316 Tasting Notes

77

12 Teas of Christmas: Day 1

Hooray, it’s time to start the 12 teas of Christmas! I liked this one quite a lot. It’s very cranberry-forward for me, with just a hint of cinnamon. I’m not picking up on any vanilla or cream notes, but that’s OK. I really enjoy the sharpness of the cranberry!

Flavors: Cinnamon, Cranberry, Sour

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72
drank Youth Berry by Teavana
316 tasting notes

Homemade Advent Calendar from Arby: Day 14

Cold-brewed overnight and sipped as my afternoon beverage. This is pretty good cold — nice and juicy, with strong notes of pineapple and apple. I could do without the sugary sweetness from the candied mango, but that’s a minor complaint.

Flavors: Apple, Fruity, Juicy, Pineapple, Sweet

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70

Homemade Advent Calendar from Arby: Day 13

This tea is the liquefied version of those red cinnamon heart candies I used to get for Valentine’s Day as a kid (…from my parents). It’s got strong Big Red gum energy, but with honey-like sweetness added in.

I dunno, I kinda dig it?! It’s fun and kitschy. I’m not sure I could drink more than a small cup at a time, but I could imagine it satisfying a very specific craving every so often. Arby suggested adding milk, so I’ll add a splash of oat milk next time I brew it up.

I feel like “Chai” is a bit misleading, though… this is pretty much pure cinnamon, with just a smidge of apple sweetness!

Flavors: Apple, Cinnamon, Honey, Sweet

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55

Homemade Advent Calendar from Arby: Day 12

“Fragrant” is a bit of a stretch! This is actually one of the mildest oolongs I’ve had in a while, both in terms of scent and taste. It’s got very subtle roasted notes and a hint of something on the edge of floral, but that’s about it!

Flavors: Roasted

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65

Homemade Advent Calendar from Arby: Day 11

This tea does not brew up scarlet! :( Sad. I admit I wasn’t paying the closest attention while drinking it, but maybe there wasn’t a ton of nuance there? It was mostly just a mildly fruity chamomile. Inoffensive but not super memorable.

Flavors: Chamomile, Fruity

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78

A sipdown! And a sad one, at that. This is a nutty, creamy cup of yum.

2023 sipdown count: 58

Flavors: Creamy, Nutty, Vanilla

stefaniechamo

Sounds delicious!

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70
drank Soleil Levant by Lupicia
316 tasting notes

Homemade Advent Calendar from Arby: Day 10

Issa grape tea! Sweet, juicy (?) grape, a bit artificial in scent but less so in taste. I like the overall flavor here… grape with a bit of zesty citrus layered atop a pleasant, smooth sencha base. It’s a tad more drying than I’d expect, but in an OK way. I bet it would be really pleasant cold-brewed.

Flavors: Citrus, Citrus Zest, Drying, Grapes, Juicy

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65
drank Holiday Chai by Stash Tea
316 tasting notes

Homemade Advent Calendar from Arby: Day 9

Catching up! This teabag was a victim of the Minor Lavender Sanitizer Spill of 2023, but happily it seems to have sustained no lasting damage.

As soon as I ripped open the bag, I could smell an ingredient/flavoring beyond the standard chai flavors — turns out there’s rum flavoring. It’s an interesting addition, and I’m not opposed!

I’m mostly getting cloves, allspice, and nutmeg in the brewed tea, with a bit of the rum flavoring at the back. The base is a bit weak. I bet it would be nice brewed with milk.

Flavors: Allspice, Clove, Ginger, Rum

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70

Homemade Advent Calendar from Arby: Day 8

Drinking this while eating an actual piece of (very sweet) cake was not the smartest idea! The real cake was wholly overwhelming. Now I’m drinking it with a cleaner palate, though, and I like it. It’s similar to B&B’s Birthday Cake, but the coconut makes it just a bit heavier and oilier on the tongue than that one. I can just pick up the toasted rice, too… I’m not sure quite how that fits into the flavor profile! I actually think it’s making the whole thing lean a bit more toward caramel than cake. It’s good, though!

