Amongst my various and sundry advent calendars this year is the one from Clipper, which is super cute! I love the design! I like that it’s nice and compact – basically a fancy version of a regular teabox – but still has a nice variety and is thoughtfully designed. I don’t mind that it uses every tea twice (going from 1-12 and then repeating in the same order from 13-24), but the system designed for keeping it a surprise is suboptimal. Each individual teabag has a cute design and a number on it, not indicating what tea is inside, which is what you’d expect from an advent. BUT, once you open the pouch, the only way to know what kind of tea you’re drinking is to read the side of the box – where ALL of the teas are listed. So I have to put in extra effort to avoid spoiling the surprise, when it feels like they could have just printed the name of the tea on the tag? Presumably that would have been more expensive and that’s why they didn’t, and as inconveniences go it’s not the end of the world (especially at this price point), but it is annoying.
So! To the tea! Days 1 & 13 are Happy Mondays. I somehow didn’t know that white hibiscus is a thing, but it’s an ingredient in this blend! But also because of that, I don’t really know how to evaluate its presence here. I’m not picking up on any typical hibiscus flavor. There’s definitely a nice lemon flavor here, that maybe the hibiscus is contributing to? There’s also a pleasant spicy sharpness. It seems to come more from the pepper than the ginger, but I like it. Lemon pepper is a winning spice combo for a reason. Definitely better hot than cold, but not entirely undrinkable cold.
Flavors: Ginger, Lemon, Pepper
