4330 Tasting Notes
So I ordered a bunch of samples from Herbs & Kettles while they were having their black Friday, cyber Monday, whatever sale. Their chai blends sounded intriguing, and I was drawn in by the beautiful packaging featuring cute animals. But I did constrain myself to only getting samples, even though I was so tempted by the pretty tins… XP
I was not prepared for the amount of lavender in this, ha ha. The dry leaf looks like roughly 50% lavender. I am not a lavender lover, though I have grown to enjoy it in small quantities, so I was a bit nervous. Thankfully, the lavender isn’t super overbearing in the cup. It is definitely the strongest flavor, but it still tastes citrusy and pleasant, and not like perfume or bath products. I will say, the spices seem a bit lacking. I do taste hints of them, specifically the cardamom and ginger, but I think the lavender is just overpowering most of the spice here. I certainly don’t taste vanilla at all.
Still a pleasant cup of mostly lavender black tea, but not something I would personally order.
Flavors: Cardamom, Citrus, Floral, Ginger, Lavender, Lemon, Savory, Smooth
Preparation
knittingopera Swap Advent Calendar 2024 – Day 10 (my pick)
Theme: Peppermint Twist
Her pick: Marjorie’s Creamy Mint from Adagio Custom Blends
Ahhh, so happy to revisit this tea. It’s one of my favorites from Bird & Blend, which naturally means I never get around to actually drinking it. XD
Such a nice blend of fresh, crisp peppermint with a rich and creamy milk oolong base. Their website doesn’t mention it being a flavored milk oolong, but just going off the dry scent it seems like it to me? Very buttery-smelling. The cacao is very mild, but it does add a nice, lightly roasty and rich undertone.
I am noticing the peppermint getting slightly less fresh, so I should probably get to sipping this one!
Our Bonne Maman advent selection for today is Raspberry-Rose Spread. I am not a rose fan, but here it was very subtle, and the raspberry was rich and delicious with a nice tang to it. Lovely!
Flavors: Buttery, Cacao, Cooling, Creamy, Dark Chocolate, Fresh, Menthol, Mint, Peppermint, Silky, Smooth, Sweet, Toasty
Preparation
DIY Herbal Infusion Advent Calendar 2024 – Day 9
Name: Herb Garden
Ingredients: peppermint, basil, thyme, rosemary, lavender
Movie: A Muppet Christmas Carol
A bit more of a conventional herbal blend last night, though with a savory twist. Peppermint and basil were the most prominent, with just a dash of the stronger savory thyme and rosemary flavors. The lavender I mostly tasted in the finish. I thought this one was lovely and fresh, and it really did make me think of a charming herb garden on someone’s back terrace somewhere.
Flavors: Basil, Fresh, Herbaceous, Herbs, Lavender, Mint, Peppermint, Rosemary, Savory, Thyme
Preparation
Advent Calendar 2024 – Day 9
I was excited to see this one this morning, because even though I know I’ve tried it before, it’s been a long time so I was looking forward to revisiting it.
It’s lovely! Simpson & Vail has such nice green rooibos dessert blends. This is very caramel-forward, and then there’s a buttery shortbread note and a mellow nuttiness. Exactly what it claims to be, ha ha. To me, it brings to mind some kind of caramel tart with a buttery biscuit shell, decorated with toasted walnuts. I get a hint of rum as well, maybe there’s a splash in the caramel filling. ;)
I’m not sure if I would order a whole tin of this, just because I don’t tend to gravitate toward caramel or dessert teas these days. But would definitely recommend!
Flavors: Biscuit, Brown Sugar, Butter, Caramel, Cookie, Nuts, Rich, Roasted Nuts, Rum, Smooth, Sweet, Woody
Preparation
Advent Calendar 2024 – Day 9
This was an enjoyable mint green tea, though I didn’t get a ton of green tea flavor. It was a little heavy on the herbs vs. tea, but I love mint so I still enjoyed the cup. The lemongrass added a bit more herbaceousness but didn’t necessarily taste citrusy to me. I did find it a bit odd that there was peppermint as well as spearmint, which doesn’t really fit for a Moroccan mint tea.
Flavors: Earthy, Herbaceous, Mint, Peppermint, Smooth, Spearmint
Preparation
knittingopera Swap Advent Calendar 2024 – Day 9 (my pick)
Theme: Nutcracker
Her pick: Once Upon a Time from Gilded Coach teas
Yum, a lovely autumn tea from Lupicia. This one tasted like candied chestnuts to me, there’s the rich and buttery chestnut flavor (yum), but then there’s also some sweet caramelized sugar, so it makes me think of chestnuts wrapped in a crisp caramel coating. The green base is more of a summer or autumn harvest sencha I would say, smooth with comforting hay and autumn leaf notes along with a soft grassiness. And then the matcha adds sweetness and more green tea flavor. So tasty!
