Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Green & White Tea
Where to Buy: Trail Lodge Tea
Tea Description:
This is our own holiday creation; green and white tea combined with the flavors of eggnog. The combination of China Green and white tea brews up to a light and sweet liquid that combines perfectly with the flavor of eggnog. Real pieces of vanilla beans and nutmeg turns it into a truly guilt free decadent treat. Be sure to get some for gifts and to sip while you decorate the tree and listen to holiday music. Ingredients: Fair Trade Certified TM Organic China Green Tea, Fair Trade CertifiedTM Organic Pai Mu Tan, and Organic Vanilla, Organic Nutmeg, and Organic Natural Flavoring
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
Wow! This tea is quite fragrant! As it was brewing in my Breville One-Touch tea maker in the kitchen, I could smell the distinct aroma of eggnog while watching television in the living room! It smells deliciously creamy and custard-like, and the scent of nutmeg filled the house … yum!
Admittedly, I don’t drink a lot of eggnog, as I find it to be a bit much. I like it, yes, but, after a few sips, I find myself wishing I hadn’t poured myself a whole glass, do you know what I mean? It gets so cloyingly sweet and overwhelmingly creamy way too fast for me.
But, I don’t have that problem with this cup of tea. Sure, it tastes rich and creamy and very eggnog-like, but, what I’m not experiencing with this cup of Eggnog Tea from Trail Lodge Tea that I usually experience with real eggnog is that palate-crushing, smothering sensation of creamy overload.
To cut through that creaminess, many eggnog drinkers add a shot of rum or other liquor to the custard-like beverage, but as I’ve mentioned several times on this blog, I’m not much of a drinker, so I don’t think that kind of addition would serve me well.
Instead, I’m finding the way to cut through the sweet, creamy decadence of eggnog is with a combination of white and green teas! They give this cup a lightness and a fresh taste that I don’t find in a glass of real Eggnog, and I like that difference very much. I like that I can enjoy a sweet, creamy eggnog-like treat, but without feeling weighed down or on the sugar high that real eggnog can take you.
THIS is my kind of eggnog!
Organic Vanilla Bean Black Tea from Arbor Teas
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Arbor Teas
Tea Description
This organic, Fair Trade Certified tea offers a delicious synergy between excellent North Indian tea and rich, creamy vanilla. Organic vanilla beans were added in the Fall of 2008 to make this blend even more decadent than before! Excellent with milk, this tea is great for dessert. We recommend adding a bit of sugar or honey to satisfy a sweet tooth. This Vanilla Black Tea, as with all of our flavored blends, uses only the highest quality teas, essential oils and botanical ingredients, insuring an excellent cup every time!
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
Even though I don’t usually get too excited over a vanilla tea, I do consider vanilla to be among my favorite tea flavorings. There’s just something so irresistible about a good cup of vanilla tea – so rich, smooth and creamy!
And this is a good vanilla tea! The black tea base is strong but not what I’d call aggressive. It is earthy and pleasant tasting, and there is a hint of bitterness toward mid-sip. This is not that “oh no, I oversteeped the tea” kind of bitterness, but instead, it is a savory note that offers a contrast to the sweetness from the organic vanilla bean.
And while this IS a rich and creamy vanilla tea, it isn’t quite as creamy as some other vanilla teas that I’ve tried. Don’t get me wrong, I love a smooth and creamy, decadent tasting vanilla tea, but sometimes, its nice to find one that is a bit more focused on the black tea than the vanilla, like this one is. I think that this would be the ideal vanilla tea for those who typically find vanilla teas to be too cloying, because this one isn’t too sweet or creamy or anything verging near “cloying” at all.
Barely a hint of astringency, I don’t know if that’s the work of the vanilla there, smoothing out the astringency of the tea … but I just know that I hardly notice astringency as I sip. Aftertaste is softly sweet.
A lovely cuppa.
