BrutaliTeas

This one is unique and almost grassy – well, grassy isn’t the right word, can’t put my finger on it. Balanced and gets better the more I sipped it. Have plenty left to keep trying and seeing if I can find the other flavor profiles it mentioned. Not sure yet if it’s a keeper, though.

Hm, didn’t notice was a “white” tea when brewed it as I would a black tea. Oops.

Didn’t hurt it though. Was very fruit punchy and a deep purple-red “bloody” color. And of course any tribute to Jaws gets bonus brownie points on its own merit.

May be good iced, not sure. Reminds me a little of Harney and Sons Ice Tea Indigo type. The hibiscus is not overwhelming so, while there is a touch of sour buried below these waters, its’ not overwhelming.

This isn’t a tea I’d drink daily or anything but it’s nice for those moments.

One of my favorites from Brutaliteas, it’s sweet and rich with a touch of creamy toffee.

It seems somehow appropriate that this ended with another rooibos. I plan to spent January on the Bird & Blend advents & samples, but I am thrilled by the idea of a February where I don’t taste a single drop of wood chip tea.

There’s sweetness to this one as well as the rooibos, but it mostly seemed like a vanilla with some unknown light spices. I can’t say I’ve ever had eggnog or would know how it compares. This was a miss for me.

BrutaliTeas Advent, Day 24

In all, I enjoyed this calendar and exploring some new teas from an interesting brand. It surprised me that the calendar only duplicated one tea from my original sampler order of 18 varieties, and I still didn’t get to taste a few that I’m very curious about, so there’s a lot to explore!

I was excited for this tea both because of the candy cane flavor and because of the name joke. I’m not clear from the ingredient list what wasn’t working for me here, because there’s nothing inherently wrong with candy cane and peppermint and black tea. I love the combination, actually. But this one had a strange artificial sweetness to it with a flavor that didn’t quite work with the candy cane. My partner said it was like a butterscotch. I didn’t get that, but I definitely didn’t get just candy cane, and I couldn’t finish it.

BrutaliTeas Advent, Day 23

This tea was fine? If anything, it struck me as an odd choice next to The Chai Ning in the advent, because there were a lot of similar flavors happening except that this one was weaker and not toasty. I got a lot more cinnamon and vanilla from this than ginger, which I suppose makes some sense for a gingerbread blend, but I don’t need more.

BrutaliTeas Advent, Day 22

This was a lovely chai with a distinctly toasty flavor, and it somehow reminded me of the chewy molasses cookies I get several times a year from our grocery store. I drink most of my teas straight, but my partner insisted I try adding milk to this one, and it somehow brought out more of the sweetness and baked goods quality. This made the cut as one of 5 teas I reordered from the advent calendar.

BrutaliTeas Advent, Day 21

Last tasting notes for this particular advent.

Between a dislike of lavender and of chamomile, I’m not much a “sleepy” tea person. The spearmint in this one helps a lot, and I don’t feel overwhelmed by either of the disliked ingredients. If I really felt inclined to own a tea of this sort, I’d probably pick this one – but I’d rather just find other blends without caffeine.

BrutaliTeas Advent, Day 20

I cold brewed this tea and it was not my thing… I can only describe it as vague flower water.

Merry Christmas to those who celebrate, and to everyone else, happy last Sunday of the year! We have nothing on the calendar, nowhere to be and no one to host today. Honestly, that’s a perfect way to celebrate in my book.

I did better at keeping up with the advents than usual! I do want to keep reviewing them for my own notes, so I apologize in advance that these aren’t over on my end yet.

I actually steeped this up yesterday afternoon and spent a good portion of the evening trying to convince myself I liked it. I found the chocolate and mint quite well-balanced and enjoyable, when this combo is so often just off in other teas. But while it would have been a smash hit on a different base, the aftertaste was too much rooibos for me to like.

BrutaliTeas Advent, Day 19

BrutaliTeas Advent Calendar 2022 – Day 24

So I like eggnog, but this doesn’t taste anything like it to me.

It mostly just tastes like woody rooibos, with a touch of mustiness to it. There’s a little bit of cinnamon in the aroma, but I don’t get any in the taste. And certainly no nutmeg or creaminess, which would be what would make it eggnog.

A disappointing end to the advent.

Preparing to have people over and cook a (relatively simple, thankfully) Christmas Eve dinner tonight. I thought today might be the day to catch up & finish up the BrutaliTeas advent – it’s a pretty adventurous number though, so we’ll see.

I love a jasmine tea and find jasmine pearls just so pleasant and fun, but they had to go and make this one coconut as well. When first steeped the coconut is absolutely at the front. Thankfully as it cools it takes a back seat to the jasmine, and I was able to drink the rest of it. I don’t get any sort of pineapple from it, sadly.

BrutaliTeas Advent, Day 18

BrutaliTeas Advent Calendar 2022 – Day 23

So this is fine. The peppermint is very strong and refreshing, in a candy cane sort of way. There’s not really any creaminess despite the description mentioning it. Mostly it’s just a strong peppermint flavor on generic and fairly tannic black base. Maybe a hint of a chocolaty flavor too? And it leans very slightly fruity, which is a bit odd.

It is candy cane-esque, which is what it says. I think some vanilla or cream would’ve been nice here though.

BrutaliTeas Advent Calendar 2022 – Day 22

Okay, so I admit at first I didn’t get the name. And then I was like, “ohhhh like gingerbread, doi” LOL! I blame it being morning when I opened my advents. And to be fair, it would be a bit clearer if the words were actually combined, like “The Walking GingerDead” or something.

