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Really enjoyed this one; the strawberry and plum somehow reminded me of the cotton candy tea from DAVIDsTEA that I’m so conflicted about, but this one went green rooibos instead of red and it made all the difference. It smells tart, and it tastes fruity-sweet. My partner hated it, calling it far too sweet for tea, which is on brand for him. I like that I wouldn’t have to add anything to it to enjoy it.

Plum Deluxe Caffeine Advent, Day 22

Finally finishing the notes on this advent.

The first cup of this was a very tasty raspberry with strong lemon. The second cup was timed the same but quite weak; I must not have separated it as well as I hoped into the two cups. I would consider buying more to play with another time. It does seem like a blend that can be left to steep a while, which is often a plus for me.

Plum Deluxe Caffeine Advent, Day 21

It seems somehow appropriate that this ended with another rooibos. I plan to spent January on the Bird & Blend advents & samples, but I am thrilled by the idea of a February where I don’t taste a single drop of wood chip tea.

There’s sweetness to this one as well as the rooibos, but it mostly seemed like a vanilla with some unknown light spices. I can’t say I’ve ever had eggnog or would know how it compares. This was a miss for me.

BrutaliTeas Advent, Day 24

In all, I enjoyed this calendar and exploring some new teas from an interesting brand. It surprised me that the calendar only duplicated one tea from my original sampler order of 18 varieties, and I still didn’t get to taste a few that I’m very curious about, so there’s a lot to explore!

I was excited for this tea both because of the candy cane flavor and because of the name joke. I’m not clear from the ingredient list what wasn’t working for me here, because there’s nothing inherently wrong with candy cane and peppermint and black tea. I love the combination, actually. But this one had a strange artificial sweetness to it with a flavor that didn’t quite work with the candy cane. My partner said it was like a butterscotch. I didn’t get that, but I definitely didn’t get just candy cane, and I couldn’t finish it.

BrutaliTeas Advent, Day 23

This tea was fine? If anything, it struck me as an odd choice next to The Chai Ning in the advent, because there were a lot of similar flavors happening except that this one was weaker and not toasty. I got a lot more cinnamon and vanilla from this than ginger, which I suppose makes some sense for a gingerbread blend, but I don’t need more.

BrutaliTeas Advent, Day 22

This was a lovely chai with a distinctly toasty flavor, and it somehow reminded me of the chewy molasses cookies I get several times a year from our grocery store. I drink most of my teas straight, but my partner insisted I try adding milk to this one, and it somehow brought out more of the sweetness and baked goods quality. This made the cut as one of 5 teas I reordered from the advent calendar.

BrutaliTeas Advent, Day 21

Last tasting notes for this particular advent.

Between a dislike of lavender and of chamomile, I’m not much a “sleepy” tea person. The spearmint in this one helps a lot, and I don’t feel overwhelmed by either of the disliked ingredients. If I really felt inclined to own a tea of this sort, I’d probably pick this one – but I’d rather just find other blends without caffeine.

BrutaliTeas Advent, Day 20

Merry Christmas to those who celebrate, and to everyone else, happy last Sunday of the year! We have nothing on the calendar, nowhere to be and no one to host today. Honestly, that’s a perfect way to celebrate in my book.

I did better at keeping up with the advents than usual! I do want to keep reviewing them for my own notes, so I apologize in advance that these aren’t over on my end yet.

I actually steeped this up yesterday afternoon and spent a good portion of the evening trying to convince myself I liked it. I found the chocolate and mint quite well-balanced and enjoyable, when this combo is so often just off in other teas. But while it would have been a smash hit on a different base, the aftertaste was too much rooibos for me to like.

BrutaliTeas Advent, Day 19

Preparing to have people over and cook a (relatively simple, thankfully) Christmas Eve dinner tonight. I thought today might be the day to catch up & finish up the BrutaliTeas advent – it’s a pretty adventurous number though, so we’ll see.

I love a jasmine tea and find jasmine pearls just so pleasant and fun, but they had to go and make this one coconut as well. When first steeped the coconut is absolutely at the front. Thankfully as it cools it takes a back seat to the jasmine, and I was able to drink the rest of it. I don’t get any sort of pineapple from it, sadly.

BrutaliTeas Advent, Day 18

I wanted something festive and caffeine-free last night, so I was glad this was up next in my sipsby advent. The scent out of the bag is a tart cranberry, and when steeped I was able to smell it from the next room. The flavor tones it down a lot. It’s there, as is the cinnamon, but you half expect cranberry juice with the potent smell!

I think if this had been on a base other than rooibos I would be buying it immediately, but as it is, it was fun to try. Even the cranberry doesn’t get rid of the woody taste.

sipsby bagged advent, day 15