Flavors: Cake, Caramelized Sugar, Heavy, Oily, Sweet, Toasted Rice, Vanilla

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70
drank Coffee Pu'erh by DAVIDsTEA
316 tasting notes

Homemade Advent Calendar from Arby: Day 7

I’m behind! We were out of town this weekend visiting family. I did bring a few of the bagged teas from my homemade advent, but alas — tragedy struck, and my lavender-scented hand sanitizer leaked all over them. :( That and the fact that I’d have to heat my water in a hotel Keurig didn’t lead to any enjoyable tea sessions while we were away.

One tea bag in a paper envelope is probably too lavender-soaked to drink, but a few were OK, including this one. I drank it when we returned home, exhausted from getting up super early after we changed our flight to avoid bad weather.

Aaaaaaaanywaaaaay… what an odd tea! But I kinda like it? The eartht pu’erh sitting behind the lighter coffee flavor is fun and unexpected, and then the vanilla arrives at the end. It’s definitely a novelty, but one I might crave at unexpected moments?!

Flavors: Coffee, Earthy

Kaylee

Nooo not the tea! Bummer!

gmathis

I have a coffee-cacao-pu’erh blend that from Teamaze that I dearly love. Usually, if I doctor it, it’s just milk, but a little vanilla syrup might be a nice twist!

Kelmishka

Vanilla syrup; love that!

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Profile

Bio

I was an anxious child who didn’t like change, so when my parents flew across the country for my grandfather’s wedding and left us kids with my aunt and uncle, I was a nervous wreck. Our first night at their house was tough. I couldn’t sleep, so I got up and padded into the kitchen, where my aunt was puttering around. She could tell I was distressed and offered to make me a cup of tea. It was just Celestial Seasonings’ peppermint tea, but it was exactly what I needed. The tea itself, the comfort it represented, the ritual of making it… I was enchanted. I’ve loved tea ever since.

I’m partial to strong, intense flavors and prefer loose-leaf to bagged, but I also appreciate the convenience of bags and sachets. I mostly drink my tea straight but once in a blue moon I’ll add a little plant-based milk, generally oat.

I live in Maryland, USA, with my partner, three dogs, and one cat, and I’m an editor at an animal welfare nonprofit. I use she/her pronouns. I’ve actually been a Steepster reader for years and years, but only started posting in late 2021. :)

When I’m not drinking tea (or sometimes WHILE I’m drinking tea!) I’m reading, rewatching comfort shows on Netflix, going for a run, knitting, embroidering, hiking, or puttering in the garden. You can find me on Instagram at @kelmishka. (My account is private, but feel free to send a request!)

Favorite ingredients, flavors, etc.

Maple (all-time fave flavor!), vanilla, caramel, and all things dessert-y

Jasmine, lavender, violet, and most floral flavors

Most spices, although I go through phases and sometimes get bored of generic-feeling winter spice blends

Most fruity flavors

Matcha and other vegetal flavors

Not-so-favorite ingredients, flavors, etc.

Bergamot (I tolerate it, but it just doesn’t do it for me)

Hibiscus

Overly artificial flavors (banana, coconut, mango)

Overly herbacious blends, although this varies!

Stevia, monkfruit, and other sugar-alternative sweeteners — blech

Chocolate — it’s hard to get it right in tea, though I love real chocolate!

Animal products, including honey (long-time vegan checking in!)

My ratings

90-100: The best! Will almost definitely repurchase.

75-90: Really good, and potentially worthy of a restock.

60-75: Decent, if not terribly memorable.

50-60: In the “meh” range, but possibly for personal taste reasons.

35-50: I’m not a fan, and this is not very good tea.

20-35: Varying degrees of bad.

1-20: Actively bad. Like really bad. I can’t imagine anyone disagreeing.

Location

Maryland, USA

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