Hazelnut Rocher

This is one of my favorite holiday teas from Bird & Blend! As the name implies, the blend smells just like a Ferrero Rocher truffle…and this time the flavor lives up to the aroma. It’s smooth and just sweet enough with distinctive notes of dark chocolate and hazelnut. I enjoy it plain, but adding milk really takes it over the top.

The smell reminds me of chocolate scratch-and-sniff stickers. Fourth grade specifically, what 1993? Taste and body are thin but a strong returning sweetness like I’d expect in good loose-leaf comes about many minutes later. I used 2tsp to 10oz; thinking now that I should’ve used all three. Regardless, it’s kind of artificial. Thanks for the try, Martin :)

Not from Advent calendar, but could be :)

I have to agree with previous raters. I took two teaspoons for my 300 ml cup and it turned out very nice!

I notice both, chocolate as well hazelnuts. I prepared it grandpa, so when it brews a nuts came on the surface and could even eat them. It was nice addition.

Tea itself, tastes after hazelnuts and chocolate. It is more on the chocolate than on nuts, but it is nice. Quite sweet, maybe more cocoa shells, or overall make it more bitter would be better. But I am dark chocolate person. I can imagine it can be better for some other people. The dry aroma is bit like marzipan, but luckily, it did not transformed into taste too much.

Brew is light, cloudy brown. Nothing pretty for eyes, but okay. Black tea base is not much distinctive, maybe some more malty tea would be nice in this blend.

Adventaggedon Day 5 – Tea 1/6

So here’s the thing about this tea…

I really like it, but it’s supposed to be a chocolate hazelnut profile and instead it’s definitely more of a chocolate almond. Very sweet and almost boozy amaretto almond, in fact. So, I feel like I can’t praise it as much as I would like to because it’s not what it’s trying to be. However, for a chocolate almond profile!? It’s insanely good. I think the mix of those two flavours is really well done and I don’t find the chocolate weirdly oily or underwhelming in terms of flavour either.

Keeping in mind that I don’t really go out of my way to drink chocolate teas, this is good. I don’t think I’d buy it/want it around but I would very happily accept a cup in offered!

Advent Photos: https://www.instagram.com/p/CIbj3zAAE0C/

Day 20 of our Advent Tea Swap. From amandastory516.

My numbered packages from our Advent swap are getting less and less as we get closer to Christmas and today I’m starting to feel a little sad about it. I have loved participating in this swap – trying so many new teas and reading everyone else’s Advent tea tasting notes has been a highlight of my recent days. I’ll miss it once Christmas has passed.

Today’s tea is one I’ve seen others post about here on Steepster, so I was excited to open it and make a cup when I recognized the name. My first thought before steeping is that it smells exactly like amaretto. Not strictly almond or cherry, but distinctly amaretto liqueur.

The steep came out lighter than I would have liked so next time I’ll be using two teaspoons of dry leaf instead of just the one. I added some cream and honey even so, and it turned out really nice. My husband says it’s like drinking hot chocolate and I do agree. It’s reminiscent of those dark chocolate muffins with the chocolate chips. So basically chocolate cake. I’m not really picking up on the hazelnut.

I may or may not have added a splash or two of amaretto to bump up the flavor. Feeling very much like a grown-up tonight with my boozy drink and my favorite cat mug. Cue the Christmas music.

I had this earlier and it smelled deliciously like ferrero rocher and tasted similar as well but this trended more to that nuttiness that, while enjoyable in small doses, is not my favourite overall. So while this was quite good. It’s not something I need often. It would probably make an awesome latte though

Made this as an eggnog latte and it’s super tasty! Definitely an appropriately festive flavor for the week of Christmas.

Bird & Blend Tea Advent Calendar Day 1:

Yay!! Tea Advent Calendar season has begun!!! In the past I’ve gotten the David’s Tea calendar and the Dammann Freres tea advent calendar, and this year I decided to try this one. It is such a fun thing to do: open the door and find out which tea is for today. I’m like a kid that way.