1298 Tasting Notes
Day 6 of DIY mostly Adagio advent calendar. I needed this palate cleanser after the Orange Pomander. This struck me as a very solid mid-range jasmine. Floral in a way that feels scented, not like jasmine essence has been added. A bit dry. I like a whiff of sweetness in my jasmine teas, but I’m not picking up on any here. I stopped after two steeps to avoid over-caffeinating for the day. I added agave syrup to the second steep, which complemented the jasmine nicely. This would make a perfectly reasonable daily drinker, especially on days where you can’t give the cup your full attention so you maybe don’t want to be using your fanciest stuff.
Day 16 of the Lupicia advent calendar. Just a single sachet, thankfully. I have done it, everyone. I have found Lupicia’s worst tea by a mile (or kilometer, or any other measure of distance). I brewed this as instructed, which feels really important to note here. This was not an overbrew. Upon taking my first sip, I exclaimed “WHY” to an empty room. It’s just a mouthful of clove. The cloviest clove that ever cloved. Somewhere behind the clove is maybe a hint of citrus, if you can make it past the sea of clove to find it. I think my cup personally has all of the clove flavor that others could barely detect in theirs. I felt guilty about pouring this out because the calendar was so expensive, but I found it literally undrinkable. I forced down a few sips for science. That was the most I could manage.
Day 16 of the Tea Thoughts winter countdown. Peeked ahead and gong fu’d this yesterday with the teeny tea tray that I’m still in love with. Even before I looked at any information about the tea, I was jotting down notes about how creamy it is, with a slight marine note at the back end of the sip and overall big “high mountain oolong” vibes. So zero surprise that this is a high mountain oolong made with jinxuan cultivar. Made some more today in a smallish steeping mug. It’s even creamier today. Loving it.
Day 14 of the Tea Thoughts winter countdown box. Savory and lightly sweet, with a very mild goji note. Interesting cooling sensation after the sip, which I wasn’t expecting. I did the first steep at 3 minutes and that was a bit light for me, but this 5-minute second steep is working for me. I might try for a third…
ETA: Got a third solid steep out of this today.
Day 2 of the 52teas advent calendar. I made this as an oat milk latte because, well, “cookie” in the name always makes me want to latte a blend. Not sure I’m getting any cookie/pastry notes, but it’s possible they’re getting drowned out by the oat milk. I am getting spices though – cinnamon, maybe a hint of clove? There’s something here that isn’t just cinnamon, and the spice blend is different than that in yesterday’s gingerbread tea. It’s got some depth and big wintry cozy vibes. The snowflake sprinkles are adorable. Very seasonally apropos. Respectable showing, but I like gingerbread a lot so I still like that blend more in the spiced-winter-tea match-up.
Day 14 of the Plum Deluxe herbal advent. This smells so chocolate-y while brewing, for some reason. But the flavor is spot-on honey and caramel. The nutty, slightly woody honeybush holds those flavors up beautifully. I especially like that the caramel lingers on the palate after the sip. Making quick work of this one.
Day 14 of the Lupicia advent calendar, one loose leaf serving. Y’all. This is so syrupy. The blackcurrant flavor is overwhelming for me. I let it cool and turned it into a tea soda. Which was the preferable way to enjoy it. Definitely helped cut the sweetness and viscosity. Even at half-tea/half-seltzer, that blackcurrant flavor stayed strong. Glad I got to try this but probably wouldn’t have it again.
Day 13 of the Lupicia advent calendar, single sachet. I paired this with Day 15, kinako-coated peanuts. The pattern for snacks here seems to be “peanuts with various coatings.” I’m not complaining, they’ve all been quite tasty so far! When I saw the description of this, I thought it would take oat milk well and that was a correct assessment. Creamy white chocolate, malty base, hint of nuttiness and a touch of vanilla. I see other (mostly older) tasting notes mentioning apricot flavor. Not sure whether Lupicia has reformulated the blend, the oat milk is drowning that note, or I’m just not picking up on it, but I don’t taste any apricot here.
Day 1 of the 52teas advent calendar. I like that each day provides enough tea to play around with. Apparently I quite enjoyed the first version of this tea 11 years ago, though to be honest I don’t really remember it. That tracks though, since somehow I’ve already made this three times and finished it off! This is right up my alley. The gingerbread spice balance is just right, bringing to mind soft gingerbread rather than gingerbread cookies. I tried it straight, as an oat milk latte, and with oat milk and vanilla agave. I found that adding oat milk didn’t really change the experience, but oat milk + vanilla agave added that molasses-y quality of gingerbread and generally made this even cozier. Strong strong start to this calendar.
Day 12 of the Lupicia advent calendar, one sachet of this. What am I even drinking? I tried to find an ingredients list and couldn’t. I couldn’t even find a specific flavor description outside of people’s tasting notes here. I’m getting maybe raspberry, grape, and apricot on a slightly tannic base? Generally in the stone fruit and tart berry vicinity. The gimmick here isn’t working for me, mostly because what if there’s an ingredient that someone is allergic to or otherwise can’t have? It’s a pleasant enough fruity black tea but the mystery-ingredients thing makes this a no for me.
