“Malty rolled Yunnan tea with sweet lemon pastry and a vanilla glaze”. With a description like that, I was drooling long before I cut open the package to get into the Lemon Poppyseed Muffin Tea in A Quarter to Tea’s teabox. Easily one of the most underrated muffins, people don’t think much about the Lemon Poppyseed flavor until its put in front of them. And yet it’s always a pleasure when you have it so I was definitely intrigued to say the least.
I opened the package and was immediately enveloped in the smell of lemon poppyseed muffins. Bright and fresh yet also a touch sweet…and that’s just the scent of the dry leaf.
Upon my first taste, I’m impressed more than anything at how this captured “muffin”. It’s not baked goods. It’s not pastry. Somehow this is 100% a distinctly muffin tea. Not just any muffin either. It’s a fresh baked lemon poppyseed muffin, just out of the oven on a Sunday morning. The black tea is the perfect bready base while the lemon is soft and sweet. Somehow even the mouthfeel is thick enough (without being overwhelming) to sell the concept of “lemon poppyseed muffin”. Plus, the touch of vanilla is the icing on top of the cake…well, muffin. Smooth and gently creamy.
Honestly, this tea so accurately captures its namesake that I am half expecting to have to pick poppyseeds out of my teeth later. While some lemon teas can border on the edge of cleaning products, this manages to keep everything so perfectly balanced. It is a blast from the past and yet it’s making for one tasty present. Yum!
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: A Quarter To Tea
Description
This tea is sold out but more information can be found below.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Coconut Cream Puffs from A Quarter To Tea. . . .
In my home state (cheeseheads, unite!) cream puffs are A Big Thing. Every year, people line the streets to get to the state fair for their fix. There’s actually a WINDOW PICKUP you can drive through without entering fair grounds just to get your half-to-a-dozen packs to bring to work in those magical ten days where the fair is running full-stop. Frankly, if we could name an official state pastry, I’d be hard pressed to pick something more indicative of Wisconsin than a good old cream puff.
So when this little beauty arrived on my doorstep from A Quarter To Tea, I thought two things– first, that this flavor has a lot to live up to. But second– if anyone could do it justice, it’d be my favorite tea blender from Wisconsin. And AQTT didn’t disappoint! This blend came in rolled balls– which, maybe it’s just the novelty factor, but this is one of my favorite ways to try loose leaf tea. (It helps that they were vaguely cream-puff-shaped, that’s for sure.) The black tea was strong and detectable, but not overly astringent or bitter. Perfectly balanced in the cup were notes of creamy, dreamy coconut, and a dash of that thick, whipped cream goodness that I’ve come to associate so strongly with cream puffs. Yum! I wish I would’ve tasted a liiiittle bit more pastry notes (what is the ‘puff’ part of a cream puff if not the perfect, slightly-savory balance to all that sugary cream?) in this blend, but it was still so delightful that I can’t complain.
I daresay you could set up a shop serving up this decadent blend right next to that cream-puff-drive-through line and give it a run for its money. Okay– maybe not. But it’d be a perfect pairing for an iconic dessert!
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: A Quarter To Tea
Description
This tea is not currently available on the site but click below for teas that are.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Downton Abbey® Mrs. Patmore’s Pudding Tea by Republic of Tea
- Unbleached
- Minimalistic (don’t use much material)
- Biodegradable (well, it’s just a thin piece of paper, and tea leaves are compostable)
- Chemical-free
- Glue-free
- Gluten-free
- Without extra packaging like staples, strings, or tags
It’s a very clever design and I really appreciate the effort they put into making eco-friendly tea so accessible.
So anyway. I steeped this tea for four minutes. I enjoyed the steeping process as well as the tasting process, because this tea gives off a wonderful aroma as it brews. It’s actually so good that you might end up worrying that the tea won’t live up to its fragrance when you actually taste it. It smells like an excellent dessert, which of course it should since it’s dessert-flavored, and creates the impression that you’re baking something custardy in your kitchen.
After steeping, it’s become a nice medium-dark color; it’s reddish/orange/brown, and the smell has strong notes of vanilla and cream. The first sip definitely has more black tea flavor than you’d expect from the fragrance. There’s lots of pudding flavor too, especially in the aftertaste. A bit sweet on its own (without sugar), and it’s very, very buttery.
