Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black Tea, Yerba Mate & Rooibos
Where to Buy: Inspired Leaf
Tea Description:
A little bit corny…a lot delicious!
Inspiration No. 7: It’s time to schedule a play date with your inner child.
Ingredients: Organic black tea, black tea, barley, caramel pieces, yerba mate, organic rooibos, corn, sea salt, popcorn, natural flavors Allergen Notice: Contains dairy and barley.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
Mmm! This tastes much better than I imagined it to … and I was pretty confident that I’d enjoy it before taking my first sip. I mean, while the idea of a Caramel Popcorn Flavored Black Tea sounds pretty wacky and wild, it also sounds like it could be absolutely wonderful! And this tea from Inspired Leaf is indeed wonderful!
The sip starts out sweet with hints of burnt sugar caramel. Shortly thereafter, I start to notice just a hint of salt to the taste – and I love the combination of salty and sweet! Mid-sip, I detect the rich, smooth black tea base that is accentuated with the toasty, earthy qualities of the yerba mate and the warm grain notes of the barley. By the end of the sip, I feel as though I’ve indulged in a decadent treat that’s a little bit salty, a little bit sweet, and so very tasty!
The base of this tea is a blend of black teas (the ingredient list says it’s an organic black tea and a black tea). If I had to guess, I’d say that there is an Assam in the blend, because I taste the characteristic richness of an Assam as well as notes of malt. The malty tones complement the caramel notes. The barley in this mix adds a hint of grain flavor that seems to give the overall cup a “corn” sort of taste.
There is also yerba mate and rooibos in this blend. I don’t taste a lot of contribution from the rooibos, and I’m not really sure why the rooibos has been added to the blend … but by the same token, I can’t say that this blend would taste the same without the rooibos. The yerba mate – now that I can taste. It’s not an overwhelmingly strong contribution to the overall cup, but, it does add a nice toasty flavor and an earthiness that really brings everything together in a nice way.
This tea gets two enthusiastic thumbs up from me – it’s got all the goodness of caramel popcorn – all that’s missing is the crunch and the hulls. (And really, I don’t miss the hulls!)