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Sipdown! (6 | 162)

This one was just okay. I wish they hadn’t added the chamomile, because I feel like it sort of steals the spotlight from the peach. It becomes very pollen-y and floral instead of being a peach and ginger oolong. I sipped through most of the tin as a cold steep, picking out most of the chamomile each time, but I figured I would finish with a hot cuppa. Drinkable and fine, but I wanted more peach out of it, and the oolong base was nothing to write home about either.

Sipdown! (5 | 161)

This wasn’t a favorite. I didn’t love the choice of Assam as a base, it was a bit weird with all the herbal flavors. Something was very mineral-tasting, not sure if that was the nettle or something else. I was most interested in the elderberry, which you can’t really taste, and I ended up getting a lot of thyme and oregano instead. I dunno, something is off in the balance of ingredients IMO. But that’s okay, I’ll keep the pretty artwork card/label ha ha! :)

Sipdown! (4 | 160)

I know I posted a note for this one not along ago, as it was one of my choices for the advent swap. So not a lot more to say about it other than it’s empty now! I love this one, so will definitely be purchasing another tin of it sometime in the not-so-distant future, but for now just happy to be back to reducing my cupboard… ^^’

knittingopera Swap Advent Calendar 2024 – Day 24
Theme: Silent Night
My pick: The Dreamer from Wild Coast Brew

I was excited to try this because of the sage, but sadly I didn’t drink more than a couple of sips due to the licorice root… It was quite sweet and cloying, and almost tasted like it had stevia in it. Nope, nope, nope! :P

Yay, time for non-advent teas again! XD I really enjoyed my tea advent calendars (and still have a couple of swap and DIY teas to drink) but also excited to get back to sipping down, as I’ve been feeling overwhelmed this month by the amount of tea I have. (Plus my tea count went up instead of down this year, oops!) :P

This is from the S&V subscription. For some reason I felt compelled to sign up when I saw it was four teas a month for $16 or so with free shipping. Plus they tell you ahead of time what the teas are going to be, so I figured I could skip if I wasn’t interested. I’ve never tried any of their unflavored teas, and they seem to include at least one every month, so I figured it would be fun. Anyway!

This is lovely, and a great start to the subscription. Very rich and flavorful, with that concentrated fruity character that I assume is what people mean when they call Qimen “winey”. There’s also a savoriness to it, and a heft like a dark whole-grain loaf of bread. And then in the background is that waffle-y flavor, sweet and a bit maple-y. Usually something I find in Taiwanese black teas but happy to find it here! All in all, just a really tasty hongcha to start the day with. And makes me excited to try some of their other unflavored teas in the future!

knittingopera Swap Advent Calendar 2024 – Day 25 (my pick)
Theme: Festive Breakfast
Her pick: Cinnamon Orange Spice from Joseph’s Teas

Of course, I had to pick this for the Festive Breakfast theme. Extra caffeine from the coffee, and oh-so-festive! Loved it, as always. Such a nice fusion of chocolate-mint with coffee without being too sweet. Delightful!

knittingopera Swap Advent Calendar 2024 – Day 25
Theme: Festive Breakfast
My pick: Winter Cabin from Old Barrel Tea Co

Honestly, I found this one to be a bit odd. It was quite weak, first of all, with a watery black tea base. Then there was an odd sweetness to it, almost like there was some kind of sweetener added. And overall it tasted more like an orange spice candle than a tea? I dunno, nothing about it sat well with me ha ha.

Advent Calendar 2024 – Day 24

This was fine, but not very orange-y. To me, it tasted like a weaker version of their masala chai blend from earlier in the calendar. Still pleasant, and nice spices with no flavoring, but I was hoping for more orange.

Advent Calendar 2024 – Day 24

I found it a bit silly that they saved this tea for last (vs. Holiday Blend for example) but it is new this year, so I can see why they did it. I actually really enjoyed it! The cream element reminded me of buttercream frosting, but it wasn’t as cloying as that sounds. Cranberry was definitely a bit nondescript but still read as a red berry, with a slight tang. There was a hint of cocoa as well, which surprised me as I often find cocoa nibs difficult to detect. I actually have a small bag of this from the December subscription, and looking forward to sipping it again!

Advent Calendar 2024 – Day 23

I was dreading this a bit because of the stevia, but was surprised to find it not very noticeable? Mostly it was a pleasant candy cane-y herbal with just a touch of sweetness to it. I would even consider ordering some of this, which is shocking considering how much I detest stevia ha ha.