I’m taking a leap out of my purist comfort zone to taste some cuppas by a new tea company.
The smell immediately pulsates up your nose when you open the bag. The blueberry aroma is like a club playing EDM.
Makes me wonder if we’ll ever see clubbing again…
This wonderful smell prepares you for something amazing in the flavor. Which unfortunately isn’t there.
It is tepid blueberry in flavor. To be honest, the flavor is very bland. Even the black leaf uninspiring.
My suggestion would be to add real blueberries to the blend (freeze dried if possible). Out of curiosity I’ve also steeped it cold to see if that would reveal better flavors. At five minutes it is still bland but something seems to be trying to peek out.
After 10 minutes there is a bit of cream and a bit more fruity. Which makes me wonder if this would be a good overnight iced tea. .
Want to Know More About This Tea?
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Akova Teas
Description
Intoxicating black tea with the aroma of wild blueberries.
Ingredients: Black tea*, Elderberry* + Currant pieces*, Hibiscus petals*, Natural flavors (organic compliant)
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Maple Pecan/Plum Deluxe -Super Starling-
It’s been a perfect day so far. My rescue dog (an abuse survivor) was on his very best behavior during our walk AND our fetch session. I have fresh bread for my sandwich later. I’m going on a spaced-out masks-on walk with friends (and my dog!) later. And I’m trying tea!!!
Today’s goodness is Maple Pecan Black/Oolong from Plum Deluxe. I really love Plum Deluxe, as a company. They always list things like “love, gratitude” in their ingredients. Their tea costs more per cup than, for example, David’s Tea, but I feel like they manage to cram a LOT of goodness in there, and it’s worth it. Plum Deluxe is like my bougie treat.
I steeped this tea in boiling-hot water for 5ish minutes in a tea ball. (Sorry, guys, I don’t pay the best attention to the brewing specifics. I leave it in there until I remember to take it out.)
David’s Tea makes a maple chai that’s pretty good, but this one is better. It doesn’t feel as overly-sweet and/or artificial.
This one is rustic — no-nonsense, no pretension, just a nice gift. It’s a warm, chai-like tea with maple and nut overtones. The taste after you swallow is clove & cinnamon, not syrup.
A woods witch would infuse healing magic into this, and serve it to you in a handmade mug. Your skin would seal itself back together; your hair would detangle; your eyes would be 20/20. You would say goodbye to her, and she would hug you. After leaving the cabin, you’d take a glance backwards, and it would be gone.
You’d just have the cinnamon flavor in your mouth to remember her by.
Want to Know More About This Tea?
Leaf Type: Black/Oolong
Where to Buy: Plum Deluxe
Description
Originally featured as a new blend in our 2019 advent calendar, Maple Pecan is back as a wonderful sweet and nutty tea to enjoy during the holiday season. A blend of oolong and black teas, paired with fresh pecans and a hint of real maple syrup, it’s sure to please many palates.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Tasting Notes – Rainforest Indulgence/Teakruthi- Skysamurai-
Hate to say it but this would be better suited for the British drinkers, who like a strong cup with milk/sugar.
Due to the tiny size of the leaf, it infuses very quickly. A tricky one to brew if not for milk. The astringent qualities come out so quickly.
Next time less leaf. If you can make it past the astringency you’ll find it has a fresh feeling on your palate.
Filled with some malty and dark woodsy notes of mahogany.
Want to Know More About This Tea?
Leaf Type: Black Tea
Where to Buy: Teakruthi
Description
This low grown full-bodied blend was hand-plucked from the shade of the Sinharaja Rainforest in Sri Lanka. Made from the highest quality leaves, Rainforest Indulgence offers a unique flavour. Rather than hand-rolling to bruise the leaf and introduce oxidation, this tea was produced by a modern mechanical process to tear the leaf and oxidize. Only limited amounts of Broken Pekoe (BP) grade Ceylon tea is produced, so this tea is truly a special morning treat. This strong tea is reddish-orange in colour.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Earl Grey Lavender/Teageschwendner -Ashmanra-
Nearly everyone has heard of Earl Grey, and I find a lot of people either love it or absolutely hate it. I am somewhere in between. I can really fall for the RIGHT Earl Grey. The trademark flavor of Earl Grey is bergamot, which is a type of sour orange. Most Earl blends are Ceylon black tea with bergamot oil, but Ceylon tea can already be very lemony and when you add sour orange…well, it just isn’t for me. It would be more palatable with milk and sugar but I don’t usually do additions. When you put a quality bergamot oil on Keemun or an a smoky base…now, that’s a different story. Or if you add cream flavor to counter the sour citrus, again, I can get on board. This one puts lavender second in the name, but I am finding it first in the flavoring, right after tea base. There is orange oil here as well, and I think that further gives a real roundness to the cup, as opposed to a punch in the tastebuds. The sweet floral lavender and cheerful orange takes the hard punch out of the bergamot and softens it into a very nice cup of tea, strong enough for breakfast (for me), yet smooth and sweet enough to be thoroughly enjoyable even without additions. As baby bear would say, this is “just right.”
Want to Know More About This Tea?
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Teageschwendner
Description
Heady bergamot flavor meets the sweetly floral aroma of Lavender. A wonderful reinvention of a beloved classic!
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Hot Cinnamon Spice/Ohio Tea Co -Skysamurai-
Artificial flavor. You are a bane to the tea world.
And yet when it comes to cinnamon tea like this I have a small part of my world reserved for you.
You would be completely different without that accursed thing. This brings me back to Pike’s Place Market in Seattle.
To the left you will find a shop that sells Orange cinnamon tea very much like this one. Ohio Tea Co does a very good job with this imitation though I still prefer Marketspice as I feel theirs is stronger. It could also be due to the type of tea bag they used which makes it so this tea can’t fully realize its potential in the water.
Now that I don’t drink many teas with flavors I feel myself getting a bit of a headache so I am glad I only got one bag. But the headache was worth it. I think. Something still bothers me about this one though. It starts off nice and strong and then it just drops off a cliff or like a part of the flavor runs into a wall and the rest keeps going. It is strange.
Want to Know More About This Tea?
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Ohio Tea Company
Description
This blend brews very sweet even though no sugar is added. A cinnamon lover’s dream come true. A combination of hearty Chinese and Indian black tea and invigorating cinnamon.
Many cinnamon teas have a watery aftertaste due to the use of low grade teas. The black tea here has the stamina to last through the whole tasting process.
Ingredients:
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!