Hello Tea Friends!
It is with delight that I share my tea advent with you this year. After much deliberation and being absolutely spoilt for choice I stumbled upon a company called Tea Revv who offer an advent calendar called Tea 24. Last year it was Bluebird Tea Co’s advent and frankly I got disheartened that some days were just a chocolate and nothing more ie no tea! This time I have 24 teas to review and that’s exactly what I wanted, which will be a nice introduction this company as I had not heard of them before. I would also like to mention that this advent was the mere price of £20 and I got a free sample of Popcorn Genmaicha to try!
I placed my order quite early (end of September-ish) and a short time later my advent arrived. The teas are housed in a box and numbered in small pouches (in order) inside. So as you undo the ribbon and open the lid you are met with a number 1 on the top to start your first day. Turning over the packet reveals the ingredients and the name of the blend.
So to kick start us off; Day 1 – Pumpkin Pie Chai
What a great first day! What better way to start the advent season than with a chai? Perfect!
The blend itself consists of loosely chopped black leaf with pieces of (what I could pick out) ginger, sunflower petals, rosehip pieces and a couple of hibiscus petals. Not to mention this awesome looking ghost sweet!
There are more ingredients but they were just harder to detect, such as: apple, cardamom, cinnamon and black and white pepper. Again not the full list. But this was all based on appearance, what does it smell like?
Cinnamon and ginger with some dryness and a peppery finish. In basic terms, spiced chai. It smells spicy, rich and full bodied as I expected.
I will be steeping this tea in a personal tea set for one which was actually a Christmas gift a few years ago.
Boiling water for 3 -4 minutes. No milk or sweetener.
The resulting tea is golden brown with a sweet cinnamon and spice scent, much sweeter than it’s raw form. (Possibly from the sweet sprinkles).
The first few sips reveal a sweet yet wooden base with a cinnamon and ginger after taste with a hint of clove. Slight bitterness to it but it’s nothing a dash of milk wouldn’t solve. Minimal dryness in the aftertaste.
Some squash or pumpkin would have been nice but it was a good all around Chai blend. There is something about drinking Chai in winter, it’s like being hugged by someone warm.
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I look forward to day 2 🙂 Join me each day to see my reviews on all 24 teas in this advent calendar of tea.
Until then, Happy Steeping!
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