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52teas 12 Teas of Christmas 2023 – Day 3*

Delicious bright, round tea. Like many of 52tea’s earl grey blends, it’s pretty good without milk (and fantastic, as usual). Adding a creamer of some kind sure brings out the cheesecake though! Mmm…

Mariage Frères Advent Calendar – Day 15

There were herbal flowers in this blend? Huh. I just taste floral green tea. It’s nice but subtle. (there’s lavender, chamomile, and citrus in this? No wonder I like it). It delivers on its name though, and I deeply appreciate that.

52teas 12 Teas of Christmas 2023 – Day 2

52teas almost makes me believe I could enjoy rooibos and honeybush. I still can’t taste these to any fine detail but I loved what I could anyways! The gingerbread is more like the cookie than the fruity cake note I had in an earlier tea today (both are fruity though). I like both kinds of gingerbread.

Always nice to taste fig. It’s a good, dynamic fruit (along with dates, which often does the molasses impression), especially when blended in other things. Like cookie tisanes.

Dammann Frères Advent Calendar – Day 15

I enjoyed this one a lot this year. Not registering the ginger as a distinctive force as much this time, and just enjoying the the soft fruity and nutty gingerbread (cake) notes.

Steep Count: 2

52teas 12 Teas of Christmas 2023 – Day 1

I didn’t even realize there was cinnamon in this until I read some of your tea notes, Steepsterites. I’m clearly more congested than I thought.

For what it’s worth, I like this blend a lot. Looking forward to revisiting this one.

Mariage Frères Advent Calendar – Day 13

At first, I was worried that I wouldn’t get the chance to enjoy this in the Optimal Earl Grey Way. To my horror, I learned that the only milk in the fridge had gone, while not quite off per se, “unsettled.” Unsettled milk has no part in the Optimal Earl Grey Way. It’s an anathema to the whole process, actually. This unfortunate event has served as a cautionary tea tale – to always take stock of the milk’s condition before steeping up the Earl Grey.

Luckily for me, this is not my usual Earl Grey blend. No, this one is “fancy.” With Airs. Mariage Frères even describes it as “airy.” This tea thinks it’s too good for milk. What a world.

That bergamot is the good stuff though.

Mariage Frères Advent Calendar – Day 12

Against my better judgment, I found myself taken in by the this cinnamon and rose flavoured oolong. Nothing seemed to overpower anything else. The cinnamon is like a soft blush to the melted floral and fruity notes. Its profile – like many of the “In Love” series – trend towards less of a concrete idea, and more of an ambiguous vibe that blurs together. Kind of Impressionist in a way. Or like shoegaze music? I don’t know, but I mostly enjoyed this one.

Dammann Frères Advent Calendar – Day 12

Mmm, a cornucopia of fruits. It’s nice to have tisanes of this quality to drink in the evening right now.

Dammann Frères Advent Calendar – Day 13

Simple but full-bodied and tasty. Always a pleasant to come across a black currant tasting tea! It’s an offering that I’d like to spend more time with when I have my nose back.

Steep Count: 2

Dammann Frères Advent Calendar – Day 14

I love this as a concept so much. Also smells delicious, even through my stuffed up sinuses. However, I wish it was more toasty and less grassy in profile (maybe that’s the congestion talking). I had it along with cold buckwheat noodles though, and that was a fine pairing! I’d love to try a sample of this again under better conditions.