I had a large sample pack of this, enough for a small pot of tea and not just a cup. Since it is caffeine free I thought it would be perfect for some after dinner snacking and would satisfy the sweet part of my sweet + salty cravings! The base is honeybush, thank goodness, and not rooibos. I don’t usually sweeten my teas and this already contains both white and brown sugar, but I am going for dessert here so I don’t mind.
The instructions call for a seven minute steep. I thought that was perhaps to give the cinnamon chips time to melt. It is worth waiting for! If you could melt a Snickerdoodle cookie (one of our favorite kinds) and pour it in a cup, this is exactly what it would smell like and taste like. The aroma was so incredibly sweet that I thought it was going to be TOO sweet for me, but it wasn’t. I am glad it was paired with popcorn and not a sweet dessert, though, because that would have been too much sugar for me! This was so rich, full bodied, and full of cinnamon goodness! The cinnamon is sweet and not hot. The brown sugar gives it real mouth-roundness, as Graham Kerr used to say.
I should have added a touch of milk, in retrospect, to get that dunked cookie vibe! This would also have made an astoundingly good latte. I may have to get my hands on some more to try that!
Want to Know More About This Tea?
Leaf Type: Honeybush
Where to Buy: The NecessiTeas
Description
Snickerdoodles are the perfect holiday cookie. Packed with that classic cinnamon and sugar flavor, this tea will quickly become a family favorite!
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Petit Macaron/Whittard’s of Chelsea -Ashmanra
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.
Want to Know More About This Tea?
Leaf Type: Black/Green
Where to Buy: Whittard’s of Chelsea
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Creepy Cake/Evil Tea -CuppaGeek
Taste buds are a super funny thing. Over the last few months, my taste buds have been all over the place. There was even a time frame where I couldn’t even drink tea. Everything tasted off and not even my favorite teas tasted right. Right around the same time when I noticed my taste buds going wonky, I was starting to notice other health issues so I decided just to take a break from tea all together, hoping that eventually my taste buds would right themselves again.
Recently I felt the urge to have a cuppa tea and I was delighted when not only did the tea taste amazing but my taste seemed to be sharper. Like I was able to pick up flavors I wasn’t able to before. Which was so exciting! I quickly shuffled through my tea stash and got to work enjoying cuppa after cuppa of teas that had not had a lot of attention for a while. After making some headway in my stash. . I decided it was time to check out my friends at Evil Tea once again. I had tried their teas before and enjoyed them but never reordered or nabbed any of their latest blends. After seeing a Halloween promo of theirs, I decided to indulge and pick up a few of their blends. And then a few days later, picked up a few more. . .because. .I was a bit hooked.
I couldn’t wait to try this blend again. I had tried this blend a bit ago and while it was good and I enjoyed the cuppa, with having so much tea in my tea stash- I was trying to still sip a few more down before I ordered again. This morning I was super excited to get home, get the kettle prepped and get this tea a brewing. I was a bit leery about the 5 minute steep time- so I went with a 3 min steep time with freshly prepped 212F water.
First sip in and straight away you are hit with a delicious dessert like note of vanilla that doesn’t really scream straight out vanilla but almost like that soft vanilla like note you would get from a really upscaled cookie or cupcake. The aroma hits you in the same fashion. Just a solid lovely not overdone sweetness that keeps you grabbing for you cuppa and enjoying every sip. This is a Ceylon based blend and there is a slight briskness or astringent note towards the end of each sip that rounds out the sweetness perfectly. There are also adorable sugar coated fennel seeds that I’m not really picking up but that is probably because I didn’t stick with the 5 minute steep. I’m a big fennel fan so I will have to try for that 5 min steep to see if the fennel notes come across stronger.
All in all, just a perfect lovely cuppa that I can only imagine would make an insanely good latte with a spiced oat cream or even a lovely adult beverage with a touch of bourbon cream, which I will be trying later this evening. I’ve always been a fan of my friends over at Evil Tea since they combine two of my favorite loves- all things dark and spooky and tea. Can’t wait to steep up the other blends to see if they hit the spot like Creepy Cake does.
Want to Know More About This Tea?
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Evil Tea
Description
Ingredients: A blend of Ceylon Teas with Creme Brulee Flavoring and Sugar Coated Fennel Seeds
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Glazed Lemon Loaf/Tazo -Just Tea-Zen-
This is everything you want in a dessert tea. And, Glazed Lemon Loaf is the perfect name for it…that’s EXACTLY what it tastes like. The aroma is both sweet and buttery, almost a buttered popcorn aroma when you first open it. Who doesn’t love butter?!?! That first sip has you hooked; it’s just a hint of lemony goodness with creamy sweet vanilla that is reminiscent of a fresh lemon pound cake. This is one of those teas that is so good, you could devour a full box within a few days; but on the other hand, you want to drink slowly and enjoy for fear of running out. It’s a double edged sword. It’s just that good!
This is a great choice if you’re watching your weight (which I always am) and need a sweet treat. You can literally have our cake and DRINK it too! I highly recommend using a little bit of you favorite sweetener for this tea; I found that it really enhanced everything about it and made it truly taste like dessert. I steeped one bag in boiling water for 5 minutes, just as the package directed and it came out perfect. I used just a small amount of agave syrup to sweeten. The best part? If caffeine keeps you up, you’re in luck; this tea is caffeine free! Completely guilt free indulgence!
Want to Know More About This Tea?
Leaf Type: Herbal
Where to Buy: Tazo
Description
Craving a glazed lemon loaf? Heat your oven to 350 degrees, grease a pan, mix in eggs, sugar, yogurt, and whisk vigorously. Stir in lemon zest, vanilla, and flour. Bake for 50 minutes. Or just brew this tea in your favorite cup. We’re a fan of both approaches.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
(Sad) Sipdown #4- Mom’s Birthday Cake Black Tea/52 Teas -CuppaGeek-
Sipdown #4 on my sipdown/tea time journey for 2021 and what a sad sipdown it is.
52Teas is a beloved tea company to many tea enthusiasts. However, the both awesome and sad part about 52Teas is each of the teas are a limited edition in their own way and typically if you fall in love with a blend- you have to ration yourself or your tea loving heart might be broken. Reason is- 52Teas literally blends up a tea a week throughout the year so there is always new and fun teas to try but on the flip side- restocking on a blend that you adore doesn’t always happen.
That is why this is a sad sipdown. This blend may actually be my favorite 52Teas blend ever edging out Graveyard Mist ever so slightly, more than likely due to my new love of black teas. This blend literally has it all- a little sweet, a little spice, and a little sass. And no matter how you brew this gem, the flavors are always spot on.
Today for my “me tea time”, I prepped up water at 212F and allowed the tea to steep between 3-4 minutes and cool for a moment or two. This tea is just such oh sooo good.. The black tea notes hang in the background while the orange, dates and ginger mingle together in perfect harmony. There is a sweetness that I think is supposed to be the cake part but I’m getting more vanillaish notes than anything else. I paired this tea with a stroopwaffle and was truly enjoying my me moment today.
I’ve enjoyed several tea pots of this lovely and sadly, this is the last of this blend in my stash. I do spy with my little eye another cake blend currently available on 52Teas so I might just try that one out but if you ever hear of a reblend for this one, I encourage you to check it out. . .or maybe I don’t. . .more for me (haha).
Want to Know More About This Tea?
Leaf Type: Black Tea
Where to Buy: 52Teas
Description
This blend is no longer available but click below for blends that are.