Tea Information:
Leaf Type: White
Where to Buy: 52Teas
Tea Description:
This week’s tea is a spiced brandy flavored shou mei with cinnamon, cardamom, clove, black peppercorns and a little anise seed. It’s like a hard apple cider without the apple, or maybe you’d rather think of it as a brandy flavored white chai. However you think of it, it’s a spicy cup of warming goodness, guaranteed to take the chill out of your bones on a crisp autumn day.
Learn more about this blend here.
Taster’s Review:
I categorized this as a Chai because it is indeed very chai-like.
The aroma of the dry leaf isn’t as chai-like as I expected it to be, though. (And by “chai-like,” I mean the spiced tea that we’ve come to recognize as “chai” here in the U.S.) Instead, it’s very brandy-ish. It almost smells like bubble gum … fruity and sweet, but there is a distinct fermentation to the aroma as well, the way that I’d imagine brandy to smell. Since I’m not big on alcohol or how it smells, I can only imagine that this is what brandy would smell like … but it does smell very appealing!
Brewed, this takes on a more chai-spice fragrance, with the aroma of cardamom, cinnamon and anise being the strongest scents I detect. I also smell the brandy, and the bouquet of the brandy combined with the aromatic spices is really very intoxicating! It’s soothing and relaxing … like something I’d want in a candle or air freshener! I wonder how well a Spiced Brandy air freshener would go over?
The flavor … well, imagine Shou Mei, flavored with brandy and masala spices. Yeah, that’s what it tastes like. The Shou Mei offers a little more body and flavor than a Bai Mu Dan would, and I think with the stronger flavors of spice and brandy that is just what was needed. It is a crisp, slightly vegetative (think freshly cut hay rather than grass here), and light, with a fair amount of astringency which I think is highlighted due to the presence of the brandy flavor. It gives this an almost “warm, mulled brandy” kind of finish.
The spices are delightful here, and I realize that the reason I’m so over the moon for this is the anise. It is in there! Not a hint of it either. It is a prominent spice, but at the same time, I find a nice balance. This isn’t overly cinnamon-y or clove-y. The pepper is a bit of a background note. The cardamom and cinnamon and clove are on equal footing with the anise shining through a little stronger than the others. And that’s just the way I like it. I love anise, and while it can be a polarizing spice, I am glad that 52Teas had the guts to include it in this blend. It really accents the brandy in a very flavorful way.
I’m really enjoying this, and it does, indeed, take the chill off a cold, autumn-y day like today!
Brandied Apricot Upside Down Cake Honeybush from 52Teas
Tisane Information:
Leaf Type: Honeybush
Where to Buy: 52Teas
Tisane Description:
Buttery yellow cake, sweet brandied apricots in caramelized brown sugar, all in a caffeine-free calorie-free African honeybush. Is this a dessert or a tea? Maybe it’s both. Only 52teas could bring you such a delicious and decadent treat.
Learn more about this tisane here.
Taster’s Review:
I was excited to try this honeybush blend from 52Teas. As I’ve mentioned once or twice before, Frank (the chief Zoomdweebie at 52Teas) has a way with honeybush that’s quite unlike any other tea artisan that I’ve come across, and I’m always pretty impressed with his honeybush blends.
And let’s face it, the idea of a Brandied Apricot Upside Down Cake sounds pretty incredible, does it not?
This is really very good. The apricot flavor tastes does not taste fake to me, it has a very authentic flavor, and what I’m tasting is what I’d imagine fresh apricots, simmered in brandy, and then caramelized in butter and brown sugar might taste like. Now, I imagine that decadent flavor spread into a cake pan and topped with cake batter and baked until golden brown and delicious. Yeah… that’s what’s in my cup right now!
I taste all those notes that are suggested in the name of this tea: I taste the brandy … but it doesn’t taste too strongly of brandy. I taste the apricots, this flavor lends a bright, fresh taste to the cup. I taste brown sugar that’s been caramelized in butter, and a sweet, bake-y, cake-y taste. I even taste just a hint of nutty flavor from the honeybush. These flavors all come together in a very delicious way, tasting very dessert-y without tasting too sweet or cloying.
