The leaf smells odd but I can’t quite place the scent… a little spicy and almond-y but weirdly also reminding me of the Strawberry Dream from last night. The liquid form, however, smells very different. My first sniff made me go, “Hmm, Christmas.” Then I remembered the name and though, “Well, duh.” It’s sweet and dessert smelling – really quite delicious. Orange blossoms and almond are easily picked up and without the weird smell from the dry leaf that reminded me of last night’s honeybush… unpleasantness. There’s a little potpourri smell but it doesn’t show up unless I’m constantly sniffing the tea (and honestly, I can get that smell from most spiced teas). But it’s like almond pastry potpourri. Something with sweet, nummy icing on it.
But darn it, the taste is more potpourri with a almond + orange blossom chaser. Larger swallows give me a POW of orange blossom with a spice base which is nice, but the overall taste of the tea seems to be brought down by the green tea… it’s a bit flat and heavy. I think a lighter tasting green tea base would make this tea sparkle some.
There’s a lot of promise in this tea but unfortunately it just doesn’t combine right for me. This seems to be a disappointing trend with TeaGschwendner’s teas. But as I’ve said before, one aspect of these teas that I do like is the fact that they don’t overflavor their teas. If only most of the flavorings didn’t make me go ‘meh’.
