Week two of 24 days of tea! Lots of hits, a few misses– overall, I just cannot stress enough what a fun calendar this is. Every year, I wonder if the $40 price tag is worth it for something just for fun, and every year, I’m reminded what a sweet treat it is to get to open a surprise on the daily, and try a few dozen new teas all in one fell swoop. We still have ten days to go, but so far, I’m super pleased with this year’s calendar.
Day 8: Organic Ginger Pear. This one has been on my wishlist for a while, so I was pumped to see it as a sample. It’s supposed to be a white tea, but I’ll be real honest with you guys– upon first glance, there is a nary a leaf to be seen in this chunky mix. Near the bottom, there are a few tiny leaves broken up, but I’d say this blend is 90% fruit and ginger. That being said, it totally delivers. It is light and sweet, just a touch spicy and both the pear and ginger flavors shine. It was the perfect tea to sip after dinner, equally sweet and dessert-like without being heavy.
Day 9: Forever Nuts. A forever DT classic. The first time I sniffed Forever Nuts in store when I discovered David’s a few years ago, the salesperson eagerly informed me that because it was “like granola– in fact, you can even eat it!”. Um, I’m okay, thanks. But it is a delicious herbal, bright pink and reminiscent of those cinnamon-sugar nuts from the ballpark that I could eat by the handful. I think I’ll save those for the munching and leave Forever Nuts just for sipping.
Day 10: Green Passionfruit. The dry leaf is absolutely gorgeous, fruity and bright with visible tea leaves. I’ll be honest, green tea isn’t usually my first choice, but the fruit balances this one beautifully and makes it a great gateway without any vegetal bitterness that can sometimes accompany greens.
Day 11: Hot Chocolate Pu’erh. My fiance’s absolute favorite drink in the wintertime is hot chocolate, hands down. So last year, when we stumbled on this blend at David’s, he couldn’t pick it up fast enough. He ran out sometime in February, but was eagerly awaiting the re-release this year. It’s a decent pu’erh, mimicking the thick and creamy mouthfeel of cocoa right off the bat, made even better with the addition of milk. It’s of course less sweet than its dairy- and sugar-laden counterpart, but it makes a great substitute for those who would prefer not to see their beloved go into a sugar coma from seasonal beverage overdose. (Ahem.)
Day 12: Bear Trap Herbal. I’ve heard a lot of hype about this one, but I have to be honest– it fell a little flat for me. It’s fruit-forward, absolutely– notes of berry and tart hibiscus are what I mostly taste, and there’s not too much depth to it. It’s certainly drinkable (and I’d bet it would be tasty iced), but fruit tea can fall a little flat without anything special to it, and I think I have better in my tea cabinet instead.
Day 13: Crème Caramel Rooibos. YOU GUYS. I had such high hopes for this one. I’d even read a description online that it sipped like liquid caramel. Hello, hi, gimme. On first sniff, it smells like a straight red rooibos to me (though there are scant caramelly pieces strewn throughout) and brewed? It drinks like straight red rooibos. Even worse, I can taste that signature medicinal rooibos flavor that so often turns me off to straight rooibos. Maybe a rooibos lover would be able to pick out flavors that I hadn’t, but this one just doesn’t do enough for me.
Day 14: Irish Breakfast. PHEW. After all the sweet, sugary flavored teas of the first fourteen days, this one was a welcome relief. Dark, malty and robust, it’s a great straight tea that takes milk and sweet incredibly well. One more installment to go, friends! This was a great week of sipping, and while I stumbled across a few misses, there were a few hits in here that I’ll definitely be adding to my permanent tea cabinet. Can’t wait to see what’s next!
Here’s the scoop!
Where to Buy: Davids Tea
Description
No longer sold as a calendar, but individual teas are for sale on website.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
On the 3rd Day of Christmas 52Teas Sent to Me (Spoilers!!)
If you are following along with me in drinking and revealing the 12 Teas of Christmas, grab the 3rd Day of Christmas pouch and lets see what tea we have in store for us.
The 3rd Day of Christmas is . . . . . . .
Snickerdoodle Reimagined
For me, this is a flavor that is really hard to nail. I’m quite picky with my Snickerdoodle cookies and that same level of snobbiness exists when you talk about teas that are supposed to be like anything Snickerdoodle related. Either the spices are too strong or too weak.
