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Tea at the White House Advent Calendar 2023 – Day 24

Another nicely festive tea for Day 24! :D

This is actually really nice, one of my favorites from this advent. It has a bit of that candy cinnamon sort of flavor, but not too much, and there are also some other spices and a bit of a sugar cookie flavor as well. It’s quite light overall, but I like the balance of the sweet cinnamon with the slightly buttery cookie – it makes me think of snickerdoodles, which is pretty on-brand for a spiced cookie around the holiday season.

So this advent overall, was just kind of okay. It definitely was the most festive of my tea advents, which is what drew me to it in the first place. So many of the flavors were holiday-themed and just fun. However, in general the quality of the tea was just so-so. To be honest, I didn’t actually expect it to be amazing because this shop is obviously carrying teas from the major wholesalers, which in my experience aren’t generally outstanding. So I wasn’t too surprised or disappointed. I also found it a bit odd that there were a lot of seasonal and festive teas early in the advent, but then in the middle there was a sort of lull, with more generic dessert-type teas. I’m not saying all the teas need to be holiday-themed, but I do wish they’d been ordered in a way that they were better distributed throughout the month.

Flavors: Butter, Candy, Cinnamon, Cookie, Smooth, Sweet

Preparation
200 °F / 93 °C 3 min, 0 sec 8 OZ / 236 ML

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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, Korean skincare, and – of course – TEA! But really, what I’m best at is “collecting” hobby-related things… ;)

~ 2024 SIPDOWN CHALLENGE! ~
- December sipdowns: 0
- Total 2024 sipdowns: 156

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.

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

I tend to reach for fruitier flavors rather than desserty ones these days, but I do have favorites from both categories. Willing to try anything once! There are a few ingredients/flavors that aren’t generally my jam, such as coconut, rose, lavender, and chocolate flavoring. But I also have teas that I love with some of those things, too! :)

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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