New Tasting Notes
I have took all 5 grams in my 100 ml gaiwan and used 80°C water as suggested by the vendor for western steeping.
As it was quite tea-heavy, I decided for flash steeps, longest being just 30 seconds long.
While first two or three steeps were very floral, orchid-like and a little vegetal, the fourth or fifth steep turned very vegetal and very buttery, almost undrinkable to me. That said, I have finished this tea fairly quickly and overall, I wasn’t much a fan of this green oolong.
Preparation
The last La Via Del Té tea for today.
After opening the outer wrapping, I have been struck by a Tutti Frutti aroma; a very candy like. I had no idea what expected flavour profile is, but it was quite unpleasant. Sadly, as it is a green tea, it was some funky medley of candy fruit notes and marine saltiness.
Sadly, not a fan of this.
Preparation
This was such a good cup! Interesting to choose black tea for a tea that is called White Christmas, but oh my… this was definitely the tea that resmebles buttery, vanilla biscuits so well. While it is quite sweet in flavour, as there are sugar crystals (well, that’s the white from name, I guess!); it was indeed full of baked goodies in a cup.
It has been wonderful!
Preparation
I took out the teas I couldn’t enjoy in correct day and… whoops I don’t know which day was what tea. And the bags doesn’t say it, nor the website.
So, I took this one as I wanted a plain tea and boy this one is good! Strong, robust falvour, with a nice malty flavour profile. Enjoyed plain, however a milk could be nice addition. As I have steeped it for maybe too long, there were hints of astringency and it was a little drying. But I guess that was just an user error.
Preparation
2025 Bird & Blend Advent: Day 13
Wow, I just re-read my note on this tea from four years ago, and dang… I had a very different experience this time around! I described it as “gently warming” last time, but this year it kicked me in the face! I get a mix of peppercorn and peppermint, followed by a blast of chili laced with a little ginger.
Dropping my rating a bit because the balance of flavors seems inconsistent, but as a novelty I do think it works.
Flavors: Chili, Ginger, Peppercorn, Peppermint, Spicy
Day 13 of the Dammann Freres Advent 2025.
Melange Mysterieux is a black tea flavoured with orange, peach, cherry, and strawberry. I can taste the strawberry and orange most clearly, with some cherry emerging mid-sip. The peach is much more subtle, more of an aftertaste really. I love how fruity and juicy this one is, though. Definitely one of the best fruity black teas I’ve tried in a while.
Day 13 of the Mariage Freres Advent 2025.
Lapsang Chinbara is a smoked black tea. The smoke is distinctive, but still subtle enough not to be overpowering; a nicely struck balance imo. The black tea base is surprisingly sweet and malty, which makes for a bit of an odd contrast – in my opinion at least. I’ve not tried too many lapsangs though, so may just be my lack of experience.
This needs two bags to be good; with just one the black tea base is so, so incredibly thin and lets the whole thing down. With two, it’s malty and robust enough to take milk if you want it, and sweetly supportive of the cinnamon, clove, and orange flavouring. Christmas in a cup!
Compagnie & Co Day 6
Steepster has been super slow these last couple days, to the point that I couldn’t post this note last evening. We’ll probably be dealing with this for the rest of the weekend at least.
Day 6 is another rooibos. I can’t say the inclusion of apple and hibiscus fills me with anticipation. I steeped the 2 g sachet in 250 ml of 190F water for 3, 5, and 7 minutes.
The dry aroma is of cinnamon, orange, and apple. The tag fell off the string of the teabag as I was putting it into the cup, so I had to fish it out with a spoon. The first steep leads with cinnamon, followed by orange, apple, some tartness from the hibiscus, lemon, and almond. The tea is quite sweet and a little cloying. The almond and orange are more pronounced as the tea cools. I’m not sure what verbena is supposed to taste like, though I think it’s lemony as well. The apple and tart hibiscus take over a bit more in steep two, though the cinnamon is still there. Most of the tartness disappears in the final steep, leaving this as an apple cinnamon tea with some almond.
This feels like a more sophisticated version of Constant Comment that has a bit too much going on. It’s also rather too sweet for me. I was wondering whether they included something like stevia, but the sweetness is probably attributable to the apple. Either way, this tea was pleasant but not a favourite.
Flavors: Almond, Apple, Cinnamon, Hibiscus, Lemon, Orange, Sweet, Tart
Preparation
2025 Steepster Advent Swap: Day 12
I was a bit distracted while drinking this one, so I won’t rate it! I like the idea of a “big four” blend, but my overall impression was that nothing really stood out flavor-wise. It was smooth and went down easy, which is sometimes all you need!
