New Tasting Notes

My daughter is quitting apple cider as it makes her tummy hurt. So we are looking for a warm replacement. On first sip she is instantly a fan. I too think that this is a lovely sipper. It is sweet and creamy without the sugary side effects.

knittingopera Swap Advent Calendar 2025 – Day 3 (bonus!)
Theme: A recent discovery
Song: There Is No Rose by Z. Randall Stroope

Cold steep! They always recommend a short time for these, but I left it for several hours so that it would be stronger. It’s still quite mild, I probably would use multiple sachets for a punchier flavor. But it’s very refreshing, and I like that it has a bit of tartness, but it’s not Hibiscusville. The peach is a little bit like a Peachie-O, but that tangy quality helps it to not be cloying. The mango is a nice touch as well to add a bit of interest and a tropical note. There’s a slight mustiness in the finish, that I assume is coming from the blackberry leaves. For some reason, places feel the need to add them for sweetness, but they don’t really have the more pleasant flavor to me. Thankfully, it’s just a touch.

https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=ZdAiJP241VQ&si=h44r6bOTBVRroZJj

knittingopera Swap Advent Calendar 2025 – Day 3
Theme: A recent discovery
Song: There Is No Rose Of Swych Vertu by Mediaeval Baebes

Not gonna lie, was not excited to see this one. I don’t think I’ve ever had a flowering tea that I thought tasted very good, and it doesn’t help that you have to steep it for a long time to get it to fully bloom. But oof… this tastes like soap to me. I assumed it would be a jasmine green tea, but this is definitely flavored with some kind of strong floral, and it mentions fruit too in the description looks like. Very, very perfumey sort of chemical floral taste. :|

https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=5YybkDkcTV0&si=LH-HQ3ddETcYDOlK

This tea is a blend of Japanese bancha and Chinese Jasmine green tea. Interesting blend and it is also said it is low in caffeine, which I hope for, as I was drinking it at 7 pm — soon time to bed. Yep, alarm set to 5 am; then a swimming session (another 500 meters, at least) and off to work. I can’t believe I do this twice a week for almost a year!

Anyway, back to the tea. I have to say, it is pretty tasty! Jasmine is having just correct level; and green tea is fresh tasting with a little of sweet grass notes and little minerality? Also I noticed a little of fruits, but it was that little I couldn’t recognize in a single steep what those were.

A 50 gr bag costs 6.50 EUR, a tin 100 gr is for 19.90 EUR; twenty sachets, but with outer wrapping (that would be great for exchanges!), is for 10.90 EUR. That bag seems like a good price and good amount of tea for my yearly consumption.

Casting Whimsy Advent Calendar 2025 – Day 3
Angelov

Another one not on their website, this is a coconut lime green tea. I didn’t use much water because it had a lot of lemongrass and dried rose petals and things mixed in, and not a lot of green tea. It’s okay. The lime is very cleaner-y to me, and the green tea is a little sharp as well, despite my 2-minute steep. The coconut helps to add a bit of creaminess and smooth it a little, but overall just not great.

Rating: 60

We have decided with Leafhopper to make it in the very same way — those were parameters: 195°F (90°C) water, 3 steeps: 120, 90, 180 seconds. Prepared 2.5 grams of tea in 150 ml of water.

While I really liked first two steeps, they were very delicate, smooth and floral, the third was somehow heavy and cloying. As of flavours, I detected hay, florals and grapes. The aroma was very nice, too — in the two steeps, mostly again floral (meadow flowers), combined with delicate grape and hay notes as in taste. It was surprisingly similar!

Not a tea I would need to keep in my cupboard, but tasty enough to try now and then.

Advent Calendar 2025 – Day 3

This one… It just tastes like Darjeeling to me, I can maybe detect a tiny hint of spice if I squint, but I wouldn’t know it had any flavoring additions at all by the taste. It’s pleasant enough, definitely a later flush sort of Darjeeling with bready and hay notes. Maybe it’s better this way, since I am not a clove lover anyway heh heh… :P

As for jam, today it’s Plum Pear Star Anise Spread. Plum might be my favorite fruit for jam, so I was excited to see this one. It’s a nice mix of plum and pear, with the plum adding that stonefruity tang and the pear adding syrupy richness. I don’t actually notice the star anise, even trying it plain, but I’m enjoying the two fruits together so I don’t mind!

A lovely white tea. Its dry leaves smell of grass, fur, meadow, apple leaves. The wet leaf aroma brings more of courgette flowers and sage for example.

