Tea at the White House

Tea at the White House Advent Calendar 2023 – Day 24

Another nicely festive tea for Day 24! :D

This is actually really nice, one of my favorites from this advent. It has a bit of that candy cinnamon sort of flavor, but not too much, and there are also some other spices and a bit of a sugar cookie flavor as well. It’s quite light overall, but I like the balance of the sweet cinnamon with the slightly buttery cookie – it makes me think of snickerdoodles, which is pretty on-brand for a spiced cookie around the holiday season.

So this advent overall, was just kind of okay. It definitely was the most festive of my tea advents, which is what drew me to it in the first place. So many of the flavors were holiday-themed and just fun. However, in general the quality of the tea was just so-so. To be honest, I didn’t actually expect it to be amazing because this shop is obviously carrying teas from the major wholesalers, which in my experience aren’t generally outstanding. So I wasn’t too surprised or disappointed. I also found it a bit odd that there were a lot of seasonal and festive teas early in the advent, but then in the middle there was a sort of lull, with more generic dessert-type teas. I’m not saying all the teas need to be holiday-themed, but I do wish they’d been ordered in a way that they were better distributed throughout the month.

Tea at the White House Advent Calendar 2023 – Day 23

So at first I thought I’d already had this tea, but I guess I was thinking of the one with the same name from Sipology.

Unfortunately it doesn’t have much flavor to me? Like, I taste the tea itself, and it’s a bit brisk and tannic with a lot of acidity to it. And then there’s a touch of cream I think? But nothing remotely cookie-ish IMO. Mostly it tastes like strong tea.

Tea at the White House Advent Calendar 2023 – Day 22

I’m not a big marzipan tea fan, but this is actually pretty nice. Sweet and a touch fruity with sweet marzipan flavor. It is quite oily, there was a lot of either coconut or almond pieces in the sachet.

Certainly wouldn’t buy it, but I expected to hate it more. :P

Tea at the White House Advent Calendar 2023 – Day 21

Another vanilla/caramel tea huh? It feels like they did a lot of the festive teas early and this middle part has been mostly more generic desserty blends. Hopefully there are some more holiday teas since there are only a few days left!

Anyway, it’s fine. Vanilla with a bit of richness and creaminess, which does make sense for a vanilla custard. I could see it being flan-ish. Smooth and earthy black base. Not bad, just not my particular type of tea.

Tea at the White House Advent Calendar 2023 – Day 20

I was afraid I had accidentally used too much water for this teabag (I got distracted while I was pouring from the kettle lol), but it seems to have come out fine.

Really nice buttery caramel sort of flavor without being overly artificial. I definitely get the toffee sauce inspiration. However, I don’t really get the pudding? Still, quite nice and I always appreciate a more restrained hand with flavoring.

Tea at the White House Advent Calendar 2023 – Day 19

This is nice! It’s sort of what I wish Bonfire Toffee from B&B would have been. Good balance of cooked apple with candy-spicy cinnamon and a dash of savory smoke. I think I’m getting a bit of the cranberry as well? Which would be shocking ha ha.

Really nice fall and winter tea, I might actually have to seek this one out…

Tea at the White House Advent Calendar 2023 – Day 18

This honestly doesn’t really taste flavored? I mostly just get a smooth, woody black tea base. Maybe it’s the flavoring that’s giving it that woody quality, like whiskey? There’s a hint of creaminess but I think if you told me it was a natural note of the tea, I would believe you.

It’s fine but underwhelming.

Tea at the White House Advent Calendar 2023 – Day 17

This is an interesting one, because the caramel actually tastes quite dark. It still has that buttery caramel quality, but it almost reminds me more of the crisp caramelized crust on a crème brûlée. The base is earthy and smooth, which goes quite well with the dark, rich caramelized sugar flavor.

Nicer than I expected! I don’t generally love caramel teas but this was a bit of a different spin.

Tea at the White House Advent Calendar 2023 – Day 16

Not in love with this, it reminds me of the Earl Grey base that Dessert by Deb uses, as it’s quite earthy and mineral in an almost potting soil sort of way. And then there’s a bit of sweet maple layered on top, which just doesn’t blend well with the earthy black tea IMO.

Love the idea, just not the execution. :P

Tea at the White House Advent Calendar 2023 – Day 15

This is much nicer than I expected. I actually get a distinct blackberry note, which is rare for me. Usually blackberry teas taste more generic IMO, but this one is bringing back memories of my grandma’s blackberry cobbler. The maple adds a nice sweet note and rounds everything out, but the blackberry is the star.

Tea at the White House Advent Calendar 2023 – Day 14

This is a pleasant enough tea. Very mellow but sweet lemon flavor mixed with more herbaceous lemongrass. The black base is smooth and inoffensive, but lacks a bit of flavor.

Certainly not a lemony enough tea to be called limoncello, in my opinion. It’s more of a soft lemon fluff sort of flavor.

Tea at the White House Advent Calendar 2023 – Day 13

Well this was a surprise coming from this advent!

I admit I’m a bit of a hojicha snob these days, but this was still good. Basic run-of-the-mill hojicha with a lot of grassiness and not much nuance, but still so cozy for a rainy day like today. Definitely more sharp than some of the hojicha I’ve become accustomed to though.

Tea at the White House Advent Calendar 2023 – Day 12

So, this doesn’t taste anything like gingerbread ha ha. It mostly tastes like very earthy ginger root, with maybe a hint of some other spices. There’s a hint of sweetness, but nothing caramel-like.

Anyway, very earthy ginger rooibos. Not awful, but definitely not gingerbread either.

Tea at the White House Advent Calendar 2023 – Day 11

Straight up orange oil. Even the description mentions “essential oil of fresh oranges” lol.

