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Beach House Teas 12 Teas of Christmas 2023 – Day 10

An interesting one today! This looks to be a coffee alternative, with chicory root and cacao.

Oof, this is so strong on the chicory! It’s basically all I taste, with a bit of black tea in the background. Very strongly acidic with a bitter undertone. I wish I could taste the chocolate, but I don’t see how it could stand up to the overpowering chicory without adding flavoring.

So a bit disappointing, sadly.

Bird & Blend Matcha Advent Calendar 2023 – Day 10

I’m surprised they put this one 10 days into the calendar. If it were me, I would’ve placed it very early since really it’s more of a fall flavor.

It’s quite a nice matcha though, and true to its name, it does taste like pumpkin pie. I prepared mine as an iced latte (as always) so I’m sure that helps to emulate the creamy texture. Tasting the allspice and nutmeg up front, backed by clove and cinnamon. (Actually, clove isn’t in the ingredients, so I guess that’s just the allspice still!) Ginger adds an earthiness which goes well with the already earthy matcha.

Speaking of which, I don’t taste a ton of matcha here, maybe because it’s a bit diluted by the ground spices. Still, it makes for a nice, creamy pumpkin pie sort of latte with a dash of matcha flavor.

Beach House Teas 12 Teas of Christmas 2023 – Day 9

So this is supposed to be a chocolate & white chocolate rooibos, but I don’t really taste either of those things. There were white chocolate chips in the blend, but they don’t seem to have contributed anything other than an oily layer on top of my cup. Apparently it’s also a vanilla-flavored rooibos, but I don’t really notice vanilla either? The only things I taste are woody rooibos and a bit of licorice root.

Not a favorite.

Thésaurus Tea Fandom Advent Calendar 2023 – Day 9

This… mostly just tastes like rooibos.

There’s a touch of rose, and a tiny hint of almond maybe? But mostly it’s just rooibos, with a touch of bitterness – I assume from the gynostemma?

_Meh.

DIY Kyoto Obubu Advent Calendar 2023 – Day 9

This is such an unusual and interesting tea. It’s roasted, but the sencha leaves are still dark green in color. But then when you steep it, it has the brownish color of a hojicha.

It has a smooth and lightly toasty flavor, but there is still some umami presence underneath. The roasted sakura is difficult to describe… I do still taste that savory floral note with a hint of cherry, but then there’s a deep, toasty note layered over the top.

Just lovely… Fresh and cozy at the same time, and an interesting intersection of spring and autumn.

Compagnie & Co Advent Calendar 2023 – Day 9

This is an interesting mix – green and white teas with red fruits, almond, and honey.

There is a vague fruitiness to it, the almond makes it lean more toward cherry to me, maybe with some raspberry in there as well. I do get a little touch of honey. Honestly it’s a bit difficult to pull the flavors apart, as they almost combine into a single, more complex flavor? I don’t think I would be able to pick out the notes (other than the almond) if I didn’t already know what they were. There’s almost something a bit citrusy as well? It almost hits bubblegum, but not quite.

An interesting one. I don’t love it, but mostly because of the almond ha ha. I wish there was a bit more freshness to the fruit (it’s more jammy) to help brighten up the flavor overall.

Tea at the White House Advent Calendar 2023 – Day 9

I’m not sure I’ve ever had stollen, though I am familiar with it. It’s sort of like a German fruitcake, but I don’t think it’s quite as dense as the American version. But it has dried fruits and nuts and spices, etc.

Anyway, this tea is mostly just marzipan. It’s not overpowering, but it is the dominant flavor. I do also pick up on hints of spices and cherry, and an undertone of butter.

Someone other than me might like this quite a lot, but I’m not a fan of almond extract sort of notes in tea, and here it’s paired with a maraschino cherry sort of cherry flavor, which I also don’t love ha ha. :)

Sipology Advent Calendar 2023 – Day 9

Okay so… This actually does remind me of chocolate chip cookie dough, which really surprised me ha ha. It has that same buttery quality and sweetness with a bit of chocolate mixed in.

I will say though, I feel like puerh is an odd choice for this type of flavor? Maybe it’s just me, but I find it weird to pair puerh with desserty flavors. Chocolate makes sense, since the dark flavor of the puerh enhances it, but cookie dough? Not saying it’s bad, I just find the deep earthiness to not make a lot of sense with the buttery and sweet flavoring.

Pleasantly surprised overall though!

Bird & Blend Matcha Advent Calendar 2023 – Day 9

This is an interesting one. It’s quite orange-y, which I don’t think is normal for carrot cake? To be fair, it’s been a while since I’ve had one ha ha.

Normal or not, the orange does go very well with the mild spices – mostly cinnamon and nutmeg. There is something a little cakey about it. Not sure whether I’m picking up on the frosting or not, but since I prepare these with oat milk, it’s a bit difficult to judge the level of creaminess.

Very enjoyable, like a spice cake + orange spice mashup. And now I’m thinking that carrot cake would probably be very tasty with orange, or perhaps with orange-infused frosting… :)

Sipology Advent Calendar 2023 – Day 8

This is an interesting one – cider makes me think of apple, but here they meant cider spices apparently. There is apple as well, but just as a filler. It ends up being quite strong on the ginger, which is not necessarily what I think of for cider. It actually reminds me a bit of a cranberry ginger ale. It’s cherry, not cranberry, but still similar.

I hate to say it, but I feel like this could use some hibiscus? It doesn’t have any at all, and I feel like because of that it tastes rather flat. There’s no real dimension to the fruit flavor, if that makes sense. Still an enjoyable blend though.