But not in this blend. . .
This Snickerdoodle blend is the perfect marriage between those cinnamon spices and a baked good vanilla warmth through each and every sip. I couldn’t put my cup down. I found myself re steeping the leaves several times over to get that soul soothing warmth again and again. This tea is that delicious.
What I loved most was how you could tell that was some serious thought into this tea. The black tea gave you that breaded baked good tone while the cinnamon and vanilla flavors really sold you on the Snickerdoodle flavor.
Again, I have to report that I completely took this pouch down in no time at all. With the weather turning ridiculously cold, icy, and snowy on us, this tea really spoke to me and gave me all the love I needed, infusion after infusion, pot after pot. I can’t tell you have many times I resteeped the leaves.
Another fabulous tea from this 12 Teas of Christmas! I can’t tell you how impressed I am with this year’s offering three teas in. I’m excited to see what tomorrow brings!
Here is the official description of this tea. Please note that I write my review before seeing the description.
Happy 3rd Day of our Christmas Tea Countdown, everyone!
I was really happy that this tea did so well in the poll. While it was a reblend – it was one that I took a great deal of liberTEA with when I recreated it – and so I was happy to know that people enjoyed my reinterpretation of this classic favorite!
Snickerdoodle – Reimagined Black Tea!
Tea Description: I was just going to go with my previously composed tea description for this tea, but my recipe changed slightly from my first reblend. My original description went like this:
This tea was reblended to fulfill one of the “You Choose the Reblend” rewards purchased on our start-up Kickstarter. The backer had mentioned to me that she wished that the original blend had more of a cookie-like flavor and when I agreed with her, she asked if I could maybe reblend it but add some cookie-ness to the tea, I said I’d give it a try.
I used my go-to black tea base of Chinese and Indian teas and added pieces of cinnamon and minced vanilla bean and all-natural flavors. The result is a yummy tea with prevalent notes of cinnamon and vanilla and a delicious cookie flavor. You’ve gotta try it!
Since I was looking to enhance the cookie note even further from my first attempt at this blend, I added some organic Vietnamese black tea to the blend (this rounded out the flavor of the base just a little more) and changed the recipe slightly to bring out the cookie flavor. By offering a smoother, more rounded tea base, the cookie notes seemed to pop a little more! The result is more yum with every sip!
All Organic Ingredients: Black Teas, Cinnamon, Vanilla Bean and Natural Flavors.
After I reblended this tea last year, I called it “Snickerdoodle – Reimagined” because I took some creative license with the recrafting of this tea. Instead of going with the simple, straightforward combination of vanilla and cinnamon that the original tea was, I wanted to give the tea a freshly baked cookie taste because when I think Snickerdoodle, I think cookie. I heard from a few tea drinkers that they weren’t really getting a whole lot of cookie-ness to my first reblend of this tea so when it was a high vote getter in the poll, I saw that as an opportunity to work on that cookie flavor.
And while I did taste some cookie flavor in the previous reblend – I taste more now – so here’s hoping that you guys taste it too!
To that end, it is important to give this tea a little bit of cooling time. Really, this is important of all the teas I create. The flavorings that are used begin to emerge when the temperature of the tea drops a little. That’s not to say that the tea needs to be chilled – but let the temperature cool to a drinkable temperature. Let it cool for at least 10 minutes (or even 15 minutes) before you start sipping. This will encourage those flavors to come forward.
The black tea has a really nice, well-rounded flavor. It’s invigorating and bold but not aggressive. I’m not getting bitterness. I’m not getting a lot of astringency either. Just a strong yet smooth black tea flavor. The cinnamon isn’t overpowering (cinnamon has a tendency to get that way!) There’s a nice vanilla note that softens the cinnamon note. The cinnamon and vanilla are the two most prominent flavors in this cup but I am also getting a background of cookie.
To brew: Don’t overleaf this one (I find that with too much leaf, the tea becomes astringent.) A slightly rounded teaspoon of tea to 12 ounces of boiling water – and let it steep for 2 1/2 minutes. Strain and let cool for 10 minutes. Enjoy!
