So, I have to say this first: the piggy sprinkles are DEATH-DEFYINGLY cute! (I think that’s a thing?) Also, I appreciate the fact that this is an extra-punny tea: not only is the name a pun, but the tea itself is both figgy AND filled with sugar-based figgy piglets. (Yes, the sprinkles do absorb fig flavor over time. I checked.)
Although you can smell the sweet flavor of figs through the packet, it gets even better while steeping. After steeping, the tea is a nice hazy cedarish amber color. The overall taste is a bit less figgy than I expected from the smell, though the flavor does build up towards the end of each sip. This tea is sweet enough to not need sugar, although it’s good with sugar too! And it’s quite smooth, with no more than a teeny hint of astringency.
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type:
Where to Buy: Teas and Tins
Description
Loose leaf black tea, nicknamed Miss figgy!
Ingredients: black tea, fig taste with dried figs and pink pig sprinkles.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Chocolate Rose Truffle Black Tea from 52Teas
I was looking for something strong today so I settled on this wonderful chocolatey blend from 52 Teas! I steeped 1 heaping teaspoon in about 12 ounces of hot water for 2.5 minutes, as recommended (although I admit I totally failed to do the recommended “wait 10 minutes after steeping for best flavor” thing. I get a little impatient for my tea, lol).
Once it’s steeped, the tea is a medium darkness, not really red or orange but more amber-ish or cedar-colored. It has a few teeny oil droplets on top, which tends to happen when you put chocolate chips in your tea, lol. I can definitely smell both the black tea and the chocolate flavors as well as the rose.
One thing that puzzles me about this tea is that I was sure I saw a white chocolate chip among the tea leaves, but I can’t taste it at all. Where did the flavor go? I know white chocolate isn’t really a dominant sort of flavor though, so maybe it was intended to just add to the general creaminess without actually showing up distinctly in the flavor profile. If that’s the case, then it was a success. The flavor is quite rich and truffle-ish. Since the tea has plenty of sweetness already, I didn’t put sugar in, but I did experiment with adding milk. I then became unable to taste the rose flavor, which is unexpected. It still tastes nicely of chocolate and tea, though.
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Black Tea
Where to Buy: 52Teas
Description:
Blend is no longer available but check out the black teas that are here!
As American As Apple Pie from CatSpring Tea
Yaupon, as a tea varietal, is entirely new to me, At first glance, it looks a lot more like a mate or a guayusa; flakes of greenish-brown leaf that put me in mind (albeit fleetingly) of fish food. Closer inspection reveals that they’re actually quite sizable chunks of (very shiny) tea leaves, although not as oxidized as I expected given that they’re referring to this as a “black” tea. Generously scattered among the leaves are cubes of dried apple, almond slivers, small pieces of beetroot, and cinnamon chips. Even dry, the scent is pretty amazing – spot-on apple pie spices!
Yaupon is the only caffeinated tea plant native to North America, and was used by Native Americans during male-only purification rituals. Despite a wane in popularity, CatSpring now farm Yaupon sustainably on their family-owned land in Texas. They’ve also got sound ecological credentials, as they’re producing without the use of pesticides, chemical fertilizers, or synthetic weed control.
I used 1.5 tsp of leaf for my cup, and gave it 4 minutes in boiling water. The recommendation is 4-7, so it’s probable that this could be extended if that’s what you prefer, but I’d likely reduce to 1 tsp of leaf if I were brewing for over 4 minutes. The resulting liquor is a medium golden brown, with a distinctive orangey tint. The apple pie scent isn’t as strong once brewed, and there’s a light underlying dankness, like wet leaves in autumn. Once again, I’m reminded of guayusa.
As it turns out, there’s a reason for this. Rather than the usual Camellia Sinensis, Yaupon tea is actually produced from the dried leaves of Ilex Vomitoria, which is a species of holly. Yerba Mate (Ilex Paraguariensis) and Guayusa (Ilex Guayusa) are both closely related plants, and all contain high levels of caffeine and theobromine. The flavours of all three are, to me, rather similar. Dank, slightly vegetal, very reminiscent of forest floor. They’re not tea varieties I would typically look to drink often unflavoured, and they’re a bit of a change from “normal” black or green teas if they’re what you’re used to.
Fortunately for me, this blend is flavoured, and it’s flavouring that works well with the choice of base tea. The apple is floral rather than crisp and sharp, but it manages to conjure a delicious, slightly mushy, “baked” flavour that’s very suggestive of apple pie. The cinnamon adds the requisite spicing, and the almonds round things out with a slightly savoury, slightly creamy nuttiness. I wasn’t expecting to be able to taste the beetroot, but it’s there in the background and it adds an edge of sour tartness that brings the whole thing together nicely. All told, it really does taste like apple pie.
