Vahdam Teas

Sipdown! (43 | 116)

I think this one was actually my favorite masala chai from the Vahdam advent calendar.

Cinnamon is probably my favorite spice out of the usual ones, and here it’s the strongest note. But then there’s also a lovely cardamom flavor adding some dimension and a nice aromatic floral element.

It does have a somewhat astringent texture because of the amount of cinnamon (I assume), but it’s not enough to bother me. I’m sure this would have been delicious on the stovetop, but I really enjoyed sipping it plain.

I would consider ordering this one, but I’m hesitant to after there was a bit of controversy on Instagram over Vahdam using someone’s review video for an advertisement without asking…

Vahdam Advent Calendar – Day 6

Ooh, another masala chai blend! I decided to prepare this one straight after having such difficulty with the first masala chai on the stovetop. And I am so glad I did!

This one is quite mild as well, and has a lovely sweet and warm cinnamon flavor that fills my mouth and throat and makes me feel so cozy. There’s cardamom here as well, with its lovely floral spiciness. The base tea is very mild, with a soft bready flavor. The large amount of cinnamon has a slightly drying effect and hint of bitterness in the aftertaste, which I don’t mind here.

It’s a fairly simple tea, though the cinnamon does seem to have a lovely depth of flavor and the cardamom adds another dimension of spice. I really like this one! I could imagine it being lovely with a splash of milk as well. :)

(today’s advent teas: https://www.instagram.com/p/CIdqxdfAjbO/)

Adventaggedon Day 5 – Tea 4/6

I think this is my first Earl Grey out of advents!? Honestly, for such a classic profile, I’m surprised that I’m only just now getting one between the six that I’m doing.

It’s not a bad Earl Grey – very intense and heavy handed bergamot with that crisp, tannic and brisk black tea base that Vahdam seems to use in their flavoured non-Chai black tea blends quite frequently. I’m not the customer for this tea, but I think if you like a really robust and classic Earl Grey that this would likely perfectly hit the spot. Here’s what I don’t get though – and I mean this in general and not just for Vahdam…

Why does there seem to be a resurgence of “Citrus Earl Grey” blends!? I mean, bergamot is a citrus fruit – arguably closest to what most people envision in their heads as a “classic orange”. So, when you “add citrus” to an Earl Grey you’re really only beefing up a flavour that’s already there, and in most cases the citrus added seems to be lemon/orange so it… doesn’t really add anything? Like, when I drank this tea today I didn’t go “Ooh, extra citrus! How delightful!”. Instead, it just felt like someone upped the percentage of bergamot – and, in that case, doesn’t it seem like better marketing to promote the blend as an “Earl Grey Bold” or something like that!? In my head, it’s sort of like if someone was selling a “Masala Chai Cinnamon” – redundant, because Masala Chai already includes cinnamon.

I don’t know – I’m not an Earl Grey customer generally so maybe I just don’t get it, but I don’t understand where this angle is coming from!?

Advent Photos: https://www.instagram.com/p/CIbj3zAAE0C/

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Yay, one Vahdam advent tin down! These have been getting a little neglected with all the other categories of sipdown teas I have. Old teas, subscription teas, swap teas… I had three of these mini tins that I selected at random sitting on the counter, and this was one of them. I’ve been making London Fogs fairly often since I got a new milk frother, so this one went quite quickly!

I cuddled up with a giant latte on the couch tonight, which was lovely. I steeped a tablespoon of tea in 8 ounces of hot water and then added another 8 ounces of warm frothed milk with a bit of vanilla syrup added in. So scrumptious! I used dairy milk this time, but I’m sure almond or oat would be just as tasty.

Happy to have one mini tin finished off! Maybe I’ll try to get one cup of Vahdam leftovers in per day. Ugh, the thought of all of those turmeric tisanes… XD

I made a yummy London Fog with this one today!

I steeped 2 teaspoons on leaf in 8 ounces of water (instead of my usual 12 ounces for that amount), and then added 4 ounces of frothed hot milk and a little bit of vanilla syrup.

