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Sipdown!

I don’t celebrate Christmas, so I have never done an advent calendar. BUT. This year, Christmas Eve is also the first night of Hannukah. And I love Hannukah. And countdowns are fun. SO. I have spent the past month getting a bunch of teas to sip-downable levels so I could DIY a Hannukah countdown sipdown bonanza. As an added treat, I picked up a chocolate advent calendar from Trader Joe’s so I could have my own little tea and chocolate ritual each evening. Naturally, I had to start the event by doubling down on the chocolate with this tea.

This reminds me strongly of Andes chocolate mints. It’s just a clean, minty, creamy, chocolate brew. Yummy hot, terrible cold. Would happily drink again.

This might actually be more chocolatey than the original Verdant blend. Thanks to Zennenn for including this in my Secret Pumpkin package!

It’s been a long and difficult week so I needed something sweet and comforting. This did hit the spot, but happens to be one of those black teas that hurt my stomach. Call it a bittersweet experience. The flavor is really nice though. More hot cocoa than rice krispy treats. I’m on my second steep and it is still sweet and flavorful. Yum.

Sipdown! I tricked out the last of my sample with a generous dose of rice milk and some DavidsTea Pumpkin Agave. The result was a gloriously maple, cinnamon, pumpkin, lightly clove, creamy, sweet brew. This is a really great fall tea for rainy days. I know because it started raining as I was sipping this tea and the combination was delightful. Take that with a grain of salt, though – I only like the rain when I don’t have to go outside in it.

Sipdown! Thanks to Phi for the sample!

I’m not a big wine person, so I was reluctant to try this blend. It turns out to not be very wine-like, though. The brew actually reminds me a lot of Nina’s Paris’s Versailles Rose. The grapefruit tartness is the same, just over a green tea base instead of a black one. I got two enjoyable steeps out of the leaf. The second steep was softer in flavor but sweeter. I let part of the second steep get cold so I could try this as an iced tea. Yum! Sweet grapefruit juiciness over a grassy green base. I can see this being great as a cold steep at the height of summer.

This is a solid mid-range jasmine green. The jasmine flavor overwhelms the base but it isn’t cloying. I had this with dinner at a fancy restaurant. It’s nice enough for that, but not so impressive as to keep stocked at home.

Thanks to Tea Pet for this lovely blend. No doubt it has lost some flavor in the years that I have been hoarding it. I made the last bit in my Breville for optimum enjoyment. The first steep was mildly flavorful but pleasantly pumpkin spicy with some heft in the base. The flavor grew stronger as the brew cooled – pumpkin, cinnamon, and cream. For the second steep, I added some pumpkin agave syrup from DavidsTea. The result is sweet, creamy, and gently spicy. The earthy base keeps the agave sweetness from being overly cloying. I now see that the brewing instructions recommend a rinse, which I totally didn’t do, so I probably messed this up. Harrumph. Still a nice cuppa!

Shana tova! In the spirit of Rosh Hashana, I opted for an apple tea. Two, actually. Time for a caramel apple blend showdown! I’m pitting A Quarter to Tea’s Caramel Baked Apple Oolong against Butiki’s Caramel Apple (also an oolong). Who shall emerge victorious?! I am posting this note under both teas, so apologies for clogging your dashboards.

QTT Caramel Baked Apple
The scent of this leaf is sweet cinnamon, but there’s no cinnamon flavor in the sip. Instead, it’s all soft, sweet baked apple. No caramel flavor either, even after adding brown rock sugar. There is a sort of rocky note here which reminded me of Butiki’s Caramel Apple. That’s what inspired this taste test in the first place.

Butiki Caramel Apple
The scent of rich caramel wafts out of the mug as soon as the hot water hits the leaf. The caramel apple flavor here is spot on. It’s sweet, crisp, perfectly candy apple. The flavoring also melds nicely with the rockiness of the base tea. I actually find that rockiness off-putting on its own but the sweetness rounds it out and makes it pleasant. No need for sweetener here!

Both of these teas are quite tasty. The Butiki has a stronger caramel flavor and tastes more crisp. By contrast, the QTT tastes more like a baked apple pastry (which, to be fair, is implied in the title). Each tea hits the spot in a different way. I’m glad to have both!

Shana tova! In the spirit of Rosh Hashana, I opted for an apple tea. Two, actually. Time for a caramel apple blend showdown! I’m pitting A Quarter to Tea’s Caramel Baked Apple Oolong against Butiki’s Caramel Apple (also an oolong). Who shall emerge victorious?! I am posting this note under both teas, so apologies for clogging your dashboards.

QTT Caramel Baked Apple
The scent of this leaf is sweet cinnamon, but there’s no cinnamon flavor in the sip. Instead, it’s all soft, sweet baked apple. No caramel flavor either, even after adding brown rock sugar. There is a sort of rocky note here which reminded me of Butiki’s Caramel Apple. That’s what inspired this taste test in the first place.

Butiki Caramel Apple
The scent of rich caramel wafts out of the mug as soon as the hot water hits the leaf. The caramel apple flavor here is spot on. It’s sweet, crisp, perfectly candy apple. The flavoring also melds nicely with the rockiness of the base tea. I actually find that rockiness off-putting on its own but the sweetness rounds it out and makes it pleasant. No need for sweetener here!

Both of these teas are quite tasty. The Butiki has a stronger caramel flavor and tastes more crisp. By contrast, the QTT tastes more like a baked apple pastry (which, to be fair, is implied in the title). Each tea hits the spot in a different way. I’m glad to have both!

Sipdown! I can see why 52teas is bringing this blend back for the holidays this year. It has a rich chocolate flavor with a minty undertone and slight creaminess. Adding rice milk really clinches the hot cocoa flavor, though it does drown out the mint. Pretty darn yummy.

Drinking Butiki while watching Luke Cage and cuddling with both partner and cat. I have reached peak bliss.

Also this tea is yummy but faded. I like adding a couple of cinnamon chips to punch it up.