It’s the first day of Christmas and my best friend gave to me… a 52Teas Twelve Days of Christmas Advent Calendar! I’ve been a bit inactive around Steepster lately since everyone is swimming in advents and I chose not to buy any this year, but a few weeks ago this box mysteriously showed up at my house, and there was only one person I could think of that not only knows I love tea, but that I’m a fan of 52Teas. Thank you so much to Todd for the generous holiday gift, and thank you so much to Anne for going the extra mile to make sure that for the first year ever I can actually drink all twelve of the teas in the box! (Because of a very particular, strong food aversion to a certain flavor that gets used a lot in the 52Teas advent I’ve always had to re-gift certain packets, but Anne was kind enough to make a substitution for me this year and that really means a lot to me!)
It’s Saturday, it’s my day off, and I’ve brewed up Day #1 this morning. It feels like ages that I’ve drunk a tea that is fresh and new rather than two to three years old, hahaha! I love the spice smell from the packet, but it really pops on the brewed cup — it’s a lovely red shade and somehow the cardamom aroma is coming off slightly piney to my nose. There is also a heavy clove aroma wafting from the cup, and a sweetness that is reading a bit like a gingersnap cookie. The flavor is hitting me with a strong impression of clove, with a touch of cardamom, and a bit of a heated ginger/pepper flavor that sits on my tongue in the aftertaste. It’s a very warming cup, and I am getting a bit of that pine note from the spices, too. The sweetness isn’t coming out as strongly in the flavor as it did in the aroma, because the clove is coming off a bit overpowering; a dollop of honey helped round it out a bit. I think I’ll prepare my next cup with vanilla almond milk and see how it takes as a latte, I suspect it will hold up well as the spice has a bit of a kick in this one!
Flavors: Cardamom, Clove, Cookie, Ginger, Pepper, Pine, Spices, Spicy
Preparation
Comments
What a nice gift! I accidentally had mine shipped to the wrong address, so I’ll be picking it up while visiting family for the holidays, and I very much look forward to trying these flavors!
At least the older teas lead to appreciating the newer teas more. :D
Nice to see you posting again!
What a nice gift! I accidentally had mine shipped to the wrong address, so I’ll be picking it up while visiting family for the holidays, and I very much look forward to trying these flavors!
Yay, glad you liked it!