It came out so yummy! Still with a nice present bergamot flavor but with a lovely rich creaminess. I will say that next time I’ll add a bit more syrup, as I could barely detect it. But otherwise this was scrumptious!

I really need to make lattes more often… :)

https://www.instagram.com/p/CKCjouCgb5m/

Vahdam Advent Calendar – Day 5

Ooh, an Earl! Definitely an unexpected choice (at least, for me) for this calendar. I was excited by the name, but looking at the ingredients, this appears to be a plain Earl with just black tea and bergamot. Not that I won’t enjoy it, but I assumed the mention of citrus meant orange or lemon or something. Oh well!

It’s a tasty Earl Grey. The bergamot is strong but not over-the-top, and has a lovely citrus-floral flavor. I also taste a bit of something evergreen-like here, though that could be flavor contamination again from one of the spiced teas. A hint of clove or cardamom maybe?

I will say, I wish I was getting more from the base tea. There’s a bit of malt I suppose, but otherwise not much going on. I wonder if I should use more leaf, or perhaps steep for an additional minute… Next time!

Overall, it’s fine but a bit boring for me. I tend to prefer my Earl with additional citrus or other flavors added in. This one needs a bit more from the base to keep it from tasting like bergamot water.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CIbTNpBgN6M/

(today’s advent teas: https://www.instagram.com/p/CIbA7q0g6Fu/)

Added some buckwheat honey to a late night cup of this tea yesterday evening and it was really quite nice! I decided to lean into those more baked type notes and so that medium bodied fresh baked bread flavour with the dark honey? Ooh, chills! It was very cozy and just complimented perfectly. I think that’s my favourite cup of this that I’ve made so far.

Still working on finishing off this mini tin – I was a little saddened to see, when I made this cup, that it was more full than I remembered. Looks like I’ve got a few more cups to go before it’s polished off. This was a Western mug, but I steeped it and then I had an unplanned evening nap. When I got to drinking the tea, it was cold but still drinkable. Smooth (and a little flat) baked bread notes with a faint spice contamination. The spice contamination should probably bug me more than it does, but the result is a tea that tastes a little like spiced bread and, honestly, that’s not something I want to complain about.

I had forgotten that this oolong was a bit spice tainted, so when I pulled it out of the advent box to focus on sipping down it caught me off guard how much it smelled of cardamom and other aromatic spices. Translates into the steeped cup as well – this was a smooth and pleasant mug with notes of crunchy autumnal leaves, sweet bread, and hints of prune. But also cardamom/spice in a way that shouldn’t have been there. At least it compliments.

Adventaggedon Day 4 – Tea 3/6

Gongfu!!

This was such a pleasant surprise this morning – and I was actually up early enough today to steep it Gongfu before leaving to work which made it even better. I’ve been so busy in between advents and work that I’ve not had a proper Gongfu session since Monday…

It is a little weird IMO to brew an Indian tea Gongfu, but it still worked out in the end! The taste was delicious and filled with warm and cozy cinnamon, nutmeg, roasted peanut notes that supported the most dominant flavour in each infusion – which was a rich fresh baked brown bread note. Not a lot of longevity here with resteeps; I capped out at around three infusions. However, each of those steeps was sublime and the simple act of starting my morning with some Gongfu action made my whole day.

I think this is my favourite tea I’ve ever had from Vahdam!

Song Pairing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pAusMOjdVDA&ab_channel=Marinelli-Topic

Advent Photos: https://www.instagram.com/p/CIZC-u1gDbW/

FYI, I don’t know why this link seems to post broken but if you copy and paste it into your browser it seems to work fine.

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Another cold brew sipdown for one of my Vahdam advent teas.

This is a pleasant cold brew. It actually reminds me quite strongly of a second flush Darjeeling, with the same bready yet slightly aromatic/spicy notes to it. There’s also some wet autumn leaf, raw chewy grains, and caraway seed in there as well.

Overall, pleasant to sip mindlessly, but not something I would feel the need to purchase.

