390 Tasting Notes

75
drank Cacao Pu-erh by Vital Tea Leaf
390 tasting notes

Homemade Advent Calendar from AJRimmer: Day 16

This is straight-up milk chocolate liqueur layered on a surprisingly mild base. It’s got light mineral notes and a hint of something almost cinnamon-like?! Quite an easy drinker!

I found myself wanting more of everything: more deep, rich, chocolate… more earthiness… but the description for this tea refers to it as a “gateway” pu-erh, which seems right!

Flavors: Cinnamon, Earth, Milk Chocolate, Mineral

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65

Tea Thoughts Winter Countdown: Day 14

Hmm! I’m honestly not super familiar with chrysanthemum, and I suspect this is not the most high-quality place to start — but still fun! I was getting some kind of wet rag, chamomile notes when I sniffed the freshly brewed tisane, but thankfully there’s none of that in the cup. It’s mildly floral, with some hay notes, and then a cooling menthol effect at the end. Not sure I’m getting much from the goji berries, but maybe they’ll show up in my second steep!

Flavors: Chamomile, Chrysanthemum, Cooling, Hay, Menthol

gmathis

Interesting! derk introduced me to good quality chrysanthemum tea, but I never considered it as being a blendable ingredient.

AJRimmer

I’ve only had it straight, so I’m curious to try it in blends too!

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75

Simpson & Vail Advent Calendar: Day 16

Someone over at S&V must’ve been so pleased to realize that Jane Austen’s birthday is in December!

I’m a huge Austen fan and reread the canon every few years, and I was also lucky enough to take an Austen-centric class during undergrad (English major reporting for duty!). Her dry, understated humor and boundless wit always delight me, and I love how keenly (and often mercilessly) she captures the foibles of human nature.

Anyway, I was happy to see this one yesterday, although I only steeped it up this morning (while reading some Ursula K. Le Guin, haha). It’s a pretty sedate black base with bright, cooling spearmint predominating, and then some and creamy, pillowy notes from the vanilla — it’s more marshmallow-y than vanilla-y, in my opinion! I get a smidge of lavender on the back of a sip, but I could honestly do with more.

This is somehow refreshing and cozy, which I appreciate. I might consider purchasing it and adding some additional lavender from my own garden.

Flavors: Cooling, Creamy, Marshmallow, Spearmint

Cameron B.

I am so amused at how often you and I seem to be on the same page regarding this advent ha ha!

Kelmishka

Advent twinning!

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92

52Teas 12 Teas of Christmas: Day 3

Sipped on this zesty lil number during my final [online] class of the semester! It evokes an effervescent lemon-lime soda to me, with lovely cranberry notes. It’s tart, but also a little syrupy, but also a little saline? I bet it would be absolutely smashing cold-brewed, maybe with a bit of seltzer added.

So good!

Flavors: Citrus, Cranberry, Crisp, Effervescent, Lemon, Lime, Saline, Syrupy, Tangy

52Teas

This one is AWESOME cold brewed, it’s my preferred method with this blend. So happy to read that you enjoy it!

gmathis

Yay for the end of semester!

Kelmishka

52Teas: Ooh, that’s a ringing endorsement!
Gmathis: Woohoo! Thanks!

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80

Simpson & Vail Advent Calendar: Day 15

I’m getting behind on my advents… I blame my long internship days without a kettle, plus the surfeit of caffeinated teas that have popped up lately. But I’ve got a home day tomorrow, and I plan to be VERY well caffeinated as I work through the backlog (which isn’t actually THAT large, but we all know how these things snowball).

Anyway, this was yesterday’s S&V tea, but I had it this morning on my commute. I really enjoy both this one and its French toast counterpart. I stocked up on the latter when I purchased the advent, but now I’m kind of wishing I’d bought some of this one, too! I think a blend of both teas would actually be lovely… you’d get the maple sweetness of the French toast blend with the pastry, cake-y notes of this one.

All to say that this blend is solid as hell! It’s true to its name and is just so tasty.

Flavors: Apple, Cake, Cinnamon, Pastries

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75

52Teas 12 Teas of Christmas: Day 2

Sipped this one on a morning drive to attend an open house that wasn’t actually happening. I misread the listing… XD

At least I had good tea en route! This is very cozy and comforting, with clove and cinnamon predominating over a bright base. I didn’t really pick up on any cookie elements, but that’s OK. Still a very seasonally appropriate blend, especially with the super festive sprinkles!

Flavors: Bright, Cinnamon, Clove

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72

Homemade Advent Calendar from AJRimmer: Day 15

So many black teas in my advents today! I feel like the days have been feast or famine when it comes to caffeine… either everything’s caffeinated or nothing is. I’ve been trying to be smarter about my caffeine intake this year, because I’m pretty sensitive to it, but all that restraint has gone out the window this month. Oh well!