The liquor is smooth and thick, and has a refreshing, zesty taste. It is a somewhat savoury and vegetal tea with a long sweet and cooling aftertaste. There are flavours of grass, okra, citrus fruits, curry leaves, cinnamon, licorice, hay, and others.

I remember trying this tea many years ago and not having a favourable impression. However, I like Doke’s commitment to sustainability and hope that they may have refined their processing (or my preferences may have changed). I steeped 2.5 g of leaf in 150 ml of 195F water for 2, 1.5, and 3 minutes, plus a couple uncounted steeps.

The dry aroma is of honey, grapes, nuts, florals, and hay. Brewed this way, the tea is very delicate. I get notes of honey, chamomile, muscat grapes, hay, nuts, meadow flowers, and herbs. The tea has a dryness in the mouth that isn’t totally in keeping with all of these nuanced flavours. The sweetness builds as I drink the tea, with the grapes and honey becoming more prominent. The next steep features grapes, honey, lemon, oats, chamomile, and herbs, with some noticeable astringency. Steep three has notes of herbs, grass, and honey, but is getting vegetal and kind of metallic. I understand why the vendor advises calling off the session here. My final two steeps retained the honey sweetness but were not as polished.

I enjoyed this tea a lot more this time, possibly due to the steeping parameters. Its honey sweetness and fruitiness remind me more of a very high-quality first flush Darjeeling than a Fujian silver needle. I wonder if the lurking astringency is due to this tea being made from Assam leaves. I admire Rajiv Lochan and the Doke estate for their innovation in Indian tea making, and they’ve produced an interesting take on white tea that I enjoyed revisiting.

Advent Calendar 2025 – Day 2

Oops, apparently I forgot to write a note for this one last night!

It was pleasant enough, I was expecting a generic Forever Nuts type blend and was happy that it wasn’t. Pear was the strongest flavor, and it was sweet and syrupy, like canned pears. The cinnamon was subtle but added warmth and a bit of a baked goods vibe. However, there was a slight Juicy Fruit or bubblegum note in the finish that wasn’t my favorite. Still made for a nice evening cuppa though!

https://www.instagram.com/p/DRyMnnqjflI

Afternoon tea session with 2023 Prosbloom from @white2tea, a free sample mini that came with my recent order. I prepared the leaves with a 10s rinse.

1st steep (10s) – pale orange liquor, almost roasty/charred flavour with a slight hint of sun-warmed earth in the tail of the sip
2nd steep (15s) – darker orange-brown liquor, increasing woody-earthiness, delicately sweet. Hints of black liquorice
3rd steep (20s) – liquor now red-brown, very pronounced woody-earthiness (not wet earth), roasty.
4th steep (25s) – still lots of woody earth/roast, but also a developing creaminess. Becoming sweeter.
5th steep (30s) – balanced earthy/creamy interplay
6th steep (35s) – ditto
7th steep (40s) – ditto
8th steep (45s) – ditto, but starting to fade. Very smooth.
9th steep (50s) – very smooth, sweet, creamy, only very mild underlying woody-earthiness.

On the whole I found this one a bit nondescript, just a typical low-budget shou sort of affair. Which is fine, because that’s what it is, but there are many others like it. The roastiness sets it apart a little, and it occurred to me whilst drinking that this would go really well with something like roast beef. I’m pleased to have tried it of course, and it’s a likeable, easy-drinking shou, but not one I would actively seek out again as there are others I greatly prefer at a similar price point.

2025 Bird & Blend Advent: Day 3

I love how malty and cozy this one smells. B&B includes two tea bags per day, and after using just one and finding the flavor lacking, I went all-in and steeped both at once. Much better! The cocoa nibs and shells are doing their best, and their best is not bad — it’s a pleasant chocolate tea when overleafed like this. There’s a little bit of breadiness and malt, which absolutely does give off digestive vibes. I’m getting a smidge of bitterness at the edge, but overall it actually quite smooth and pleasant. An easy drinker for sure.

Simpson & Vail Advent 2025- Day #2
Late again…. An old favorite, at least before they changed the base on this one.  It used to be VERY dark black tea, now it is quite light.  At least the cinnamon/chocolate flavors are still the same.  I had an extra 1/2 teaspoon in my advent sample that I didn’t want to steep with the other 1 1/2 teaspoons, but that will be steeped with some of the four ounces I recently bought that I now wish was a past blend… the rating now would probably be a 71. I just can’t do weak black teas…
Steep #1 // 1 1/2 teaspoons for a full mug // 20 minutes after boiling // 2 minute steep
Steep #2 // just boiled // 9 minute steep

I am doing the Plum Deluxe caffeine advent again this year. Day 1 was bergamot and it was ok, day 2 was jasmine and I didn’t finish the cup. Here is day three and it’s caramel and clove with a hint of smoke. A nicely balanced cup that disappeared quickly. I would consider adding this to an order, just because it’s not too clove heavy.