Vahdam Advent Calendar – Day 4

So the tin just says “High Mountain Oolong Tea” and so does the picture but I kept the name the same as the website listing… (shrugs)

I decided to steep this up in a teapot because I’ve been neglecting my pots lately in favor of the more convenient mug. Well no more, I have too many cute teapots to ignore them! :P

This reminds me a bit of a lighter Fujian black tea, with its lovely soft bread and caraway notes. There are also soft autumn leaves with hay, honey, and a touch of dried fruit, along with some toasty nuttiness. I get a light floral lift at the end of the sip as well. Overall, it’s very light and airy yet cozy.

It’s definitely perfect for sipping away at in the afternoon. Great choice for a teapot!

https://www.instagram.com/p/CIYztdDgvTf/

(today’s advent teas: https://www.instagram.com/p/CIYX874AFsO/)

Vahdam Advent Calendar – Day 3

Okay, turmeric take 2! This one is very smelly. I suppose I should say aromatic, so it doesn’t sound like a bad thing… XD It looks like there’s lemongrass here, which is interesting.

Wow, this is actually really good. I am so surprised by how much I’m enjoying it! The strongest flavor is the cardamom, but even that isn’t overpowering, it’s lovely and floral with a strong but palatable spiciness. I do get the turmeric earthiness in the background, which goes nicely with the cardamom. There’s a tiny pepper kick at the end of the sip that leaves a pleasant light tingle on my tongue while not burning my throat. I think there’s a bit of cinnamon and ginger here as well, I taste a bit of sweetness and a nice warmth. And I do get a hint of lemony-ness.

So pleased by how much this one surprised me! I could see this being a nice option to keep around if I’m craving a spicy tea that’s mellow enough to drink plain. :3

(today’s advent teas: https://www.instagram.com/p/CIVyyA6gsud/)

Adventaggedon Day 3 – Tea 2/6

This tea got a big groan from me this morning because I do not like turmeric, but it ended up being surprisingly okay for a turmeric blend – most likely because the strongest spice was actually cardamom. I do love cardamom, and I think Vahdam’s cardamom is really enjoyable in particular. That might just be my saving grace this advent season…

The other thing I got with this tea… it reminded me strongly of halva!? I don’t know what ingredient was making my brain make that connection, but it was definitely STUCK in my brain!

Today’s Advent Photos: https://www.instagram.com/p/CIWncwXAAaA/

Adventaggedon Day 2 – Tea 5/6

Probably as “classic” of a Chai as you can get, right!? I wasn’t thrilled to see this one in the advent this morning but I wasn’t disappointed either – this is absolutely going to be the advent that challenges my taste preferences the most.

The tea itself used in the blend is a CTC grade of black tea, but it looks quite nice for that grade. The spices, as well, as all pretty chopped or “sachet grade” – including a fair amount of cardamom husk. The aroma smells beautifully of thick cardamom. I was talking with Cameron earlier this evening in our advent IG chat group, and it seems like Vahdam leans pretty heavy on the cardamom but I’m super okay with that – the three spices I have the “best” relationship with are cardamom, clove, and star anise and while I don’t much like them all together (too much spice for me) they’re typically delish on their own. I got a lot of cardamom from the steeped up tea, and a very full bodied and robust malty and grain-y heavy black tea with whisps of red fruit and honey. For a masala, I enjoyed it a lot.

We were talking stovetop chai as well today – I don’t usually bother with it because it’s a lot of fuss for a type of tea I don’t really enjoy, but I’m verbalizing the commitment to make at least one chai stovetop this advent season!

Today’s advent photos: https://www.instagram.com/p/CIUQkZLAFJz/

Giving this one another chance after I had such a weird experience trying to make it on the stovetop a few days ago! This time I’m just steeping it straight.

Yeah, this is a very mild chai, I’m not surprised I had such a hard time with the stovetop prep. There’s a pleasant cardamom flavor in the forefront, along with a bit of clove. The CTC base is fairly mild as well, and very smooth with a cereal grainy and slightly bready maltiness.

