Continuing with all things Spooky. . . Black Shuck Earl Grey. . . .
I was a little afraid to try this tea, and not because of the legendary hell hound on the logo.
It was because of the bergamot.
Bergamot haters call it blergamot. I’m not a hater, but I am VERY particular about my Earls.
With a name like Black Shuck, I thought this one might run me over.
One of the worst combinations for me is bergamot on high elevation Ceylon tea, which already has loads of lemony notes. The result is SOUR. This tea promised natural bergamot orange zest on a delicate Indian black tea base. it delivered more than it promised.
I was expecting to be manhandled. It is called Black Shuck, after all. The aroma was rich and deep, and the bergamot was…mild? What’s this? Well-behaved bergamot? Not fake perfume to make my tongue curl up in despair?
It took me several minutes to figure out what the base is reminding me of. It smelled and tasted like a Yunnan Dian Hong Golden Tip tea, known for its baked sweet potato aromas. The bergamot is just perfect in this for me. I really don’t like it to be “in my face.”
While they call this a delicate Indian base, I am inclined to call it an elegant Indian base with exactly the right amount of the right kind of natural bergamot.
Now who’s afraid of the big Black Shuck? Not me. Bring it on.
Want to Know More About This Tea?
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Wendigo Tea Co.
Description
am Black Shuck, and I haunt the graveyard of English Prime Minister Earl Grey. I am the bloodthirsty beast that dwells in the shadows. I am a legendary hell hound, and I’m ready to pounce.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Pumpkin Gingerbread Black Tea/52Teas
Continuing on the theme of Spooky Season. . . Pumpkin Gingerbread seemed to be a good fit. Of course pumpkins are a huge part of spooky season but there is also a horror franchise about a Gingerbread that comes to life so when I saw this tea in my stash, it was just meant to be.
If you aren’t familiar with 52Teas, I highly recommend you check them out. Readers of this blog know that the current owner of 52Teas is one of the co-founders of the SororiTea Sisters and to be honest- a personal friend of mine. But, even if that wasn’t the case, I would still highly recommend 52Teas.
52Teas blends up new teas each and every week- providing an amazing array of new high quality tea blends to check out. The only issue is that if you fall in love with one of these blends, you need to get yourself to the site and quickly pick up a few more because once these teas sell out, they typically are not reblended.
Pumpkin Gingerbread Black Tea is a black and honeybush tea blend with pumpkin, ginger root, cinnamon and a variety of other spices and natural flavors. The aroma of the blend reminds me very much of a chai tea. Since the weather is becoming very fall like, I thought this tea would be best enjoyed hot so I brewed up water at 212F, allowed the tea to brew for right around 3 minutes and allowed the cuppa to cool for about 5 minutes.
First sip in and you are greeted with all of the fall flavors- pumpkin, ginger, vanilla, cinnamon, clove. . .simply delicious. The ginger is the flavor I am picking up the most but the flavoring doesn’t come off as overpowering. I’m not the biggest fan of ginger but I easily drank down a few cuppas of this blend and finished off the package with ease. I do wish that the pumpkin shone through a bit more but I did love the gingerbread with a dash of pumpkin vibes I was getting and the black tea finish to end each sip was lovely. This is one of those teas that would be amazing as a latte enjoyed during my morning commutes.
This tea was the perfect companion to my spooky viewing of As Above So Below- one of my favorite spooky movies to enjoy to get the Spooky Season officially underway.
Want to Know More About This Tea?
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: 52Teas
Description
Our handcrafted teas are vegan, Gluten-free & Allergen-friendly because you deserve tea you can sip with confidence.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Russian Caravan/Grace Tea Company
I am a fan of smoky teas, whether they are smoked over a fire like lapsang teas often are, or whether they are teas with natural smoky notes like some Keemun teas.
Russian Caravan teas are usually less smoky than lapsangs. As tea traveled the great distance from China, India, and Ceylon to Russia in camel trains, the evening campfires of the caravans would gradually scent the teas with a light smoky flavor, and this flavor was so delectable and such a part of the tea that it is recreated today.
Too often, tea companies use inferior leaf for teas that are going to be flavored or scented. I find many lapsangs to be weak and watery as far as the base goes, for instance. While I love my smoke, I don’t want to sacrifice quality in the base. Russian Caravan by Grace Tea delivers with this pure China blend, consisting of mostly Keemun with a bit of Lapsang.
