6444 Tasting Notes
This is one of the many teas my sister bought for me from Palais des Thes for Hannukah. Seemed fitting to have this today since it is their Christmas tea after all. It’s fine but like Cameron B, I am a little disappointed with this one. It has the classic Christmas tea profile that teas tend of have of orange and clove. This adds rose and vanilla, neither really stand up against the other flavors. The clove is also making this appear slightly astringent. Like I said, its fine.
Matcha Latte Sipdown (319)
Now that the matcha advent calendar is done, I am getting my matcha fix from the ones Roswell Strange bought me for the holidays. Thank you!!
The various matchas, along with the plum deluxe teas from the start of the calendar, all got added to my box of single serving teas. With those and the teas already in there (either samples sent or ones I drank to the point that there is only a serving left), the box is so full it no longer closes. So I am working through them slowly which means more sipdowns are in store.
This one is odd because it tastes like a hot chocolate at first, which I really like, but then it turns into a really artificial candied raspberry flavor. That means the hot chocolate part of the sip is awesome but it goes downhill as you keep drinking. I am happy to say this doesn’t have a texture issue at least. Overall, I think the raspberry ruins the chocolate for me, but I could see a chocolate matcha from this company being really nice.
CuppaGeek Advent Calendar – Day 25
Merry Christmas Steepster!
I am starting my day with this bonus tea from the Cuppa Geek advent. Unfortunately, I don’t love this one. I blame the green tea base but also maybe the cider component. Something is just throwing me because I expect spices and then it cuts through with a different flavor that isn’t for me.
DIY Advent Calendar – Day 24
Iced Tea Sipdown (320)
This one has a strong muscatel flavor that does say wine but with that, it is a bit drying. It’s fine but really nothing special. It should also probably be a sweeter muscatel flavor if it intends to mimic the ice wines I have tried.
Geek + Tea Advent Teas – Day 12
Made this one as an eggnog latte. It works well with that prep method since it has the classic holiday sweet cinnamon flavor. However, it does not have a lot beyond that. It is supposed to have cacao and that comes through closer to the end and in the aftertaste. I am not loving what it is contributing though since its more a cacao flavor than a sweeter chocolate flavor. I get the intent, but this isn’t quite there for me.
Today’s advent tea pictures: https://www.instagram.com/p/CJM6hkWg2_V/
ETA: This is my 5500 tasting note which seemed like a fun number to share
Plum Deluxe Advent Calendar – Day 24
This is the second of my two Candy Cane teas for the day. The first was the Candy Cane Matcha by DAVIDsTEA, which was awesome. This is a completely different take as it is a caffeine-free version on a green rooibos.
This one is more on the minty side. You get the base coming through a touch but not overly so since its green rooibos. I just wish there was more vanilla sweetness since its not quite reading Candy Cane to me.
CuppaGeek Advent Calendar – Day 24
It’s dark out so I guess I can officially say Merry Christmas Eve Steepster! It’s a bit of an odd year because even though I was drowning in advents, it doesn’t quite feel like Christmas. I think there is less lights and festive stuff to begin with and also since I don’t really leave the house – I wouldn’t know if there were. It’s just odd.
This tea, however, was not odd. It was good. It was peaches and cream and it was smooth and lovely. Heavy on the peach. I enjoyed it.
Kenneth Ave Advent Calendar – Day 24
I found it weird that this was the final tea in a calendar that had both Gingerbread and Candy Cane earlier on. I saw on their Instagram that they captioned their photo “Berry Berry Christmas” so I guess that is kind of cute but still seemed weird not to end with a more festive flavor.
I cold brewed this. It has that standard berry-hibiscus profile that a lot of berry teas have. It is sort of a flat hibiscus note that tapers off to a slight berry sweetness. It is also just generic berry flavor – nothing specific. It’s fine but neither festive nor memorable in the sea of basically the same tea. So while I am enjoying my cup well enough, I don’t need this again and likely will forget it in the near future.
DAVIDsTEA Matcha Advent Calendar – Day 24
I can’t believe its the last day of advents already! This flavor makes sense for today seeing its arguably the most festive in the bunch (with the exception of Gingerbread Matcha that is equally as festive). In fact, this is such a festive flavor that I have two Candy Cane teas today.
I like this one. It’s honestly spot on for peppermint candy canes. Vanilla sweetness and minty, without being overly menthol.
52 Teas 12 Teas of Christmas – Day 12
If it wasn’t for Roswell Strange’s advent pictures, I would have been calling this Gingerbread Black Tea because I scratched the label and assumed I fully scratched it when I saw a plausible name for this tea. I thought Gingerbread seemed a little unusually plain for Anne but was going with it. Then I saw her pictures and realized I needed to keep scratching.
This take on gingerbread is not overly sweet. As an eggnog latte, a lot of the sweetness is coming from the milk and eggnog. The tea is contributing a boat load of flavor though. Ginger in the front with cinnamon, clove, and molasses trailing behind. It’s good and rich and certainly very festive. This is the flavor of a great ginger cookie in my book – whether its gingerbread or even ginger molasses cookies (which I love). Also this tea is so festive so it is really the perfect last tea for this calendar!
