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Homemade Advent day 6

This is such a cool dessert tea. I finished off my sample of it by brewing the remaining 2 tsp of leaf with 450 mL boiling water and then adding a generous portion of soy milk. It was a great combo. The tea is quite strong (bold) and would have bitter tendencies if not for the milk to round it out. What is neat if the thick cocoa and vanilla flavour. I wouldn’t say I can make out pepper, but in the aftertaste is a strong pineapple flavour (similar to dried or candied pineapple). [EDIT: I stand corrected. I let this cool and now I’m getting a lot of spicey pepper in the after taste. Sooooo goood]

When I take a sip, the cup smells like a latte – almost coffee-like and very intense in the chocolate and cream notes. Then, I taste a very thick tea with smooth, thick cream and cocoa and a strong chocolately black tea. The aftertaste is when the pineapple comes out. It isn’t a fruity tea, much more desserty.

I was happy to get another sipdown, however I really wish I had more of this. This is one of the best cups I’ve ever had. It isn’t even smoky (I’m not interested in smoky teas) but it has such a rich flavour.

LPT: Brew this strong and add milk

Interestingly, I had no idea what tea this was when I drank it. This sachet is just labelled 8225 (blend number) and then has some Japanese writing that I can’t read. It came in a taster set that I bought in Los Vegas a few years back. I needed to finish off some of these so that I could have room for the new Lupicia blends.

Full disclosure: This teabag is slightly old (~2 years) and I drank this with milk.

I dislike green apples and any apple flavoured candy. Strangely, I enjoyed this blend. I actually thought it might be some sort of white grape blend because it had a very fruity but slightly floral flavour. In the aftertaste, there is a distinct “booze” kind of flavour that made me think of ice wine.

It did not taste like green apple candy at all (thankfully)! There is no sweetness. Although, now that I know what it is, I can make out the apple notes. I’m going to drink the rest of the teabags without looking up which tea it is. I think I enjoy them more without having preconceived notions about the flavour.

Homemade advent day 3

This is a very spicy chai (potent) with little actual tea. I was a bit worried drinking this late in the day (of course, I didn’t fall asleep until after 2am) but the blend really looks like it barely has any black tea in it.

I can taste all of the spices (cinnamon, clove, and peppercorn) with hints of cardamon. I can’t taste citrus or nutmeg, but this is a bit of an odd blend. I like the addition of citrus (lemongrass and orange) but I wish I could taste it. There is also a herbaceous flavour like dried bay leaf or tarragon.

Homemade advent calendar day #2

I kept a small sample of this from the latest TTB and brewed it up this morning (just under 1.5 tsp tea with 8oz mug of hot water). I added a touch of unsweetened soy milk because this is such a tasty dessert blend I thought it needed some milk. The tea itself is slightly astringent so the milk rounds this out nicely. The pecan and caramel notes are quite strong – exactly what I like in a dessert flavoured black tea. There is a bit of vanilla (although, I would have liked to add vanilla soy milk to add a bit more vanilla).

If I ever order from plum deluxe, this will be in my cart for sure. One of my favourite snacks is toasted pecans. My local Costco sells big bags for ~$25 and I like to toast ~2 cups of nuts (or about 5 handfuls) on a baking tray at 350 F for 8-10 minutes. It makes such a tasty snack and the toasting brings out the caramelized nutty and sweet notes. They also make killer icecream sundae toppings or tasty additions to baking (shortbread + toasted pecans = heavenly buttery and crisp cookies).

Homemade Advent Calendar Day #1

I forgot how much I love this blend. The toasty oolong also has some smooth/thick creamy notes (although, I would describe it more like malt or oatmilk than cream/milk or coconut). It makes the brew a bit thicker, which I appreciate for such a tasty flavored blend. It brings out some of the rice (sticky rice herb) notes more and gives you longer to taste the sip before you swallow.

This is a fruity, but tart, herbal blend. It looks pretty with the sprinkles! I found that even though the sprinkles melted, the blend did not have any sweetness. I can taste passion fruit and generic “dried fruit” taste. I have only tried this coldbrewed. Next time I brew this, I’ll try adding a sweetener.

This is a pretty tasty blend. I wasn’t sure of the ingredients (until I read the steepster page), but there is a very distinct spearmint and jasmine combo. I enjoy both of these flavours and I think they work with each other.

There is an undertone of pottery (the smell of china tea cups, minerals) even though I’m drinking from a starbucks mug that is not made of any of the typical teacup materials. The vegetal qualities are interesting because I cannot distinguish the source. They might be the white tea or the mint. Either way, I enjoyed this cup. The astringency is light, but present. The spearmint counters this slightly by being a bit sweet.

The oolong itself isn’t my favourite (or maybe this tea is just old) but I enjoy ginseng tea once in a while. It has such a nice peppery, biting, gingery sort of flavour. It tastes herbal but in a good way. It does have bitterness to it, but the oolong balances that slightly. I think this one is best not brewed too long and possibly with some soy milk to counter the bitterness. I wouldn’t mind the bitterness except that it stays with you for a long time after each sip.

I like this spiced rooibos chai. Lots of peppercorn, cinnamon, and anise (licorice? fennel? something like that but very faint). It is pouring rain (and has been for several days now), it has been cloudy with no sun for weeks, and it is quite chilly outside. My province has finally put in a lockdown/mandatory mask order and is it feels cozier than ever to stay indoors in my home. I made this one hot and left the paper teabag in for the hour that I forgot about it. It also has a splash of vanilla soy milk. Overall, I tasty cup. It isn’t as creamy or peppery as coco chai rooibos, but it is still solid.