As I write this, I see that there eleven more pouches of this tea available. That may seem like a plentiful amount, but given how quickly 52Teas can sell out of delicious blends like this one, I wouldn’t put off ordering one for too long if I were you. And this one is worth splurging on … it’s a delicious, decadent, naturally caffeine free treat!
Brandy and Winter Peppermint Tea from Culinary Teas
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Culinary Teas
Product Description:
Our Brandy and Winter Peppermint tea has the fruity taste of a good Brandy with the cooling zing of Peppermint Schnapps. Perfect for an evening Hot Toddy.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
I know I’ve confessed this before, but I’m not really big on alcoholic drinks. I’ll have an occasional drink, but it is a rare event, but I am certainly no expert when it comes to alcohol.
But I am usually intrigued by alcohol flavored teas. Usually, but I have to admit that I wasn’t terribly excited by this particular tea. Somehow, the combination of brandy and peppermint just didn’t sound like it would taste very good. Boy, was I WRONG. (But don’t tell my husband I admitted that! We can’t have him going around thinking I was wrong about something)
This tea is really INCREDIBLE. The peppermint is really vibrant, it tastes more like peppermint Schnapps to me (which shouldn’t be surprising since it’s mentioned in the description). The peppermint is front and center with this tea, and it tastes very fresh, and I suspect it is the flavoring of the brandy that elevates the peppermint flavor.
The brandy flavor lies just beneath the peppermint, always there, making its presence known but without becoming too aggressive. It is very mellow and calm. It has a fruitiness to it that tastes reminiscent of sweet grapes, plum and tangy currants. There is also a hint of smoked wood flavor to it – not a strong flavor and I found that it was most prevalent in the first couple of sips and now, not so much as I am nearly finished with my cup. The brandy notes lend a very smooth taste to this cup, and evokes thoughts of a brandy that somebody’s rich uncle would keep in a fine crystal decanter for special occasions.
The black tea base is not to be overlooked here, as it is a key element to what makes this cup taste so astonishingly good. It has a bright, brisk flavor to it, but it is not an incredibly bold flavored tea, which leads me to think that it is probably a Ceylon.
Overall, an excellent flavored black tea. This is one that you’ll want to have on hand this holiday season, because it would make a great alternative for someone who wants some of those festive holiday flavors without imbibing alcohol, a fantastic substitution for the traditional “hot toddy”!
Cherries Jubilee Bai Mu Dan from 52Teas
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: White
Where to Buy: 52Teas
Product Description:
As for this week’s Tea of the Week, it is an amazingly harmonious blend of light, sweet bai mu dan white tea, dried cherries and natural flavors including cherry, brandy and just a bit of vanilla. I really think you’re going to like this one.
Taster’s Review:
When I saw that this tea would be headed my way, I was a little worried. Yes, I know that Frank of 52Teas is the “Willy Wonka of Teas” and I’ve enjoyed just about everything from 52Teas that I’ve tried … I can’t think of any I’ve not enjoyed. But, cherry and brandy flavors together worried me just a wee bit, because I was worried that the combination might end up tasting cough syrup-y.
And when I smelled the dry leaf, my apprehension was not alleviated, because it does smell a little like cough syrup. The aroma of the vanilla and the cherry do have an appealing fragrance, but there is also just a bit of cough syrup-iness to the scent as well. So, yes… worry I did.
But, those worries assuaged when I took my first sip. Deee-lish! This in no way, shape or form tastes like cough syrup. Hooray!
The Bai Mu Dan makes an excellent base – it is light and crisp. At first it was a little difficult to discern the flavor of the Bai Mu Dan but it developed nicely as I continued to sip. Now I can taste hints of freshness from the Bai Mu Dan: sweet and delicate and very nice.
The cherry flavor is sweet but there is a touch of tartness in there too. Not a lot, but just enough to keep the cherry flavor from tasting too sickly sweet. The brandy flavor is light here, and it doesn’t really taste much like alcohol at all, although I do taste the brandy-wine like taste, without the solvent taste of alcohol.
My favorite flavor here, though, is the vanilla. It isn’t an overwhelming flavor, but I like how it ties everything together. It “blurs the edges” – so to speak – between the flavors of white tea, cherry and brandy flavors, and makes it a very cohesive, seamless flavor.
This tea just proves that Frank has earned his title of “Willy Wonka of Teas!”