Bird & Blend Advent Calendar 2021: Day 6!
Well, hello there! I’m an absolute sucker for buttery, caramel-y flavors despite being vegan—or maybe because of it! Getting to try vegan versions of something that usually relies heavily on dairy really tickles me. That’s probably why I’m drawn to so many teas inspired by buttery desserts.
Anyway, this is a winner in my book. The dry blend smells very sweet and buttery, but the brewed tea isn’t sickly sweet at all. I was worried the rooibos would be overpowering, but here it’s an almost invisible base. Instead, most of the flavor comes from the puffed quinoa and toasted rice, giving this a lovely light nuttiness. At first I was a little thrown by how nutty and toasty the flavor profile is, but after letting it cool a minute or two, I could detect a hint of sweetness—more a suggestion than anything else.
I usually take my tea black, but I added a tiny spot of oat milk to this one toward the end and it really rounded out the flavor and brought out a bit more creamy sweetness. I’m currently going for a second steep on my tea bag and hoping none of the flavors gets lost!
B&B currently has a limited run of this one available for sale, and I’m debating placing an order. I wanted to wait till I was done with the advent calendar to stock up on some favorites, but I’m worried this one will be gone… sigh! What to do.
Flavors: Butter, Butterscotch, Nutty, Sweet, Toasted Rice, Toasty
They normally offer a good Boxing Day sale, but admittedly a lot of their stock runs out (sometimes within hours) of the sale starting.
Good to know! Thanks for the tip. :)