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This was yesterdays’ tea from David’s Advent Tea Calendar. I put it off until this afternoon because normally I drink these teas in the evening. I’ve never had yerba mate before, and I thought it might possibly keep me awake. So I brewed up a cup this afternoon and I have to say it sure smells good. (I still LOVE being able to say that! I don’t know how long my sense of smell will last this time, but I think I should have it until the beginning of January. It’s not greatly honed, but I can definitely smell.) I’m undecided about the flavor. It is a little too sweet, I think. I can taste the chocolate, but it is subtle. I can’t smell or taste the almond at all, but I suspect that is my weak sense of smell. All in all, a pleasant cup. I don’t plan to rush out and buy more, but I think I’ll enjoy finishing off my sample.

Our cold snap is intensifying. Right now it is 0 degrees (-18 C) and the wind chill is -21 (-29 C). If there was ever the perfect weather to drink tea., this is surely it. Except maybe tomorrow, when it is expected to be a high of -8 with wind chills of – 35 to -45. I think I’ll just stay in this weekend and drink tea.

After a disappointing fruit infusion earlier, I decided to brew a cup of this one. The dry leaf smells amazing. Even I, with my very muted sense of smell, can smell the orange and the rum. Those scents are still present in the aroma of the brewing tea. It’s best to drink this one when it has cooled a bit. As it cools, the rich chocolate-y notes come through. A really delicious dessert tea for a cold evening.

DAVID’s Tea Advent Calendar Day 16:

Well, I definitely got the strawberry. That was nice. The beetroot makes it quite a festive pink. At first I thought the zing of the hibiscus was rather mellow, a nice bit of tang to offset the almost artificial sweetness. But the more I drink, the more sour and zing-y it becomes. That may be the exact quality that others enjoy in this tea. Not me. If I was at a friend’s and she served this, I would drink it to be polite. That ois pretty much all I have to say about this tea.

DAVID’s Tea Advent Calendar Day 14:

I opened the door to Day 14 last night around 9 pm, saw that it was a breakfast and decided to put it off until today. I brewed up a cup on my morning break. I don’t know why I am surprised by how good this is. Some breakfast teas, especially Irish breakfast teas, tend to get so heavy that they turn bitter pretty easily. This one brewed up smooth and hearty. No complaints here. I’m not rushing out to stock up on this, but I will gladly drink it again.

David’s Tea Advent Calendar Day 13:

Whoo-hoo, we’re more than half done with this advent thing. I have been enjoying getting to try some things I have always been curious about, or things that I thought I wouldn’t like. Sometimes I was right: I don’t like it. But some have been better than I expected.

This rooibos falls into the ‘better than I expected" category. Rooibos can sometimes be really woody and yucky for me. Thankfully, it isn’t in this one. My sense of smell is poor, but I get a fugitive whiff of sweet, creamy caramel from this now and then. The color, like with many rooibos teas, is quite rich. Amber with a touch of red. The flavor is mild, almost sweet. That is something I appreciate in an evening tea. I don’t plan to re-stock this one, but I’ll enjoy the sample jar.

DAVID’s Tea Advent Calendar Day 12:

I didn’t care too much for this one. Hibiscus? I can’t stand hibiscus. AS is cooled, I appreciated it a little more. Still too zing-y tart for me. As a diabetic I avoid putting sweeteners in my tea. I might try as a cold brew another time. I can see how it could be refreshing on a hot day. Not that we’re expecting any of those in the next 5 months…

DAVID’s Tea Advent Calendar Day 10.

I’d just had a cup of black passionfruit tea (the Hawaiian Tea Company, sent to me by a friend who lives in Honolulu) and I quite liked that one. When today’s tea was a GREEN passionfruit, I balked. I do not like green tea generally. But I am determined to try at least one cup of every tea in the calendar. You never know. Something that you would never in a million years want to try could turn out to be your new favorite. This one, sadly, was not nearly as good as the black tea I had earlier. It tasted very grassy to me, which is the thing I particularly don’t like about green tea. There was a nice little fruity zing that saved it from being poured down the drain. But I don’t believe I will finish the little canister. I foresee lots of donations to the church’s tea chest coming up in January. :)

DAVID’s Tea Advent Calendar Day 9:

I brewed a cup of this last night. I’m a day behind in my notes) I will say it was pleasant. I’d had a sample of this once before I believe. I’d forgotten about the pink color. That was unexpected but fun. :) The flavor was pleasant. That’s damning it with faint praise, right? It’s just that I can’t smell, so a lot of things taste like warm water to me. I did get some hints of creaminess from this, maybe nutty? As it cooled, it turned the teeniest bit astringent. I should be able to get another cup from this and it will be no hardship to drink it.

DAVID’s Tea Advent Calendar Day 8

Oops, I didn’t rate this tea last night. I actually have about 25 grams of this left from last winter so it wasn’t new to me. I like this tea. It is mild and light, and somehow I don’t seem to get too much ginger. That’s a pity, since I really like ginger. In the little tin (by the way, I ADORE those little round screw top tins in the Advent Calendar!) I got a lot of large pieces of what must be pear but not very much tea. I think that contributed to this cup being very pale even for a white tea, with not much flavor. I have a little bit left in the tin, and I think I’ll add some of the older stock to it and see if that strengthens the flavor. But not now, Now I get to brew a cup of the Day 9 tea!

DAVID’s Tea Advent Calendar Dy 7:

Yay!! I enjoyed this one tonight. So far this is the best tea from the calendar. The color is fairly pale amber. The flavor is subtle. I can barely keep my eyes open, so I’m cutting this short. I’ll just say I liked this one. maybe even enough to re-order.