Thésaurus Tea

From my very first Amoda box. I wasn’t really looking for a new tea subscription, but a couple of TeaTubers I follow had codes for 40% off your first box, so I figured I would give it a try!

This one sounded good, with the coffee combined with cocoa and almond, but really all I’m tasting is the black tea and the coffee/chicory. Maybe a little bit of extra earthiness from the puerh. I feel like it really needs those sweeter flavors to make it interesting and balance out the toasty and acidic notes. As-is, it’s sort of just watered down coffee ha ha.

Thésaurus Tea Fandom Advent Calendar 2023 – Day 25

Happy Holidays, tea people! I hope everyone is warm and happy and enjoying a bit of time off work.

I wouldn’t normally have a green tea this early in the day, but I wanted to get this last advent tea done before I inevitably forgot about it. XD

This has fruit pieces and other stuff in it, but mostly I just get the peppermint and the lemongrass with a bit of green tea underneath. A bit of an overly herbaceous peppermint as well, without much of that fresh minty finish. Definitely a disappointing end to this advent.

And speaking of this advent… It was quite hit-or-miss for me. There were a few ingredients that were very prevalent, like butterfly pea flower and fennel. Which isn’t the end of the world, it just speaks to a lack of variety. There were some blends I really liked, but also a lot that were quite meh. However, my biggest gripe with this advent is the portion size. Such a tiny amount of tea, enough for only about a 6-ounce cup in my experience, which is even less than the two sachet advents I had. It just seemed super stingy to me, especially when a lot of the butterfly pea flower blends seemed like they were 70% butterfly pea in the package. I understand the price point was very good, but I would rather pay a bit more and have a reasonable amount of tea per day. I would consider doing the holiday version of this advent, but I don’t think I will because of the tea volume issue. That being said, I probably will end up ordering some teas because there were several that I really liked.

Thésaurus Tea Fandom Advent Calendar 2023 – Day 24

Awww Lilo & Stitch tea!

Another one with butterfly pea flower… Thésaurus seems to be a big fan. This actually ends up reminding me of a blue raspberry sno-cone or slush, partly because of the saturated blue color and partly because of the sweet blueberry flavor. Very candy-like for sure, but still nice on the light white base. The description mentions ginger, but I don’t taste it at all. So really just a sweet blueberry white tea.

This advent has 25 days, so overall review will come tomorrow!

Thésaurus Tea Fandom Advent Calendar 2023 – Day 23

Another mostly honeybush tisane. Here the honeybush is stronger, with more of a peppery note to it. I do taste a bit of rose, and perhaps a hint of the herbaceous lemon verbena.

Not a favorite, but drinkable.

Thésaurus Tea Fandom Advent Calendar 2023 – Day 22

This is just yummy. Ignoring the fact that it has butterfly pea (again), something is giving me notes of molasses or black sugar, and I guess it must be the black tea itself? And then on top of that, I can taste the tart blackberry and a bit of the lemon as well.

The whole thing is quite subtle, as there are no flavorings, but I’m really enjoying the end result.

Thésaurus Tea Fandom Advent Calendar 2023 – Day 21

Strawberry and mint is an interesting combination. Unfortunately, I’m mostly just getting the mint here. There’s a hint of a light fruitiness, but it’s barely perceptible. Mostly it tastes like a spearmint white tea.

It’s nice, I would just like more strawberry!

Thésaurus Tea Fandom Advent Calendar 2023 – Day 20

This one is super interesting. I don’t think I’ve ever seen honeysuckle like this in a tea? Like, it’s actually the full long stamens of honeysuckle flowers, and it looks so cool.

I assume the black tea here is lapsang, because I’m definitely getting a savory smoky note. Otherwise it’s a mellow but fresh mix of resinous flavors – Labrador tea, cedar, and rosemary are all in here, along with lemon balm. I don’t have enough experience with Labrador tea to know which notes are coming from that vs. the cedar, but it definitely has a very unusual evergreen flavor profile. I can pick out the rosemary as well, luckily it’s not overpowering. I do taste those lightly sweet nectar notes from the honeysuckle on the top end.

Really just a super interesting blend, and one that I really enjoyed. Then again, I do tend to love woodsy teas. ;)

Thésaurus Tea Fandom Advent Calendar 2023 – Day 19

Tulsi again? At least I like tulsi, he he.

