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Bird & Blend Advent Calendar 2021: Day 9!

Well, now I’ve got this song stuck in my head. XD

I received a sample of this one in my B&B order last month, so this one is somewhat familiar to me (although I didn’t review it at the time). I find it mostly underwhelming. I enjoy coffee quite a bit, so I’m not opposed to coffee beans in my tea, but I’m not sure it adds much here—I just get a slightly sour, musty smell and taste that reminds of me old, stale coffee. I’d like the blend more without it—there’s a nice light creaminess and a hint of cocoa that’s generally pleasant, if not earth-shattering.

I do wish I were trying more of these B&B blends as loose-leaf rather than bagged tea—I’d add more leaf and try to bump up the flavor. Ah well.

Bird & Blend Advent Calendar 2021: Day 8!

This is a divisive blend! I, however, enjoyed it. I’ve come around to smoky teas over the past few years, and something about this one just hit the right notes for me. I didn’t get a ton of cocoa, but that’s OK. The coconut was nice and subtle, more of a background marshmallow-y sweetness than anything overwhelming, and there was a hint of cinnamon toward the end, all rounded out by a gentle, woodsy smokiness. I’m not sure I’d drink it every day, but I definitely enjoyed my two cups today!

Bird & Blend Advent Calendar 2021: Day 7!

Lovely concept, but it didn’t deliver for me. I couldn’t detect any hazelnut (nor any nut flavors, really!) and the chocolate notes were the fairly standard ones so common in blends like this (i.e., disappointing). My cup was pretty flat, weak, and generally disappointing.

Maybe I got a dud, though, because other folks seem to really enjoy it! I also have a cold, so perhaps that’s wreaking havoc on my tastebuds (although everything else tastes fine to me, and my partner was equally unimpressed by his cup). I even stole his teabag and steeped both of ours together for my second cup… still nothing. Meh.

Bird & Blend Advent Calendar 2021: Day 6!

Well, hello there! I’m an absolute sucker for buttery, caramel-y flavors despite being vegan—or maybe because of it! Getting to try vegan versions of something that usually relies heavily on dairy really tickles me. That’s probably why I’m drawn to so many teas inspired by buttery desserts.

Anyway, this is a winner in my book. The dry blend smells very sweet and buttery, but the brewed tea isn’t sickly sweet at all. I was worried the rooibos would be overpowering, but here it’s an almost invisible base. Instead, most of the flavor comes from the puffed quinoa and toasted rice, giving this a lovely light nuttiness. At first I was a little thrown by how nutty and toasty the flavor profile is, but after letting it cool a minute or two, I could detect a hint of sweetness—more a suggestion than anything else.

I usually take my tea black, but I added a tiny spot of oat milk to this one toward the end and it really rounded out the flavor and brought out a bit more creamy sweetness. I’m currently going for a second steep on my tea bag and hoping none of the flavors gets lost!

B&B currently has a limited run of this one available for sale, and I’m debating placing an order. I wanted to wait till I was done with the advent calendar to stock up on some favorites, but I’m worried this one will be gone… sigh! What to do.

Bird & Blend Advent Calendar 2021: Day 5!

They had me at “candy cane.” I could tell I’d enjoy this one after giving the tea bag a good whiff—it has that perfect creamy-sweet-minty scent that I associate with a candy cane tea. I think this is the first caffeinated version I’ve tried, and I appreciate it!

Brewed, the tea has a very slight mustiness to it—not quite sure where it’s coming from. There’s also a tiny citrus kick from the lime leaves, just at the back of the sip, but it seems to disappear as the tea cools a bit. Otherwise the flavor is lovely, with a full, creamy mintiness that is not at all overpowered by the accursed stevia. (Thank goodness for light touches.) I could drink this one all morning!

(I will note that the tea bag didn’t hold up well to a second steep—all the mintiness disappeared, leaving a slightly lime-y black base behind. Alas.)

Bird & Blend Advent Calendar 2021: Day 4!

Love the concept for this one! I don’t think I’ve ever had a peppermint/chili combination before, tea or otherwise. I enjoyed it, though—I got a nice crisp minty bite at first, followed by a gently warming spiciness afterward. Not noticing too much of the pu’erh base; I think that could be stronger to make this blend a bit more interesting and complex. It’s mostly a novelty as-is, but I’m glad I tried it.

Bird & Blend Advent Calendar 2021: Day 3!

I’m generally a fan of anything with mint and chocolate, so I was predisposed to enjoy this one. As is so often the case, the cocoa flavor is a bit muted, but the dandelion root provides a nice deep flavor base.

I guess I don’t have much to say about this blend—I enjoyed it while I was drinking it, but it wasn’t terribly memorable.

Bird & Blend Advent Calendar 2021: Day 2!

Another fruity tisane?! Color me sad. And color me vibrant purple-pink, because this blend has a LOT of hibiscus. It smells lovely and true to its name, just like a mug of hot mulled apple cider. Yet the taste is terribly weak—I’m not getting much of anything beyond a watery hibiscus with maaaybe a hint of cinnamon at the end and as it cools. I even threw the tea bag back in my mug to let it steep for longer, but it isn’t doing much. It’s making me appreciate yesterday’s blend (Christmas Cranberry Pie) a whole lot more.

I hope B&B mixes it up with something dark and caffeinated tomorrow.

(Edit: I cold-brewed my tea bag for a second steeping overnight, and now I can taste more of the mulling spices (maybe the hibiscus has been exhausted). Still, I’m leaving my rating as-is… I firmly believe a mulled cider-themed blend should be enjoyed hot!)

Bird & Blend Advent Calendar 2021: Day 1!

My first advent tea EVER! I’ll admit I wasn’t super thrilled to find a fruity tisane in the first box; I chose the caffeinated calendar for a reason! I was even less thrilled to spot hibiscus and stevia in the ingredient list. But I do love cranberry, so that’s a win.

Overall, though, this one was better than I expected it to be. The stevia and hibiscus were quite muted in my cup, with cranberry being the dominant flavor. I can dig that. I also appreciated that there’s just a subtle note of cinnamon. I would’ve liked some kind of buttery element to simulate pie crust—the tea is named for pie, after all! Still, this is a solid tea for what it is. Fruit teas will never be my first choice, but I would gladly accept another cup of this one. And my partner (who will be drinking the second bag in each box!) really liked it.

(As a side note, I’ve never had cranberry pie for Christmas but now I’m inspired to bake one! Also, this review is for yesterday’s tasting… just didn’t get around to posting on time.)

Huh. With a bunch of modifications to my brewing process, I think I’ve gotten Birthday Cake to reveal its true flavors. I made sure to aggressively shake the bag to mix all the elements in this blend and then used way more leaf than I thought I needed—like maybe two tablespoons? I used boiling water and let it steep for longer than the recommended four minutes—probably closer to five and a half.

With this preparation, the rooibos fades away behind the other flavors and I can finally taste the cake-y element, a nice almond-y marzipan with hints of sweet vanilla.

Bumping up my rating now that I’ve figured it out, although using nearly two tablespoons of tea per cup is not exactly sustainable!