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Noël à Venise!

I liked the DF advent calendar but I felt that all the other teas were a bit samey after a while. Orange, chocolate, cloves, or caramel. This one technically is toffee but all I get is buttery vanilla and meyer lemon – quite a difference to the other teas in the box. It was the only one from the calendar that I considered a must order. (which just meant I got to order some new to me teas and hope for the best – so, silver linings!)

I’m not sure what it is about this tea, but it feels specifically designed for my palate. I was that girl who sucked on lemon wedges just because and I like vanilla and cream anything over chocolate, any day.

I was nervous about the transition from tea bag to loose leaf, though. Mostly I was worried about the teaspoon/gram amount. I solved this by weighing one of their sachets (2.4 grams) and just weighing out the dry leaf in a strainer. I don’t know why I was so nervous, I think it was because I’d had such a perfect first experience and didn’t know how subsequent ones would measure up.

It’s like I’ve forgotten Tea Lessons 101: loose leaf is always better.

Dry leaf – still sweet/tart lemon with a heavy cream undertone. The boyfriend, who rolled his eyes at me having to go outside the country to support my tea habit, did grudgingly admit it smelled good – a pastry tart, was his description. To me it’s also strongly reminiscent of Earl Grey Cream, but lemon and not bergamot.

The taste is just as perfect as I remember, too – great without additives, warm and comforting but not super heavy since the lemon is such a bright counterpoint. It is just fantastic, and the fact that I was able to replicate the experience is what is nudging it up to the 100.

Welcome home, Noël à Venise. You will always be a staple in my cupboard.