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Tea Advent Calendar – Day 18

I’ve recently discovered that I like smokey black tea and I’ve never tried anything from Joseph Wesley, so I was excited to see this one in today’s Advent calendar pouch. And I wasn’t disappointed! This is a lovely Lapsang Souchong. The base tea is rich and nuanced with notes of mineral, malt, and dark chocolate and the smokiness level is just right – present, but not overpowering. I did notice a slight dryness at the end of the sip that kept me going back for more but left me a bit unsatisfied when my cup was finished. Thankfully, this re-steeps beautifully, getting smoother over time but not losing its flavor. I may have to add this to my collection at some point in the future!

Tea Advent Calendar – Day 17

Such a pretty tea! Long downy golden buds that really do look like little furry tails. It had a delicious cocoa aroma while it was brewing, but I didn’t get much chocolate from the flavor, which was surprisingly light and delicate. It was very smooth (no astringency that I noticed) but not quite as robust as I personally prefer my black tea to be. Almost reminded me of an oolong, actually!

Tea Advent Calendar – Day 16

This is the first tea in my advent swap with Shae that wasn’t new to me. But I’m not complaining, because this is one of my all-time favorites and I don’t currently have it in my cupboard. It’s just as yummy as I remembered!

Tea Advent Calendar – Day 15

So, to be honest, I wasn’t sure what flavor this tea was supposed to be until I looked at the description. I definitely get some creaminess and nuttiness, but nothing that’s coming across as distinctively banana. (Which is surprising, because AQTT usually does banana really well!) It was a pleasant enough blend, but not terribly distinctive for me.

Tea Advent Calendar – Day 14

I was excited to see a Whispering Pines tea in the advent calendar today and I was not disappointed! This is exactly the type of black tea I love: smooth and slightly sweet with notes of malt and sweet potato. It also re-steeps beautifully!

Tea Advent Calendar – Day 13

I love a turtle sundae, so I’ve been wanting to try this one for a while. Personally, I wish the caramel came out a bit more, but I did enjoy the notes of chocolate and nuts and maybe just a hint of burnt sugar. I’m thankful Shae sent such a generous sample so I can play around with sweetening it and/or adding milk to see how that changes the flavor.

Tea Advent Calendar – Day 12

Honestly wasn’t the biggest fan of this one. It was a light, smooth blend with just a ghost of vanilla flavor…would have liked either a more robust base tea or more vanilla.

Tea Advent Calendar – Day 11

Oh my goodness, this is SO GOOD! My whole kitchen smelled amazing while it was brewing and it tasted almost as good as it smelled: notes of sweet toffee, pastry, and something that’s reminding me of dates. This is the best dessert tea I’ve had in a long time…huge thank you to Shae for including it in my advent calendar, especially since it was limited edition and is no longer available. (Pretty sad about that, because I would gladly buy a couple of ounces if I could!)

Tea Advent Calendar – Day 10

I was basic sleepwalking when I brewed my morning cup of tea today, but this was a lovely cup to wake up to. Rich and full-bodied with an intense, almost chocolatey flavor and no bitterness or astringency.

Tea Advent Calendar – Day 8

Oh wow…this may be my favorite tea in the advent calendar so far! This is hard to believe, but I’m not sure I’ve ever had a caramel-flavored oolong before. Now that I’ve tried it, the flavor combination seems so obvious: why wouldn’t you want to layer caramel flavor onto a tea that’s already smooth and buttery? This particular blend smells AMAZING (my mouth literally started watering when I opened the bag) and tastes almost as good as it smells. Lots of sweet burnt sugar caramel with a hint of creaminess and so delightfully silky-smooth. I’m so sad that this was limited edition, because I’d gladly go buy a whole bag!