Day 3 of the Dammann Freres Advent 2025.

Joli Coeur is a flavoured green tea with bergamot, apricot, and vanilla. Such a cute name! I did wonder if the bergamot would overpower or at least dominate the other flavours, but both the apricot and the vanilla (which is rich, creamy, and almost thick-tasting) come through well. It’s sweet and fruity, deliciously creamy, with just a twist of bergamot and the slightest hint of dank astringency from the green tea base. I don’t often gravitate towards bagged green teas, but this is one I’d be happy to drink again.

Day 3 of the Mariage Freres Advent 2025.

Matin D’Afrique is an African black tea with vanilla. It makes a great mid-morning treat; a robust and sweetly malty base with a subtly cozy creaminess from the vanilla. This isn’t a dessert tea, and there isn’t an in-your-face level of flavouring here, it’s just very gentle and balanced and really allows the sweeter notes of the black tea to shine. I feel like MF do vanilla and caramel blends really well, and this one is no exception.

Chose a seasonally appropriate tea for a cozy festive treat this afternoon; Snowball Sticky Chai made into a latte. I used whole milk and melted in a tbsp of marshmallow fluff for a touch of extra decadence!

Snowball has been a Christmas favourite for a while, but this is my first time trying the sticky chai version. The core flavours of chocolate and coconut are there, made extra cozy by the subtle chai spicing. The black tea base is robust enough that the “tea” aspect doesn’t get lost in all of the milky, creamy flavours, so all in all I would say this works quite well. I don’t particularly need it to be a chai, as lattes made with the original are just as good, but it’s a nice warming twist for winter and an extra dab of cozy all the same.

Latte! Just a note for myself really, but I much prefer this one made with whole milk; the perfumey/synthetic aspects of the peach are more toned down and the creaminess is amplified. Still not a favourite, but I’ve improved my rating a little to reflect that with different milk I had a better experience.

I only just broke in this cake now after a while in my storage. Since the last time I had it, still as a sample, the tea follows a familiar progression. The aroma is a bit more muted, the taste a bit less bright.

Nevertheless, the same qualities are present – a sweet aroma, pungent taste, and cooling aftertaste. The tea is smooth, floral, astringent, biting, herbaceous, and sweet, with flavours of yeast, mint, sunflower seeds, and others.

S&V Advent Day 2!
I actually love this tea! I taste spices and baked elements. The black tea is a good base for it. It all tastes nice together, and the resteep was tasty too.

Kaylee Advent Day 2!
I do taste something like mango skin, but also something a little peppery? I don’t know what’s causing that. It’s not bad, but I wish I could taste fresh mango since that’s my favorite fruit!

2025 Steepster Advent Swap: Day 2

What a throwback! I haven’t had good ol’ Sugar Cookie Sleigh Ride in at least a decade, possibly more like 15 years. Man, I used to love all the Celestial Seasonings holiday blends, especially this one, Nutcracker Sweet, and Candy Cane Lane. <3

Today I’m not getting much flavor, to be honest, even though I used two tea bags. It’s a little bit musty and a little bit sweet, with some very faint vanilla sugar notes and a distinct chalkiness.

So fun to have this again!

knittingopera Swap Advent Calendar 2025 – Day 2
Theme: Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree
Song: Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree by Brenda Lee

One of Marjorie’s own custom blends! Honestly, I wasn’t a huge fan. This has a bit too much of Adagio’s black tea in it for me, which I don’t enjoy. It tends to have all the downsides of Ceylon but not a lot of flavor, and it upsets my stomach. Otherwise, it’s mildly pumpkin spiced with an undertone of rooibos. I don’t notice the caramel or butterscotch? Just not a good match for me today.

https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=O1x-hOOrl5E&si=Q4_T0I0v39IoQWUx

i used to loveeee this tea and still do but trying it without any milk was a bit of an odd experience… it just tastes very strongly of mint. once you add milk, though (a touch of oat in my case) it has a really lovely, festive, candy-cane-y taste. had it in my green & brown mug while drawing up my 4-page tort outline.