The base tea is slightly distracting, because it’s quite a strong flavour. At times, it almost feels like a fight between the Yaupon and the other ingredients to establish prominence. A longer brew time might have helped to increase the strength of the flavouring, but it might also increase the strength of the base tea, and I’m not convinced that would be a good thing here. Still, experimentation is everything, and I’ll probably adjust my parameters until I find a combination I’m happier with.
On the whole, I’d say it just about works. The Yaupon is a very “autumnal” flavour, to put it politely, and apple pie makes me think of autumn anyway so it’s not as jarring as it could have been (a strawberries and cream Yaupon blend would make me nervous, let’s say.) It’s a very smooth blend, with no bitterness or astringency, and the flavours come over clearly. Tasting this, you’d be in no doubt as to what it was supposed to replicate – it definitely lives up to its name! I’d drink this again, and I’d try more teas from CatSpring in the future. Their offering is definitely unique, and it’s nice that it has a strong family heritage – it’s the exact opposite of the more faceless bigger brands. I’ll be interested to see where CatSpring go from here.
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Black Yaupon
Where to Buy: Cat Spring Tea
Description:
As American As Apple Pie is our comforting black yaupon tea loose leaf blend as delicious as a slice of apple pie. Take a trip to grandma’s kitchen with every cup.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Black Tea and Lemongrass from Chiang Rai Tea House
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Chiang Rai Tea House
Tea Description:
The relaxing aroma and health benefits of lemongrass, combined with our also organic black tea, makes this blend a mellow drink to be enjoyed any time of the day.
Ingredients: Organic Black Tea 60%
Organic Lemongrass 40%
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
There are times when the name of a tea perfectly describes the flavors inside. Black Tea and Lemongrass is one of those teas. Chiang Rai Tea House did a nice job balancing the two since lemongrass can be such an over powering flavor causing notes from the tea itself to get lost. While the lemon flavor of this tea is strong the slight briskness of the base tea can still be tasted. There’s also a clean finish that compliments the lemongrass flavor very well. The whole tea comes off as bright, even cheerful. And honestly, who can’t use that during the duller days of winter?
I only drank this tea hot, but I can see it being an excellent served iced or as a cold brew. In fact, I think this tea served cold during the summer months would be incredibly refreshing. I’ve even made a note in my phone to pick up more of this tea while the idea of summer picnics and long days in my garden danced in my head. The fact that the tea is organic is a bonus point in my book because my family drinks lots of iced tea and I’m more comfortable giving organic teas to my kids.
So, from winter to summer I think Black Tea and Lemongrass from Chiang Rai Tea House can find a place in my cupboard and my cup. If you’re looking for a nice organic tea with a lemony citrus kick this is one worth checking out.
Cranberry Creme Black from 52Teas
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: 52Teas
Tea Description:
I wanted to create a cranberry flavored black tea – but I didn’t want to go for a straightforward cranberry black tea because that’s been done. At first, I was going to go with a cranberry custard pie flavor but my initial taste tests of that blend proved to be underwhelming. So instead, I went with a cranberry tea with a creamy custard-y flavor. It has a tangy cranberry note but the edgier, tartier flavors of the cranberry are softened by the sweet, vanilla creme notes. It’s tasty!
Learn more about this tea here.
Learn about subscribing to 52Teas’ Tea of the Week program here.
Taster’s Review:
This is one of Anne’s 52Teas creations, and one I was really excited about when I saw it because I absolutely ADORE cranberry tea! This is a pretty good, simpler cranberry black tea. I really, really get a good amount of natural semi-sweet cranberry notes and that flavour gets a bit more depth from the flavour of warming cinnamon and the brisk black base, which is also just slightly malty. It’s a good, medium body and well rounded flavour. However, I when I drank this I definitely did feel like the “creme” aspect of the tea was lacking. Sure, this was SUPER tasty as a simple cranberry black tea but nothing about it was necessarily soft or silky in the way that you’d expect cream/custard/vanilla to be – and that’s definitely what Anne seems to have been trying to achieve here.
To be perfectly honest though, as someone who really likes cranberry teas I’ve tried a lot of them so the range of blends I can compare this one too is pretty large. My personal favourite is Harney & Son’s Boston Blend which _really_ nails the creamy cranberry component. However, this one does a much better job conveying the natural, realistic flavour of cranberry.
Totally worth tasting, but for the cranberry notes over the ‘creme’.
