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Advent Calendar Day 11

I was excited to see a pear-flavored tea today, as there don’t seem to be too many of those out there and I’ve really enjoyed some of the ones I’ve found (e.g. Trader Joe’s White Ginger Pear and The London Tea Room’s Mango Pear White). Interestingly, even though it isn’t listed in the ingredients list, the main thing I’m tasting in this tea is walnut! This is another one that I don’t know how to rate. It actually has a very pleasant smooth, nutty flavor that mingles well with the hay-like notes of the white tea and if the blend were called “toasted walnut” or something, I’d probably give it a high rating. But it’s apparently supposed to be a caramel pear tea and I don’t taste either of those flavors. So not going to rate this, but glad I got to try it!

Advent Calendar Day 10

Ooo, this is yummy! Cinnamon is a tricky flavor for me, as it so often ends up overpowering everything else and coming across like I just melted red hots into my cup. But this blend does it WELL! Not sure what wizardry is at work here, but the aroma of this tea is exactly like walking past Cinnabon at the mall…not just cinnamon, but a yeasty, bready scent with a hint of icing sugar. And the taste is on-point as well! Not really getting the apple flavor here, but I don’t mind because it tastes like a sweet, delicious frosted cinnamon pastry even without any sugar added. Really want to try this as a latte, because I think that would be amazing!

Advent Calendar Day 9

Yet another tea company I’ve never even heard of! I love that I’m getting to try so many new blends and companies this month, thanks to Amanda. The dry leaf of this blend is super heavy on the spices, with the tea leaves definitely in the minority. The aroma is also mostly spices…it actually reminds me of walking into Penzey’s, my local spice shop! So despite the name, I wasn’t really expecting a lot of maple here; I thought I might get more of a chai taste. But actually the strongest flavor is fennel seed, which is taking the tea in a totally unexpected savory direction. It’s weirdly almost reminding me of Italian sausage, which is not a flavor I’ve EVER picked up on in tea before. Don’t think I’d drink this again, but it was definitely an interesting experience!

Advent Calendar Day 8

Another too-spicy-for me chai, which I’m super bummed about because it also has one of the best chocolate flavorings I’ve ever tasted in tea! Chocolate teas are so often a let-down that I don’t think I’ve actually tried a chocolate blend from 52Teas before and this one is making me want to sample something else that has the chocolate without the spice. This particular blend sips in super rich and chocolatey, but then that cayenne pepper kicks me in the throat and ruins the experience for me. (I know a Mexican hot chocolate-loving friend who would adore it, though!)

Advent Calendar Day 7

Excited to see another banana-flavored blend today and to try something else from Bird & Blend! However, I’m a wimp when it comes to spice and this one was just too spicy for me to appreciate. As I sip it, I get a nice spiced banana flavor, but the kick of the aftertaste is ruining the experience for me. Amanda sent a super-generous sample of this one, so I’m going to try brewing it as a latte to see if milk and perhaps a bit of sweetener tone down the spiciness enough to make it enjoyable for me.

Advent Calendar Day 6

This one smells really rich and caramelly! The flavor doesn’t quite live up to the aroma, unfortunately. The base tea is nice and smooth, but the flavor is more of a vague butterscotch sweetness than a true caramel. Pleasant, but nothing special. Still fun to try something from another new-to-me company, though!

Advent Calendar Day 5

I love all the new companies I’m getting to sample via Amanda’s advent calendar this year! I’ve never even heard of Aera Tea, but this seems like a lovely, high-quality black tea. The leaves are long and twisted with lots of golden tips and it has nice rich aroma. The flavor was surprisingly delicate for a black tea, on the fruity end of things and very smooth. Not sure I’d go for this particular tea again, as I prefer more full-bodied black teas, but the quality of this one makes me curious to check out more from this brand!

Advent Calendar Day 4

I generally steer clear of teas with “apple” in the name because so often they taste only of cinnamon and not of apple at all. This one is a happy exception to that trend! I really am getting apple vibes…not fresh-from-the-orchard apple, but more like a baked apple with a bit of cinnamon and ginger sprinkled on top. The spices don’t overwhelm the fruit at all (not sure it actually qualifies as a “chai” to be honest!) and the nutty flavor is also quite subtle: to me, it’s coming across almost like the skin of the apple. I’m pleasantly surprised by how much I ended up liking this!

Advent Calendar Day 3

It was exciting to see a Dessert by Deb tea in today’s Advent packet from Amanda! I’ve been seeing this brand around Steepster a lot lately but haven’t placed an order for myself yet. Having tried a couple of 52Teas rice krispy treat-inspired blends in the past, I was expecting the flavors of popped rice and marshmallow. I am getting a taste of toasty rice from the genmaicha but the overall taste is a mouthful of creamy coconut. Which I don’t object to at all…I love coconut!…but it certainly doesn’t remind me of a rice krispy treat. Not sure how to rate this, honestly. It doesn’t match the name, but it’s a pretty delicious coconut genmaicha!

Advent Calendar Day 2

This one is labeled “Chestnut Black Tea” by Yunomi…another new-to-me company and a tea I couldn’t seem to find in the Steepstser database. I’m honestly not sure I’ve ever had a chestnut, so I can’t comment on how accurate the flavor is here. But it’s a pleasantly smooth and nutty black tea and I’m enjoying it on this chilly morning!