518 Tasting Notes
The first steep was a bit clove heavy, but then I did brew it strong. There is a caramel/apple flavored aftertaste. Second steep is much more fruity, lots of sweet apple, the clove is gone, and there is a slight caramel note. I did a third steep for 10 minutes, and it’s the most balanced of the three, no clove, but the caramel/apple/cinnamon is weaker but certainly still there. This was a nice warming cup but I’m not sure I need it in my cupboard.
Flavors: Apple, Caramel, Cinnamon, Clove
Advent tea
Anise was the first thing I smelled and tasted in this first steep. There is a sweet cinnamon note lingering too. Can’t taste any of the bitter, smoky mate, and the clove/cardamom you’d expect from a chai is muted as well. This is a nice warming cinnamon, licorice chai. A nice choice for a tea advent!
Thanks to steepster I can now scratch off to see what advent tea I am drinking instead of peeling the sticker off(and trying to decipher what is left underneath).
The first cup was yummy, chocolate and creamy, with a hint of mint at the end? Not sure about the caramel flavoring in the first steep, but it replaces the marshmallow in the second steep and I’m getting weaker chocolate with the caramel. Overall an enjoyable cup, but I liked the chocolate covered snowballs better. Maybe I just don’t think marshmallows belong in tea, they belong in hot chocolate. Glad I got a taste of this though, I am enjoying this advent.
Flavors: Caramel, Chocolate, Cream
It takes a bit if effort, and you might use a coin or knife, but she put scratchable stickers over the tea names. I put the tea in my infuser then I scratched to see the name. Makes a bit of a mess, but it’s better than trying to peel the sticker.
Advent tea
I seem to be behind on my advent, my excuse is that I was traveling this week. This is strawberry with a slight edge. If it had a salty taste I’d say it was a margarita, but this is sweet like a a strawberry pop tart. Festive for this time of year, I could see this in the punch bowl at an office Christmas party. If I still worked in an office, or we could still have Christmas parties.
Flavors: Strawberry
The Cuppa Geek advent has small packets, so I have been using about 6 oz for each cup as I like a strong cup in the morning. The berry and lemon flavors are the strongest in this cup, nice and light for a black tea. The lavender comes in as an aftertaste, very subtle. The first steep had a weird metallic note lingering on after I finished the cup. The second steep is weaker, with raspberry dominating and lemongrass in the background. Not my favorite of the advent so far, but an enjoyable cup.
Flavors: Lemongrass, Raspberry
From the Samurai TTB
Smells like a minty cough drop. Tastes like a minty cough drop. I could try to add ginger or honey to make it more palatable, but I think there is a reason eucalyptus is relegated to cough drops and vapor rub.
Have you tried DT’s Cold 911? I wonder how it compares. I feel like the eucalyptus hits me in the face on that one as soon as I open the bag.
The tea advent box from Skysamurai had some extra Adiago samples in it, so I randomly chose one this morning. This is not bad, tastes like butterscotch pudding, but it does have an artificial aftertaste. I might be tempted to get more of this butterscotch if I didn’t fondly remember Butiki’s Walnut banana butterscotch. THAT was a good butterscotch tea!
Flavors: Butterscotch
From the Samurai TTB
This is a nice roasty oolong with charcoal notes up front, salty peanuts in the middle, and a slight sweet floral finish. I only did two steeps western style, but I’m sure this would gongfu or grandpa well. One of these days I’ll place a white 2 tea order and this will be in my basket.
Flavors: Nutty, Roasted, Salty
This is great as a latte!