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Ahhhh much better. After having a weak black tea this morning, it’s comforting to come to this. I enjoy this tea and will probably order more of it when I’m out of the tea bags you get.

Classic, delicious black blend!

Day 3 of the 24 Days of Tea
Oh heavens it’s a black tea and I’ve never tried this tea before. Normally this would be a tea I would gravitate far far away from in another realm of teas where this one isn’t, but I brewed this with an open mind.

At first sniff: WOWZERS, they nailed the blueberry that’s for sure, but I had to do a double take to make sure it was indeed a black tea. There weren’t many leaves. This had me concerned.

Discloser: I am not a big fan of blueberries in baked goods, blueberry jam etc etc. I like blueberries raw and will eat them by the handfuls, but that’s about it.

At first steep: I think I unintentionally under-leafed this. This would be a tea you’d have to give 3 scoops instead of two to bring out some of the black tea. The tin was probably only good for one cup. It brewed up a murky purple colour… again it looked very much like a herbal. I had it with cream and stevia today, but should have held off on the stevia because it has it in the blend. I like it. I’m not offended by it. It thankfully doesn’t taste fake, but I’m not sure if the black and blue go together. I think I would have preferred this as a herbal mix. They didn’t add enough black to get me going and I’ve been stuttering a work this morning because of it. I will need to brew a cup of a strong morning blend after this cup leaves my mug. I would say this is an after dinner tea, to have with some sort of fruity dish, preferably in summer. I don’t hate it at all, I’m surprised a I like it. I don’t think it’s going to get the overwhelming high rating that it’s been getting from me.

I would drink it if someone offered it to me from their tea cupboard, but I don’t know if I would spend the money to own it. I think I like the best out of the 3 days so far.

Day 2 of the 24 Days of Tea
So I wasn’t as excited today, but I did go to bed last night pondering what was going to be waiting for me on Day 2.

I had this tea last year. We bought the krackers from DT and this was one of the samples. I remember liking it more last year.

At first sniff: I smell almond extract. Very sweet and very amaretto like. I smell a fruity almond blend. The blend is very pretty too and looks like a very fancy trail mix. You can’t really see the rooibus as much.

At first steep: So I’m being a bit of a scrouge with my teas. I am sure I probably under leafed this a bit, but that is partially because I want more opportunities to try it. I did steep it for a bit longer to make up for it. The almond pulls through, I don’t get many hints of the coconut and to my dismay the rooibus is a bit lost in the mix. There’s a bit of an oil slick on the top of the tea and less of a fruity feel to it. I haven’t decided if I like it yet. Might have to try it again and brew it with more tea. I remember really liking it last year and enjoying such an interesting rooibus blend, but this year it’s not winning me over. It is all over the place and the smell of the dry tea leaves a lot to be said for the cup, which then disappoints. Maybe I need to embody Tiny Tim and use the whole tin full next time.

To be continued…

Why hello old friend we meet again. I opened up my advent calendar today and it wasn’t a caffeinated one and I needed something a bit more robust this morning. I was exhausted from cooking turkey all day yesterday for our first annual ThanksXmas. It was a huge success, but then I am a pretty cook good so I knew it would at least turn out.

I brewed this today out of pure easiness. I did not want to fiddle with brewing times… I wanted a quick fix. Plus with the Costco size box… it’s not like this is going anywhere any time soon. Cream and sugar. Delish!

The tea I grew up on… ye olde faithful. Always nice to have after dinner. I made a thanksxmas dinner for a few friends tonight and its always a crowd pleaser. Also keep the extra large costco sized box labelled for thd food service industry. Lol… I love costco.

Always tastes good and always a tea you can count on.

Day 1 of 24 days of tea So I not so gracefully bolted out of my bedroom this morning and did the hardwood floor skid to my Advent Calendar and proceeded to open Day 1. I’m pretty sure my boyfriend thinks I’m a neanderthal.

Well, this was the tea I wanted to try the most from the Winter Collection and it was the last one I tried.

At first sniff: I smell a peppermint that takes over your nostrils and then a soft sweetness as an after note. I like the smell of it. I keep sniffing it and I do like the smell. Soothing, calming and very wintery.

At first steep: I brewed this at 95C for 4.5 mins. I probably under-leafed it but did that on purpose. Trying to stretch the little tin you get in the Advent Calendar. I pretty much just taste peppermint… not picking up on the chocolate that much. I don’t add milk or sugar to herbal teas as a general rule, so I’m going to drink it straight. It teases you because you smell the sweet of white chocolate but the taste is muted.

I don’t think it’s worthy of purchasing… I may consider it if it goes on sale because it’s nice to have a nice peppermint tea to go to after dinner or before bed.

Edit: As the cup is cooling, I am getting more sweetness and more chocolate taste.

Peach and Thyme… what a strange combination. Fear not though, we cannot doubt the French and their perfume combinations… right??

At first sniff: I smell the peach, delicious peach. I catch notes of the thyme, but not overpowering and the sweetness of the peach enhances the sweet parts of the thyme. Definitely not offensive and it definitely works well together.

At first steep: THYME THYME… did I mention you can really smell the thyme? Wowzers!! The taste is less intense, but with the sniff and the taste, you really can taste the thyme and it takes over a bit. The peach is the second note, which is a bit disappointing. It’s definitely a different tea. Although the French are on point with the smell of the tea, I’m not sure the taste is as good. I definitely would have been happier with a peaches and cream taste, rather than a peach gravy? With Thanksgiving and Christmas in the air, I could see this tea going extremely well with turkey dinner. It would be an excellent sweet component if cream and sugar are added.

I like this tea, I’m not sure I love this tea. I have 100g of it now and one beautiful fuchsia tin. I don’t feel badly paying 12.99 for it though because I definitely taste that the tea is quality. I probably wouldn’t replace it when the “thyme” comes. ha ha

Sipdown

Caramel, a simple name with one simple motive: to taste like those gooey pieces of caramel. It does just that. Yet another one that I am going to have to order one day from The O Dor… sigh.

At first sniff: It smelled like caramel, like cooking sugar with that buttery texture.

At first steep: I am so bummed this tea is gone. I added cream and sugar and it was just so delicious. It has pieces of caramel in it and it is milky, buttery and creamy. Yum yum yum.. there was a time where I drank this tea daily and went to Urban Tea Merchant before they switched suppliers and ordered as much as they had left. Hand over the little square wrapped caramels please :D