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Where did I get this tea? A TTB? A swap? A homemade advent?! I don’t know! But I’m glad I found it while preparing my lil basket of seasonally curated teas, because it was exactly what I wanted with lunch today.

The sweet, buttery, almost toffee-like chestnut flavor reminds me SO strongly of the caramel almond brittle pieces in Ben & Jerry’s non-dairy ice cream of the same name. In a good way, because that ice cream is delicious. I wouldn’t have expected to enjoy this flavor palette on a sencha, but I really like the contrast between the sweet chestnut bits and the gently grassy base. It’s all very smooooth.

I will say that the sweet chestnut flavor is almost at the edge of cloying for me, so I’m glad I made a small cuppa for the afternoon! But all in all a nice holiday-feeling tea that’s not just like, cinnamon and cloves. Heh.

2024 Sipdown Challenge | November | Cookie Monster’s Birthday: You know what to do!

Yeah, yeah, it’s not November 2, but who cares when the tea is so perfect for the prompt?!

After nearly a year of being very demure, very mindful when it comes to buying tea, my restraint has officially gone out the window! So now I’m cramming new teas into my tea cupboard and realizing I need a better storage solution.

As I was putting together my homemade advent for the swap, I had a lil brainstorm and decided to pull a bunch of seasonally appropriate teas from my stash, put them in a basket, and leave said basket out by my tea/coffee corner where I can’t miss it.

This approach is helping me (1) get into the seasonal/festive spirit, and (2) be intentional about sipping through my stash! Usually it’s out of sight, out of mind, and I have to go digging through my entire stash to find something that appeals in the moment, which means I often just default to the daily drinkers and old standbys. But now, I have a carefully curated basket of seasonally appropriate blends ready for me.

All to say that this tea made it into the holiday basket, and I finished it up yesterday evening. I never quite got a hit of that iconic buttery sugar cookie flavor when drinking it, but I enjoyed the playful sprinkles and the mild sweetness. And, yes, now I want real sugar cookies. :)

2024 sipdown count: 41

After sticking to my tea-buying hiatus pretty faithfully this year, all bets are off! I ordered Simpson & Vail’s advent last week and felt obliged to add a few teas… for the free shipping, of course. ;)

This is S&V’s newewst “literary blend” and it sounded very appealing to me on paper: lapsang, whiskey, and wild cherry? Right up my alley! But I tried it this morning and did not love it. :( I have a pretty high tolerance for cherry flavor — even when others describe something cherry-flavored as “medicinal,” I rarely feel the same way. Yet I really struggled with the hibiscus-enhanced cherry in this blend. It’s cloying and almost chemical, and I don’t feel like it complements the smokiness.

The flavors just kind of sit next to one another, and not in an entirely pleasant way. I’m also not getting any whiskey, which is a shame.

I may have overleafed this cup, so maybe I’m not doing it justice. I want to love it! I’ll have to give it another shot.

I thought I’d reviewed this tea before! It’s such a solid dessert blend. I absolutely get buttery caramel and shortbread, and just a whisper of walnut. The green rooibos base works really well, too, giving the whole thing a little oomph.

I’m drinking this alongside a late-night snack plate, which includes some Ritz chips. This tea is fantastic with the salty, crunchy chips — it’s got salted caramel vibes.

Anyway, this is a good ’un!

2024 Sipdown Challenge | September | A tea that Kermit would drink

I’m picturing that meme of Kermit sipping tea, and for whatever reason, I can totally imagine him drinking THIS tea. :D

This was another 20g package I picked up at Bird & Blend in Cardiff and stuffed into my 28L backpack for the flight home. It’s a nice ‘un! Gets the job done with a gentle jammy fruitiness, although I didn’t notice much of the toast aspect.

2024 sipdown count: 32

I’ve been on a tea-buying hiatus for most of the year but recently have started picking up a few bags here and there. I couldn’t resist 52Teas’ recent sale, especially since I paused my subscription earlier this year!

I am loving how simple and satisfying this one is. The wild Assamica leaves are so luxuriously large and lush, and they brew up smoooooth. No bitterness here, just a full-bodied, almost bready base for the light yet distinct blueberry notes. I keep thinking I’m catching a hint of cinnamon on the back end of the sip, but maybe it’s my imagination!

I am so enjoying drinking this hot on a cool late-summer morning while doing some schoolwork. Bliss.

I spent a week and a half in Wales this summer, mostly in the countryside, but I also was in Cardiff for a few days. I had totally forgotten that B&B has a storefront there! So despite traveling really light and not having much room in my carefully packed 28L backpack, I bought a couple 20g sample bags to take home.

This was one I hadn’t tried yet and I gotta say, I’m digging it! Maybe it’s because I am READY for fall, but — it’s really nice! I do get both toffee and apple (more the latter), and then a very inoffensive hint of smoke. Nothing too complex, but enough to get the job done. Super satisfying and cozy!

2024 Sipdown Challenge | August | A calming tea

Logging a second “calming tea” for this month’s challenge, because why not?! This one was a gift from a fellow intern who brought me some teas from Leaf & Petal in Virginia. Their website lists Vida pour Tea as the source, so!

Anyway, this one does what it says on the tin (er, pouch). It’s quite delicate, all things considered, with the lavender and rose hitting first, followed by a little bit of vanilla holding up the end. Super soothing and a lovely little wind-down tea.

2024 sipdown count: 28

2024 Sipdown Challenge | August | A calming tea

Really enjoyed this fragrant blend! I don’t typically love bergamot, but I really enjoy it here with the complementary rose and subtle cinnamon notes. This tea actually straddles the line between two prompts: It’s both a wake-up tea and a calming tea! I find the floral elements quite soothing, so I went with that prompt.

I’m sad to run out of this one and will probably pick up another bag the next time I order from Tea Thoughts.

2024 sipdown count: 26

Last month, toward the end of my first social work internship, one of my fellow interns gifted me a few teas she’d picked up at Leaf and Petal, a tea shop in rural Virginia. She and I connected over our shared love of tea early on, so when she stumbled on the shop, she said she thought of me because I was the only other person she knew who’d nerd out over the find! :)

Leaf and Petal lists the vendor for this blend as Gnat and Bee, so I’m confident I’m reviewing the correct blend. It’s a really beautiful tisane, with pops of color from lavender, rose, and chamomile. I expected the flavor to be muddled — there’s a lot going on! — but it actually works nicely. It’s a very smooth, full-bodied blend, with a hint of sweetness even though it’s not sweetened. Spearmint dominates, followed by chamomile and a bit of lavender and rose. I’m not picking up on the cinnamon chips but perhaps they’ll come through as it cools.

I like but don’t love chamomile, so the fact that it’s playing second fiddle here is very appealing to my palate.

My stomach’s been a bit upset tonight, and this is helping! A really lovely pre-bed cuppa.