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AJRimmer Advent Day 16

I’m not generally a matcha fan, so I’ll admit I was a bit disappointed when I opened today’s advent packet and found this inside. But AJRimmer mentioned that she enjoys David’s Tea’s matcha made with milk, so I whipped out my milk frother and made myself a latte. What a lovely surprise! It was creamy vanilla with a touch of spice and a pleasant sweetness…none of the bitterness or grittiness I’ve experienced with some of the other matchas I’ve tried in the past. Maybe it’s time to give matcha another chance? So glad for the opportunity to sample this one!

AJRimmer Advent Day 15

I’ve had some pretty bad lemon teas in my day (Pledge furniture polish, anyone?) but add in some vanilla and I am here for it! This reminded me of Tazo’s Glazed Lemon Loaf (my favorite bagged tea!) but on a pleasantly malty black tea base. I’m fighting a sore throat, so I added some honey and that really made the sweet bakery notes pop. This was a winner for me!

AJRimmer Advent Day 14

I love coconut and I love white tea, so I was excited to see this one in the calendar yesterday! Unfortunately, the coconut flavor just wasn’t present in this cup. I get chocolate and the white tea base and maybe a tiny bit of coconut, but I doubt I’d be picking up on it if I didn’t know it was supposed to be here. It was a fairly good cup of tea, but just not what I was hoping for.

AJRimmer Advent Day 13

Oh wow, this is amazing! It’s reminding me so strongly of one of my all-time favorite and much-missed blends: Butiki’s Hello Sweetie. It’s sadly been years since I tasted that one, but this tastes almost exactly like what I remember: lots of creamy coconut, natural-tasting banana, some sweet dessert notes, and a smooth but robust black tea base. I’m thrilled I got to try this and will be STOCKING UP if 52Teas does a reblend!

AJRimmer Advent Day 12

Are strawberry cinnamon rolls actually a thing? Never heard of them but I’d be intrigued to try one! This made for a nice light mid-morning pick-me-up. The green tea is smooth and mellow and the flavoring is sweet and natural. I mostly got strawberry with a hint of cinnamon; no bakery or cream cheese notes that I could pick up on. I wouldn’t have minded a stronger flavor (or maybe a black tea base?) but this was still quite tasty!

AJRimmer Advent Day 11

Pretty sure I had a Mayan hot chocolate inspired tea a few years ago and found it too spicy to finish. So I was surprised that this one wasn’t spicy at all! I did get some chocolate from it and quite a lot of cinnamon…an interesting combination and I’m not crazy about it personally. Overall, the flavor seemed a bit weak/thin, so I added a splash of milk to give it more body.

AJRimmer Advent Day 10

This was lovely! I don’t typically drink a ton of green tea, but it made the perfect base for a pina colada inspired blend. And the flavoring here was spot-on: beautifully balanced creamy coconut with juicy pineapple and not too artificial or cloying. I think this would be a lovely summer iced tea!

AJRimmer Advent Day 9

AJRimmer included the sweetest little notes with each tea in the calendar! This one had a warning that the flavor doesn’t really match the name. After trying it for myself, I have to agree. No butter or cake here for me, just a pleasant, natural lemon flavor. I’m not sure how to rate this one. I actually quite enjoyed it for what it was! But if I’d been expecting butter cake it would have been a letdown.

AJRimmer Advent Day 8

What a fun, unique tea! I’d never heard of Singbulli Oolong before, so it was definitely interesting to try an oolong that had such a similar flavor profile to a black tea. The oolong is really the star here, with the other flavors coming across quite subtle. I do get some fruitiness (not sure it’s really reading cranberry for me) and some nutty undertones. Overall, this isn’t a tea I love, but I’m glad to have had the opportunity to sample it!

AJRimmer Advent Day 7

I brewed this one up at work between meetings yesterday and was initially concerned that I didn’t have milk on hand, since most eggnog teas I’ve tried were best with a splash of milk. But this one was lovely without any additions! The coconut flavor was spot-on, rich and creamy but not artificial. The eggnog flavor was more subtle, coming through at the end of the sip with just a hint of warming, nutmeg-forward spice. This might be my favorite sample of the calendar so far!