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2022 Spring Tea Swap – Day 12
From Emilie!

I didn’t have much tea this weekend. I think only a cup on Saturday morning and that was it. Just wasn’t feeling it, I guess. Or maybe I simply never got around to making any. I do much better on weekdays when I have a routine in place. Tea always starts the day on weekdays. That said, I’m starting today off with another tea from Emilie’s swap. I’m only halfway through the teas that Emilie sent, and I think I’ve loved nearly every one so far.

This blend has a very strong aroma – definitely chocolaty and fruity. The cherry flavor stands out. Even though the fruits are different, it reminds me a lot of Raspberry Chocolate Truffle from Nelson’s Tea that I had last week.

Spending the rest of my day, aside from work, enjoying a relisten of the It Makes A Sound podcast now that Season 2 has officially arrived. That and cooking some cilantro-lime chicken and rice for dinner. Maybe another cup of tea this afternoon. No caffeine after this one though.

2022 Spring Tea Swap – Day 11
From Emilie!

This smells like actual dried banana, not banana candy! Not only is the flavoring spot-on, but the base tea is delicious. It’s proving to be perfect for breakfast. I have to say, I’m so impressed with the Dessert by Deb blends so far. I’d been on the fence about placing an order, but I think it’s inevitable at this point.

2022 Spring Tea Swap – Day 10
From Emilie!

This reminds me so much of Plum Deluxe’s limited edition Raspberry Cocoa Truffle that I’m currently hoarding. It’s good to know I have another option when I run out of PD’s version.

2022 Spring Tea Swap – Day 9
From Emilie!

I love love love peach and ginger black teas, and this one hits the mark. I was excited to see another Dessert by Deb tea in the lineup today after really loving yesterday’s blend. This is one I would definitely buy if I were to put in an order. I’m trying to restrain myself for now after lots of decaf purchases in April and May. Speaking of, it took me some time to mentally prepare but today starts my attempt at cutting my caffeine consumption by half. In a couple of weeks, I’ll cut it out altogether for a bit. Not long, maybe just a couple of weeks to see how it goes. I’ve been monitoring my heart rate and blood pressure up until this point, so I’m curious to see how those fluctuate with this change. Hopefully not at all. I have too many teas to give it up entirely, at least for a while!

2022 Spring Tea Swap – Day 8
From Emilie!

My first tea from Dessert by Deb! The dry blend didn’t just smell like chai spices, it was spicy. It took me by surprise actually. After steeping, it was much more subdued. I was so excited to find that I could taste the frosting in the blend alongside the chai spices. It doesn’t taste like buttercream to me, more like the frosting on top of cinnamon rolls. So what is that, just powdered sugar and milk? Not the cream cheese kind. James was more specific in his assessment, saying that it tastes like french toast with powdered sugar and mint. Not sure where that came from, but he was adamant. So there you go! This one is definitely a favorite of the swap so far. Thank you, Emilie!

For some reason, I really had a craving for Lemon Kandy this morning. I’m slowly working through my spring swap teas from Emilie, but this one pulled me away for just one cup. It came out just a touch bitter, but it works with the lemon zest.

I thought I might like this better cold brewed, but it’s still not good. Almost anything’s better than hot hibiscus, but in this case even cold hibiscus doesn’t win. It’s tart like cranberries and smells like red jello. Yuck.

Mastress Alita’s Monthly Sipdown Challenge
May 2022 → A soda tea

I think quite a few here love root beer teas, but I’ve never really been a fan. Because of this, I have a few unopened pouches of different soda teas lying around. Since we have a prompt just for these this month, I opened this one to give it a try. Surprise, surprise – I like it! I’m shocked at just how much this smells like actual root beer. It also still manages to be a delicious black tea. James said he could taste the vanilla creaminess too. Definitely one I won’t mind drinking again.

There isn’t anything spectacular or exciting about this blend. It’s a decent vanilla-flavored cup (though not vanilla bean or extract, more artificial vanilla). The base is bold enough for a good morning brew.

Had a craving for this one again. It’s such a lovely mix of dark chocolate and coconut. Very deep, dark, and rich.