Flavors: Autumn Leaf Pile, Buttery, Caramel, Caramelized Sugar, Chestnut, Creamy, Dry Grass, Grass, Hay, Rich, Smooth, Sweet, Toasty
Preparation
I wonder if chestnuts are ever actually paired with caramel?
I believe candied chestnuts are a thing in France? But have never had them! They do like to use sweet and rich chestnut cream in pastries as well, like Mont Blanc.
I had no idea… and if caramel does sometimes pair with chestnuts, it makes more sense for the caramel notes in S&V’s Roasted Chestnut!
knittingopera Swap Advent Calendar 2024 – Day 9
Theme: Nutcracker
My pick: Chestnut from Lupicia
It’s been a while since I’ve seen this tea! It was definitely trending on Instagram for a while there. Marjorie chose this because she thought of the Nutcracker ballet, and I love that! Sparkly tutus, he he.
This is just okay to me. I am not a glittery tea fan, it just always make such a mess and gets everywhere, and I feel weird drinking glitter ha ha. The flavoring here is pleasant enough, mostly buttery hazelnut with a little bit of vanilla/cream. But the base is pretty flavorless and it’s a bit tannic, not a great combination.
Anyway, not a bad cup, just not my thing. :P
Forgot the jam! Today’s selection was Rhubarb-Spice Spread, and despite having some very interesting ingredients like cumin and coriander, it tasted like plain rhubarb to me ha ha. Maybe they were afraid of those savory spices being too strong, so they went too far the other way? Anyway, I love rhubarb so I was still very happy with it!
Flavors: Astringent, Buttery, Cream, Hazelnut, Nuts, Sweet, Tannic, Vanilla
Preparation
DIY Herbal Infusion Advent Calendar 2024 – Day 8
Name: Elements: Fire
Ingredients: tulsi, cinnamon, ginger, black cardamom, orange
Movie: The Year Without a Santa Claus
Yay, the second element-inspired blend! I was excited to see this one so that I could try it again ha ha. Since I blended all of these last month, it’s been long enough that they’re fun to revisit now.
So… I really didn’t want to make a chai for fire, because I feel like it’s very overdone. And yet, I still ended up with a spiced blend LOL. This infusion has a tulsi base, because I feel like tulsi has a naturally warm flavor to it. I added cinnamon and ginger for more warmth and heat, respectively. And then my favorite ingredient – black cardamom. I had never tried this before, but ordered a sample from Selefina out of curiosity. The natural smokiness it has is almost unbelievable. It reminds me of lapsang, but then there’s also this sort of resin or camphor quality to it. It doesn’t exactly taste like juniper, but it’s somewhere in that ballpark, or at least it reminds me of it. The internet describes it as pungent, and I think I agree. And I then I put in a couple of pieces of dried orange just to add a little brightness and acidity.
Really like this one! I’m not even mad that I made an almost-chai XD. I will say, I didn’t really taste the orange, so I think I would add more next time.
Flavors: Camphor, Cardamom, Cinnamon, Earthy, Ginger, Herbaceous, Medicinal, Mineral, Resin, Roots, Savory, Smoke, Spices, Spicy, Sweet, Tulsi
Preparation
knittingopera Swap Advent Calendar 2024 – Day 8 (my pick)
Theme: An Herbal Tisane
Her pick: Hibiscus Tea from Nina’s Herbal Teas & Things
Apparently I forgot to write a note for this one last night, oops! At least I noticed it in time for the note to still be in its proper place ha ha…
I wouldn’t say this tea is anything amazing, but it’s just so darn cozy and comforting. Sweet cinnamon that isn’t over-the-top and doesn’t taste like Red Hots (I do like that too, but in moderation ha ha). The base is rooibos and honeybush, but I mostly taste the biscuity honeybush here. The apple part is a bit subtle – in fact, I wouldn’t mind having a bit more apple here. But I can still taste a bit of sweet cooked apple in the background, and the whole thing is just lovely for an evening on the couch with the pugs.
Flavors: Apple, Biscuit, Cinnamon, Pastries, Smooth, Sweet, Toasty, Woody
Preparation
knittingopera Swap Advent Calendar 2024 – Day 8
Theme: An Herbal Tisane
My pick: Apple Empanada from Old Barrel Tea Co
All the herbals today, heh. Only one of my teas had caffeine.
This is nice enough, as hibiscus blends go. I do taste a hint of the spearmint, but mostly it’s just straight up hibiscus. Not something I would choose for myself, but it was pretty refreshing at room temperature this afternoon.
Flavors: Hibiscus, Juicy, Mint, Tangy, Tart
