4330 Tasting Notes
knittingopera Swap Advent Calendar 2024 – Day 6 (my pick)
Theme: Icicles
Her pick: Silver Needle from Mei Leaf
The second of my two silver needles for today! Obviously the jasmine dominates here, with its lovely sweet, lush, and almost juicy nectarous floral notes. It’s almost like there’s some honeysuckle nectar mixed in, and a hint of bubblegum (though not in an unpleasant way). The silver needle here is very soft and mellow, just peeking through underneath the jasmine. Light hay and oats with a soft creaminess to it and a hint of crisp astringency in the finish. Very silky texture.
It was so fun drinking the two teas together, and this one felt like Spring while the other was more Autumn. Both delicious in different ways!
Flavors: Astringent, Bubblegum, Clean, Cream, Crisp, Floral, Hay, Honeysuckle, Jasmine, Juicy, Nectar, Oats, Round, Silky, Smooth, Spring Water, Sweet
Preparation
knittingopera Swap Advent Calendar 2024 – Day 6
Theme: Icicles
My pick: Yunnan White Jasmine from Verdant Tea
Once again, Marjorie and I are of one mind, ha ha. We both chose a silver needle to fit the “Icicles” theme. Adorbs.
Anyway, I steeped them both grandpa style because I thought it would be fun to drink them together. Obviously I won’t get all the subtleties and whatnot but I’m okay with that, ha ha. Casual steeping is more my speed these days. :P
I was actually surprised how different they taste (ignoring the jasmine, of course). This has a much heartier, deeper haylike flavor that reminds me of a mellow aged shou mei. Wet autumn leaves and piled hay with a drizzle of a dark honey, some dried apricot, and a sprinkle of oats. Love the little hint of tangy stonefruit in there. Really a lovely and cozy tea for a chilly day, though not necessarily flavors I associate with bai hao yin zhen!
Flavors: Apricot, Autumn Leaf Pile, Barnyard, Dried Fruit, Dry Leaves, Earthy, Hay, Honey, Mineral, Musty, Oats, Stonefruit, Woody
Preparation
Advent Calendar 2024 – Day 6
Hmm… This doesn’t have any cream flavoring listed, but it definitely has something because there’s a distinct sweet, vanilla note. It’s not super creamy but there’s no way that’s a natural note of the tea or the bergamot ha ha.
It’s nice! I’m not an EGC fan, but I actually like this one because the vanilla/cream part is somewhat subtle. I do get a little of the orange peel as well, which helps to sweeten up the bergamot.
An enjoyable tea, but I’m a little wary of the seemingly misleading ingredients list ha ha…
(ETA: I’ve seen this company source from Shanti Tea before, and I’m pretty sure this is this one: https://www.shantitea.ca/home/product/royal-cream-earl-grey)
Flavors: Bergamot, Citrus, Cream, Floral, Orange, Round, Smooth, Sweet, Vanilla
Preparation
DIY Herbal Infusion Advent Calendar 2024 – Day 5
Name: Peppermint Mocha
Ingredients: amber roast hojicha, cacao shell, peppermint, spearmint
Movie: That Christmas (Netflix)
Yassssssss the first hojicha ha ha. I know it’s technically not herbal, but for me it’s low enough caffeine that I can drink it before bed (especially in a blend), and I wanted to have some variety. Plus I just love hojicha ha ha! I think there are 4-5 of them total in the advent.
Anyway, very excited. I originally had this with a dark roast hojicha (because coffee) but I felt like it was too strong for the blend, and I wanted to taste the other flavors. The amber is still deeply roasty-toasty, but mellow enough that the mint and cacao are present too. It’s still mostly a hojicha flavor, but I love the sweetness and richness added by the cacao, and the fresh mint. :3
Flavors: Autumn Leaf Pile, Bitter, Cacao, Cocoa, Coffee, Dark Chocolate, Dry Leaves, Fresh, Mint, Peppermint, Rich, Roasted, Roasted Barley, Smooth, Spearmint, Sweet, Toasty, Woody
Preparation
Advent Calendar 2024 – Day 5
This one is just okay? I was expecting more orange and more tartness given the name and bright color. Really, it ends up tasting very herbal with just a side of sweet orange, and almost no tartness at all. It’s fine and pleasant, but not what I was expecting and I can’t help but be disappointed ha ha. I don’t even get much of the spearmint, mostly I think I taste blackberry leaf and lemongrass. Meh!
