Day 12!
Wow! It’s finally here, Christmas morning! And the final tea of the 12 Teas of Christmas is Gingerbread Brûlée Black tea. It is a perfect choice for the grand finale: after all, what is more showy and celebratory than creme brûlée?
This black tea features fragrant and delicious pieces of candied ginger accompanied by festive gingerbread spices. The dry leaf smells like putting your nose in a tin of gingerbread cookies, dark, spicy, a little peppery, and plenty sweet.
Brewed, this tea is robust and flavorful, don’t let the dessert theme lull you into thinking this is a mild blend. The black tea base has plenty oomph to wake you up no matter how early your family is opening Christmas presents.
I personally love kick-your-tastebuds strong chai flavors, but this tea made me realize that there is more than one way to have a tasty ginger tea. I really appreciate the caramelized black tea tones and I’m glad the ginger isn’t so hot that it drowns out the other flavors.
The molasses tones from the gingerbread are a perfect match for the crispy, burnt sugar flavors of the brûlée. There is just a perfect hint of heat from the candied ginger root, and the comforting warmth of other cookie spices. If you can’t bake a tray of gingerbread cookies, brew a pot of this tea instead and make your kitchen smell like the holidays.
Merry Chistmas!
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: 52Teas
Description:
This is a tea that I had planned out way back when I was still in the planning stages of taking over 52Teas – but kept putting off again and again. Why? I don’t know. But I sure am glad I finally blended this because WOW! It’s ah-ma-ZING!
I started out with a blend of black teas (Yunnan, Assam & Ceylon) and added ginger & candied ginger, a bit of cinnamon & cloves, some freshly shaved nutmeg as well as some creme brulee essence to complete the tea.
The cuppa starts out with strong gingerbread notes with mere hints of the creamy brulee. The ginger is definitely present in at the start, so there’s no mistaking that this is, indeed, a GINGERBREAD brulee. As I continue to sip, the custard-y notes of the creme brulee start to emerge and the flavors seem to come together and become more smooth with each sip. By the end of the cup, I find a very lovely balance of both creme brulee (and I even some of that bittersweet burnt sugar in there!) and gingerbread.
And of course, this is organic, VEGAN, gluten-free & allergen free!
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
52Teas’ the 12 Teas of Christmas – Day 9-Spoilers!
Day 9!
The 12 Teas of Christmas are counting down! Day 9’s blend is Chestnut Praline Green tea. This tea is the epitome of chestnuts roasting on an open fire. Tightly rolled green tea leaves bring a bit of smoke and a bit of natural nuttiness to form the base of this blend.
The forward flavors are all brown butter and roasted chestnuts. This tea reminds me of every old-fashioned candy that tastes best this time of year, like toffee or butterscotch. Using a green tea base lets more of the nuttiness come to the forefront, instead of competing with a bold black tea.
This tea is smooth yet crispy, with warming notes and a hint of saltiness that makes you think of peanut brittle. If you can’t eat these old-fashioned desserts, just brew a cup of this tea blend instead.
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Green
Where to Buy: 52Teas
Description:
For our Ninth Tea in our Holiday countdown, I created this tea – inspired by the newest member of our family, Jimmy! I asked him for some ideas for a Christmas tea and he listed off a bunch of different flavor ideas, and two of those flavors were Chestnuts and Pralines – I’ve not done a Praline tea yet and I also didn’t have any chestnut teas planned for the season, so I thought it would be perfect to combine the two.
And YUM! This is a delightful flavor combination!
I started with a blend of organic Chun Mee and Gunpowder green teas. I added chestnut and praline essences (don’t worry – this is nut free!) and a little bit of cinnamon for some seasonal warmth. Then I tossed in some calendula petals for a little color to the blend.
This is sweet, smooth and nutty and deliciously holiday-ish!
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Irish Whiskey Cream from Tea & Absinthe – The Other Irish Breakfast
As the weather gets colder, I get a craving for sweeter, more dessert-like teas. So when it was the first real, cold and blustery day of the season, I was excited to taste Irish Whiskey Cream from Tea & Absinthe. The dry leaf smells mild but sweet, like black tea with a hint of caramel. When brewed, this blend smells amazing, as rich and decadent as crème brûlée. I take my tea without milk or sugar, and the dessert flavors were still very forward and enjoyable.
While there is “cream” in the name, the sweetness in this tea is less like vanilla frosting and much more like salted caramel or burnt brown sugar, with just a bit of vanilla underneath. Cocoa bits are listed in the ingredients, but any chocolate flavor gets buried under the more caramel and toffee notes. I’m sure the “whiskey” in the name is a recommended brewing partner for this tea on those evenings when you need a little bit more warmth and merriment. The tea itself doesn’t have any overtly whiskey tones, nothing smoky, but the roasted-sugar flavors do remind me of certain amber libations.
