Fall flavors are usually dominated by pumpkin and cloves and cinnamon and spice, but Apple Sage from Simpson & Vail focuses on the less obvious sensations of the season. With fresh apple and savory sage, this blend should definitely be in everyone’s fall rotation. Apple pieces in the dry leaf immediately give off a fragrance that transports me to my hometown orchard: juicy, sweet-tart fruit, maybe paired with a cinnamon honey-stick from their local honeybee hive. The apple pieces are numerous, and provide a true, luscious, apple flavor.
What really makes this blend unique is the sage. I can’t say I’ve tried a tea with sage before, even if I have used the herb in other places in the kitchen. Sage is a smell I associate with Thanksgiving dinner, an herb that goes well with turkey and stuffing or with chicken pot pie. When brewed hot, this tea is both sweet and savory, almost like taking bite of everything off your holiday dinner plate.
In a way, it’s like the Willy Wonka 3-Course-Meal chewing gum! (Only without the disastrous blueberry-transformation consequences).
Sage evokes the taste of main course dishes like poultry or roasted potatoes, while the blackberry leaf adds a bit of tart berry like cranberry sauce, and finally the blend is topped off with sweet fruit flavors akin to apple pie. The black tea base is strong enough to hold its own with all these flavors and give the blend a hearty undertone to pull it all together.
I get so distracted by all the pumpkin spice and cinnamon eggnog flavors of the holidays, that I forget there’s more to the fall-winter palette. Apple Sage was an unexpected blast of Thanksgiving, apple pie, and all things fall. Definitely worth a taste at this time of year.
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: black tea
Where to Buy: Simpson & Vail
Description:
The taste of sweet apple and fragrant sage blend together wonderfully. The amber colored cup offers a depth of flavor that is warming and refreshing at the same time. This tea complements foods such as hard cheese, salads, sandwiches, fruits and more.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Halloween Caramel Apple from Woodie Barnes-McWhirter, An Adagio Signature Blend
It’s Halloween! Time for all the things to go bump in the night come out and play. I’ve always been a huge Halloween fan and love all the scary movies and scary television themed shows. My kiddos and I are especially fond of Halloween Wars on Food Network. We love watching the pumpkin carvers and bakers create amazing spooky scenes.
So the other night while we were watching our Halloween shows, I brewed up a tea pot of this lovely brew. I’m quite a fan of Adagio Signature Blends. Ever once in a while you do end up with a heavy handed blend, but for the most part, they are pretty good and are fun.
This particular blend of different black teas- Candy Apple, Caramel, and Vanilla. Brewed up and allowed to steep for a few minutes, this tea delivers on that sweetness you would expect from a tea named Halloween Caramel Apple.
The caramel and vanilla flavors are what come across the most with that candy apple flavor following behind. The black tea base is a bit heavy but topped off with a bit of cream, that heaviness really mellows out. I almost wish the apple flavoring was a bit stronger but with the dessert like notes, it still works.
A great tea for the spooky night and one we will be brewing up again. I think this time we will top the tea with some whip cream and some pumpkin sprinkles to add a bit of flair to the tea. That would be a treat!
This tea is enough of a sweet that it should keep me out of the kids’ candy buckets this Halloween. At least let’s hope so!
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Adagio Teas
Description
Its not Halloween…until you taste a caramel apple. This blend consist of Candy Apple (Caramel and Apple) with more Caramel and some Vanilla black teas.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Happy Witch Blend from Sunshine Cottage
One of my favorite Etsy shops is Sunshine Cottage. They offer great flavored teas, tea accessories, and other wonderful items sure to make you smile. So naturally when I saw they had a tea named Happy Witch Blend.. . I was all over it!
Happy Witch Blend is a mix of sweet apples, cinnamon, spices, and a touch of vanilla flavoring. A wonderful fall treat to be sure. I grabbed my tea pot and instantly started steeping.
A few minutes later, I had myself a gorgeous brew waiting for me to try. This tea had one of those amazing wonderful fragrances that make you just sit back and enjoy the moment.
One sip in and this tea was exactly what I was looking. Fresh sweet apple notes mingling with a mix of different spices that remind you of chai. The vanilla did give way to a sweetness that I noticed right away. The black tea base lent itself to subtle malty notes that I found myself really enjoying. They contrasted nicely with all of the sweet notes coming from the vanilla and apple flavoring. 