I like essential oils as fragrance, but I feel like the citrus ones in particular just make tea taste like a cleaning product to me. They’re too sharp and just… I don’t know how to describe it, but I don’t like it ha ha.

There’s a touch of chocolate flavor, but mostly this tastes like Goo Gone smells to me.

Tea at the White House Advent Calendar 2023 – Day 10

So I thought this was going to be your run-of-the-mill mulled wine sort of fruit tisane, because it has hibiscus and spices and apple.

However, it actually veers more toward the fresh and tangy side, as I mostly taste the apple, orange, and hibiscus, and very little of the spices. A pleasant surprise as I enjoyed this much more than the more spiced versions.

Tea at the White House Advent Calendar 2023 – Day 9

I’m not sure I’ve ever had stollen, though I am familiar with it. It’s sort of like a German fruitcake, but I don’t think it’s quite as dense as the American version. But it has dried fruits and nuts and spices, etc.

Anyway, this tea is mostly just marzipan. It’s not overpowering, but it is the dominant flavor. I do also pick up on hints of spices and cherry, and an undertone of butter.

Someone other than me might like this quite a lot, but I’m not a fan of almond extract sort of notes in tea, and here it’s paired with a maraschino cherry sort of cherry flavor, which I also don’t love ha ha. :)

Tea at the White House Advent Calendar 2023 – Day 8

This just tastes kind of… vague? I think a hot toddy has lemon and honey? I guess I can see the honey part, and maybe a teeny tiny hint of lemon. But that could also be the natural acidity of the black tea.

Anyway, it’s not bad? Just doesn’t taste like much other than a generic, somewhat astringent black tea.

Tea at the White House Advent Calendar 2023 – Day 7

This definitely does not taste like eggnog to me, I don’t really get nutmeg at all. It has a waxy quality to it, and reminds me more of some kind of vanilla-flavored ChapStick.

Never a fan of green & black blends either, you either have to steep it at a black tea temperature which causes the green tea to be bitter or astringent, or steep it at a green tea temperature which causes the black tea to not contribute much flavor.

Tea at the White House Advent Calendar 2023 – Day 6

The classic “Forever Nuts” style fruit tisane.

I haven’t had one of these in a while, but it’s really hitting the spot at the moment. Maybe it’s because I needed a little influx of sugar for an afternoon pick-me-up, heh. Nice balance of sweet and a hint of tart, and the apple-cinnamon combo makes it remind me of apple pie. Or maybe an apple crumble with some toasted sliced almonds in the topping.

Nice enough tisane. Not something I would order for myself, but enjoyed it more than I expected. I seem to be saying that a lot lately! :P

Tea at the White House Advent Calendar 2023 – Day 5

Gotta say, wasn’t thrilled to see two rum-flavored teas today. Not the biggest fan of alcohol-flavored things in general.

Luckily, this is much better than the Sipology offering. It tastes like a creamy milk chocolate bonbon with rum cream filling. The chocolate is slightly artificial, but the creaminess helps smooth it out. Plus, it’s actually a booze-flavored tea so the booziness of the chocolate flavoring actually makes sense ha ha.

Enjoyed my small cup quite a bit! It’s not something I would reach for, but pleasantly surprised by how nice it is. :)

Tea at the White House Advent Calendar 2023 – Day 4

It is what it says – a simple, pepperminty candy cane black tea. No cream or vanilla (sadly), just refreshing mint on a smooth, somewhat earthy black base.

It’s not wow-ing me or anything, but always nice to have a festive cuppa, especially when it has cute little candy cane sprinkles! I still haven’t found a candy cane tea that I’ve really loved, but I do adore B&B’s Peppermint Cream, which is sort of in that same vein. :)

Tea at the White House Advent Calendar 2023 – Day 3

They didn’t seem to have this blend on their website. There was one called Donut but it looked to be a Forever Nuts type tisane. This is also a fruit tisane, but it has a strong cherry smell and no beetroot. (ETA: They did add it to the website after I wrote this!)

It’s quite nice really, especially since I don’t tend to love cherry teas. It does taste a bit like a jelly doughnut, albeit with quite a bit of apple in there. The cherry does taste like a generic cherry candy, but it’s pretty well tempered by the tarter apple and it doesn’t overwhelm the blend. There is a sugary sweetness to it that makes sense for a sugar-dusted doughnut.

Anyway, a pleasant fruity tisane for the evening! Not something I would go out and buy, but I did enjoy my small cupful. Very sweet though.

Tea at the White House Advent Calendar 2023 – Day 2

This one was a bit odd. The base is aggressively earthy, which doesn’t meld very well with the desserty flavors. Also, I almost felt like I was tasting bergamot at one point? Not sure if that’s just a connotation I have because of the earthier base or what.

Anyway, it wasn’t awful – I drank it – just a weird choice of base for a cake tea.

Tea at the White House Advent Calendar 2023 – Day 1

Happy December, tea friends! So excited to start my many advent calendars, and to hear what everyone else is sipping on from theirs!

This is a very cute tea, with bright white snowflake sprinkles and little white chocolate chips. The bits of green moringa leaf and yellow petals are a nice touch too. It smells a bit like cookies or baked goods to me, but turns out it’s a white chocolate and vanilla black tea. All white flavors to pair with watching the snow fall, cute!

Flavor-wise, it’s just okay. To be fair, I am not a great lover of chocolate teas in general. This does have a bit of a creamy and somewhat buttery vanilla flavor to it, which makes sense for white chocolate. But there’s an artificial, almost waxy note that makes me think of those old school liquid-filled wax bottle candies that you had to bite the top off of.

Still, glad to start the advent calendar season with such a festive tea! Even if it was a bit of style over substance. ;)