It’s yummy! It’s not really what I think of when I think of masala chai, as it’s mostly a cardamom-spiced black tea. But clearly it counts! :)

P.S. – Am I the only one that is reminded of Grape Nuts when I see CTC black tea…?

Vahdam Advent Calendar – Day 2

So… I’ve had an interesting time with this one.

When I pulled this out of its box this morning, I knew I wanted to have it with milk, so I thought I’d make it on the stovetop. I tried heating some almond milk in a pot and then simmering the tea in it. I added a tablespoon of tea and simmered for 5+ minutes, but it came out tasting really odd and bland.

Okay, so this is take two. I steeped two teaspoons of tea in about 10 ounces of water and then added dairy milk (which I don’t usually have, but had leftover from Thanksgiving…) and a squeeze of honey after the fact.

It’s better than before, but still very muted. So I’m not sure if this is a mild chai that doesn’t take milk well, or if I’m just terrible at this. Probably the second one, hah!

I do get some spices, especially the cardamom and clove. It’s pleasant enough, but I certainly can’t taste it well enough to give a rating (nor do I have much chai experience anyway). So I’ll have to steep it plain some other time and give a better assessment. Oopsies?

https://www.instagram.com/p/CIUN12OA-W6/

(today’s advent teas: https://www.instagram.com/p/CITQgxTAHBz/)

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I think I have 10 more Vahdam advent tins left after this one? So I’m more than halfway done, but I really need to finish them off considering it’s been almost six months, lol!

Anyway, this one is good but fairly standard. It has a nutty and slightly smoky flavor profile, sort of like a mix of Chun Mei and Long Jing? Honestly with as many Chinese green teas as I’ve tried, you’d think I would remember more of them… I guess it’s just not my area of experience, heh.

It’s a strong green tea, with a lot of minerality overlaid on some buttery, nutty notes. A bit of astringency on the tail end as well. Not something I would order, but it was nice to have in the advent to break up all of those spiced blends…

Vahdam Advent Calendar – Day 1

Yay, I’m so excited for this calendar! My other calendars are all companies I’ve had before and enjoy, so this one will hopefully be new and exciting and get me out of my comfort zone with plenty of spiced teas!

So I had a bit of an incident with this tea this morning. After I opened all of my advents and was carrying the teas over to my little tea nook area, I was holding this mini-tin by the lid and the body of the tin fell off onto the floor. So of course, tea went everywhere (luckily not that much tea) and I had to scramble to scoop it up while my two pugs were furiously trying to eat it off the floor. So, you know, just another day in the #puglife…

Anyway. This is a lovely smooth, sweet, and mellow green tea with a nice nutty flavor. There’s a creaminess to it as well that makes me think of fattier nuts like cashews or macadamia nuts. I also get cooked green beans and a little toastiness.

However, I think there was some contamination between this and some of the other teas in the advent, because there’s a sharp menthol sort of herbal spice note that seems really out of place. I don’t see any of the other notes mentioning that, so I assume it’s due to this being in the advent, in such close proximity to many very fragrant teas. It’s not unpleasant, just a bit jarring as it doesn’t mesh well with the other notes here.

On an advent-related note, I wasn’t going to share or mention today’s chocolate from La Maison du Chocolat, but it was so effing good that I can’t help myself! It was a milk chocolate rocher – a praliné center (basically ground caramel-coated nuts mixed with chocolate) rolled in roasted nuts and then coated in milk chocolate. Now normally I’m not so impressed by hazelnut and chocolate, but dayum was it good! The nuts had such a range of roasty, creamy, buttery flavors and the caramel note was dark and delish. So good!

https://www.instagram.com/p/CIRISjSAtzf/

(today’s advent teas: https://www.instagram.com/p/CIQxllmAUip/)