I was careful not to over steep this blend, as the Irish breakfast Assam black tea base could get strong very fast. Keeping an eye on my brew times, I’ve had no bitterness and all creaminess. I could definitely see myself brewing up a cup of Irish Whiskey Cream from Tea & Absinthe and topping it with whipped cream on a snowy day.
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Tea & Absinthe
Description:
“The Other Irish Breakfast” – Black tea Assam, cocoa bits, flavor.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Creme Brulee Matcha from Red Leaf Tea
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Matcha
Where to Buy: Red Leaf Tea
Tea Description:
When exotic, oriental and velvety Matcha is combined with the wildly popular Crème Brulee, the resulting taste can only be described as mouth watering. Crème Brulee Matcha is the desert of choice for those very warm and balmy days when guests are assembled and their tastes buds are primed for an unforgettable treat. The rich sweet burnt cream taste combined with Matcha’s uplifting touch, can turn an ordinary bland day into an extraordinary adventure for the palate. When served cool, this delectable and aesthetic looking desert always exceeds its expectations.
Crème Brulee Matcha is ideal for many settings where both adults and children are gathered. This is because, its creamy sweet taste makes it a favorite among young children, while Matcha’s balancing touch gives adults the extra edge that they need to make this excellent treat truly outstanding. With Crème Brulee Matcha nobody can go wrong irrespective of their surroundings. It blends perfectly with many other well loved deserts but quickly becomes a favorite because of the lasting feeling of pure pleasure in the mouth. Although it is best served cold, Crème Brulee Matcha can be taken at any time of the day or night despite the changing seasons of the year. It always leaves the lingering feeling of wanting more of the same.
100% Pure Matcha, Ceremonial Grade, Natural Flavors, No Artificial Coloring, No Sweeteners, No Preservatives, MSG/Chemical Additive Free.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
Most of you probably do not know this about me yet but I am a matcha junkie. If there were a support group for matcha lovers – I would be in it! My support group however consists of other tea and matcha lovers so they enable me rather than hold me back and I am just fine with that!
I have quite the collection of matcha and I have my favorites but yet at the same time, I have yet to find a flavored matcha from Red Leaf Tea that I dislike! So I am absolutely biased – I just wanted to get that on the table.
So this particular flavor Creme Brulee, is very buttery. When I opened the package BUTTER is the first thought that came to mind. I offered it to my daughter to sniff and she said the same thing “smells buttery”. Now another admission of mine is that I love butter. Straight butter, I will always steal a taste directly from the stick when cooking, but it has to be real butter – no margarine for this girl!
When I sampled this tea for the first time just a bit ago, I gulped it down so fast I had to make a second to finish the review. Poor me, haha!
This matcha is creamy, and yes, buttery, and sweet. It does taste like the custard part of a creme brulee, however the burnt sugar crust is not totally lacking, its there but subtle. If you are a die hard, culinary backed goods expert you MAY find fault in this creme brulee matcha creation, however if you are like me, and only lucky enough to get your hands on some real creme brulee every great once in a while then you should be more than pleased! Granted this IS matcha, not the actual dessert, and in all of Red Leaf Tea’s matcha I feel that the true flavors of whatever is being recreated is done quite well! This one does not beat out my love for Caramel Popcorn, or Butterscotch, or even Macadamia Nut Matcha from Red Leaf Tea, however it would make my top 10 list, easy!
Crème Brulee from Simpson & Vail
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Simpson & Vail
Product Description:
This scrumptious black tea blend has the taste and aroma of buttery, creamy sweet goodness. The dark amber cup is sweet and creamy with a finish that tastes like caramelized brown sugar.
Taster’s Review:
Have you ever dreamed about having Crème Brulee for breakfast? I have!
My favorite dessert of all time is Crème Brulee. So to say I was excited to try this tea from Simpson & Vail was an understatement!
The fragrance emitting from the pouch when I opened it was enough to make my mouth water. I could smell the vanilla and that caramelized sugar topping. The brewed tea has more of a buttery kind of smell … still sweet but not quite as caramel/sugar sweet.
And the flavor … amazing! Simpson & Vail has managed to capture the flavor of my favorite dessert. It has that smooth, creamy vanilla custard taste. Although it smells like butter, it doesn’t really taste like it. It tastes like a perfectly baked custard. There is even that burnt-sugar flavor in there which is especially noticeable toward the tail end of the sip.
The black tea is a medium-strength, somewhat astringent black tea. It has a pleasing flavor that doesn’t interfere with the delicate vanilla tones. There is some bitterness to it, enough to provide contrast to the sweet dessert flavor, but not so much that it overwhelms.
This tastes like black tea flavored Crème Brulee! All that’s missing for me is that crackle of the caramelized crust, the crunch of that topping mingling with the smooth, silky custard, and of course: the calories! This tea is a dream come true!