With milk, it tastes like a custardy dessert in liquid form– it doesn’t taste eggy, though (which is probably a good thing, because who would want to drink eggy tea? Although eggnog chai is definitely a thing I drink sometimes, but it tastes more of spices than of egg fortunately).
Four minutes is just the right steeping time. If you wanted it more dessert-like, you could add sugar to boost the sweetness. But I’m having it for breakfast, not dessert, so I’m not doing that because it seems plenty sweet enough the way it is. Milk goes very well with this (and adds a slightly sweet dimension while also boosting the creaminess). Especially whole milk. I don’t vouch for creamless milk though. Anyway, the creaminess plays into the pudding illusion, so that’s another positive.
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Republic of Tea
Description
This decadent dessert tea has the homemade flavors of vanilla sponge cake drizzled with rich caramel sauce. The full-bodied base of premium black tea lends itself well to a splash of milk, making it a perfect afternoon tea to partner with puddings, scones and shortbread.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Strawberry Cheesecake from The NecessiTeas. . . .
I love cheesecake. Before I moved in with my current boyfriend and had our daughter I actually lived right across from The Cheesecake Factory, and let me tell you I was there after work getting to-go cheesecake more often than i’ll ever admit! Classic cheesecake is plain with a strawberry sauce, and while I do usually go towards the more “wild” flavors like Oreo, key lime, or anything peanut buttery, I do love me a good ‘ol slice of classic strawberry cheesecake! Unfortunately, I no longer live close to a Cheesecake Factory restaurant so the next best thing to satisfy my sweet-tooth would obviously be tea! When I saw this one on The NecessiTEA’s website, I knew I had to try it!
I really enjoy strawberries in tea. I think that they add a nice fresh, crisp, sweet, and sometimes tart flavor that isn’t overly so. The smell of this blend is very much fresh strawberries. It is a black tea, and as I sip I kind of wish that it was green tea instead. I think that the flavors here would have been a lot better with a green tea base. Other than that, I am enjoying the cup. The flavors here are predominantly black tea and strawberries with a hint of cheesecake after the sip is gone. Like I said, I think I would enjoy this more as a green tea, but it still is a nicely done dessert blend. If you are looking for a tea to satisfy your sweet-tooth, this would be a good option!
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: The NecessiTeas
Description
Now you can indulge in cheesecake anytime without waiting for a seat at the Cheesecake Factory. This blend is a rich, creamy, strawberry-topped showstopper and completely guilt-free!
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Butter Truffle from Kent & Sussex Tea & Coffee Co . . . . .
Butter Truffle from Kent & Sussex Tea & Coffee Co HAD ME at first sniff! It smells like cookies, or cake, or coffee cake, or something cakey and bakey…darn it…now I want something dessert-like. Since I don’t eat those often (or close to {n}ever) I will sip on Butter Truffle from Kent & Sussex Tea & Coffee Co, instead.
This flavored black tea is INCREDIBLY aromatic! It’s savory and spicy, too! The orange is juicy and I welcome it. The spices are done nicely and NOT overly done. The pistachios are what make it ‘buttery’ and even smooths out the end of the sip to finish a little creamy. Sure – this has nuts in it – but it doesn’t have dairy in it and for that I am grateful!
I don’t eat baked goods hardly ever because of the dairy and eggs in them and I am NOT a baker myself so when I crave something like that I tend to reach for a flavored tea that would fit the bill instead. Butter Truffle from Kent & Sussex Tea & Coffee Co is one of those teas! YUM!
Nichole and I try and share everything with our other sisters here at Sororitea Sisters and Butter Truffle from Kent & Sussex Tea & Coffee Co will be one of those teas that will be hard to pry from my hands! I will pass this one along – of course – but with a tear in my eye as I say goodbye!
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Black Tea
Where to Buy: Kent & Sussex Tea & Coffee Co
Description
Butter Truffle Tea is an exciting tea creation for the sweet tooth! Memories of licking out a dish with fresh butter cookie dough with hints of freshly grated orange peel – yum! An indescribable taste for the young and old. A really colourful Black Tea decorated with savoury and spicy ingredients. A real wow!
Ingredients: Black Tea pistachios cumin sliced almonds coriander peppercorns and natural flavouring.
Brewing Instrucions: Brew with fresh boiling water and infuse for 3 – 5 minutes.
Butter Truffle Flavoured BlackTea.
Contains Allergen: Nuts – pistachio, almonds.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