Normally I would review this as a fall tea because I always reach for smoky tea on the first chilly or darkish days of autumn. The campfire/fireplace vibe is so comforting. But I made quite the discovery a couple of weeks ago.
SMOKY TEA IS AN AWESOME PAIRING WITH ICE CREAM! Granted, the first ice cream I tried it with was a s’mores flavor one, so there you already have the suggestion of campfires. It was the power of suggestion when eating the ice cream that made me jump up and make a pot of Russian Caravan to have with it. But I have now tried it with other flavors of ice cream and must declare it to be an awesome foil for the rich, cold sweetness. One bite of freezing sugary decadence, one big sip of smoky, hot comfort.
Alas, I have emptied my tea tin before I ran out of ice cream, so tomorrow night I will be trying a nice, strong lapsang with my vanilla chocolate chip.
Want to Know More About This Tea?
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Grace Tea Company
Description
Being a pure China tea blend, our Russian Caravan black loose leaf tea comes close to the luxury teas that were transported by camel train from the tea-producing areas of India, Ceylon and China to Europe, via Russia during the 18th century.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Bai MuDan/Teavivre
Someone told me once that white tea just tasted like a cup of hot water to them. I probably would have agreed early on in my tea journey. When your tastebuds are accustomed to strong root beer and sweet, fizzy, highly flavored soda it takes a while to train your palate to find subtle flavors, at least it did for me.
Perhaps the real foodies “get it” right from the start.
I haven’t had unflavored white tea in a while and decided that today would be a good day to take a cup of Bai MuDan outside and enjoy its simplicity while sitting in the sunshine, a rare treat in late winter. Though very windy, it is warm and the sun is welcome after many days of rain.
The packet called for two grams of leaf for twelve ounces of water, which I thought seemed to far too little at first. I used my new Upton Digital Tea Scale since large leaf white tea can be tricky to judge. Teavivre recommends five to eight minutes, and I steeped for about five because I was ready for my break!
First, this is a beautiful golden cup of tea. The color is rich and deep and it actually LOOKS full bodied in the cup. The flavor did not let me down. No one could mistake this for a “cup of hot water!” The flavor lingers for quite a while, too.
I see a lot of white tea described accurately as tasting like sunshine on hay, mainly Shou Mei, but this Bai MuDan tastes like golden stalks with a hint of spring in the air, with the scent of distant flowers laid over, and maybe even a little soft, sweet vegetable like snow pea or sugar snap peas.
I think this is going to be my go-to quiet time cup for a while.
Want to Know More About This Tea?
Leaf Type: White
Where to Buy: Teavivre
Description
Mellow and brisk with thick taste, light soybean milk aroma
with a touch of gentle sweet lingering in mouth
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Mermaid Matcha/Bird and Blend Tea Co
I don’t love plain matcha. Never have. However, I have been a fan of flavored matchas since the company now known as Matcha Outlet was operating as Red Leaf Tea. Long before even DAVIDsTEA offered flavored matchas, Red Leaf Tea was offering everything from Caramel Popcorn Matcha to Strawberries and Cream Matcha to even Cheese Pizza Matcha. Alas, over the years the options offered have dwindled and I have had to seek out my flavored matchas from other companies.
Bird and Blend has a large selection of flavored matchas but they can be quite pricey. They also sell them in large quantities that I struggled to commit to. That is why when I noticed a sampler set of Rainbow Matchas on the site, I was very excited to pick it up and give the matchas a taste. One of the matchas in that set is this blue matcha, Mermaid Matcha.
When I first made this in milk, I wasn’t quite sure what to expect. It is a light blue, which is cool to see. More than that though, it is delicious. This particular matcha tastes just like vanilla buttercream. Amazing cake frosting deliciousness and yet it is not overly sweet. It’s awesome and one I would definitely recommend if you’re into that flavor.
The one downside of some Bird and Blend matchas can be texture. Sometimes it is heavy so the matcha tends to fall to the bottom of the mug. Sometimes the matcha can be chalky. In the case of this matcha, I don’t really find those to be an issue. As such, it is one I think is worth the price.
Want to Know More About This Tea?
Leaf Type: Green/Matcha
Where to Buy: Bird & Blend Tea Co.
Description
For fans of our famous colour changing Blue Raspberry tea blend! This magical blue matcha is infused with blue pea flower, to create a deep sea blue brew!
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
