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My husband and I visited Pinch ‘n Rub (a cute little spice and tea shop in Stillwater, MN) on a recent summer vacation. Along with sniffer tins, they had something I’d never seen in a tea shop before: staff recommendations! Similar to what is often done at independent bookstores, there were little shelf tags saying things like, “Anna’s Favorite” and then a description of why that person loves this tea. This was a staff pick and smelled amazing, so I gave it a shot!

Aside from a childhood predilection for Fig Newtons, I haven’t eaten many figs in my life. So I can’t say how authentic the fig flavoring is here. That being said, this is a lovely blend! Sweet and smooth with a rich, caramelized fruit flavor. It’s different from anything else I have in my cupboard and I find myself reaching for it quite often. A lovely surprise!

AJRimmer Advent Day 25

This was an exceptionally good end to a delightful Advent calendar! I’m not usually a big fan of chocolate-flavored teas, but the quality on this one is a step above. The base tea is amazingly rich and complex and the chocolate and vanilla flavoring layered on top marry seamlessly with the notes in the black tea itself. I’m always a tiny bit upset when I find a new favorite from 52Teas, since it’s anyone’s guess if/when it will be reblended. But even if this was a one-time treat, I’m so glad I got to sample it. A huge thank you to Devon Bartholomew for getting the ball rolling on this year’s Advent swap and to AJRimmer for organizing the swap and being my swap partner. It was so much fun (as always!) and I’m already looking forward to next year!

AJRimmer Advent Day 24

Finally drinking my last 2 advent teas today, as I’ve been with family (and away from my tea kettle!) over the weekend. Unfortunately, I somehow missed that this was a green tea and brewed it in boiling water. :( The base ended up quite bitter (totally my fault!) but I could still taste a nice juicy pineapple flavor and a bit of coconut.

AJRimmer Advent Day 23

I had forgotten that I tried this tea before! Enjoyed it just as much this time around…with a splash of milk, it’s a creamy dessert-like treat. A happy start to the last day before Christmas!

AJRimmer Advent Day 22

This one missed the mark for me. I could smell the banana and vanilla while it was steeping, but all I could really taste was the grassy green tea base and a hint of tart citrus. I also found it a bit drying…between that and the tartness, I was ready to move on by the end of the cup.

AJRimmer Advent Day 21

To be honest, I drank this in a hurry on my way out the door this morning. It came across as a pretty basic chai blend…enjoyable, but not memorable.

AJRimmer Advent Day 20

I appreciate how this advent calendar is helping me try new things and get more variety into my tea-drinking diet! I tend to rotate between my favorite black tea and white tea blends, but I’ve been drinking a lot more green tea this month thanks to AJRimmer. :) (Plus matcha and puerh, which are WAY outside my comfort zone and provided some happy surprises!)

All that to say: this is a good tea, but definitely not what I would normally have reached for…especially on such a cold, grey Wisconsin winter day! The green tea base is nice and smooth and the lime flavor is strong and clear (almost too sharp and acidic for me). I wish there were a bit more coconut here to smooth things out a bit. It didn’t quite hit the spot today, but I could see myself really enjoying this iced on a sunny summer day!

AJRimmer Advent Day 19

I didn’t taste the marshmallow here; just a pleasant vanilla black tea on a hearty assam base. But I like vanilla and I like assam, so I’m not complaining!

AJRimmer Advent Day 18

I’m not a puerh girl, but this was much better than anticipated! The dry leaf was lovely and really did smell like a pecan pie. Brewed, it had a strong nutty flavor and aroma and (thankfully!) none of the earthy/fishy flavor I’ve run into with other puerhs in the past. It didn’t really have much of a “pie” flavor for me, but the pecan flavor was nice! Maybe I would have gotten more of the sweetness/crust with some sweetener?

AJRimmer Advent Day 17

I definitely got blueberry from this, but not sure about “crumble”…there was a hint of cinnamon, but nothing that read butter, pastry or oats for me. I think I may have oversteeped it a bit, as the base tea came across quite astringent.