Adventaggedon Day One – 1/5
Gongfu!
It’s that magic time of year again where Steepster and IG just explode with advent calendars! I’m doing five in total this year, with 52Teas “12 Teas of Christmas” kicking in as my sixth at the halfway point. Like last year, I’m posting stories on IG throughout the day and then after 5PM I’ll have one post on IG with all the advents throughout the day. Reviews here on Steepster will follow some time after that point!
Since beginning at the head office I generally do an advent from DT each year – it just feels weird not to. Usually I try to pick whatever the “newest” format is, and this year it was Around The World. So, what you can look forward with this advent is mostly traditional/straight teas (with a few exceptions) sourced from different terroirs and inspired by countries all across the world. Sometimes in origin, sometimes in ingredient, and sometimes in flavour!
I was thrilled to get to start the day with Cinnamon Oolong – it’s one of my absolute favourite Garden To Cup teas from DT and I actually included it in my “Top Teas of 2021” with Geek Steep last year. Side note – we’re back from our unplanned hiatus and, as of today, have a new episode out! I’ll try and get the discussion board thread updated sooner rather than later for the new episode, but I’m REALLY stoked about this week’s fandom.
I brewed this tea gongfu since that’s my favourite way to drink it. I’ve written reviews on it before that will probably be better than today’s, but essentially my favourite thing about this tea is (and has always been) how soft and delicate the notes of cinnamon are and how, combined with the natural flavours of the oolong, this tea tastes so warm and nostalgic – like fresh baked cinnamon bread or pastries. Hot Cross Buns in particular, actually, because of the raisin note that’s present.
A lot of reviews of this tea on the website seem to expect this oolong to have the same intensity and punch as Cinnamon Rooibos Chai and that’s simply not the case – in part because CRC has (a lot) of cinnamon flavouring in it but also because it has the actual cinnamon bark and this tea is only scented with cinnamon. I’m hoping that the inclusion of this beauty in the advent will introduce it to some new people, and maybe spark a bit of appreciation for the craft and skill that goes into its production.
Truly this tea is a labor of love, and I personally think you can really taste it with each sip.
Today’s Advent Photos: https://www.instagram.com/p/ClpC3C9OZ7i/
Song Pairing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yp5A8awHfas
Friendly reminder that I do not numerically rate DAVIDsTEA blends as I’m currently employed there and it would be an obvious conflict of interest. Any blends you see with numerical ratings were rated prior to my employment there. These reviews are a reflection of my personal thoughts and feelings regarding the teas, and not the company’s.
Comments
This sounds right up my alley, straight on the wishlist it goes! Also, this might be the most excited I’ve ever been to discover a podcast. Just subscribed and can’t wait to start listening! Very excited to see that you started out strong with Buffy, my favourite show ever and the namesake of my car! ^^
This sounds right up my alley, straight on the wishlist it goes! Also, this might be the most excited I’ve ever been to discover a podcast. Just subscribed and can’t wait to start listening! Very excited to see that you started out strong with Buffy, my favourite show ever and the namesake of my car! ^^