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Homemade Advent Exchange Tea #14

I’m behind but will eventually get all of my tasting notes uploaded! (they are written in a notebook)

This has a lovely strong maple scent. The brew is flavourful and the green tea comes through a lot. There are vegetal green notes and some maple. I get a hint of dried apple, as well. I would have liked a bit more vanilla and cakey/buttery flavour or maybe some apple butter/caramelized sugar notes. If I didn’t know any different, I would think this was just a maple apple green tea.

Homemade Advent Exchange Tea #13

I enjoyed this as a latte with a splash of soy milk in my second cup (1st steep was a plain cup without milk). I think the milk is a really nice addition to a genmaicha, despite being unconventional. I got lots of green tea and toasty rice, but the banana and marshmallow must have been overwhelmed. I couldn’t taste much in the way of banana and I couldn’t taste vanilla in the plain cup. Still a nice tea, but it didn’t live up to its name like I hoped.

Homemade Advent Exchange Tea #12

This is a wonderful mint blend. I normally do not drink green/mint combos since I stick to non caffeinated mint herbals instead. I did like how the tea make this a bit more well rounded and varied. Mint is great, but the addition of tannin and vegetal flavours really brings nuance to the drink and even a bit of sweetness. The mint was very fresh, as evidenced by how potent it was when I forgot about my cup and let it steep for 30 minutes. The upside is that I diluted it and made multiple cups out of the one steeping.

Homemade Advent Exchange Tea #11

Steep 1 – 5 minutes in almost boiling water, 3 minutes
I love how nutty this tea is. I found the base very flavourful and bold without being too tannic. It almost has a creamy vanilla flavour to it, which pairs with the walnut flavour well. I could have used more vanilla in the after taste, but it was still a nice blend.

2nd steep – 10 minutes in hot but not boiling water + dash of soymilk
I brewed a second cup, which was weaker, but also delicious. Hints of butterscotch. The soy milk really elevates it to a super smooth decadent latte.

Homemade Advent Exchange Tea #10

This is an interesting blend. While I go understand the blend is supposed to be a negroni that uses bitters in it, I find this blend way too bitter. Not in a bitter melon way but more like orange rind (marmalade?) or that white pithy stuff on a Mandarin or tangerine. The rooibos is nice, but even milk couldn’t save this one. It did brew up very orange in colour though! I can taste a herbaceous kind of flavour, especially in the after taste. It isn’t quite sage but is some sort of plant I can’t identify. Overall just not for me at all. It also doesn’t taste like any Negroni cocktail I’ve ever had (no sweetness or acidity)

Homemade Advent Exchange Tea #9

This tea is delicious! I wouldn’t say it tastes like cookie, but the thick, sweet, creamy taste makes me think of cinnamon rice pudding. It’s an excellent dessert tea. I’m astonished at how creamy and vanilla-y this blend is. The tea is so fresh too! The cinnamon doesn’t have that fake sweetener taste that some teas get when they are heavy on the cinnamon bark. I think I just found a new favourite!

Homemade Advent Exchange Tea #8

This is a lovely green. I thought it was a Korean green at first because it tastes a lot like sejak. I get some umami – almost like seaweed or miso soup but with more loamy minerals. It’s actually very well balanced for a green tea that I overleafed and oversteeped. The bitterness is balanced by the potent flavour without being overwhelming. It is not astringent or drying like tannic greens can be. It reminds me a little of a vegetable broth but without the salt. The flavours are subtle in general, but strong for a green tea. Lightly vegetal but I can’t pick out any specific vegetables except maybe faint kelp.

Sweetness: 2/10
Sourness: 0/10
Bitterness: 4/10 (in a good way)
Potency: 7/10

Homemade Advent Exchange Tea #7

As a big fan of genmaicha, I was happy to see this in my advent calendar box. Quite bittersweet like dry wood and crispy/burnt edges of food. Toasty and with a definite genmaicha houjicha mix. It’s dark like a houjicha but very toasted and with noticeable grain notes.

B&B Advent Tea #7

This is exactly what you mgiht expect from a mulled cider fruit tea. There’s a base of dried apples, some hibiscus and cranberry tartness, lots of spices like cinnamon. It really packs a punch with the strong ginger spiciness (which I like). So far I have enjoyed this hot and cold, but there isn’t anything remarkable about it. I love the ginger but cinnamon apple/cider is such a common combo that I’ve had so many similar blends.

This was a lovely evening cup of peppermint brewed in boiling hot water. I’m lucky that my friends keep tea in case I am at their house. These individual sachets keep things fresh. The menthol is strong, but soothing. It has a little bit of natural sweetness. This brand makes one of the better peppermints out there – very strong and fresh.

Sweetness: 3/10
Sourness: 0/10
Bitterness: 0/10
Potency of flavour: 8/10