As good as this tea was without any add ins, I think a touch of honey would really elevate the tea even more. Or even a shot of whiskey or brandy. . .which is what I did along with a dollop of cream and a dusting of cinnamon on top.
This tea became a decent flavored tea to an insanely amazing treat. Perfect for those cold fall/winter nights that will soon be upon us here in the Midwest. Rich, decadent, sweet, with that heat that really resonates with you.
Simply delicious however you enjoy the tea!
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Sunshine Cottage
Description
Make your inner witch happy with this wonderful flavored black tea. Hand blended it’s full of sweet apples, cinnamon and spices, with a touch of vanilla for smoothness – It’s magical!
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Spicy Caramel Apple Cinnamon Herbal from Plum Deluxe
Living in the Midwest has spoiled me, you guys. I recently left my full-swing-of-fall homestate for a business trip to Texas, and was shocked when I stepped off the plane and was greeted with a wall of thick humidity the likes of which we hadn’t seen near the Great Lakes for months. You see, the second the first cool breeze and slightly orange-tinged leaf make their first appearances here in September, I’ve busted out my entire (vast– trust me.) collection of scarves, colorful tights, and obviously– autumnal teas 🙂
This limited 
edition autumn blend from Plum Deluxe hit all the necessary checkpoints for a perfect seasonal blend– spicy? Check. Slightly sweet? Yessir. Caramel-y smooth? Done and done. Upon first blend, my cup is evocative of an afternoon in the orchards– the apple notes are present and delightfully smooth. I will say the second steeping loses the apple for me, but the cinnamon remains, and it certai
nly can carry this tea on its own. Whether autumn is in full swing where you are, or you’re sweating it out in the sunshine and greenery, this tea is a great one to carry you through the season!
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Rooibos
Where to Buy: Plum Deluxe
Description
Nothing says fall flavor better than apples and cinnamon — and we’re taking it to the next level with the addition of fresh spices and a splash of caramel, to create the perfect tea paired for enjoying freshly harvested foods, carving pumpkins, going on a walk in the fresh autumnal air, or savoring your own special fall moments.
Even better, our spiced caramel apple cinnamon tea only has a pinch of organic rooibos tea as a base, making it caffeine-free, so you can enjoy it as an after dinner treat or a lovely bedtime companion.
This is a limited-edition tea available until Dec 31st, or while supplies last.
All Plum Deluxe teas are hand-blended and infused with love in Portland, Oregon. Each 1 oz tea packet makes 15-20 cups. All organic ingredients — no sulfites, no artificial chemicals, non-GMO.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Self Care Blend Herbal Tea from Plum Deluxe
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Honeybush/Herbal
Where to Buy: Plum Deluxe
Tea Description:
One of the things we just love about tea is how luxurious a simple cup of tea can feel. We want you to feel like a
millionbillion bucks at a moment’s notice, which was exactly what our intention was when making the Self Care Blend.A curious pairing of elderberry (tart) and apricot (sweet), this all-organic tea has mellow flavors and is packed with nutrients. You’ll love it paired with a hot bath, a good book, or after a nice spa treatment. Elderberry — believed to help us tap into our inner magic — helps expel toxins and helps with colds and viruses, and apricot is believed to be one of the most healing fruits in nature.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
This was my sample a few months back from my monthly subscription. I love my honeybush but sometimes that herb can taste a lot like its cousin the dreaded red rooibos. . .which tastes odd to me and medicinal. I hadn’t tried this blend yet because of this, but I decided today was the day for me to try it!
Brewed per the instructions with boiled fresh water and steeped for about 5 minutes and I have to say this isn’t my favorite tea that I’ve had from Plum Deluxe, but it isn’t one that I would have a problem drinking again. This is more or less a middle of the road one to me.
This tea is a lovely mix per the description of sweetness and tartness. I didn’t get any of that but I did get a lovely almost woodsy berry like flavor with hints of a jammy sweetness. Since I only had a sample, I wasn’t able to add more loose leaf in to strengthen the flavor to pull out more of those jammy notes. Those were definitely the best part of the tea.
I would love to experiment with this tea. I have a feeling it would make a gorgeous cold brew or iced tea. Or would be a great tea brewed hot with may more loose leaf tea.
If you haven’t checked out Plum Deluxe, do yourself a favor and pick up a few blends. Plum Deluxe has by far one of the best customer service, friendly, knowledgeable tea blenders/owners that I have ever encountered. I just love them! I’ve been subscribing to them for a while now and have no plans on stopping anytime soon!