Eventually after brewing for 15 mins the tea took on a very sweet taste. The taste wasn’t particularly like apple strudel and this was a lot of work for more than just a cup of rooibos tea

Boring. i mean it’s creamy and apple like with hints of cinnamon like a strudel but the brew as a whole comes across as almost faded. Tasty enough cup, but lacking in flavour intensity is maybe what i’m feeling?