Eggnog Yunan

This is reminiscent of eggnog, though a little subtle. Maybe I should have brewed it in oat milk for the creaminess. Ah well, it is quite good and refreshing as a cold brew. Thanks, 52teas! It’s a good time of year to drink it, feels festive.

Next packet of old holiday tea! A 2018 advent calendar reblend.

I’ve never had eggnog, but this tea actually smells close to what I imagine the stuff tastes like… it’s giving me a cream custard sort of aroma, that is a bit nutmeg forward. Brewed, that aroma mostly holds, though there is a sort of roasted quality coming forward on the nose. It smells a bit like a roasted coffee with nutmeg and creamer?

This is really nice! The base is rich, with notes of malt, very dark chocolate, and roasted nuts, and coffee. That “custardy” note on the nose isn’t coming forward in the brewed cup, but I get a bit of it in the aftertaste on my tongue. A spice note that is very nutmeg forward is present throughout the sip.

Super tasty! I think I’d be happy enough just with a Yunnan tea, but the sweetness and spices are certainly welcome.

Thanks for the swap, tea-sipper! It was difficult to choose what to try first! This one tasted pretty light with a little bit of creaminess. Sadly, I’m missing any spices, but it’s a light, creamy tea that I’m happy I have enough of for a second cup. The resteep may have been even creamier than the first steep. The only reason I’m a little disappointed is that I was promised eggnog. With a different title, I would be perfectly pleased with this tea. The cream flavor is very light, but it’s nice.

Late start to drinking tea today because my water broke this morning lol. It had me laughing at least so that’s good. However now it means i really get to play the waiting game since it broke before labour started. Husband is at work today and thankfully he listened when i told him to stay there. No point in having him around the house fretting about things. I’m taking it easy, packing the hospital bag and figuring out what else we were trying to get done this week given kiddo is quite early.

Tea is very much needed even just for the ritual of keeping my relaxed and calm. Pulled this one out since it’s a sipdown AND i know i enjoy it. Sad to see it go, but fitting in some ways since Spring is hopefully approaching soon. Today’s cup is just great – creamy, wonderful blend of the spices and a great base tea to go with.

Feb totals: 23 teas, 615g; 10 puerh, 1030 g

10th Day of Christmas Teas

I really liked this one and so did the relatives that were over the day I scratched it off which means it did not survive the day and was not subject to great analysis.

I do recall that the eggnog flavouring doesn’t hit as hard as Butiki’s old Creamy Eggnog or A Quarter to Tea’s Eggnog Poundcake. Its subtlety of spices and hinted egginess was the perfect crowd pleaser around the holiday’s though. I also remember the black Yunnan base being super smooth.

10th tea of Christmas

You know, I’ve never actually had eggnog before so I wasn’t really sure….I wasn’t sure about this tea, but it is delicious. I’m drinking it while listening to Nick Cave and finally ‘wrapping’ presents (I put everything in bags bc I’m lame and think wrapping paper is a waste, at least bags are reusable? yeah? maybe it’s actually just laziness. who knows.) and ugh, so nice. cinnamon-y. nutmeg-y. the yunnan base is /chef kiss/.

also, I’m adopting my sister’s cat that she was going to rehome to a farm in NM, where that poor cat would have been living OUTSIDE, when she had been living in a home for the past two years and was used to people providing for her. wtf. I thought that was so cruel. Percy (the cat, a girl cat that my nephew named after Percy the train) might be a fellow anxiety sufferer. she might also be stressed out due to living in a house with two loud children and two older (and one who is definitely meaner) cats, all while not having a lot of attention (other than my sister yelling at her). we’ll see how she does in a much quieter environment. I think she deserves a chance to live her best life. that, and personally, it’s been a really jarring change for me to live in a cat-less house. when I woke up yesterday, I immediately went to go check on my Spooky-cat, like I normally would and then realized that he’s not here anymore and started crying. Percy isn’t a replacement, and she will be a very different cat, but at least there will be a little creature running around and I hope that she will feel more calm and more loved.

Cold Brew Sipdown (132)!

Thank you VariaTEA for the sample! I actually was surprised by just how much I really, genuinely liked this one. I finished the 25 oz. of it I had cold brewed in maybe five minutes? I mean, essentially I was just chugging. I don’t know if I’ve felt that passionate about a cold brewed tea all month, honestly. Like, I’ve drank some good things this month but that was shockingly super delightful and smooth.

First things first, I have to say that I was worried this would have far too much cinnamon and it’d taste drying. Like a tea version of the cinnamon challenge. I mean, that’s certainly the impression I got from the dry smell. However, both the cinnamon and the nutmeg were wonderful. In fact, I definitely tasted a lot more nutmeg than cinnamon. As well, I definitely got that sweet, eggy note that is obviously intended to be eggnog. Actually, though, in combination with the cinnamon and nutmeg and then sweet cocoa and malt notes from the base I have to say that while I 100% see where the “Eggnog” is coming from I’m reminded a lot more of French Toast. In fact, in many ways this reminds me of Liquid Proust’s French Toast Dianhong but with much more nutmeg and less vanilla/cream. I don’t know if you can call that a criticism, but if you can it’s probably my only one. I found this super, super enjoyable overall.

Sipdown (104)

I just can’t get this to work for me. Though I do get more cinnamon/nutmeg flavor as it cools, I just find it leaves me wanting more. I am passing the rest of my sample along and hopefully the recipient will have more success than I have had.

My book cup today. Finally getting around to reading Alcott’s ‘Little Men’. The tea has a scent of spices. Mostly cinnamon and nutmeg. There is a creamy, spice flavour. Might not have brewed it warm enough, but still good. Will trying with almond milk next time.

Time for another 52teas oldie. I love a good Yunnan black tea so I couldn’t pass this up. The dry leaf aroma is cinnamon. The beginning of the sip is somewhat dark and woodsy like a high quality Yunnan. But unfortunately that fades rather quickly and I’m left with a slightly floral, marigold petal flavor. I don’t think I’ve ever had eggnog so I can’t identify similarities or differences.

Overall, this is much calmer and less flavorful than I was expecting. The cinnamon is quite light and doesn’t contribute much spiciness to the cup. There is a little bit of creaminess. There’s no bitterness and I don’t feel the need to add sweetener or milk. A small amount of astringency is apparent but nothing off-putting. That’s about it. Not a nuanced cuppa but nothing offensive going on either. It’s just rather boring.