Since I really disliked the Earl Grey Green Darjeeling I sampled the other day, I noticed I had one other green Darjeeling in my collection, also a sample from Meowster’s cupboard destash (thank you!), so I still have a chance to try Indian green tea, without the flavoring. The dry leaf smells a little musty to me and I have no idea how old this may be by this point — I got it from Meowster in summer of 2018, and I have no idea how old it may have already been by that point. If it hasn’t held up well, I’ll likely cold brew the rest of my sample, since I seem to enjoy even the most ancient of green teas when steeped in ice cold water overnight. For now, I’ve brewed a hot pot, but used my “normal” leaf-to-water ratio and temperature for green teas (2.5g leaf for 500ml pot @ 175F, 2 minute steep) rather than what Vahdam recommended, after that sad sad pot of EG green Darjeeling the other day, which was waaaay too bitter using Vahdam’s recommended leaf amounts.

The steeped leaf smells deeply of cooked spinach. The tea is a pale yellow liquor and smells a bit smoky, a bit earthy (particularly of minerals/wet rocks), slightly nutty, and a bit of a dry herbaceous quality. The flavor reminds me of Gunpowder green tea or plain green yerba mate… I’m getting that tobacco smoke flavor over a dry grass/hay flavor, though the finish is heavily mineral. I’m getting a very subtle notes of nuts and lemongrass, as well. It’s mildly drying after the sip, but there is no astringency/bitterness during the sip.

I’m not much of a fan of smoky notes presenting in green teas, so I’m not really enjoying this one much (that “tobacco” sort of taste is just really off-putting to me). I’ll finish the pot, but think I’ll coldbrew the rest with a bit of peppermint leaf added to smooth out those notes until I’ve used up the sample. I’m still curious to try other Indian green teas; I wonder if they all have that “gunpowder” taste or if some are significantly different?

Thanks so much for the chance to try something new to me!

Sipdown (1334)!

Proud of myself for doubling down (pun intended!) on this sample and finishing it off over the course of the month – I need to do that with more Vahdam teas, but they’re just so incredibly… not fun.

I never figured out how to make this one work for me. It was always very astringent and the spices just a little too flat. Sometimes I did get nice anise notes, like in this cup, but never enough to compensate for the brashness of the black tea. Plus, I so rarely have milk on hand anymore that softening it with an addition of milk or trying it stove top was just never in the cards.

Oh well.

I just cannot seem to get the steeping on this tea right!

I thought I was being really careful with my steep time when I made this today, but then the cup was just this tannin bomb with soooo much black pepper and ginger coming through. I mean, I finished the mug because I feel like even a unpleasant cup of tea is still a potential learning/educational experience – but it felt like a chore. Cannot wait to sip this one down, but gonna have to get creative with how I finish the rest off.

I have a bunch of Vahdam samples, mostly from Advent season, that I need to finish so I think I’m going to start taking the same approach as I have with 52Teas and keeping one next to my kettle until I finish it off – starting with this one!

Over did the steep time and the result was a very thick cuppa with one hell of an astringent punch to it. However, initial dry shock aside, the flavour was pretty good. Clove and anise forward, with cinnamon, black pepper, and a bit of cardamom. More clove than I remembered, that’s for sure. Not really my thing, but better than your typical Masala profile. If I was less lazy, it would have been great with milk but I couldn’t be bothered to go and get some…

The Vahdam Advent that I ordered showed up last week, and this was kindly added in the box as a free sample – the advent is really pretty looking, but dang is it a heavy box/lot of tea! I’m going to have so much extra after each day, for sure!

This tea is alright; spiced blends aren’t typically my style but I want to push out of my comfort zone so I’m glad it was included and I’m pleased enough with my takeaways on it! I thought it mostly came off as cardamom forward, but there was a solid medley of spices at work. The black tea is a CTC grade, and as such it steeps really strong/intense but the brisk malty notes and slight citrus pithy qualities of the black tea were a good compliment to all the spices, and I didn’t find this CTC to be bitter or that astringent.

‘m hoping after an advent of mostly spiced teas I’ll find a few new favourites. This is not a new favourite, but it’s drinkable!