Anyway, here we have a fun pancake-inspired blend with toasted rice. Were you to transmute this tea into actual pancakes, I think they would be far too sweet for my tastes. Like… I’m not sure I actually want pancakes drizzled with salted caramel?! But as a tea, it works. There’s some definite caramel, and some sweet maple, plus lovely toasted rice notes. What I’m not getting is much salt, which is a shame — I think it would help balance this blend. A stronger black base might help, too.

Fun to try, and I bet it would be nice as a latte with some oat milk!

Flavors: Buttery, Caramel, Maple Syrup, Sweet, Toasted Rice

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75

52Teas 12 Teas of Christmas: Day 1

Logging from yesterday, when this countdown began!

I feel like it’s pretty rare to have this flavor profile on a green base! It lets the deep, baked gingerbread flavor stand out a little more by contrast against the brighter green base.

I didn’t get a ton of cake-y vibes, but the gingerbread is definitely there. A fun start to the countdown!

Flavors: Cinnamon, Gingerbread

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70

Homemade Advent Calendar from AJRimmer: Day 14

I really enjoy these kinds of coffee replacements, but I rarely buy them because I do drink regular coffee and they’re not top of mind for me. Which is a shame, because, again… I really enjoy them.

Anyway, it was fun to try this one. It’s a pretty classic flavor profile with the base ingredients, but in a more “sweet coffee drink” kind of way — there’s some sweetness from the dates and monkfruit and some kind of vanilla creaminess from the natural flavors.

I definitely prefer Teeccino because of its cleaner, simpler, and more coffee-like taste, but I think this is a great option for folks who are trying to transition from sweeter coffee drinks. I enjoyed trying it!

Flavors: Artificial, Chicory, Coffee, Dandelion, Dates, Sweet, Vanilla

Lexie Aleah

love Teeccino!

gmathis

Wish our local Natural Grocers carried more Teeccino flavors.

ashmanra

Now I want to go to Sprouts and get some Teecino…my wee grandsons have loved it since before they were two.

Kelmishka

Great idea to share it with little ones! Maybe I’ll get some for my nephews for Christmas… I bet they’d get a kick out of it.

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80
drank Sticky Date Delight by T2
390 tasting notes

2024 Sipdown Challenge | December | A tea you don’t drink in summer

Logging this one for the sipdown. I’ve been holding onto this last teabag for a while and finally drank it last night. So cozy and warming… gonna up my rating by a few points.

2024 sipdown count: 44

Flavors: Dates, Fig, Sweet, Toffee

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Profile

Bio

(she/her)

I was an anxious child who didn’t like change, so when my parents flew across the country for my grandfather’s wedding and left us kids with my aunt and uncle, I was a nervous wreck. Our first night at their house was tough. I couldn’t sleep, so I got up and padded into the kitchen, where my aunt was puttering around. She could tell I was distressed and offered to make me a cup of tea. It was just Celestial Seasonings’ peppermint tea, but it was exactly what I needed. The tea itself, the comfort it represented, the ritual of making it… I was enchanted. I’ve loved tea ever since.

I’m partial to strong, intense flavors and prefer loose-leaf to bagged, but I also appreciate the convenience of bags and sachets. I mostly drink my tea straight but once in a blue moon I’ll add a little plant-based milk, generally oat.

I live in Maryland, USA, with my partner, three dogs, and one cat. I’ve actually been a Steepster reader for years and years, but only started posting in late 2021. :)

When I’m not drinking tea (or sometimes WHILE I’m drinking tea!) I’m reading, rewatching comfort shows, going for a run, knitting, embroidering, hiking, or puttering in the garden. You can find me on Instagram at @kelmishka. (My account is private, but feel free to send a request!)

Favorite ingredients, flavors, etc.

Maple (all-time fave flavor!), vanilla, caramel, and all things dessert-y

Jasmine, lavender, violet, and most floral flavors

Most spices, although I go through phases and sometimes get bored of generic-feeling winter spice blends

Most fruity flavors

Matcha and other vegetal flavors

Not-so-favorite ingredients, flavors, etc.

Bergamot (…although it’s been growing on me lately!)

Hibiscus

Overly artificial flavors (banana, coconut, mango)

Overly herbacious blends, although this varies!

Stevia, monkfruit, and other sugar-alternative sweeteners — blech

Chocolate — it’s hard to get it right in tea, though I love real chocolate!

Animal products, including honey (long-time vegan checking in!)

My ratings

90-100: The best! Will almost definitely repurchase.

75-90: Really good, and potentially worthy of a restock.

60-75: Decent, if not terribly memorable.

50-60: In the “meh” range, but possibly for personal taste reasons.

35-50: I’m not a fan, and this is not very good tea.

20-35: Varying degrees of bad.

1-20: Actively bad. Like really bad. I can’t imagine anyone disagreeing.

Location

Maryland, USA

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