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BrutaliTeas advent, day 4

I have this lovely spreadsheet with all the notes I’m going to post here and now I really and truly need to sit down and put them in.

I’m taking this rating down a notch from my last round, but not too much. It’s definitely more scent-forward than flavored. I would agree with my earlier note that it’s more of a wintry Christmas cinnamon orange scent. In the flavor I actually got more of the tea this time, with hibiscus mostly and just a hint of cinnamon orange. I wonder if it was just this particular small container, since I loved the larger bag so much.

nerdfelt advent, day 8

A cute concept, but I think I ruined my own cup for myself by missing the timer. It’s a little too bitter (probably my fault) despite the sprinkles. The scent of berry was as strong as the earlier Tea-2SO, but the flavor was muted in comparison to the tea. Kind of plain overall.

nerdfelt advent, day 7

I wish I had more to say about this tea. It’s a smooth black tea with a subtle creamy sweetness to it. Didn’t need anything added (though that’s how I prefer my tea anyway, so ymmv). Nothing too unique, but certainly pleasant.

nerdfelt advent, day 6

I think if you like red rooibos this would be a fine tea. The ginger stands out and even lingers a little, and the spices are well-balanced and flavorful. I found it more drinkable than most red rooibos, but still just don’t care for that wet wood chip taste.

nerdfelt advent, day 5

A perfectly lovely genmaicha and an excellent way to shake up an advent that season that was leaning heavily toward flavored black and herbal.

Every year I tell myself I’d like to work on discerning more subtle differences between teas, and every year I wind up basically ignoring that until I regret it come advent season.

nerdfelt advent, day 4

Absolutely stellar scent. Just exactly the kind of scent I want warming up my house on a winter day. Strong spice, a little orange. I wanted to keep smelling the cup all day.

The flavor didn’t deliver the same. It was a smooth black tea, but the bland taste was so jarring in contrast to the powerful gorgeous scent. I thought maybe it was me, but my partner made the same comment when I had him try it, so perhaps not. I’m wondering if maybe these samples are just so much smaller than the others I’m used to that I’m watering it down?

nerdfelt advent, day 3

Between the usual busy season at work, an unusually busy season at home, and a cold that had me unable to taste much, advents had to take an early pause. I kept drinking and writing down notes where I could once my taste was back, and now it’s time to play some catch up.

This was a surprisingly lovely berry-chocolate tea. I felt like I was eating a Sees truffle or something similar throughout. No surprises in the scent or flavor, and the flavor was maintained hot and cool. The “berry” was indistinct for me. I’m still thinking about this one days later, which I think is a good indicator of how much I enjoyed it!

sipsby advent, day 3

It’s a very pretty tea, but the whole glitter tea thing is sort of gimmicky to me. Not that I don’t love a gimmick, tbh.

But the tea itself isn’t working for me. The black tea is both bitter and acidic, and the caramel feels like it’s attempting to cover that up unsuccessfully. The aftertaste is artificial. The balance improves as it cools, but not enough to make me want more.

Really though, gorgeous shimmer!

sipsby advent, day 2

There are tea flavors that feel like a safe blind buy, and there are tea flavors that make me skeptical from the outset. Anything claiming to be caramel or cookie falls in the skeptical category, and this tea is a great example of why. I found it cloying. I could not taste the green tea. There was that shortbread flavor again (not a fan), the intensely sweet caramel, and something vaguely fruity. I made it about halfway through before I had to give up.

BrutaliTeas advent, day 3

Peach tea is another one of those favorite flavors that always makes me nervous, because it seems like everyone does one but not all of them are good. Thankfully, this one is definitely good.

The ingredients list is long and includes such a variety of fruit I was surprised: apple, orange, strawberry, mango, pineapple – but I really do get the flavor of peach first and foremost. It’s well-balanced with the black tea and doesn’t give me the artificially sweet vibe of so many peach teas. I drank it hot but absolutely want to revisit it cold.