Maddy Barone Send Message

Etsy Tea Advent Calendar Day 22—I am playing catch up after being away for a few days in Minneapolis with my brother. I drove home today, and the first 130 miles were perfectly clear roads. The next 110 miles were awful. shudder I could see some pavement through the compacted snow on one lane of the interstate at times. And once in a while the snow would clear enough that I could see at least a quarter mile ahead. Fun times, I tell ya. After I eased my car into the garage it took me a few minutes to convince my hands to unclench from the steering wheel! But I’m home and enjoying a hot tea.

This one is not bad at all. I was afraid it would have a ‘cough syrup’ fake cherry flavor flavor. It didn’t. I also thought the tea base was sturdy enough to not be overwhelmed by the flavor. Either this is the best tea of the calendar (so far) or I am too relieved to be home to care :)

Merry Christmas to all of you who celebrate!

Etsy Tea Ad=vent Calendar Day 21

This was a pleasant evening tea. Not outstanding, but pleasant. The ginger flavor was a bit muddled, but I expect that is me, not the tea. I enjoyed it more as it cooled. I won’t rush out to buy a box of this but if it was one of a selection of bagged teas at a hotel or restaurant I would drink it again.

I opened the cheerfully wrapped little package on the my Etsy advent tea calendar and just couldn’t. Int he beginning I told myself I was going to try every tea, even if it was one I didn’t think I would like. But really, life is too short to force myself to drink something I am sure I won’t like. Jasmine green tea is a hit with a lot of people, but not me.

So. I went to the tea drawer and pulled out this one from last year. I really do enjoy it. The creamy mint flavor is clear. The liquor is not. The little candies made the tea look cloudy, which doesn’t appear very appetizing. Luckily this one is quite tasty. And a darned sight better than the jasmine green tea slated for today.

Etsy Tea Advent Calendar Day 19:

I enjoy Pear teas. Cranberry Pear from Davids is a fave. This one does not come close to that one. But it is not bad. The flavor is very mild. I don’t get the pear, and the ginger is only a hint. But the tea is warm and not bitter or astringent. No weird lingering after taste. I finished the cup with no trouble. So this is one of the teas that I would not order, but would have no trouble drinking again. That’s kind of damning it with faint praise. But honestly, it is better than most of the teas I’ve had this month.

Etsy Tea Advent Calendar Day 18:

Ah, an herbal mint tea. Delightful. I enjoy herbal mint teas. Hard to screw up a plain peppermint tea. I checked the website for an ingredient list. Oh. Redbush (rooibos). And spearmint. That might be a nice change from peppermint. And vanilla. Okay, I could see that adding a touch of creaminess to the tea. And hibiscus. HIBISCUS??? I do not like hibiscus.

I brewed up the cup. The liquor was very dark. Common with rooibos . I sipped. Nothing. I didn’t detect any mint. Or any hibiscus. What the heck. I let it cool a bit and tried again. A hint of cool mint. Still no hibiscus. Some woodiness from the rooibos. Still no real flavor. I drank half the cup and then gave up and made a cup of plain peppermint tea.

I have to say, this tea advent calendar has been a bit of a disappointment to me. On the one hand, it is beautifully presented with each tea bag wrapped in heavy blue paper with Christmas/winter designs and tried to the Snowflake wall hanging. And it is nice to try teas I have never seen before. I am a tea snob, but there are several bagged teas I enjoy like Good Earth Sweet & Spicy, Twinings Prince of Wales, Scottish Breakfast by Taylor’s of Harrowgate, and more. I just don’t care for most of the teas by Eastern Shore Tea Company. But we do still have a few days left, so maybe I will strike gold in one of those. :)

Etsy Tea Advent Calendar Day ?

I am completely off on my days. This week through me for a loop. On Monday I had quarterly my MRI and CT scan. I couldn’t eat or drink anything from Midnight on Sunday until after the scans were done, which wasn’t until 1:30 Monday afternoon. Then I went to work. And after that I went to bed. Those scans are not painful. I just find them very tiring. Tuesday I met with the oncologist and learned that -praise God- the cancer has not returned. The pain I’ve been experiencing is from the start of a hernia, which is common with ostomies. So I have a special belly wrap to wear to support me, and I am not to lift anything heavier than 10 pounds for at least two weeks.

That was a long and lame excuse for why I haven’t been drinking my tea this week. :9

This tea may have been my favorite of the month. The spices are mild, but I can detect them. It feels cinnamon heavy, because I get that slightly mouth drying sensation I often get with cinnamon. I wouldn’t rush out to buy a box of this one, but I could easily drink another cup.

I promise to be more faithful with my teas for the next week. Hard to believe Christmas is only a week away! I am driving to my brother in Minneapolis for the holiday, so I might be iffy with the 23rd-25th teas. But they will certainly wait until untilI come home onthe 26th.

Etsy Advent Calendar Day 12

I was pleased that today was an herbal tea. I was busy busy busy all day and didn’t get a chance to open the package until tonight. I didn’t want a caffeinated tea tonight. Tomorrow I have an appointment so I need to go into work at 6:00 am.

AS usual the tea pack packet didn’t have an ingredient list so i went to the website. It has no base (being herbal, it doesn’t need one, but I thought maybe rooibos or honeybush). The ingredients are things that have the colors of the rainbow like rose hips, orange peel, lemon peel, parsley, cornflowers, and lavender flowers. That’s a lot of floral, which I m not fond of, but on the other hand the citrus peel might balance those out. On the third hand, there is no hibiscus, so that is a plus.

I brewed it for 5 minutes. The liquor is pale gold. The flavor… is mild. I kinda get the citrus, but it is a citrus overlaid with a soapy taste. AS it cooled the citrus came out more and the soapy receded. This is an interesting tea with lots of ingredients that might not go together very well. I think maybe they do. I can say that I was able to finish the cup. I’m not sure if I liked it, but then again, I finished it. There were no ratings for this tea. IN fact, I didn’t see this tea on Steepster, so I added it myself. I would love to know what others think of it. I am waffling on whether or not to recommend it.

Etsy Tea Advent Calendar Day 11

Not a fan of green tea. I wavered over whether or not to brew this one up, and decided I may as well. I am going to drink (almost) all the teas in this calendar. If I don’t like it, I don’t have to finish it.

I didn’t finish it. I forced three sips down. Very grassy. I know many people love that about green tea. Not me. So I am not going to rate this one, since many people might love it and it doesn’t seem fair to knock it for being what it is. That would be like reading a mystery novel and giving it a 1 star review because I couldn’t figure out who the killer was until it was revealed in the last chapter.

Etsy Tea Advent Calendar Day 9:

Wow, time is flying. Christmas is not that far away, and I haven’t done anything yet. Last year at this time I was resting between my infusion chemo treatments and my radiation/oral chemo treatments, so I did literally nothing for Christmas. I had 12 days off between chemo and radiation, and I was so sick I could barely get out of bed. I swore this year I would go whole hog with decorating. But … I have a new kitten. She is 6 months old now, so about fully grown, but still with a kitten’s play drive. And Little Miss Dottie is absolutely wild. So, maybe 2022?
On to the tea!

Here is another tea I’ve never had by a company I have not heard of. I am not fond of floral teas, which I assume this one is. In my head I relate floral teas to the little rose soaps my grandmother set out for company. This tea does not taste soapy, thank goodness. It is not sour or bitter or astringent, so I give it a mild recommendation. If you enjoy floral herbal teas this might be just the tea for you. AS it is. I think I will finish this cup and then brew myself a cup of peppermint tea.