Last month or perhaps the month before. Ok maybe three months ago…@Liberteas posted on Steepster that she was putting together a 12 Days of Christmas swap. As such she had 11 slots, not including her own slot. I was super interested, but there was a problem. I was a tad late to responding to the notice! So I put it out of my mind until I received a note that I hadn’t missed it, someone else had bowed out and there was a slot open if I wanted it.
I did! My day was day eight – 8 Maids a Milkin’ – so you’ll have to wait a bit to see that one. But you happen to be in luck because due a 24 tummy bug I didn’t try Day 1 until today. (No I didn’t even want tea when I was feeling bad – so you know this was serious.)
So Day 1 -A Partridge in a Pear Tree- came from the lovely Autumn Hearth (<- you can follow her on Steepster). She chose to blend a few teas together which we’ve dubbed Pear Tree, she also indicated it has a base of Eight Treasures Yabao Winter Blend from Verdant with other bits and bobs of different teas thrown in. But let me tell you there is so much more than eight treasures in this tea. Every smell and sip is a treasure too.
I just love the tin!
Just to give you a hint of some of the amazing ingredients in this tea: Yabao, Green Tea Jasmine, Organic Elderberry, Stone Pressed 2004 Yiwu Wild Arbor Sheng, Lychee pieces, Apple pieces, and more! I have to tell you I am blown away by everything in this tea! The smell of the steeped tea is that of Jasmine and spice, but the taste is out of this world and a bit difficult to describe as anything more than unique and amazing. With all this tea has going on everything works together in perfect harmony. I will be truly sad when this is gone as I love it!
Now on to Day 2 -Two Turtle Doves- which comes to us from Tea Trader @Azzrian. Her tea of choice was a flavored Matcha. Now I’m not a huge fan of flavored Matcha…but I was interested in this blend as it was a clever take on two turtle doves. Did you know that turtle doves mate for life? Well, that romance was the idea behind her blending of Strawberry Champagne Matcha from Red Leaf Tea. I thought this was a clever idea!
Awesome! 15g of matcha! What you don’t see is the Dove chocolate (clever!).
So about the Matcha blend. When I opened the package I was pleased to find it smelled just like Champagne and Strawberries! I followed the directions provided by Azzrian and Red Leaf (I’m still new to matcha making). So the result? Well, it certainly tastes like champagne and strawberries!
For someone who isn’t a fan of flavored matcha I will make an exception for this one. Because it is pretty awesome! I may even try the idea suggested by Azzrian. Which is to mix with the milk of our choosing, along with non dairy creamer over ice. For the matcha adventurer she also suggests adding a splash of sparkling soda!
So far I am super excited I took part in this swap! I can’t wait to see what days 3-12 bring! I will tell you this tomorrows tea comes from @Liberteas, can’t wait!
