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Sipdown! The pouch had a bit too much leaf for one mug but not enough for two, so I just used all of the leaf and brewed in one of my larger mugs. I never got bored of this one – there’s a very particular mood for which the cozy combo of creaminess and candy-like honeydew just hits the spot. Almost like the honeydew in Lupicia’s honeydew oolong, but I find that one overly sweet whereas this one is sweet but pleasantly so.

Sipdown! Thanks to Cameron B. for sharing this with me a couple of years ago. Made the last of this as an oat milk latte with my breakfast today. It cooled more than usual, so that may have brought out more of the flavor. I don’t know about “cookie,” per se, but I do like the almond and ginger in here. The almond is more biscotti than marzipan (which, biscotti is a cookie, so I guess technically it’s not a misnomer?). The base is nice and malty, even through the oat milk. The ginger in here evokes ginger candy more than fresh ginger – it’s zingy but not sharp. Overall, this is probably the best version of this cup I’ve made. At least it took a great final bow!

Had this as an oat milk latte today. It is one of those black teas that hurt my stomach, but it was also delicious. I accidentally steeped too long (about 9 minutes). With the oat milk, though, it didn’t taste tannic, brisk, or drying at all. Just like rich, creamy salted caramel.

Not a particularly insightful tasting note, but I want to mark the sipdown here. I forgot that I wanted to try to gong fu this; instead, I made it to-go so I could drink it while getting my hair done of Friday. Basically one of the worst brewing/tasting methods if you want to give a tea its best chance to win you over. It did serve my needs well, though. Roasty, mineral, cozy vibes for transitional weather.

Made the last of this advent calendar blend as an oat milk latte today. It’s got that great, fluffy marshmallow flavor I’ve come to expect from 52teas, balanced quite well with the tangerine. Yum!

Obligatory Passover tea note. Happy to see that this was still available! I thought it might get discontinued. I’ve been drinking it for the past few days. We didn’t get any almond milk this year, so I have just been adding honey. My stomach gets cranky if I’m not careful, since it’s a black tea. I just have it with a snack and a short or watered-down brew. Can confirm that it pairs beautifully with cheesecake, probably because the rose and cinnamon go well with the creaminess of the cheesecake. Looking forward to having it as an oat milk latte when Passover is over!

Sipdown! I oversteeped this by at least ten minutes today, but actually it was fine. Just made it a little more citrus-tart than usual, but not unpleasantly so. I’ve never gotten a significant creamy note from this particular blend. Mostly I get lemon, lime, and sweet. Surprisingly, I like it better hot than cold. Not one I feel the urge to restock but I enjoyed it while I had it!

Day 8 of the Inoki Bathhouse advent calendar. Gong fu. This tastes like the mental image I have of a Chinese black tea: rich, chocolatey, chicory-esque. Slightly astringent, but when I overbrewed the third steep by 20 minutes it didn’t get more astringent, which I found impressive. Solid entry in this calendar.

The lid fell off my gaiwan teapot while I was pouring out the third steep. It shattered. I felt weirdly sad and guilty because it’s one of the first pieces of teaware I bought on my first trip to Taiwan, and I have really fond memories of that trip. But I guess the bottom piece will now get to have a second life as a pitcher and it could be worse.

This is an incredibly belated note for a sipdown from the fall! I took this with me to a conference and finished it there. It’s actually great for that – brews well at most temperatures, lends itself well to grandpa-style steeps so I can just put the tea and water in my mug and go, and good enough to amplify a good mood without anything distracting or unpleasant in the way. Hoping this comes back in stock; I’m doing a low-spend on tea this year but have a coupon that’s tempting me to break it!

Day 7 of the Inoki Bathhouse advent calendar. This is the kind of chrysanthemum I’m used to – little fluffy yellow flowers. I had to drink my second steep the day after brewing it. Turns out I like chrysanthemum even better iced than hot, surprisingly. It’s floral but more in the savory way of chamomile flowers than the softer way of lavender or rose. I can see why Roswell Strange described it as peppery – there’s a little tingle that lingers after the sip, not as harsh as ginger but notable. Now I get to file away chrysanthemum as a good option for iced herbals when the weather gets hot.