1146 Tasting Notes

90
drank Banana Eggnog Oolong by 52teas
1146 tasting notes

Nom nom nom. Day 8 of the 52teas advent calendar. The first steep isn’t particularly eggnoggy (not that I’m a huge fan of eggnog generally). It’s more banana cream on a floral, buttery oolong base. The second steep is a little more eggnoggy, in that the creaminess is joined by a cinnamon note. On the other hand, the banana is fainter. So the two steeps end up tasting very different. And then the third is pretty similar to the second. Not sure how much I care whether this lands “eggnog” specifically though – I just like the banana cream flavor.

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87

Day 7 of the 52teas advent calendar. Maybe it’s because I’ve read so many other people’s notes so my brain is primed, but this does taste like buttery caramel popcorn to me. Especially getting a buttery note and a malty base, and the roasty popcorn note feels light but clearly present. The flavors aren’t as strong in the second steep – there is still a caramel popcorn flavor but the butteriness has faded and astringency from the base has crept in. Overall a very enjoyable cuppa though!

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85

Day 21 of the Plum Deluxe herbal advent calendar. I like this more than I expected to! The dry leaf smells like blackcurrant, but once it steeps up it’s clearly blueberry. The blueberry hits at the front of the sip, followed by a nice medium-burn ginger, and a cinnamon gum note at the end of the sip. All three linger on the palate and meld together really well. A surprise winner given that I don’t like blueberries and don’t particularly enjoy cinnamon-gum flavor in my tea. But in this case it all works!

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94
drank Pineapple Whip Green Tea by 52teas
1146 tasting notes

Day 6 of the 52teas advent calendar. SO glad to see this in here – it sold out before I could pick some up before. This is absolutely fantastic. Easily my favorite so far. The pineapple is oh-so-slightly tart but leans sweet. The vanilla is creamy and smooth. The base is buttery perfection. I got two steeps out of it. Probably should have tried for a third but I was trying to squeeze in another caffeinated tea so I don’t fall too far behind on advents.

Flavors: Cream, Pineapple, Vanilla

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drank Pomegranate Pear Black Tea by 52teas
1146 tasting notes

Day 5 of the 52teas advent calendar. I oversteeped this by about 5 minutes so definitely not getting the intended experience! The good news is that it survived the oversteep pretty well. The pomegranate flavor is surprisingly clear – usually pomegranate ends up reading as generic tartness to me. The base is astringent, of course, but honestly not as bad as you’d expect from an 8 minute steep. The pear is a bit vague though. It just translates as non-specific mushy sweetness. I’ll have this again at some point; it’ll be interesting to see how different the flavor is when brewed properly!

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70
drank Pear Walnut Herbal by Plum Deluxe
1146 tasting notes

Day 20 of the Plum Deluxe herbal advent calendar. The idea of this one is very enticing, but in practice it actually just tastes like a milder version of Plum’s chestnut flavoring to me. I’m not really picking up on “pear” so much as a vague general sweetness. It’s pleasant enough but nothing to write home about. Unlike the holiday gift of Plum’s vanilla sugar cookie and evening in the garden that just arrived! Two of my favorite blends from this company – excited to have them in my collection!

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91
drank Golden Cacao by Plum Deluxe
1146 tasting notes

Now this is a turmeric blend I can enjoy! Day 19 of the Plum Deluxe herbal advent calendar AND tasting note number 1100. This was in last year’s Hanukkah sampler. I loved it then and was a little disappointed that it wasn’t in this year’s, even though logically of course they wouldn’t repeat blends in a small sampler two years in a row. (Putting aside that I got the caffeine one and this wouldn’t have been in there anyway, clearly one of my goofier moves.) So I’m very pleased that it’s in the advent! Just a really great blend of chocolate, earthy, and vanilla flavors with a hint of heat from the ginger and pepper. Perfect cold weather tea!

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90

Day 4 of the 52teas advent calendar. I was so excited to see this! I love all of Anne’s marshmallow blends, and the marshmallow treat genmaicha is a classic. This did not disappoint. As usual, the trick is to get the steep time just so – too long and the grassiness of the base gets a little too strong relative to the other flavors. But if you’re careful with the timing, the reward is worth it. The peppermint pairs well with the marshmallow fluff and gentle roasted rice flavors. Even though there are a few actual bits of candy in this (very cute!), they don’t create a film in the mug or feel too sweet in the sip. This definitely won’t last long.

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88
drank Earl Grey Cheesecake by 52teas
1146 tasting notes

Day 3 of the 52teas advent calendar. Gotta agree with what seems to be the general consensus: this is a great (re)blend. I never had the original and am not a fan of EG teas as a rule, but this version is really well executed. This is a better bergamot than most I’ve had – citrusy, clear, no weird aftertaste. And the creamy cheesecake flavoring is beautiful. I had most of the mug plain. I added oat milk to the last bit of it, but I actually preferred this straight rather than latte’d. The oat milk just drowned out the flavoring more than I expected. Maybe I used too much of it!

Flavors: Bergamot, Cheesecake

52Teas

Whenever I add dairy (at least, when I plan to add dairy) I make it a point to brew it stronger than I would a tea I plan to consume without the addition. (What I mean by brewing it stronger is to brew it with more leaf, rather than a longer steep time. The longer steep time will produce a more astringent & bitter cup, the additional leaf will just make the flavor more concentrated that the addition of dairy won’t dilute the cup.)

Kaylee

that makes sense!

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drank Chestnut Creme Decaf by Plum Deluxe
1146 tasting notes

Day 18 of the Plum Deluxe herbal advent. This is a decaf black blend. Honestly, I’m getting pretty wary of black teas in my advents at this point – seems like there have been a lot of them and my body has not been responding particularly well. But there’s also rooibos in here and I made sure to do a fairly short steep, so hopefully that helps. Plum’s chestnut flavoring is as accurate as I remember from last year. The aroma of the hot brew is just perfect chestnut with a hint of cream. I’m not getting much creaminess in the flavor though. Really just a strong chestnut flavor on a slightly tannic, slightly malty base. Some oat milk might bring out the creaminess but I made this for bed and don’t like to put additives in bed tea in case I spill. I am not personally a big fan of chestnuts so this is not quite up my alley, but I think it would be for someone who likes them.

ashmanra

Maybe it will be a little easier on your body since it is decaf. I hope so!

Kaylee

Thanks! I ended up drinking about half of it and then calling it quits.

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Bio

she/her

Geek and nerd (shoutout to GeekSteep). Still trying to get a handle on this whole work/life balance while ALSO succeeding at work thing. I have some chronic illnesses that make that harder. Tea is my respite.

Favorite tea types, in order:
oolongs
green
herbal
white
yellow

Don’t drink:
black
pu’erh

A sampling of tea shops I like:
Te Company
Calabash
Volition
Tea Thoughts
Harney & Sons
Yunomi
Teavivre

RIP Butiki

Website

https://www.instagram.com/try...

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