When I saw this blend on A Quarter to Tea’s website and I told it to my significant other, he wrinkled his nose and said he didn’t think it would sound good. I, on the other hand, was intrigued. I have never seen cashews in a blend before and was curious as to how it would translate. So I bought a taster and it was the second tea I tried from my first order from them.
The dry leaf smelled like carrot cake, sweet cashews, and coconut. It is very enticing, warm, and comforting. I steeped the whole sample in my 16oz mug for 4 minutes with near-boiling water. The smell of the steeping liquid was totally coconutty! I could also smell the malty Assam. I added a little agave and gave it a stir, breathing in the hot coconut-smelling liquid. Yum! If coconut cake and carrot cake had a baby, this tea would be the child! The Assam is bold and prevalent in this blend, perhaps I shouldn’t have used the entire sample, but no worries because it is still very good. The carrot and coconut are both very prominent, but unfortunately it would seem that the cashew may have been overpowered by those two components. I keep feeling like I can taste the cashew, but then I wonder if i’m just confusing it with the coconut. Either way, this tea is very nutty. The carrot part lends a sweet, smooth, and vegetal flair that pairs nicely with the malty Assam and nuts.
I would say that A Quarter to Tea is 2 for 2! I love both blends I’ve tried thus far and will be highly recommending them to everyone. They really have done a fantastic job putting these teas together. I could drink both that I’ve tried all day, everyday! Check them out for sure.
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Black Tea
Where to Buy: A Quarter To Tea
Description
Three of the best C’s in existence that are only better when paired together. Sweet carrot, creamy coconut, and rich and nutty cashews come together on an Assam base for a medium bodied, and incredibly satisfying cup.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Pumpkin Chipotle Cream Honeybush Tea from A Quarter To Tea. . . .
Talk about being SURPRISED and HAPPY! From what I can see THIS Pumpkin Chipotle Cream Honeybush Tea from A Quarter To Tea appears to be VEGAN! Woot! I have been eyeballing some of their teas but they seem to contain dairy (butter) in most of them. This one doesn’t! YAY!
According to their website this contains: honeybush tea, cocoa nibs, apple pieces, rose hips, red peppercorn, pumpkin mini sprinkles (icing sugar (vegan), modified corn starch, corn starch, fractionated palm kernel oil, cellulose gum, soya lecithin, vanillin, polysorbate 60), cinnamon bark, orange peel, cloves, safflower, natural flavors.
I will say that the TASTE is comparable to a flavored Chai. So if you like Chai – Pumpkin Chipotle Cream Honeybush Tea from A Quarter To Tea – will probably be right up your alley!
The spices are nicely done. They are of medium strength but linger for quite a while. The cocoa nibs are subtle but important to the overall flavor. The vegan candies make this a bit on the sweet side. The vanilla flavors – of course give it a curved creamy edge.
It’s hard to believe this is ‘just a honeybush’. There flavors are so lovely you almost forget about what is being used for the base. This was a neat surprise and nicely done flavored tisane!
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Honebush
Where to Buy: A Quarter To Tea
Description
Smoky and spicy with just a touch of lapsang, but ultimately sweet and pumpkin-y with plenty of custard notes. Definitely brings flavor to the tea party.
If you liked Smoky Sweet Potato Pie last year, you’ll definitely like this as well.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Honey Mead from A Quarter to Tea. . . . .
I have had one other flavored genmaicha blend from A Quarter to Tea and I was not a fan. Now that I think about it, my dislike was probably due to improper steeping on my end but nonetheless, the memory had me wary of buying another flavored genmaicha offering. However, when I see flavored genmaichas I feel compelled to buy them anyways, plus the honey in the title was just calling to me. Consequently I bought a mere sample size and now I am kicking myself for not getting more because this is ah.may.zing!