Flavors: Herbaceous, Musty, Orange, Soft, Sweet, Thin, Watery
Preparation
knittingopera Swap Advent Calendar 2024 – Day 5 (my pick)
Theme: A Partridge in a Pear Tea
Her pick: Spiced Caramel Pear from Adagio Custom Blends
Just… yes. This has such a good pear flavor to it, and it’s so crisp that it just makes me think of biting into the real thing. Goes so nicely with the white tea too. There are some spices in the blend, but I feel like I don’t taste them at all. Not that I’m complaining, as it allows the pear to shine. :D
Flavors: Apple, Crisp, Hay, Light, Pear, Smooth, Sweet
Preparation
knittingopera Swap Advent Calendar 2024 – Day 5
Theme: A Partridge in a Pear Tea
My pick: Heirloom Bartlett Pear from Harney & Sons
So this… Honestly I pretty much only taste the Earl grey cream part of it. The white tea lightens up the body a bit, but otherwise it’s just bergamot and some creamy vanilla flavor. Maybe a hint of caramel? But certainly not pear.
I think I had the same experience with the tea from Day 1, which also had white pear in it. Clearly I’m just bad at tasting Adagio’s pear flavoring, LOL! Unfortunately, I am not a fan of creamy Earl grey.
Flavors: Artificial, Bergamot, Cream, Custard, Floral, Hay, Smooth, Vanilla
Preparation
Advent Calendar 2024 – Day 5
Sigh, Simpson & Vail, why you gotta include such boring teas? Am I the only one who doesn’t like it when companies have super basic teas in their advents? Like, at least have the French vanilla chai instead. Anyway… At least it’s early in the advent I guess.
This is fine. I am personally not a fan of chai with spice flavoring. If it’s a chai with other added flavors, like vanilla or fruit or something, that’s fine. But to me, if you need to add spice flavoring in addition to the actual spices, you’re doing something wrong lol. It just makes it taste like something else other than chai, I guess. I like that this has anise seed in it, and I’m getting a nice anise flavor, but not a fan of all the added flavorings (cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and clove).
For jam, today I have Purple Fig-Cinnamon Spread. I love fig, so naturally I adore this one ha ha. So rich with the right amount of sweetness and big chunks of fig. The cinnamon is actually fairly subtle, so the fig still gets to shine! :)
(originally posted under their normal Chai, but noticed after reading the ingredients listed on the advent that this was actually their Organic Chai.)
Flavors: Anise, Artificial, Cinnamon, Clove, Earthy, Smooth, Spices, Sweet
Preparation
Every year, AC Perch has the same enormous amount of the most boring tea ever for Day 24 and it always drove me insane XD.
Oh no, ha ha ha… I thought about getting theirs this year, but went cheaper instead.
Yeah, I wasn’t too enthused when I discovered this one today! Boring!
Well I’m glad it’s not just me! XD
Harney and Sons puts the most ridiculous choices in their advent! Stupid regular teas that are best sellers while leaving out the many wonderful seasonal options they have! White Christmas, Holiday, the Williamsburg line, so many they could have chosen!
I remember thinking the same thing when I saw the Harney advent! And the T2 one as well, to a lesser degree. They both have so many more interesting teas!
DIY Herbal Infusion Advent Calendar 2024 – Day 4
Name: Pineapple Sorbet
Ingredients: lemongrass, pineapple, spearmint, peppermint, lemon
Movie: The Nightmare Before Christmas
I was excited to see this one! Freeze-dried pineapple contributes a surprising amount of flavor when steeped, which I was all too happy to discover during testing ha ha. Strawberry also seems to be a good choice for infusing.
Anyway, this is mostly a tangy pineapple infusion with just a dash of mint and lemon. I like to mix both mints, I feel like they complement each other well. Spearmint adds sweetness but peppermint is so refreshing, and often I want both qualities. Perfect for a sweet and refreshing sorbet tisane! The lemongrass just gives a nice foundation without changing the flavor too much, and citrus does help to play up the pineapple’s delightful tanginess. Yum!
Flavors: Citrus, Fresh, Fruity, Juicy, Mint, Peppermint, Pineapple, Spearmint, Sweet, Tangy
Preparation
Advent Calendar 2024 – Day 4
Ooh, I was so excited to see this one! This was part of a round of releases Simpson & Vail did (in the summer I think?) that I was so interested in trying, but wasn’t willing to order full sizes of. There’s also a pineapple green tea and a couple of fruit infusions that are still on my wishlist.
Hmm… I guess I’ve forgotten how much you need to overleaf their green rooibos blends, because even preparing this with 10 ounces of water (for ~2 teaspoons of leaf), it’s still a bit weak. It does have a nice, mellow strawberry & lemon flavor to it though, and the strawberry has a nice tanginess that reminds me of the freeze-dried variety. I wouldn’t go so far to call it “sour” – there is hibiscus but not a ton of it.
Not sure I can rate it since I seem to have steeped it poorly, but will definitely grab a bag whenever I order from them next. :)
Flavors: Dry Grass, Fruity, Herbaceous, Juicy, Lemon, Smooth, Strawberry, Sweet, Tangy, Tart
