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Advent Calendar 2024 – Day 12

Yay, a literary tea today! I somehow still haven’t tried S&V’s literary sampler, even though I’ve been wanting to for literally years now ha ha. Somehow it always ends up falling out of my cart in favor of other things! Ah well. I did sign up for their subscription box ($16 for 4 one-ounce packages, what?!) so maybe I’ll see some in there!

I was surprised to see that this has rolled green oolong in it. When a tea is a black/oolong blend, I generally expect the oxidized strip type, plus it’s not obvious in the photo because of how dark the oolong looks. Dry scent was completely heavenly. And I’m really enjoying the steeped cuppa too! It’s definitely mostly black tea, but I do get a bit of that oolong (assuming TGY) leafiness, minerality, and texture as well. The black currant is perfect – mellow but still very identifiable.

Very nice cuppa! Especially like the more mild black currant flavor.

The jam of the day was Apricot-Peach Spread. Apricot is probably my favorite conventional jam flavor, so of course I loved it ha ha. Nothing particularly special about it, but was happy to see a bit ol’ chunk of apricot in my jar. Would have loved more tartness and less sugar, but I tend to prefer the “more fruit/intense” types of jam anyway so no surprise there.

DIY Herbal Infusion Advent Calendar 2024 – Day 11
Name: Sunrise
Ingredients: green honeybush, lemongrass, strawberry, orange
Movie: The Holiday

Lovely to have such a bright and fruity blend in this cold weather! I named this one Sunrise because it makes me think of a smoothie – strawberry and orange is a smoothie flavor I’ve had a lot, ha ha. The green honeybush has a naturally fruity flavor, so it’s a great base for the tangy strawberry and sweet orange. The lingering strawberry finish was especially nice! :)

Advent Calendar 2024 – Day 11

Yay, one of my favorites! And definitely my favorite of their holiday collection.

This one is supposed to be cinnamon hazelnut or something? But I think it tastes just like oatmeal cookies, and I love it. Sweet, buttery, subtle cinnamon. There’s a slight buttercream or cream cheese frosting flavor as well. Iced oatmeal cookies are a thing, right? :P

It’s delightful, and always a restock for me!

https://www.instagram.com/p/DDdDuvMuov1/

Advent Calendar 2024 – Day 11

So I wasn’t super enthused to see this today, but once I cut open the bag and sniffed it, I was much more excited to steep it up ha ha. Nice, natural spice smell with cinnamon at the forefront, but also star anise, ginger, etc.

However… Oddly, something in this is tasting like soap to me. I don’t really smell anything off, but for some reason I taste cinnamon, ginger, and then soap. I have no idea what it could be that’s giving me that impression, and no, I am not one of those people who thinks cilantro (this has coriander) tastes like soap.

A bit baffled, ha ha…

knittingopera Swap Advent Calendar 2024 – Day 11 (my pick)
Theme: Fireside Glow
Her pick: Russian Country from The English Tea Room

So I admit, this is not one of my favorites. However, I suspected Marjorie would enjoy it, and she did! I’m sipping my cup with maple syrup and oat milk, because this tea seemed like it would be well-suited for that.

It’s nice enough, but unfortunately this preparation seems to have brought out the rose notes quite a lot, and I am not a rose fan ha ha… My experimentation seems to have backfired. XD Still drinkable, but tastes like a creamy rose tea with a touch of smoke instead of a mostly vanilla and smoke tea. Oh well! XP

knittingopera Swap Advent Calendar 2024 – Day 11
Theme: Fireside Glow
My pick: London Afternoon from Murchie’s

Ooh, an unflavored tea today! I like smoky teas, but I don’t tend to reach for them, so it’s always nice to have one once in a while. This smelled very smoky dry and steeped, but the flavor surprised me. It does have that savory lapsang smoke to it, but it’s actually a bit in the background compared to the other black teas. Mostly I taste the smooth and earthy Chinese black tea, and then at the end of the sip and in the swallow, the savory smoke comes to the forefront. There’s a lingering smoky finish as well.

A very pleasant blend, and perfect for a Chinese black tea lover like me! I bet it would be lovely with a bit of maple syrup and milk as well.

Our Bonne Maman jam for today is Pineapple-Yuzu Spread. I admit, I didn’t notice much yuzu here, but I didn’t care because I love pineapple! This tasted like sweet pineapple – a bit too sweet, really. I think a bit more tang would’ve been nice, and maybe that was their intention with the yuzu?

DIY Herbal Infusion Advent Calendar 2024 – Day 10
Name: Apple Picking
Ingredients: kyobancha, apple, sage
Movie: The Santa Clause

I love Obubu’s kyobancha, so I couldn’t resist putting it in a couple of blends. It’s a hojicha so it does have a very autumnal flavor, so I guess apple just seemed right to me. And then just a hint of sage to make it a bit more interesting and add a savory, cozy touch.

I will say, I didn’t think it had quite enough apple, but I did forget to crush the pieces before steeping it, which is something I usually do for freeze-dried fruit.

Advent Calendar 2024 – Day 10

Ugh, lol… This sounds good to me in theory – mint, chamomile, lavender, etc.

Unfortunately, a big ol’ pile of licorice root comes and smacks me in the mouth, and I just can’t drink any more. So mouth coating and ick! XP

knittingopera Swap Advent Calendar 2024 – Day 10
Theme: Peppermint Twist
My pick: Peppermint Cream from Bird & Blend

Today, Marjorie sent me a custom blend that she made on Adagio! It’s a blend of vanilla rooibos and spearmint, accented with lemon verbena and cute rainbow sprinkles. Simple, but a very pleasant blend. I do think it needs more vanilla, but there’s a soft vanilla flavor, and it’s nice combined with the sweet spearmint. The rooibos, thankfully, is quite mild and not at all medicinal.

Not amazing, but made for a cozy evening cuppa. :)

https://www.instagram.com/p/DDa7SXSueLe/

Advent Calendar 2024 – Day 10

Interesting, S&V breaking their alternating teas and tisane pattern today! Also, two dessert green rooibos blends in a row?

But this is another one I haven’t had in a bit, so yay! My cup actually came out somewhat weak, even though I used the same amount of water as yesterday’s. Still tasty though! Jammy dark berry (not specifically blueberry to me) with sweet cinnamon and a bit of an oaty note. I don’t really get the buttery aspect of the crumble, so to me this is more like a blueberry jam or syrup laced with cinnamon. But maybe I’m missing the pastry aspect, since the taste is a bit watery.

These dessert teas are making me want to place an order, heh! Maybe sometime next year… :P