When I first tried this tea, I didn‘t know the difference between a macaron and a macaroon. Macaroons are far more common here! I have now been introduced to macarons, which I much prefer, but that’s just me! The two are very different.
This tea does have lots and lots of coconut pieces and the coconut flavor is as noticeable as the pastry like scent, the caramel, and hazelnut flavor, with hazelnut being the lightest element here. There isn’t a lot of oil floating on top like some coconut flavored teas have, nor is coconut overpowering to me.
The main thing is noticed was that as much as I loved the flavorings in this one, they did not obliterate the taste of the tea base. Quite often, flavorings will utterly mask the tea base, and tea lovers can feel a little let down. We want TEA. Here we have equal strength in the cup of tea, coconut, caramel, hazelnut, confection…how did they accomplish this?
I think the key is that over a third of the leaves in this blend are Sencha, a green tea from Japan that boosts the actual tea presence to keep it from being masked. It’s has a bit of edge that some black teas don’t have, and you end up tasting both the black and green, with the black tea lending a luscious, rich base for all the other ingredients.
I often pair sweets with unflavored black tea, usually from China, but this is a flavored tea that goes well with most sweets or serves as a decadent and chic afternoon treat on its own.
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Leaf Type: Black/Green
Where to Buy: Whittard’s of Chelsea
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Caramel from Kusmi. . . . .
I am taking a wee break from work to enjoy Mardi Gras cookies – delightfully almond flavored and sweet – and a hot cuppa. This new-to-me caramel struck my fancy, and I am delighted with the pairing.
You might think sweet with sweet wouldn’t be awesome together, but this black tea from Kusmi is from China, lacking the lemon/citrus notes one gets from most Ceylon tea and the caramel is not overly sweet but instead is almost a burnt caramel. Honestly, if I hadn’t prepared this myself and someone had told me it was a tea from China with natural caramel notes, I would have believed them.
Put together, it makes for a wonderful tea to pair with sweets or to drink on its own. As usual, I have added no milk or sugar and it is smooth and delicious, but I would say that this tea would handle milk and sugar VERY well for those who prefer additions.
I have the muslin tea sachets, and I have steeped twice and literally forgot I was drinking a second steep. There is no sourness, but a mere hint of briskness and the flavor of the black tea is lingering. I think this would make an excellent breakfast for folks like me who are not looking for a big brown boot of a builder’s tea to kick start them in the mornings. This has all the strength I need for a day starter or an afternoon refreshment.
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Kusmi
Description
With its delicious aroma, this black tea from China flavoured with caramel is the perfect drink to enjoy a quiet moment. It goes wonderfully with pastries.
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Big Easy from August Uncommon Tea. . . .
Big Easy by August Uncommon is a sweet sencha green tea with lemongrass, pineapple and barley. It is said to taste like pineapple cake, caramel beignets, and dried lemon peel. Well…here goes nothing…
I cold brewed this for almost 24 hours and since I had some left, I also steeped about 1.5 teaspoons in 12 oz of 175F water for 4 minutes.
Sipping on the hot tea, the first thing I notice is the sweetness. Yes, the pineapple is sweet but there is more to it than just pineapple. I was surprised that there is a caramel-like sweetness akin to what I remember a Werther’s Originals tasting like. Upon further investigation, it would seem there is caramel in the ingredient list so that caramel is meant to be there and not my mind playing tricks on me. Anyways, the two sweet elements combined manage to not be overwhelming while also capturing pineapple cake. I think it is the lemongrass that reigns in the sweetness and perhaps the tiny bit of rosehips. In addition to the gentle herb-citrus quality of the lemongrass, there is a brighter orange note that underlines the sip. All the while, I think the barley gives this body and helps capture a breadiness/cereal note that provides a solid foundation for the other flavors.
The cold brew is a little less complex than the hot tea. The pineapple really takes over with a sprinkling of citrus throughout. The caramel is more just sweet than distinctly caramel and the barley is gone entirely. It is not bad but can border on cloying and mostly just feels familiar and done before. As a hot tea, it feels more unique.
All in all, I enjoy this tea, though my preferred method of brewing it would be hot. It is an interesting tea but given it has a fairly distinct flavor, at least as a hot tea, it is one I can see enjoying for a while but growing tired of it overtime. That is the problem with something that is so different flavorwise…it is fun for a while but easy to grow bored of. Still worth trying and enjoying at least for a little while.
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Green
Where to Buy: August Uncommon Tea
Description
This tea is not available but click below for teas that are.
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Canoe Lake Blend
On Canada Day, I was looking for a festive tea to celebrate with when I happened upon this tea…Canoe Lake Blend by Pluck Teas. This tea that Pluck calls “a truly Canadian blend” is made up of black tea, rooibos, sunflower, jasmine, calendula petals, real maple syrup, licorice root, cocoa, safflower petals, cornflowers, and natural flavour. Meant to remind you of campfires and sugar shacks, I thought it was worth a try.
I brewed it at 200F for 4 minutes as the recommended steeping parameters of 5 minutes in boiling water seemed like it might be a bit much. Using my method, this tea definitely has a smokey campfire flavor to it. Smoke and maple sweetness. There is also a thick caramel sweetness here that is almost a bit burnt and a little bit stale. It hits you at the back of the throat and is a little offputting for my tastes if I am being honest.
I am surprised there isn’t more going on here given the list of ingredients that seem odd and out of place. What jasmine and sunflower had to do with a smokey maple/caramel tea is beyond me and though I know licorice root is often used to add sweetness, I am glad I can’t actually taste its cloying flavor. Plus, the cocoa is lost as there is no chocolate to be found, though it may be adding to the offness of the caramel since cocoa can sometimes read dusty and stale in teas.
I think this tea is trying to capture a relatively simple flavor with too many ingredients. Unfortunately, I think it suffers for it. Though it is not bad perse, I certainly found myself disappointed by the flavors promised versus the actual execution of it. It was fun to try but ultimately this tea just isn’t for me.
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Pluck Teas
Description
Jennifer’s Tasting Notes
Notes of caramel, maple sugar, and pine smoke interwine in this rooibos and black tea blend. Memories of campfires and sugar shacks… a truly Canadian blend.
Ingredients
Black Tea, Rooibos, Sunflower, Jasmine, Calendula Petals, Real Maple Syrup, Licorice Root, Cocoa, Safflower Petals, Cornflowers, Natural Flavour.
100% natural.
Blended and packed in Canada by real people
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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.
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