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Advent Calendar from Kaylee: Day 25

I brewed up a pot of this one on Christmas morning and shared it with family. :) I was a bit distracted by all the hubbub and probably didn’t do the tasting justice, but I remember it being a rich, flavorful, very satisfying morning tea and a lovely start to the holiday (even though I think I over-steeped it). I’d definitely consider purchasing this one and trying it again!

And thus ends the Steepster swap advent! Kaylee put so many lovely details into my advent, including a sneak peek list of all the teas (duh! great idea!) and some vegan candies. It was a treat to open and enjoy, and I got to try quite a few new-to-me tea purveyors. Thanks, Kaylee!

Advent Calendar from Kaylee: Day 24

Interesting! This one is definitely reminiscent of a creamy, milky chai rather than a straight-up spicy, kick-you-in-the-pants blend. As a result, there’s a richer mouthfeel than I’d expect.

I should’ve taken notes about which spices stood out!

Advent Calendar from Kaylee: Day 23

I broke the rules and had this one for breakfast! :D It’s definitely lighter than a robust breakfast tea thanks to the Darjeeling, but still strong enough to satisfy with some nice malty notes. I fully intended to brew a second pot but my partner got rid of the leaves before I could do it! Ah well.

Advent Calendar from Kaylee: Day 22

I shared a pot of this one with my mom just before Christmas, and she enjoyed it — she’s usually pretty ambivalent about tea. It’s heavy on the spices, particularly the ginger and allspice. It definitely doesn’t scream “cookie” to me and I’m not getting much almond, but it’s still a robust and flavorful wintery blend.

Advent Calendar from Kaylee: Day 21

The cocoa scent in this one is delicious — very rich and evocative. It’s less strong in the brewed cuppa; instead I’m getting a creamy, sweet, cake-y flavor with just a hint of chocolate. I’m not getting much macadamia, although I guess there is a bit of butteriness that’s evocative of the richness of a macadamia nut.

It’s quite tasty — I bet it’d be nice with a bit of oat milk, too.

12 Teas of Christmas: Day 11

I remember thinking this one was just OK the first time I had it, but I brewed a pot now and it’s delightful! Lovely warming spices come through at first, followed by a rich, buttery, rum layered on a pleasantly light base. The rum flavoring reminds me of a chewy butter rum flavored candy my grandparents used to have at their house — very nostalgic.

12 Teas of Christmas: Day 10

Finally catching up on my notes, a few days late! I remember quite enjoying this one — the chocolate flavor was nice and robust, as was the orange. They played really well together!

Nothing in my advent stash appealed to me when we arrived at my parents’ place after an eight-hour drive, but luckily I’d packed a few bags from the latest 52Teas subscription box! :) This one is just delightful — so fruity and sweet and maple-y. And it smells amazing. Really good!

12 Teas of Christmas: Day 9

Yesterday morning we had a wild windstorm and lost power for a few hours, almost up till noon, when we left to drive up to my parents’ place in Rhode Island. So my morning was tea-less! I’m catching up today, having brought my variable temperature kettle up here. I blame Steepster for enabling this kind of absurd behavior! :D

Anyway, this is a lovely take on the chocolate-mint flavor profile! The chocolate is actually really nice in this blend, and it’s complemented well by the sweet candy cane flavor. You get a lovely creamy hit of mint at the end of the sip, which balances out the chocolate-heavy notes toward the beginning.

Yum!

Yawn Advent Calendar: Day 20

The cocoa/chocolate flavor here is not too bad, despite the dry leaf having that “stale mocha” smell I associate with chocolate tea. Once it’s steeped, it smells and tastes pretty decent — especially after adding a splash of oat milk. That gives it a little body and seems to round oat the cocoa flavor. The rooibos base is surprisingly absent — I say “surprisingly” because all the other rooibos blends in the Yawn calendar have had that medicinal, syrupy aftertaste.

Yeah, I’m not mad about this one!