Good without sweetener but a teensy bit of sugar will enhance the overall ‘cookie’ taste.
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Flavored Black Tea
Where to Buy: 52Teas
Description
This tea – as well as the others from the 12 Teas of Christmas box – will be available on the website on December 28th!
Learn even more about this tea company here!
Holiday Tea Alert!! David’s Tea Advent Calendar 2016 Days 1-6. . . . Spoilers!
Last year, I splurged on a David’s Tea advent calendar to sip all December leading up to Christmas, and it was the BEST decision ever. So when I got the notice for this year’s calendar up for preorder, you’d better believe it was in my cart before I could say jingle bells. I’ll be tackling these teas a week at a time– let’s get started with days 1-7!
Day 1: Snow Day, a delightful chocolate mint honeybush herbal. This one was all me, as my fiancé can’t stand mint-flavored things (he thinks they taste like toothpaste. I think they taste like more-for-me! ;)). This one came across as more of a carob-mint, without the overt sweetness of chocolate that I was expecting. But it was still tasty, needing no milk or sweet while still acting as a yummy after-dinner treat. I did find there to be an interesting mint after-tingle that lingered post-sip– some might find this off-putting, but I liked it!
Day 2: Jumpy Monkey, a coffee bean yerba mate. I’ll be honest, I haven’t had coffee in over 18 months. I’ve never been a huge fan (preferring tea genuinely instead), but when I realized that drinking it didn’t even make my body feel very good, I gave it up entirely. I made an exception for this cup, and it was worth the risk– notes of coffee and vanilla with some of that energy-boosting mate side effect we all know and love. I don’t know that it was worth it to me to pick this one up again, but my coffee-loving dude couldn’t get enough of it!
Day 3: Genmaicha. This one seemed to be fairly straightforward and traditional to me, green with TONS of rice, both toasted and popped. I’m not the biggest fan of straight green tea, but something about the vegetal and malty mix of rice in this one gave me some popcorn undertones that were straight-up delicious. I’d reach for this one again when I want something less frilly and fancy.
Day 4: Serenity Now, a fruit-forward hibiscus and lavender herbal. I could see how some would hate this blend– the hibiscus is ever-present, and you can’t hide from the floral lavender at all. But I loved it, you guys. In fact, so much so that I may end up grabbing a whole bag for myself! I love lavender in my teas, and think this would one make an excellent iced tea or lemonade infusion. Mmm. I kinda want another cup right now, actually.
Day 5: (full disclosure: I went to brew a cup of Serenity Now before sitting back down to write this next one. If that doesn’t convince you of my newfound love for it…) Coffee Cake, a black tea with large, visible chunks of fruit (pineapple?) and a heavy cinnamon scent. Surprisingly (and gladly), I can’t taste much of the fruit in my cup. To me, coffee cake is all cinnamon and crumb, it’s fruitcake (gross) that has weird chunks of candied fruit hangin’ out in it. This one has predominantly cakey cinnamon notes with hints of vanilla and that elusive pastry-quality. I’d sip this one again, but probably wouldn’t purchase because the fruit was weeeeird, you guys.
Day 6: Apple Cider, a fruit-and-cream herbal with big chunks of apples in the mix. Calling this one a cider is strange to me, as I usually associate cider with spices, and there are none to be tasted in this cup. Instead, I get bright and crisp apple balanced with creamy vanilla. A great cup that needs no extras to really make it pop. I may be ordering some more of this one!
Day 7: Nutty and Spice, oolong. This delicious cup is exactly as described, nutty and spicy and full-flavored. This is a rare oolong that takes milk and sweet well. Honestly, it reminds me so much of another David’s classic, Forever Nuts, except with some caffeine and the oolong base rather than herbal. If you’re a fan of Forever Nuts, I think you’d like this one. Overall, a great first week! Lots of hits and only a few ehs– nothing I’d even go so far to count as a miss. Looking forward to trying a whole new batch next week!
Here’s the scoop!
Where to Buy: Davids Tea
Description: No longer available on website, but individual teas can be purchased at link above
Ready for the most anticipated gift of the year? This magical tea-filled advent calendar delivers a delicious new surprise every day. Behind each door hides a single serving of tea. No peeking! The surprise is worth it.