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Smells much better than it tastes. The tea is very sweet with a vanilla flavor, but the rooibos is still a bit strong. Glad I only got a small amount of this to try.

So it turns out the the instructions on the label were wrong. Apparently you’re not supposed to boil darjeeling. Oops. I steeped it at 185 instead, and the result was vastly improved!

Day 23/24 of advent calendar. This tea was really disappointing. The leaves smelled great – I got a nice whiff of maple syrup – but the tea itself was tasteless, except for the rooibos. Ugh!

Another look back at advent calendar teas I didn’t get to review, 7/24. On second drink, I like this better. There’s definitely more spices and flavors to it than mint. I like it, although I don’t know that I’d buy a bag of it on its own.

Continuing advent calendar catchup, 18/24. Honestly, this tastes like I’m drinking a cinnamon bun. The aftertaste is a bit weird, sadly, or I’d say I really love this!

I saw a 2oz bag on sale for $1.75 and was like, well obviously I HAVE to buy that. I’m not 100% sure I’m reviewing the right tea here. The name matches my order, but the name on the bag is “QiLan Fired Oolong.” I can’t even find it on Teavana’s website so I think it’s been discontinued and I got it on clearance. But I am not getting anything like the flavors the other reviewers have described.

First steep: 3 min, 190 F. This actually tastes strongly like nori (seaweed used in sushi) to me. Very savory, not sweet at all. The leaves have started to unfurl on the long axis but not the short axis.

Second steep: 4 min, 190 F. Still savory, a little less nori, very smooth. The leaves have started to unfurl on the short axis.

Third steep: 5 min, 190 F. The leaves are fully open now. The taste is now light with more of an aftertaste.

Fourth steep: 6 min, 190 F. …yeah okay these leaves are done.

Day 20/24 of the advent calendar. Hmmm. I’m getting a strong blueberry flavor and a hint of Jasmine. Eh, it’s alright. Not really a fan but it’s drinkable.

I got a 2oz bag during their year-end online sale for $3.35. I thought, hey, why not! Well, this really struggles to qualify as an oolong. I saw all of one oolong leaf in the cup I made. Nor does it taste like nuts. But it is actually pretty good as an apple cinammon tea! Just… not what was advertised. I’ll give this a 65 because it’s pleasantly drinkable but not what it’s advertised as.

Whoops, I missed reviewing this one, 14/24 on the advent calendar. This tea SMELLS great, but doesn’t taste great. I loves the sweet almond smell of the leaves, but it didn’t come across in the brew. Mostly I tasted a very harsh rooibos flavor with only a hint of almond. Disappointing.

Well I was out of the country during the last week of the tea advent calendar, but now I’m back. Day 19/24: Dark Chocolate Delight. Not sure what to make of this one. At first it mostly just tastes like something burnt, but I can taste spices lingering behind. Interesting, but not my cup of tea.