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Yawn Advent Calendar: Day 15

This tea is woefully misnamed. I went in expecting something light and, um, fruity, with sweet, creamy notes of vanilla frosting. Instead I got a floral nightmare! Maybe it’s the amaranth petals at work, but some kind of alchemy is making this blend taste like rose with just a hint of cinnamon, which is not a particularly nice combination. A real disappointment.

Also, the website suggests that this one is meant to evoke “sweet pear and plum.” OK, so it’s like a plum pudding blend? Fine… but name it as such! And also fix it, because it tastes of neither pear nor plum.

Yawn Advent Calendar: Day 14

Ooh, this one’s a winner in my book! A smooth black tea base with lots juicy, fruity notes. I’m not quite picking out apple specifically, but I think I do get some pomegranate! There’s also a light creaminess that’s very pleasant and almost marshmallow-y, although overall I’m finding the blend just a tad thin.

I really appreciate that there aren’t any traditional winter spices in this one; it’s a nice palate cleanser from the many other holiday blends that are inevitably heavy on the spices.

I’m not sure this screams “hot toddy!” to me, but then again, a hot toddy is what you make of it! I bet it’d be delicious with a dash of whiskey or even maple liqueur.

Yawn Advent Calendar: Day 13

This blend had the tiniest, most adorable little star anise… pods? fruit? …I’ve ever seen! There’s lots of good stuff going on in here, but somehow the flavor was weirdly sweet and herby with a spicy afterburn from the pink peppercorns. I also swear I saw chili flakes in my cup, but they’re not listed in the ingredients. Maybe they were just crushed peppercorn bits.

Hmm, this one reminded me a little bit of that accursed Sweet Ginger blend, actually. Not a fan.

12 Teas of Christmas: Day 2

Yum! This is so light and pleasant and creamy, with the chestnut coming through on the back of the sip. Very tasty!

12 Teas of Christmas: Day 1

This morning I woke up incredibly congested — one of just a few lingering covid symptoms. I was so excited to start the 52Teas countdown, though, that I made a pot of this one and hoped for the best. Unfortunately, I was SO congested that I could barely taste or smell the tea beyond a faint whiff of citrus. insert crying face emoji

I resteeped it a little later after my head cleared and I could detect more flavor, but I don’t want to rate it based on this suboptimal drinking experience. I’ll wait till I use up the pouch instead.

Sigh. :(

English Tea Shop Advent Calendar: Day 10

#1: If I were a Spice Girl, this is 100% the name I’d use!
#2: …why is there a second Halloween-sounding blend in this advent? We already had Ghostly Green!
#3: ………why are there so many teas in this calendar that are just iterations of the same ingredients?! I can’t tell this one apart from the other three or four similarly flavored blends. It’s also just a muddled mess. I don’t understand the point.

English Tea Shop Advent Calendar: Day 8

I’ve gotten really behind on this calendar because there are a series of teas that repeat really close together — this one, for example, first showed up on day 6, and now I’m getting it again on day 8.

I’ll leave my rating the same… still underwhelmed.

Yawn Advent Calendar: Day 12

Hmm, this one smells more noggy than it tastes! It’s odd to me that the blend doesn’t include any nutmeg, because to me that’s the quintessential eggnog spice — not cinnamon or ginger! And there’s really no creaminess to evoke the rich mouthfeel of a ’nog.

That said, this is still pleasant enough. But 52Teas’ Coconut Eggnog does it better. ;)

Yawn Advent Calendar: Day 11

Turns out that the syrupy, medicinal rooibos favored by Yawn can only be countered by a marzipan-y, amaretto-y flavoring! I don’t love this combination, but it’s not as overwhelmingly sweet as I’d feared it might be.

Advent Calendar from Kaylee: Day 13

How fun — I’ve never had a thyme tea before, despite having a very robust thyme plant in my herb garden! I wasn’t sure if I’d like it, but I’m actually enjoying it. The earthy thyme slightly overwhelms the black tea base, but not in a bad way. There’s not a ton of depth here, but I’m glad I tried this!