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Vahdam Advent Calendar – Day 24

Well this seems an odd choice for the last day… Also I don’t see any green tea here, just big, beautiful mint leaves with chamomile, lemongrass, and citrus peel. I’m still steeping it as a green tea, just in case.

Yeahhhh, I don’t taste green tea either. The chamomile is the strongest flavor here, and it’s very soft and honey-sweet. The mint is second, and adds a soothing cool freshness. I also get little pops of gentle citrus from the orange peel and lemongrass.

As a chamomile fan, I like this one. It has a very soothing herbal flavor with a nice mellow sweetness. But I’m not sure why they even bothered with the green tea, since I can neither see it nor taste it…?

Overall, this was a very interesting advent calendar experience. I ordered this with the idea of going outside my comfort zone, as I haven’t had a ton of experience with masala chai and I knew this would have a lot of spiced blends. The format is really cute, with the unique little mini-tins inside numbered boxes. The art on the front of the box is gorgeous as well. However, I admit that I felt the distribution of teas was very unbalanced… There were far too many turmeric tisanes, and a lot of them were close together as well. I didn’t mind the several masala chai teas, as I expected them going in. But I really would have liked to see more straight teas included, especially more Assam teas. Maybe an Indian white tea would have been fun as well? And the price was quite high, at $80 – though there was a lot more tea included than other advents (470 grams!). Overall, wouldn’t recommend unless you really like turmeric…

(today’s advent teas: https://www.instagram.com/p/CJMA9FugSnn/)

Flavors: Citrus, Floral, Herbaceous, Honey, Lemongrass, Mint, Orange, Smooth, Sweet, Thick

Preparation
175 °F / 79 °C 3 min, 0 sec 2 tsp 12 OZ / 354 ML
Martin Bednář

It seems like a good fun trying “out of comfort zone” teas, but getting that much turmeric and chais won’t hit the mark for me. I can completely see your disappointment pulling out another turmeric or chai.

Checking their website and well I don’t see much teas I would really like to try. That’s indeed a shame for me.

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Comments

Martin Bednář

It seems like a good fun trying “out of comfort zone” teas, but getting that much turmeric and chais won’t hit the mark for me. I can completely see your disappointment pulling out another turmeric or chai.

Checking their website and well I don’t see much teas I would really like to try. That’s indeed a shame for me.

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Bio

Hi, I’m Cameron! I’m a 30-something software engineer currently living in Austin, Texas with my husband and our two pugs, Gobo and Ume. I tend to cycle between my different hobbies, and they include piano, knitting, video games, board games, miniature painting, planners, bento, KBeauty, and – of course – TEA! But really, what I’m best at is “collecting” hobby-related things… ;)

~ 2024 SIPDOWN CHALLENGE! ~
- January Sipdowns: 6
- Total 2024 Sipdowns: 6

I prefer my tea lukewarm or at room temperature and without milk or sugar. I steep Western style, and fluctuate between using big mugs or small teapots depending on the season. Occasionally I’ll brew Gongfu style when I’m in the mood. I’ll also often use a kyusu for Japanese teas.

I am always up for a swap! Just let me know if you’d like to try something in my cupboard.

Tea Preferences:
I enjoy both flavored and unflavored teas in many forms. These days, I drink mostly flavored teas, and I tend to gravitate most toward black, green, oolong, and herbal varieties. I do have a special fondness for straight Japanese green teas, however. I also enjoy maté, rooibos, and honeybush. I love matcha and drink it often! Fruit tisanes are not a favorite, but I’m always willing to try them.

I do not sweeten my teas, and pre-sweetened teas are usually too sweet for me. I also do not enjoy stevia.

Fruit: All of them! My ‘go-to’s tend to be in the red fruits, stonefruit, or citrus spectra. I also really love apple, banana, berry, fig, lychee, melon, pear, and rhubarb flavors. Tropical fruits aren’t among my favorites, but I still enjoy them once in a while – especially passionfruit, mango, and pineapple. I am not generally a fan of coconut in tea, though there are some exceptions.

Dessert: I love creamy vanilla and marshmallow flavors, along with anything in the caramel family such as butterscotch, toffee, or maple. Chocolate is also a favorite, though I’m often disappointed by it in tea. And don’t forget anything buttery, cakey, or cookie-y!

Floral: I’m a little bit more particular in this category. I very much enjoy jasmine, even strong jasmine, along with sakura, chamomile, and elderflower. Osmanthus is also a favorite of mine. But I’m not crazy about rose or lavender flavors, and I prefer hibiscus in moderation only.

Spices: I don’t generally find myself drawn to masala chai, but I do enjoy spices combined with other flavors. My favorite spices are the warm ones, especially cinnamon, nutmeg, anise, and cardamom. A bit of heat from black pepper or chili is okay too, as long as it’s not overwhelming! Ginger can be a lovely accent, but I find it difficult to drink as a starring flavor.

Aromatics: I’m obsessed with Earl Grey! I also love cooling flavors such as mint (especially spearmint), pine, juniper, and eucalyptus. I am not a fan of strong rosemary or sage in tea.

Favorite Companies:
3 Leaf
Bird & Blend
Dammann Frères
Harney & Sons
Kyoto Obubu Tea Farms
Lupicia
Old Barrel Tea Co
Simpson & Vail
Taiwan Tea Crafts
TeaVivre

Tea Rating Scale:
90-100: Outstanding! Permanent cupboard resident
80-89: Great – a possible staple
70-79: Good, but I wouldn’t buy it
60-69: It’s decent
50-59: Meh… I may or may not have finished the cup
40-49: Ick. Couldn’t finish it.
00-39: Repulsive, I spat it out

I will sometimes refrain from rating a tea if I feel I’m too biased due to my personal dislikes, or if I suspect the sample has been compromised by age or scent contamination.

Cupboard Spreadsheet:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1ZEuKf1-ppR-VXajO4vV39zU1N3zjFJteEPAynqD2yl0/edit?usp=sharing

Location

Austin, Texas

Website

https://www.instagram.com/tea...

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