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Decided to go out of order for this one since I’m behind anyway and Irish Breakfast seemed like it should be, well, breakfast tea (or at least early in the day).

I think what I’m learning through this advent is that I am more a fan of straight green teas than straight black, and perhaps that’s related to my inability to discern much going on in a straight black tea. This tea is fine – smooth, dark, bitter. It went well with the toast & jam I had for breakfast, so no complaints there. I just wouldn’t pick it on my own.

DAVIDsTEA Around the World Advent, Day 15

This is a pretty standard lemon/ginger tea, but I think this one has the balance right. The lemon is bright and fresh instead of medicinal. The ginger is present but not too sharp.

I don’t feel a need to have a lemon/ginger on hand. If I ever did though, I’d go for this one.

Plum Deluxe Caffeine Advent, Day 15

I should note, I am picky about cherry. I don’t like most cherry flavoring or cherry candy.
The smell from the bag told me immediately this one wasn’t going to work for me.

I kept sipping it, knowing I was not enjoying it at all, but not sure how to articulate it. It took a lot longer than I would have liked to pin it down. It tasted like cherry cough syrup crossed with a rose perfume.

While I love most things rose, even a strong rose, the combination was a hard pass.

Plum Deluxe Caffeine Advent, Day 14

I will admit, I was not looking forward to this one at all. Between nuts (fine, but not a favorite), the word “brulee” (often a sign of unpleasant sweetness to come), and rooibos (ew), this seemed like a bad fit for me all around.

I am so pleased to be wrong!

The toasted caramel flavor is prominent, with the nuts a pleasant background note for some more depth. The black tea in the blend does some heavy lifting too; in all, I don’t even notice the rooibos. This was delicious hot, still pleasant cool, and it has made my “buy more” list for the season.

Plum Deluxe Caffeine Advent, Day 13

I love the idea of s’mores tea but have yet to find a tea that really consistently nails it in practice. This one has a s’mores scent more than a s’mores flavor. Most of the flavor is a bitter black tea paired with also bitter dark chocolate – the bitterness is a dominant feature of this cup. I hoped the marshmallows in the tin would help with this, and I can taste them a bit at the end, but it’s not enough.

BrutaliTeas Advent, Day 15

I wanted to love this. The name makes me laugh, peach and rose are two of my favorite tea flavors, and it just seemed perfect. It was fine, but the peach notes were too strong and artificial over the floral, which was weak enough I couldn’t tell which flowers were actually in the cup. I found it better cool than hot, because the peach calms down significantly.

BrutaliTeas Advent, Day 14

This was an enjoyable chai. I didn’t actually realize it was supposed to have anything other than chai seasonings in it before reading Cameron’s tasting note; I didn’t get any kind of nut or chocolate from it. But the chai flavor was good. Another “enjoyable, but not a purchase” for me.

BrutaliTeas Advent, Day 13

I love jasmine tea, so I was excited to see this in the advent. It’s a pleasant green tea I savored over a couple of mugs, but the jasmine in it seemed very light to me somehow. Not sure if that’s my new tendency toward shorter steep times or something specific to this tea.

DAVIDsTEA Around the World Advent, Day 13

The description says caramel pear. The reviews say stale walnut. I don’t know if it’s something wrong with my cup or me, but it almost smells boozy to me, and it definitely tastes like something left to ferment. I can kind of tell there’s sweetness in here somewhere, but it’s mostly masked by this awful flavor up front. This is the first tea here I truly could not do at all, which isn’t bad for halfway through, but yikes.

BrutaliTeas Advent, Day 12