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I got this 1/2 oz sampler bag from Sara, partly used. It looked like about 2tsp left in the bag. So I dumped it from the bag into my infuser.

It smells chocolatey with a hint of rose. “Allow tea to cool 10 minutes for best flavor?” Nice, no chance of burning my tongue.

I can only pick out chocolate and rose flavors. But they’re nicely balanced. Like sitting in a rose garden, sipping hot cocoa, and a rose petal lands in your cup, and you drink it together. Mmm.

It smells of pear!

I tried a bit on its own, and it’s very sweet and pear-like. I don’t taste a lot of spice, but there’s a hint, and it’s nice. I’m good with the pear flavor.

Since I usually add a little nondairy milk to chai, and I have some soy nog, I did so to most of the cup. I really like this combination too. Nog has a lot of the same spices as chai, and so there’s a bit more spice, but I still taste the pear a lot.

If they ever do a re-blend of this, I’ll buy more.

I was in my kitchen and noticed a plastic bag hung on one of the cabinet handles. “That’s odd. What could that be?” Some tea my friend Sara gave me in May, which I had misplaced.

You see, I am absent-minded, forgetful, a bit of a slob, and a pack rat. I knew that tea must be around somewhere; I would never throw out a bag without inspecting its contents.

So I chose this one first, because it sounds delicious.

It smells of strawberries and carob.

It tastes like strawberries, hazelnut, and a little like chocolate. I wish the chocolate were a bit stronger. But wow, this is a good combination. Do they make strawberry Nutella? Cause now I think it would be great on toast.

Merry Christmas! It’s the last day of Advent, and the end of my calendar from Sara.

This is a very minty tea, and the lavender is strong too. There are other floral notes too.

I do like lavender a lot, but I think it’s a little strong for my taste in this tea. It tastes a bit too… astringent? Like when jasmine tea has too much jasmine and seems like perfume. But not as bad as that.

I could see this tea growing on me though.

Edit: Okay, four minutes was way too long. I retried with two minutes, and now it’s minty with a hint of lavender and rose, and that astringency is gone. It would be great iced too.

The penultimate day of my Advent calendar from Sara.

I went out earlier today and had a fancy shou pu-erh. Came home and pulled out of my advent calendar… a fancy shou pu-erh. I guess it’s that kind of day. :)

The scent is very mild and earthy. I brewed it western style as I’m not set up for gong fu at home, and I’m so out of it that I forgot to do a wash first.

So far, I like this one better than the 9016 Shou Pu-erh I had earlier today. I taste fruit and honey and a little earthy tone, in a nice balance.

The second steep has an even better balance. You’re walking in the woods. There’s no one around, and your phone is dead. Out of the corner of your eye you spot a falling leaf. There are falling leaves everywhere! They fall to the ground, honey colored, and somehow honey scented, and there is a variety of fallen fruit on the ground.

There is a hint of malt this time too.

The third steep is similar to the second. I kept meaning to rake the leaves once they dried, but then it rained again. Finally I raked them up wet, and it smelled kind of like this.

I’m going to keep steeping this until the flavor is all spent. I’ll comment if it changes.

I drank this at Hidden Peak Teahouse in Santa Cruz today, gong fu style, with boiling water, 30 seconds a steep. It was $35 for a pot. I also enjoyed appetizers and dessert.

The first first steep was very grassy and a bit vegetal, so grassy that I began to question my life choices. But I remembered that it would probably improve with further steeps, and I was right. The second steep was earthy and slightly malty, with a grassy note at the end of the sip. The third steep was malty and grassy. The fourth steep was nicely earthy and malty, while the fifth was similar, with a grassy note at the end of the sip.

I’m happy I gave it a try. I want to try more fancy pu-erhs.

23rd day of Sara’s Advent Calendar!

It’s Christmas Eve Eve, and this is a nice spiced tea that reminds me a bit of Hobee’s tea, a blend they serve in their restaurants and also offer in loose leaf. The cinnamon and clove waft off the cup and are the prominent flavors. I can also taste the rooibos and a subtle note of the orange peel. It tastes sweet too. I like it hot, and I’ll bet it would work great as an iced tea too.

22nd day, not much left of my Advent calendar!

I am told this is the best of Sara’s calendar. Based on the smell already, wow. It smells like honey.

Whoa. I remember thinking lapsang souchong tastes like sipping black tea around a campfire while the wind blows smoke directly into your face. Thankfully someone thought to put out the campfire.

It’s very honey-tasting. There’s a strong black tea flavor, but not very astringent. There are notes of raisins, maple syrup, and chocolate too. Oh and malt near the end of the sip. How can this much flavor be in a pure tea? It boggles the mind. I wish it had come up sooner, would have ordered some as a present for my son and daughter in law. Heck, I might still. Wow, Sara, I can see why you love this tea. Wow.

Edit: I have ordered some.

Sara’s Advent calendar, 21. It’s old enough to drink. Tea.

Ooh, this is a Taiwanese oolong… from Adagio, okay. Wow, it smells nice, a bit grassy. The taste is nice, grassy and vegetal and buttery and a bit sweet. It feels very smooth going down. I wonder where they sourced this from. It’s very nice. I also wonder how well it would steep gong fu style. I’ll bet someone here has done so… yes, sounds like it does well.