Nutcracker

Oh, hey. There’s mint in this tea. And I can’t actually tell! Weird.

Anyways, it smells like dessert. Spicy vanilla nut cake or something.

Sipping it, there’s a distinct coolness on the tongue. There’s the mint. Thankfully it’s not too strong. The other flavours are all kind of muddled up together, though. I think this is a tea that needs a little sugar, but since I’m not doing sugar right now (I guess I could have added some honey), I plopped in some homemade coconut creamer.

Hmm. Not bad. Not really a fantastic flavour to me either, though. That’s a little disappointing. It smelled SO cakey dry.

Oh well! I have Gingerbread, and I really like that one.

Edit: This one is from wheezybee. Thanks! :)

Sipdown

This was a decent tea, but probably my least favorite of the S&V teas so far. Ashman had a bit of it, but I could tell that the chocolate aroma was the one he dislikes, in spite of his usually liking S&V chocolate flavored teas. He drank it several times and finally mentioned that it had an odd smell and he thought it smelled like chocolate milk or hot chocolate. At least he didn’t say it smelled like mildew! That’s what he says about all Harney chocolate flavored teas.

Based on the name, I would expect more nutty flavor and no mint. The mint is not offensive but it seems an odd fit for the name of this tea. Overall, it was okay, but not one I would repurchase. I would call it drinkable, decent, innocuous, but not a stand out by any means.

Made a pot of this for Christmas morning tea! It’s ok, a muted chocolate mint that is pleasant enough to drink but not good enough to remember or purchase again.
Merry Christmas!

Advent Tea: Day 6 from Michelle
I’ve heard great things about Simpson & Vail Teas and especially some of their holiday ones. I’ve been wanting to try them for quite some time now so it’s been a real treat trying these advent samples from Michelle! This one has an interesting assortment of ingredients and holiday flavors. The ingredients include cranberries, orange, almonds, cinnamon, and chocolate mint. In flavor, the only flavor I could pick out was the chocolate. The mint and almond I think sort of blend in with the chocolate. The chocolate flavor is maybe reminiscent of a tootsie roll or at least that’s how I’ve seen others describe this particular flavoring. I don’t think this one fits the name or concept. I would’ve expected more nuttiness or more almond or something. It was an enjoyable cup and I’m glad I got the chance to try it. Dessert blends are the perfect pick me up during a stressful week or just whenever. Thanks, Michelle!

The first tea to try from my giant Simpson & Vail order! I know I’ve tried all of these holiday teas in the past, but reading the old notes isn’t quite the same as remembering them, so I just ordered the sampler again. I picked this one sort of randomly, and the ingredients list sounds utterly bizarre to me. Almond, orange, cranberry, cinnamon, chocolate, and mint?!

Umm, yeah it’s a bit weird. I’m getting a very strong woody note from the base tea. I think I can taste the chocolate and mint, but not much else. Maaaaybe a hint of cinnamon?

It’s quite odd, chocolate mint wood tea. Hmm, more experimentation is needed…

https://www.instagram.com/p/CI1ttdjAEiq/

It’s summer, time to write a tasting note for Nutcracker! I’ve tried this tea a few times but it just never results in the cup I want. There are so many ingredients here, but it’s very light in flavor, both with the black tea itself and the flavors and ingredients. What should be here: almond pieces, orange peel, cranberries, cinnamon & chocolate mint flavors. Even though I noticed plenty of orange pieces, and at least two cranberries and other various bits go into the infuser, it’s tough to taste any of these. In a blind taste test, I probably wouldn’t mention ANY of the included ingredients. Maybe all the flavors just combine together to create a new flavor instead of flavors I can’t pick apart. Because honestly, I can’t distinctly taste any of these flavors. Also, the black tea results in a very light brown color with both steeps. So overall, not the holiday magic I expect (and the steeps were the same in the winter as well, so it isn’t just a matter of sipping season.) Ah well, can’t win them all.
Steep #1 // 1 1/2 teaspoon for a full mug// 12 minutes after boiling // 3 minute steep
Steep #2 // just boiled // 4 minute steep