I should mention I have never actually had mead so I can’t speak to whether this tastes reminiscent of its namesake or not but I can say there is a whole lot of honey here and I am loving it. It is sweet and flavorful without being cloying or over-the-top. A lot of that is probably due to the roastiness of the rice toning down the sweetness of the flavoring. Add to that an almost citrusy brightness that is coming from what I imagine is supposed to be the mead element that creates yet another layer of flavor in the mix. I also like that the base is present enough to be detected but neither grassy nor vegetal. It is more like a mellow hay note that meshes seamlessly with the other components.
There’s a lot to keep me interested but nothing that is so powerful that I could grow tired of it after a few cups. So ultimately I was expecting the worst and was instead pleasantly surprised by a tea I could see myself enjoying again and again without getting bored. And that to me is the sign of a pretty great tea!
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Green Tea
Where to Buy: A Quarter To Tea
Description
Sencha and toasted rice make a toasty and sweet base for apple, buttered rum and honey flavors (which are accented further with honeysuckle). Comforting and revitalizing.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Ginger Spiced Pear Cake from A Quarter To Tea. . . .
While I’ll try pretty much any new tea that crosses my path, as a tea lover, I’ll always have my favorites. And when it comes to teas from A Quarter to Tea, I can pretty much expect that anything new I try is going to be a knockout.
Every few months, I like to order sampler packs from AQTT to try out new flavors without overwhelming my tea stash. I thought I’d sipped through everything from my previous order, but sure enough, deep in the recesses of my work-tea stash, I found this one hiding the other day and couldn’t wait to brew it up!
The dry leaf is really interesting. Big, noticeable spices and a balance of white and black tea leaves are visible with delightful whiffs of ginger and sweet, warming spices. Brewed, I get a cup like none I’ve really had before. The white tea balances out any possible bitterness from the black, and the black brings a heartiness to the white that I usually find lacking in white tea. I get most strongly the flavors of pear and spice with less ginger than I’d like, but that could be just due to the amount of tea in my sample.
I typically drink all black teas with cream (or coconut milk, in my case), but I’ve been finding myself drawn lately to black teas that don’t need that classic milkyness, and this one fits the bill entirely. Sweet and spiced but not at all bitter, still hearty enough for a morning blend, but not so that it wouldn’t make a wonderful afternoon treat. As usual, another hit from AQTT, and apparently now the end of my sample stash for real– time to stock up again!
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Black Tea
Where to Buy: A Quarter To Tea
Description
Sweet pastry with pear, spicy ginger, and cinnamon and clove accents.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Maple Almond Dragon Pearls from A Quarter To Tea. . . .
Sometimes when you do tea swaps with other tea lovers, you find yourself surprised by added teas you did not expect nor ask for. And by sometimes, I mean basically every time. Gotta love the generosity of tea friends!
Well, this particular tea is one of those surprises and I was super excited to try it out. If I am being honest, it was the fact that these were black dragon pearls that appealed to me the most. I just love being able to pop a couple of balls of tea into the mug and watch them blossom. It is calming as the tea opens up and releases all its flavor into the brew. I will say though that I probably should have put these in a filter as opposed to directly in the mug because as fun as it was to watch, the pearl completely disintegrated and I had to strain out the leaves before drinking.
As I sip the tea now, the first thing I notice is the taste of the yunnan base. Smooth and malty which transitions nicely into a light note of vanilla. The almond is also present and adds depth to the tea. Unfortunately, I am not sure how much maple is coming through. As a Canadian, maple is a flavor that I get easily excited about but I have noticed it is a flavor that often isn’t done how I would want it to be. This is no exception because I find myself searching for it but to no avail.
This was a little bit of a miss for me given the lack of maple. That is not to say it was bad since I enjoyed the tea and had no trouble finishing the mug of it. However, I was disappointed that this didn’t exactly deliver on what the name promised.
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: A Quarter To Tea
Description
Rich and malty handrolled tea from Yunnan, China with natural maple, vanilla and almond flavor.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!