So I didn’t even notice the rooibos when I steeped this, apparently it’s a mix of gingerbread black tea and rooibos chai. I’m honestly not a fan of this mix, as I feel like it leaves the tea tasting thin? Overall it tastes like a generic chai with cinnamon and clove, and a bit heavy on the ginger side of things. I don’t really get cookie from it, and I’m not tasting the vanilla. If anything, yesterday’s tea was almost more gingerbread-y to me? Now that I mention it, it’s a bit weird that they put two such similar teas on consecutive days…

Anyway, it’s fine but not good or special.

https://www.instagram.com/p/Cmflid8OmGA/

Rooibos is determined to ruin my tea fun today.

This smells pleasant enough! It seems like a sweet, nutty, butter cookie. I don’t really like a sugar cookie, a shortbread, or anything similar, but I feel like this tea could have its place if not for all the rooibos. I managed about half of my cup with a square of chocolate and salted caramel fudge I was enjoying. As soon as the fudge was over though, I couldn’t manage the rest of the cup.

BrutaliTeas Advent, Day 17

I was quite excited for this on scent and early in the cup. In the initial sips, this seemed like it would be a solid black tea with a subtle mango candy aftertaste. But the more I drank and the more it cooled, the less subtle the mango candy became, and it was striking how artificial it tasted. It reminded me a lot of the spicy mango gummies from Vidal that our Universal Yums subscription box seems obsessed with, minus the heat.

Shame, because if it had maintained that flavor from the first few hot sips, it would have been a winner.

BrutaliTeas Advent, Day 16

BrutaliTeas Advent Calendar 2022 – Day 21

So I assumed this was just a plain ol’ black chai, but it looks like it also has roasted maté and some chestnut flavoring. Sounds good to me! It also smelled really good in the tin, very gingerbread-like with a molasses note.

It tastes okay but I’m not getting much of the maté sadly, mostly it’s just a generic and somewhat tannic black base. The spices are nice enough, mostly cardamom, cinnamon, and ginger. I do get a little bit of that molasses character, I wonder if it’s the “spice flavor”? Or maybe the chestnut is giving me that impression. I wouldn’t call it nutty per se, but it does have a certain richness to it.

Overall, it’s fine but almost like a less tasty version of Gingerbread Festival. :P Clearly that tea has ruined me for gingerbread teas…

BrutaliTeas Advent Calendar 2022 – Day 20

I think this is the first sleepytime tea I’ve had from my advents? Which is surprisingly, to be honest, I feel like every company has some version of one.

As for the tea, it’s okay. It has slightly too much lavender for me, and the lavender has a quite earthy flavor that I’m not loving. Or maybe it’s the valerian root that’s tasting that way? Otherwise I mostly taste chamomile, along with just a touch of spearmint.

It’s fine, and I’ll finish the mug. Not something I would ever purchase though.

BrutaliTeas Advent Calendar 2022 – Day 19

A chocolate mint rooibos, ehh…

It’s fine I suppose. It does taste a bit like a York peppermint patty, it’s that intense cooling sort of mint profile. The chocolate flavoring isn’t horrible, for chocolate flavoring. The mint does get a bit too mentholated during some parts of the sip, which makes it taste almost medicinal.

BrutaliTeas Advent Calendar 2022 – Day 18

Another jasmine green tea, this one with pineapple and coconut.

It’s pretty good actually. Coconut and floral sort of make sense together in a tropical spa kind of way. Personally, I would like more pineapple, but I often feel that way about piña colada blends. This is mostly a coconut and jasmine tea, but the creaminess of the coconut goes well with the soft and sweet floral so I’m not mad about it.

I don’t think I would go out and buy this, but I enjoyed it and it was an interesting concept to try.

BrutaliTeas Advent Calendar 2022 – Day 17

So, why is there green tea in this…? It’s just weird, and doesn’t make any sense given it’s such a pitiful amount, and it’s totally overpowered by the rooibos and the flavoring. I don’t get it, but whatever.

Otherwise, it’s a pleasant nutty, desserty rooibos blend. It has a nice buttery nut flavor, I think I can taste both the hazelnut and the chestnut. And then there’s quite a bit of sweet caramel on top, along with some creaminess. So it ends up tasting a bit like chestnut cream or a mont blanc.

I find it a bit much, so I probably wouldn’t order it, but it’s tasty and definitely festive!

BrutaliTeas Advent Calendar 2022 – Day 16

Wasn’t a huge fan of this one. To me, the mango is so over-the-top artificial tasting, it’s like a fruit gummy mixed with perfume. It has a generic sweet and tropical sort of flavor, but then there’s this almost chemical floral note, which I’m not enjoying.

Not sure what the name is referring to, I’m assuming it’s a band that I’m not familiar with?

I love the idea of s’mores tea but have yet to find a tea that really consistently nails it in practice. This one has a s’mores scent more than a s’mores flavor. Most of the flavor is a bitter black tea paired with also bitter dark chocolate – the bitterness is a dominant feature of this cup. I hoped the marshmallows in the tin would help with this, and I can taste them a bit at the end, but it’s not enough.

BrutaliTeas Advent, Day 15

I wanted to love this. The name makes me laugh, peach and rose are two of my favorite tea flavors, and it just seemed perfect. It was fine, but the peach notes were too strong and artificial over the floral, which was weak enough I couldn’t tell which flowers were actually in the cup. I found it better cool than hot, because the peach calms down significantly.

BrutaliTeas Advent, Day 14