Flavors: Smooth
Simpson & Vail Advent 2025 – Day #12
Oh now here is one I have wanted to try! I love a good raspberry tea and this one is quite delicious. I also don’t think it’s labeled as another blend that S&V sells. This is strictly a National Park blend. However, S&V also has some other great raspberry teas. The raspberry takes over here, and I really can’t taste much of the sage which is a shame. Maybe it melds together really well… It tastes very much like one of my favorite raspberry teas from Maya Tea. This just has a lighter base. Was very good paired with the other tea I had today, Mate Java Espresso by Tealyra, which I’m glad to see they are still selling. I also had some cocoa infused pancakes with fresh raspberries and whipped cream today, so it was a very chocolate and raspberry themed day. :)
Steep #1 // 1 1/3 teaspoons for a full mug // 20 minutes after boiling // 2 minute steep
Steep #2 // just boiled // 4 minute steep
Simpson & Vail Advent 2025 – Day #11
oh no. oh no no no. The turmeric was just not going to work for me. I don’t know why they included this in the advent as well as the herbal chai. I actually thought this was their ‘turmeric chai’ blend, but this is a whole nother beast. I found this out because THIS blend also has hibiscus, the other one doesn’t. yikes. This seems like it would have very specific fans… just a cup full of earthiness taking over. Earthy turmeric and tang. Somehow the second steep was even STRONGER. Turmeric, tang, and also lots of ginger. Hopefully it’s at least healthy?
Steep #1 // 1 1/2 teaspoons for a full mug // 20 minutes after boiling // 2 minute steep
Steep #2 // just boiled // 3-4 minute steep
Flavors: Earthy, Ginger, Tangy, Turmeric
Herbal and Decaf TTB Summer 2025
The name of this tea conjures a very unique idea of ginger and hot peppers to me, or maybe I just spend too much time with my husband who likes his hot sauce so spicy I can sometimes taste it in the air from across the table and he has impressed the chefs and wait staff at multiple Indian restaurants.
Alternatively, I might have expected hed hot to refer to a strong cinnamon and ginger tea
This tea is not nearly as spicy as I expected. It is a good tea, but I think it is possibly poorly named as the name is evocative and misleading in my opinion. The flavor stars hibiscus and ginger with apple in a supporting role. It’s pretty tasty and I would certainly drink it again!
Flavors: Apple, Ginger, Hibiscus
I’ve had some good teas from Okayti; I hope this first flush Darjeeling will be another one. I steeped 3 g of leaf in 150 ml of 195F water for 2, 3, 5, and 7 minutes.
The dry aroma is of florals, herbs, wood, and faint muscatel. The first steep has notes of orange, muscatel, florals, herbs, and grass. This is quite a green first flush with a silky texture. The next steep adds more herbs, grass, orange blossom, and wood. In the third steep, the muscatel is more prominent, but I also get some slight astringency. The final steep is herbaceous, grassy, woody, and vegetal.
This is a pleasant first flush Darjeeling that’s on the greener side, despite having some fun fruity accents. I probably could have used 4 g, but didn’t want to have only 1 g left over.
Flavors: Floral, Grass, Green, Herbaceous, Muscatel, Orange, Orange Blossom, Silky, Vegetal, Wood
Preparation
This was not my originally intended afternoon tea. A new can of matcha from Yunomi with a ‘new’ FB marketplace chawan was my intention. But suddenly I saw the last bit I had of this peeking out of the package, and I knew it was time. Being born in the 80s, I felt a nice jive with this one. Grammarly, wants me to make jive into vibe but I’m not doing it…
The aroma of the dry leaf seems to have faded, but the intense 1800s house of the wet leaf is still there. And quite pungent. This is the type of tea that you need a snack with. It’s a bit heavy in the tummy. WOW, that smells so old! I know that sounds terrible, but anytime I open the gaiwan, I’m immediately hit with old decaying wood, mushrooms, some dark cherry wood, a bit of grandma’s basement…. I just had a sad realization that I don’t have a grandparent’s basement to recheck that smell anymore…
More tea. I made a video. https://www.youtube.com/shorts/dbqTScIZKs0
knittingopera Swap Advent Calendar 2025 – Day 11
Theme: An underappreciated song
Song: Gaudete by The Mediaeval Baebes
Wasn’t too excited by the thought of two flavors I don’t always enjoy in tea (almond and coconut) together. However, similar to the Snowflake from Murchie’s that I recently tried, they seem better together. This is described as tasting like wedding cake, and I can see that, though the flavoring was quite mild to my tastebuds. It did have a butteriness that called to mind cake or buttercream. Very mellow overall, but a pleasant cup.
https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=INAdvWqPsIo&si=0EW8agUdT48QdBVJ
Flavors: Almond, Buttery, Cake, Frosting, Soft, Sweet
