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Adventageddon Day 17

Thank god it was a matcha day today because I woke up feeling like I’d been hit by a car. And I have been hit by a car, so I know that feeling well. I slurped this up pretty quickly before heading out to the office today, but I did really enjoy the sweet and nutty pistachio flavour and the softer creamy undertone. Reminds me of the Jell-o branded pistachio pudding mix which, to me at least, is a very nostalgic flavour.

This is probably one of my favourite matchas to be released this year. Maybe only topped by Pina Colada…

Today’s Advent Photos: https://www.instagram.com/p/DDsgx80yZkj/?img_index=1

Song Pairing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sAUJex2wVsQ&ab_channel=KishiBashiVEVO

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.

Adventageddon Day 17

Hard to pick standouts today since there were a lot of familiar favourites either literally, like in this case, or in a more general sense like with Inoki’s Keemun where that specific tea was new to me though I have a love for keemun overall.

I started my day with a mug of this though (paired with a chocolate raspberry yule cake) and it was perfect for two reasons. The first is that it was bold, spicy and intense enough to perk me up on a morning I woke up feeling EXHAUSTED and the second was that it felt quite festive which also helped with my mood because I knew it was going to be a long, loooonngggg feeling day since I had so many projects and pieces of information to hand over at work today given that…

I am officially on vacation! First proper vacation of 2024, and it’s actually for 26 straight days. I am so, so excited to just chill out and drink copious amounts of tea.

Today’s Advent Photos: https://www.instagram.com/p/DDsgx80yZkj/?img_index=1

Song Pairing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yROdqOxjWog&ab_channel=JoeHertler

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.

Adventageddon Day 16

Gongfu!

I was a little rushed this morning and only had time for one gongfu session and I was told between this and the Tea Thoughts tea, but I went with this one and I’m glad I did. The dry leaf was so interesting smelling for a Golden Monkey too! Chocolatey as expected, but also surprisingly quite citrusy with a distinct lemon note.

The steeped up tea was very full-bodied and intense with brisk, tannic backbone with thick sweeping layers of malt, bittersweet chocolate, and different dark woods on top of it. I did actually get just a bit of that citrus note I was picking up in the dry aroma – mostly in the undertones. But it was largely covered up by just a really decadent and dense, saturated chocolate flavour though. Unsweet, though! I really appreciate when a black tea packs that kind of chocolate punch without too much sweetness.

So far I think all the black teas from Inoki have been quite strong. I hope we get a few more before the advent is done!!

Today’s Advent Photos: https://www.instagram.com/p/DDp8zy5SWRb/?img_index=1

Song Pairing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CGSPec19IVg&ab_channel=MICHELLE

Adventageddon Day 16

I only really had time today for one gongfu session so it was a coin toss between this and my Inoki tea since both sounded so good. In the end I ended up making this as a very large Western pot of tea at work. The liquor was so soft, silky and soothing with a mix of creamy fresh churned butter notes of aromatic, florals like lilac and violets! Though I have a sneaking suspicion this Jin Xuan might have been tastier brewed gongfu it was still damn good brewed this way, and making it as a pot of tea let me share it with some coworkers too and I know they appreciated that.

There’ve been some real bangers in the Tea Thoughts advent this year, but this might potentially be my favourite so far!?

Today’s Advent Photos: https://www.instagram.com/p/DDp8zy5SWRb/?img_index=1

Song Pairing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Fkt2pR8uxU&ab_channel=ClaireBrooks-Topic

Adventageddon Day 16

I don’t seem to have loved this tea in the past, but I was really enamored with the mug of it I made today. Maybe that’s down to a shift in my tastes, or my palate has gotten better/more refined? I say the latter because, going back and reading my previous tasting note, I didn’t seem to be able to taste the orange blossom very much and today I thought that both the orange blossom and rose water notes were very strong. Not in a bad way or anything – but just very aromatic and fresh with some grounding influencers from the ginger and the brisk, malty black tea base. Definitely had a bit of a middle eastern sort of flair to the flavour combination!

That middle eastern influence ended up only being built upon because I ended up pairing this cup with a whole bunch of baklava that one of our vendors had brought us as a holiday present – in addition to a more “classic” baklava there was also a mix of date spread shortbreads and pistachio and rosewater cakes. So all the floral flavours of the tea were right at home with the sweet, sticky honey, filo pastry, and the different nuts.

