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CuppaGeek Advent Calendar – Day 21

I had a video chat with my friends today and decided to make a tea for that. I only had two of today’s advent teas left but I was saving them for the baking fun so I decided instead to make this one. This is the tea I pulled out to drink on day 21 of advents but didn’t quite get to it since I got caught up building my tea cabinet.

I was intrigued by my video chat which means I was more focused on that than the tea. However, I do recall I definitely got a clear creamsicle flavor. Sweet orange and vanilla cream combined. Unfortunately I also got honeybush which took me out of it a bit. With that said, I had another creamsicle tea today and I would say this was the better of the two in my book.

Plum Deluxe Advent Calendar – Day 23

I made this tea to sip on while doing some holiday baking with the family. We have made Hello Dollies and are in the midst of making sugar cookies. Given this is a cookie tea, it seemed appropriate for this activity.

This is interesting because it has a lot of the buttery flavour that the Buttery Shortbread tea had. However, thankfully here it is complimented by jammy raspberry notes. Still an odd flavor but better when paired with another flavor to focus on. In addition to butter and jam, this also has flavor from the base tea – though not all of them. A woody/peppery note from the honeybush cuts right through the raspberry (which is the best component here). Fine but not one I need again.

Kenneth Ave Advent Calendar – Day 23

I opened this and was immediately not looking forward to it. I hate when teas try to promote wellness in some way. And I find it even worse in an advent calendar tbh. I just feel like advent teas should be fun and festive and whimsical and “immune booster” is none of those things.

When it comes to taste, its fine. It is actually less offensive and in-your-face than most other wellness teas. It’s slightly herbal but more than anything it has the softest generic berry flavor. It’s not bad as far as wellness blends go but also not good enough that I want more.

CuppaGeek Advent Calendar – Day 23

I think mini marshmallows are so cute but my sample had a lot and I think that might have hurt the blend a bit. This is just overly sweet with a tiny hint of berry flavor. Interestingly enough, the berry flavor isn’t actually overly sweet but instead hits the back of your throat with a tartness that is true to the fruit. I just wish there was more of that flavor and less sweet. Also less of the green rooibos base flavor which seems to make up most of the taste, along with the sweet, until that berry hits.

Geek + Tea Advent Teas – Day 11

Geek + Tea calls this a vanilla and spice blend. I definitely get the spice and the vanilla comes second. Cinnamon is the strongest flavor but the ginger is underneath and more earthy than spiced. Also, the base, paired with that earthy ginger, is a touch astringent.

52 Teas 12 Teas of Christmas – Day 11

I drank this on a day when none of my teas seemed to have much flavor. This was in the same boat. I was getting a little panicky that my tastebuds weren’t working but with each tea I could taste something, they just were bland overall. This tea I remember loving but I also remember it being finnicky. If you get the right steeping parameters, mix of ingredients in the filter, whatever the magic is…this tea perfectly captures a delicious and warm piece of strawberry pie. If you don’t get that magic preparation, you taste peppery honeybush. At least that’s what happened to me. Maybe I was just having an off day.

DAVIDsTEA Matcha Advent Calendar – Day 23

I haven’t watched Geek Steep in FOREVER because I wanted to spend time picking awesome teas that I think suit the fandoms perfectly and I did not have time to do that during exams. However, today is a rare day where I have the main space to myself while my sister, brother-in-law and the baby are all napping. It’s also advent time so most, if not all my teas, are predetermined by that. Yet, I wanted to watch (listen to?) Geek Steep so I did something a little different today and decided to pair an episode to what I thought would best suit the tea I made.

I have never had this matcha but it seems fruity and fun and I made it as an iced latte topped with whipped cream and sprinkles. I also have not seen several of the fandoms covered but for some reason I thought this would pair well with Princess Jellyfish. Both seemed to have that flirty and fun vibe to them based off literally nothing more than names. I could be completely off the mark.

While making this matcha, I will say (1) I had not heard great things and (2) it smelled like a crappy fruit punch, so I don’t have high expectations going into this. Drinking it, I can confidently say I am not a fan of this matcha. That crappy fruit punch smell turned into crappy fruity gum in taste. Like juicy fruit that has been chewed slightly and then spat out into the grass. Wow…that was harsh…its not that bad but all those elements do sort of make sense for this matcha.

Here’s hoping this Geek Steep episode goes better than this matcha. So far so good…

DIY Advent Calendar – Day 22

Sipdown (320)

Thank you for sharing this one with me Sil. I noticed the smell of it was not overly smokey but instead it had almost a malty cocoa smell. That took me by surprise. And when it continued through the taste I was even more surprised. So surprised that I even checked the package to make sure it was the right tea. This is my surprise favorite of the day! It’s just so cocoa-y and bready. If someone brewed this for me and didn’t tell me what it was, I would never guess it’s a lapsang. There is hardly any smoke at all. Plus, it’s reminding me a lot of Jiri Horse by teabento. Yum!

Plum Deluxe Advent Calendar – Day 22

This is an interesting take on chai since it is definitely lighter in flavor. More than that, it is fruity and sweet thanks to the lemongrass and coconut. I also taste the cardamom up front, with ginger and pepper trailing behind. It’s odd having coconut and lemongrass in a winter chai, since those are not typical winter flavors but its not bad.

Kenneth Ave Advent Calendar – Day 22

Made this as a latte and while this is caramel, its not necessarily blissful. It’s the darn base tea. This definitely has caramel flavor but its burnt thanks to the base. And not burnt in a tasty creme brulee way. Burnt as in its not so great. Do Kenneth and Adagio use the same supplier for the black base tea because both are not great quality and tend to ruin the blends for me.