This mostly just tastes like tulsi with a bit of that mouth-coating licorice root sweetness. I don’t notice the white tea and the lemon balm likely blends in with the tulsi.

It’s fine, though I could do without the licorice root. Mostly not really understanding the point of a blend where I can only mostly taste one ingredient? (shrugs)

Thésaurus Tea Fandom Advent Calendar 2023 – Day 18

Okay, so somehow the sumac here manages to taste just like hibiscus, LMAO! Like, this tastes like a mild green tea that someone put a bit of hibiscus in. It’s making me a bit sad because I was excited to try the sumac berries… XD

I do get a bit of the tulsi, which is lovely, but mostly it tastes like mildly hibiscus-y green tea. :P

Thésaurus Tea Fandom Advent Calendar 2023 – Day 17

Ooh, another dragon blend! And this one has wintergreen, one of my absolute favorite herbal ingredients.

Okay, so first off, I do like this. However, there were maybe two little rolled oolong leaves in my sample, and most of it was spearmint dust. I admit, I’m a little frustrated with this advent because the sample size is so small, and too often I feel like I don’t get a good distribution of the ingredients… Which is kind of a big deal when it’s a company that seems to rely so much on the actual ingredients vs. just flavoring. Anyway, back to the tea. :P

This one is lovely. Unsurprisingly, I don’t really taste the oolong. However, I love the blend of the spearmint with the wintergreen and thyme. It’s sweet and savory at the same time, and the wintergreen adds an additional hit of freshness and gives much more dimension to the classic spearmint flavor profile. So really, it ends up being a lovely riff on a mint tisane IMO, because there was basically no oolong in mine. :P

Thésaurus Tea Fandom Advent Calendar 2023 – Day 16

As far as I could see, my sample did not have any green tea in it. Mostly it was bamboo leaf and dried lime with some chamomile blossoms.

The lime is definitely the strongest flavor – it’s tart and zesty and a touch bitter. I do taste the sweetness of the bamboo as well, along with the pollen-like notes of the chamomile. I’m not sure they really go together? Particularly the chamomile with the sharp lime. Also, the lime bitterness is a bit unpleasant, especially in the finish.

An interesting blend, but ultimately not very balanced or harmonic IMO.

Thésaurus Tea Fandom Advent Calendar 2023 – Day 15

Caramel and pineapple puerh? Okay then.

Unfortunately, I mostly just taste the chamomile. Not sure why there even is chamomile in this, honestly. Something is reminding me of coconut as well, I guess it must be the caramel combining with something else? I don’t really get pineapple, and I certainly don’t taste the puerh.

I don’t mind chamomile, so it’s not bad, it’s just nothing like the description.

Thésaurus Tea Fandom Advent Calendar 2023 – Day 14

This is pleasant. Mostly rooibos, but I do get a bit of the maple in there as well. Thésaurus seems to really like fennel, as it’s been in several blends (as well as butterfly pea flower), but I don’t actually taste it here. I don’t taste the cardamom either.

But actually enjoying it, just as a mellow maple rooibos. :)

Thésaurus Tea Fandom Advent Calendar 2023 – Day 13

This is so blue. I feel a little I’m drinking mouthwash ha ha…

Otherwise, it’s a cardamom oolong. Neither of those flavors are super duper strong, but I wouldn’t call them weak either. It’s a very mellow oolong, just smooth and slightly green, but not overly floral. And then the cardamom is also mellow, probably because I think there was one single pod in my sample.

They do go quite well together, but it’s a bit of a disconnect with the blue color for me. There are also blueberries in here, which I don’t taste at all, and I wish I did. Blueberry and cardamom would be nice!

Thésaurus Tea Fandom Advent Calendar 2023 – Day 12

More orange blossoms today? :P

This smelled very rosy in the bag, I admit I actually recoiled a bit ha ha. It tastes quite floral too, but luckily I’m getting more of the orange and orange blossom than the rose. I don’t understand why there’s even black tea in here to be honest, I don’t taste it at all, and there was very little in my sample. I expected it to taste woodsy from the Labrador tea, but I don’t taste that either. Maybe I’m misremembering what it tastes like?

