TeaGschwendner

With milk, this silky smooth incense tea may end up as one of my favourites over time. There’s sandalwood alongside all of that anise, vanilla, jasmine and spice too. Such a happy tea (except for maybe the tea name, which is a bit outdated in my neck of the woods).

Steep Count: 2

Edit Apparently, there is lemongrass in this, and anise + vanilla aren’t listed as actual ingredients (flavouring may fall under “natural flavours”). Regardless, I like this one a lot. I swear I’ve had it before under a different name too; there’s a bit of nostalgia to this blend.

This was included as a sample in my most recent order. Thank you!

Compared with the more pithy grapefruit teas I’ve been drinking lately, this one is kind of muted (or gentler). As a hot cup, the base is kind of smoky and vegetal, like asparagus. The citrusy grapefruit and guava are equal parts bitter and sweet. The guava in particular adds a mild flowery element.

As a cold brew the green base is smoother and subdued.. everything is actually. It was pretty sweet and mild, but refreshing enough.

While I prefer a more pithy and nippy grapefruit flavour and less smoky green teas I did enjoy the novelty of the guava here; it’s a different ingredient than what I’m used to! It smells lovely too.

Yes, this is good. I drank it alongside a cup of Jayida Ché’s Rooibos Vanilla Chai and I just feel so spoiled right now. Wow, awesome consecutive tea lattes.

If you’ve had Vancouver based Bayswater’s Creme Brulee/Divine Temptation this blend is kind of a relative. It’s smooth and rich, wearing its dessert tea status on the cuff of its sleeve. I had some reservations about the rooibos/black tea blend but it’s easy to forget that “they” exist half the time. Once I run out and when my cupboard is less ridiculous (in 2021) I’ll likely suck it up (argh shipping) and reorder, if just for the fantastic O’Connor’s Cream and this. Yum.

good. drink. happy. yay

With Milk.

Ever had a Crema Bubble Tea from the likes of Chatime? The cream flavour is hard to describe because it has a savoury component, like a cheese, but is still used in a dessert-like context (cream cheese like in cheesecake). It is a flavour that makes me a bit nauseous but also a tad in love.

O’Connor’s Cream has a bit of that “dessert cheese” quality. It’s rich, velvety, tangy, and heady (boozy) to taste and to smell.

I’m surprised cocoa is present (yeah, I know it’s in the description and listed as an ingredient, supposedly helping to catalyze the flavour profile). It’s mostly subtle, like a Browned Butter Milk Chocolate, that is more parts browned butter and milk than chocolate (and add whisky). I don’t know if I would’ve picked cocoa out if it hadn’t been pointed out. It’s doing some interesting things, creating more persuasive flavours and food associations.

Anyways, I was apprehensive about ordering 100g off the bat, and was going to offload some on my old workplace if I wasn’t a complete fan or merely liked it. Now, I suspect it won’t last as long as any of us would like (family members are already fans too).

Advent day 19. Who is Gwendalina and what’s up with her baked apple? There is another tea company that has a tea under the same name. Huh. I feel like I may have steeped this at too high of a temp. The apple was subtle for most of the cup and came out more as the cup cooled. It was an okay cup.

Advent day 18. Took a few sips before adding cream and honey and was greeted with a concentrated brew with spices. After adding to my cup I get a deep tea taste with a mixture of spices on top. The spices are blended so well that I can’t really pick them out individually. It’s a warm and comforting cup, but I feel so so about it in general.

Advent day 15. This is a strange blend! I get sweet spices mixed with savory. Fennel is prominent in the sip, but there is almost something like rye in the finish. I don’t know about this one. It puzzles me.

https://www.instagram.com/p/B6HoCI5gnCw/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

Advent day 14. Cream is a hard flavor for me to pick up on when it’s on it’s own. I feel like I can grasp another flavor being creamy, like fruit, but just cream seems so neutral. The flavor seems to translate to mild malt. There is something kind of ashy in the sip too and that is distracting. Adding a creamer makes it… creamy. I don’t hate it, but I’m not at all impressed either.

Advent day 13. I love coconut teas! I’m used to them in a combination with almond, which this tea lacks, so I’m having to sort out the difference. When my cup was hot I got a good amount of coconut, but also something almost raw dough like. It was strange. As the cup has cooled that taste has changed and there is a more perfumey note in there. The coconut is bright and pleasant, but I feel like there is an extra something missing that would take it up a level.

Advent day 12. I’m loving on this tea! Opening the package, I was greeted with a bright rich scent of jasmine in the shape of cute little curled up leaves. I don’t know why balled up leaves is so adorable, but it is. When steeped I get a really smooth and strong floral flavor. It is buttery on the sip, slightly grassy at the end and has pure jasmine lingering in the finish. I remember getting jasmine teas as a kid at Chinese restaurants, but it was always over steeped and came with that bitter tang. Somewhere in the back of my mind that is always the expectation with jasmine teas, so it’s always a delightful surprise when I get a delicate yet bold and flavorful jasmine without those negatives.

Advent day 11. If it wasn’t for the numbering system this company uses for it’s teas, I’d never have been sure if “Honeybush Emily” was the same as “Smooth Strawberry Dream”. It’s confusing. The tea it’s self is great! It has a bright baked strawberry flavor to it on a caffeine free base that is mercifully not rooibos. I was a bit awed by how tasty it was. It flattens out a bit when it cools, so drink this one hot!

Advent day 10. This has a really nice bright apple flavor. It has the same bright flavor once steeped. The rooibos flavor isn’t dominating, but it’s there. It’s not bad for a rooibos, but it’s not my favorite.

Advent day 7. This is a cute looking tea. The leaves have been rolled up into adorable little balls of various size. Flavor wise, it’s very subtle. I don’t get much from it. After reading the description I can imagine a hint of chestnut. It’s smooth and slightly sweet, but I’m not finding much too it. :/

This is the real advent day 5 tea, not Sencha Claus. Whoops.
Anyways… this is a bright and strong tea! It has a grassy flavor without the bite. It has a light bean taste, but not in an unpleasant way. I’m not super into straight green, but this one is alright.

Advent Day 5, Sencha Claus. Heh heh heh, clever. Dry this smells super fruity, like fruity cereal. The almond comes out much more in the cup with a slightly bakes flavor and mixes well with the fruit flavors. The tea base is light, but has a mouth drying sensation after each sip. I don’t quite get what I think of as sencha in this cup, but it’s a pretty tasty cup.
https://www.instagram.com/p/B5v9VMAAvwo/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

Edit: Awwww crap. I opened door 6 instead of 5. Advent fail.