Today’s Advent Photos: https://www.instagram.com/p/DDp8zy5SWRb/?img_index=1

Song Pairing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DQjRk5q7cwA&ab_channel=CAGEDANCR.-Topic

Adventageddon Day 16

Tea Pop!

A familiar tea behind today’s drawer, and one I was excited to see because I knew I’d be able to tea pop it at the office for a super refreshing afternoon cuppa. I brewed my concentrate for a long time so this tea pop was particularly intensely sweet and tart with really deep cherry notes accented by the vibrant hibiscus and that faint, faint bit of rose. It works exceptionally well as a tea pop – like a cherry soda!

Today’s Advent Photos: https://www.instagram.com/p/DDp8zy5SWRb/?img_index=1

Song Pairing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pPm__nYmTAg&ab_channel=NitefireVEVO

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.

Adventaggedon Day 15

Gongfu!

I adore a really good Moonlight White, so this tea session was quite special. That tea had a surprisingly quite high resteep value and the infusions were soft and creamy with crisp vegetal notes of snow peas, cucumber skins along with fresh linens, honeydew, peach skins, and just a touch of wintergreen. I’m really glad this one popped up on the weekend so I was able to take time brewing it up. I would have felt really sad if this had been a day where I was busier and more rushed.

Today’s Advent Photos: https://www.instagram.com/p/DDnXG-LSVmP/?img_index=1

Song Pairing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=30NiaDUiemA&ab_channel=MichaelMorella

Adventageddon Day 15

Just a straight up mug of hot, frothy matcha today. Nothing fancy or altered about it, and honestly that was a nice choice because all of my other advent teas today had something more elaborate about their either through drink additions or preparation methods. Instead this was a juicy and bright mid-afternoon pick me up with that succulent sort of ripe peach note balanced out by the freshness and umami undertones of the matcha.

Today’s Advent Photos: https://www.instagram.com/p/DDnXG-LSVmP/?img_index=1

Song Pairing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tdZ53o5lMRQ&ab_channel=Haute%26Freddy

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.

Adventageddon Day 15

As far as lemon ginger teas go this is a very average feeling one to me. Smooth and grassy green tea base that accentuates the grassiness of the lemongrass and the brightness of the lemon oil. I don’t taste a ton of ginger though. Just a whisper. It could be bolder or more evenly balanced but lemon is what they chose to put in the name and not lemon ginger, so I feel like the emphasis on the lemon is pretty intentional.

However, this tea was the perfect vessel for a brand new and pretty out there flavoured honey I recently got. It’s got propolis in it along with lime, thyme, juniper, and peppermint essential oils. You’d think that would be a lot and it would be challenging to distinctly taste each flavour, but you would also be wrong. The honey starts off very bright, zesty and just a little bit sour before the golden sweetness hits along with very herbaceous and pine-y notes from the thyme/juniper combo. Finally, it has a really nice cooling sensation afterwards from the mint. I don’t know if I’ve ever had honey with a menthol effect, but I am in love with it. The overall combination actually reminds me a lot of gin!

So, obviously all of those flavours work really well with the green tea and lemon. I felt like it really elevated what was just an okay cup of tea otherwise. I’m STOKED to try this honey with more things!

Today’s Advent Photos: https://www.instagram.com/p/DDnXG-LSVmP/?img_index=1

Song Pairing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=66lb0Tp232k&ab_channel=ChanceEmerson-Topic

Adventageddon Day 15

Now this is a throwback! I’ve seen a lot of people on IG/TikTok who’ve been posting advent reviews who think this is a new blend, but it’s actually a very, very old one. Eight years old, in fact. We brought it back specially for this year’s advent as an exclusive blend.

If you’ve missed it, snickerdoodle cookies and snickerdoodle flavoured products have been practically everywhere the last year and half. Something about that sweet, cozy cinnamon sugar flavour is just really resonating with people right now. I think probably in large part because of the nostalgia factor, but it’s also just a cozy and comforting profile. I decided to brew up my little tin today as a latte with some caramel cold foam to enhance/lean into the butterscotch undertones of the blend.

I ended up drinking that warm, cozy and richly cinnamon flavoured drink with my breakfast today, which was a complimentary bagel pairing with marscapone, bananas, and fudge shavings on the cinnamon bagel “base”. It worked very well. Like snickerdoodles crossed with banoffee sort of vibes!

Today’s Advent Photos: https://www.instagram.com/p/DDnXG-LSVmP/?img_index=1

Song Pairing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JUP5VT-8NC0&ab_channel=OliviaDeanVEVO

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.