Mostly, it’s a very light tisane-like blend with orange and orange blossom, and a somewhat rosy finish. Not a favorite for me. :P

Thésaurus Tea Fandom Advent Calendar 2023 – Day 11

This one sounds interesting, with tulsi, bamboo, and pineapple, among other things.

In practice though, I pretty much just taste tulsi, and maybe a little bit of chamomile. Not that it’s bad, I actually love tulsi so I’m quite enjoying it, but it definitely doesn’t fit the description or ingredients list.

Thésaurus Tea Fandom Advent Calendar 2023 – Day 10

Ooh, a Steven Universe tea! :D

This is quite nice – it’s mostly a chocolate and peppermint tea, but I almost feel like I’m getting a hint of some kind of fruit? The description is not informative, ha ha. As chocolate and peppermint go, it’s tasty. The chocolate flavor isn’t over-the-top artificial, and the peppermint is balanced and doesn’t take over the blend. The hint of strawberry (maybe?) makes it interesting as well.

I enjoyed it, though I don’t think I would rush out to order it. Also I remember the cookie cat being more of a vanilla/strawberry looking ice cream sandwich, so not sure where the peppermint came from? Not that it matters, just interesting. :P

Thésaurus Tea Fandom Advent Calendar 2023 – Day 9

This… mostly just tastes like rooibos.

There’s a touch of rose, and a tiny hint of almond maybe? But mostly it’s just rooibos, with a touch of bitterness – I assume from the gynostemma?

_Meh.

Thésaurus Tea Fandom Advent Calendar 2023 – Day 8

Another very light tea, but this at least has some flavor. Mostly I taste the vague fruitiness of hibiscus, with a bit of cherry and a light rose finish. It’s not my personal favorite, as I don’t love cherry or rose, but thankfully both flavors are quite subdued.

Pleasant enough tea, though I can’t taste the green tea at all.

Thésaurus Tea Fandom Advent Calendar 2023 – Day 7

I’m already grumpy and this is making me grumpier. Tastes more like rooibos than black tea, and I get almost none of the spices. Maybe a touch of the anise? Nothing resembling chai or blueberry or waffles.

Harrumph.

Thésaurus Tea Fandom Advent Calendar 2023 – Day 6

I think I should’ve used less water with this one, it came out very light in flavor. Usually I would use about 8 ounces for a teaspoon, but maybe I should go down to 6 for these Thésaurus blends…

Anyway, mostly I taste the hibiscus, but there’s also some beet in there, which is interesting. Maybe a bit of a red fruit note? It’s difficult to tell with the hibiscus in the forefront.

Just a meh for me, not great and not bad either. At least the beet kept it interesting ha ha.

Thésaurus Tea Fandom Advent Calendar 2023 – Day 5

Ha ha, such a cute name. Sailor Moon immediately comes to mind, but of course there are many more fandoms with transformation sequences.

Unfortunately, I’m not loving it. It smelled super rosy in the bag, and luckily the rose isn’t quite so strong when it’s steeped up, but it’s still at the forefront. I taste a little bit of the berry as well, but I wish there was more of it. Honestly it’s somewhat bland overall? Mostly it’s some hay notes from the white base, and then the dusty rose notes. And some mustiness, probably from the butterfly pea flower.

I wish it was a bit more magical! :P

Thésaurus Tea Fandom Advent Calendar 2023 – Day 4

Okay, now this is interesting. What a pretty tea, a mix of airy bamboo leaves, big pieces of dried lemon, and tiny elderflower blossoms.

I really like it. To be fair, I love lemon and elderflower, separately and especially together. The lemon is quite present and has a nice tartness, and the elderflower has that ethereal, almost effervescent quality to it. What I didn’t expect is the sweetness from the bamboo. I don’t think I’ve ever had bamboo leaf in enough quantity to know what it tastes like, but it’s definitely contributing a sweet quality. I do get a bit of almost grassy freshness as well.

So unusual and tasty, and I think the balance of the ingredients is spot-on.

Thésaurus Tea Fandom Advent Calendar 2023 – Day 3

This is meant to be an apple and pomegranate black tea with fennel, but honestly it didn’t really have much flavor to me? I did get a little bit of the fennel, but nothing fruity at all, and the black tea itself was very light.

Not sure if there just wasn’t really enough in the packet for an 8-ounce cup or if I maybe got unlucky with the distribution of ingredients? No idea…