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ADVENT DAY 10, tea 2/3

This small tea bag contains only rooibos and 5 % of vanilla pieces. That’s amazing 0.075 g of vanilla!

Well, truth to be said, I was excited when I saw it contains so much vanilla. Then I realised, that the bag is rather a baggie, and in fact it contains so little of that precious ingredient.

And well, it is evident in the flavour. The rooibos was one of the better ones, woody and not medicinal at all as some are… but there was hardly any vanilla in flavours or scents. I had to dig deeply to find it.

So yes, another example to not judge the tea by its cover.

ADVENT DAY 10, tea 1/3

Another tea from Laos and again a tea I will need to buy to try it again steeped in different ways. Today I steeped it western, all 5 grams / 300 ml; steeped for 5 minutes.

Even dry leaves are very aromatic after raisins, red grapes and wine; along with cocoa and malty notes.

The mouthfeel of this is amazing, smooth and long; sweet cocoa with red grapes, dates and raisins. Malt isn’t much present in flavours, but sweet grape flavour lingers long in the mouth and rather longer steeping time did not hurt the tea nor my stomach.

Vendor suggests brewing in clay tea pot, but sadly I don’t own any… maybe I will just look after some soon-ish. And putting this tea to wishlist, so I know I just want to try it again. It’s not the cheapest tea, but definitely worth more session and more focus. And yes, it seems it is another winner. And now I am indeed glad I decided to give this calendar a try.

ADVENT DAY 9, tea 3/3

I would love to hear story behind blending this blend. Maybe they thought that the German name is nice play with words? And what is Galangal?

It seems that today is a meh tea day. Honestly, this was like a ginger infused water, with some eastern food notes (that’s the galangal I assume); and ginger was also very tamed by licorice root. Nothing that calls turmeric as last root used in this blend.

ADVENT DAY 9, tea 2/3

This one was kind of meh. Moreover the list of teas says cheery Cheesecake, with same ingredients as this Cheesecake; and I doubt there is any difference.

Honestly everything was meh with this tea. Base was boring, simple Ceylon (I assume), with nothing but tannic notes. And then there were cranberries. Noticeable in flavour — slight tartness was there. But no cherry, no cream cheese, no pastry… nothing that reminds me cheesecake at all.

Just meh.

ADVENT DAY 9, tea 1/3

Two green in a row? Well, it is because skipped day…

Anyway, this was just… weak. I steeped 3 grams in 300 ml, used 90°C water as suggested and my white tea that I had yesterday was definitely more flavourful. But steeped leaves of this smelled nice.

I wonder if I should steep it longer than 2.5 minutes, but I was preparing as suggested by vendor. Just the ratio was a bit lower… but I just expecte it more flavourful. I guess that remaining 2 grams I just need to steep gongfu, in lower water qty and with long(er) steeping times.

Without the rating deliberately.

ADVENT DAY 8, tea 3/3

For a tea bag white tea this tea is one of the finest I ever had! Very mellow, yet distinctive aromas and flavours, sweet and a little bit of bitterness here.
I think there was some spice note — but now, writing this note a bit later, I can’t point out what was that.

ADVENT DAY 7, tea 3/3

All 5 grams in my gaiwan ready for 90°C water (as suggested) steeped 60, 20, 60, 120 seconds. Sadly I don’t have softest water, instead quite hard water.

I had a preheated gaiwan (well… I have cleaned it and then I just put tea in); and there were lots of grassy and umami notes.

1st steep, 60 seconds
Strong in umami, slight grassy notes and very sweet. Sadly the mouthfeel was rather short.

2nd steep, 20 seconds
Definitely strong in umami again, followed with grassy and some seaweed notes, not so present, but present buttery notes; not so sweet cup this time. Hints of astringency!

3rd steep, 60 seconds
Umami has finally weaked, but it’s full of seaweed now, quite salty and buttery, in aroma freshly cut grass, zucchini.

4th steep, 120 seconds
This steep is again flavorful, cut grass, zucchini, less of seaweed and salty taste… probably I like this one the most?
Long mouthfeel, mouth coated with that grassy note which I have expected.

Now I just want to give this tea another chance and probably steeping in colder water. Because the last steep was definitely with colder water than the others; as I could drink it much earlier. Used leaves smell after kohlrabi, and I think they are indeed “done”.

Available directly from Japan from: https://www.the-tea-crane.com/ — there is no collaboration between them and me :)

ADVENT DAY 8, tea 2/3

Somehow basic fruit blend; very deep red colour, a little tart of cranberry and a little sweet of red apples. While it is basic, it was a welcome change of pace in all those flavoured teas, while this is just fruit, caffeine-free tea.

ADVENT DAY 8, tea 1/3

Yes, it’s right. I skipped third tea for Day 7 because it’s a sencha, and I wanted to prepare it correctly. Yesterday, I was too tired to pay attention to details, and my thermos was full of Tielka’s Persian Mint Chai, which needed a thorough cleaning before brewing any other tea. I usually use my thermos to store hot water during gongfu sessions, but yesterday was an exception.

Now, onto the Kanchanjangha. I steeped the entire 5-gram packet in my strainer using almost 90°C water and steeped for 4.5 minutes.

The resulting liquor was murky but filled with wonderful aromas. I detected distinct fruity notes of cherry and raisin, along with woody cedar notes. The flavors were quite similar, with additional notes of dark chocolate, florals, and muscatel. The finish had a subtle malty and tobacco character.

This tea is definitely high in caffeine and made for a great breakfast tea. It woke me up nicely. I highly recommend it! As someone who has a soft spot for Georgian teas, I’m also developing a fondness for Nepali teas.

ADVENT DAY 7, tea 2/3

Caramel? Check. Popped rice (instead of corn)? Check.

I actually quite like this one, though, as you know, I am not a fan of caramel. It was creamy caramel, but not overly sweet; combined with popped rice that brought some nuttiness to the flavour, was quite working well. I wouldn’t recognize intended flavour if not written, but maybe I am just too tired today for that!