Vanilla Blackberry Sage Tea from Singing Dog Vanilla
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Singing Dog Vanilla
Tea Description:
Ingredients: Organic Black Tea, Organic Vanilla Beans, Organic Vanilla Extract, Natural Flavors, Organic Sage
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
Whenever I’m in my local Whole Foods, I check the tea aisle. Well, I check the tea aisle in every store that I visit, but, Whole Foods is one of the few markets from which I feel comfortable purchasing tea. After having visited a discount store and seeing that they had tea that had passed its expiration date by over a year, I tend to be very picky from whom I purchase tea! Whole Foods hasn’t let me down yet.
The last time I was in Whole Foods, I found this canister of Vanilla Blackberry Sage tea (as well as a couple of other flavor options) from a company I’ve not heard from before: Singing Dog Vanilla. I’m always interested in trying teas from companies that are new to me, and the fact that Singing Dog Vanilla is a fairly local company, that cinched it for me. Into the cart it went!
The first time I brewed this tea, I brewed it the way I normally would brew a black tea: using boiling water and steeping for 2 1/2 minutes. However, my first sip told me that I should have been more cautious with the addition of the sage leaves, and should have lowered the temperature slightly. I find that with teas containing herbals (including herbal tisanes) a slightly lower temperature helps to avoid bitter tastes in the cup … and the sage in that first cup was just a tad bitter.
This time, I lowered the temperature to 195°F, and it has made a huge difference! This tastes so good! The vanilla is strong (and I was surprised to see actual VANILLA PODS in the tea as I measured the tea to brew it) and sweet and luscious. It is so creamy tasting, and I love that. I don’t need to add milk to get a creamy taste and texture out of this tea.
The black tea base is flavorful. Neither the canister nor the website mentions what type of tea is used for this blend – only that it is an organic black tea. It tastes fairly hearty though, and there is a definitely malty tone to it, so I am inclined to believe it is an Assam. It seems strong enough to stand on its own, and with the strong vanilla notes, it needs to be equally as strong, and I’m finding this base to be quite satisfying.
The sage and blackberry are more of accent notes rather than prominent flavors. The sage is stronger than the blackberry, and it adds a pleasing savory tone to the cup that offers a contrasting flavor to the sweet vanilla. The blackberry adds a hint of fruity dimension to the cup, sweet with just a hint of tartness that hits the palate toward the tail. It is not a strong blackberry taste, but, there seems to be just enough of it to add a compelling flavor to the cup, and I find that by the time I reach mid-cup, I notice more and more blackberry, especially in the aftertaste.
This is really a lovely cup of tea. I love the packaging – it is a recycled cardboard canister which houses a compostable cellophane bag that holds the tea. This company seems dedicated to providing organic, fair trade products, and I respect that. And while these things would mean very little if the tea wasn’t also delicious – the fact that it IS delicious makes it even better! This is a tea you can feel good about drinking!
Vanilla Cream from The English Tea Store
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: The English Tea Store
Tea Description:
A delicious synergy between excellent high grown tea, rich fresh vanilla and a lovely cream character.
This is a naturally flavored black tea. We use natural high grown Ceylon tea from estates at more than 5500 feet above sea level. We add natural flavor to give a clean true taste with no chemical aftertaste.
Packaged in a vapor proof triple layer bag. Product of Sri Lanka.
98% or more of this tea comes from estates that are part of the Ethical Tea Partnership. The ETP is an initiative started within the tea industry to monitor and regulate living and working conditions on estates around the world.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
Another fine tea from a friend at Steepster.
A creamy delight. I find this tea not to be excessively creamy or excessively vanilla flavored – meaning – not artificially flavored. There is such a distinct difference between teas that are blended with natural ingredients and those that are not. It takes time to appreciate the difference I believe, I know it has for me. I can appreciate both types as there is a place for both types however when I get a tea this good that has no additives and is part of a Ethical Tea Partnership, I just swoon.
The mouthfeel is on the heavy side from the creamy flavor – more thick than heavy I suppose, as the tea base is nice and light yet bold enough to carry the “weight” of the cream and vanilla flavors.
I could see this taking very well to a milk or cream, as well as sugar if you cared to add more sweet to it but truly it does not need any of those elements whatsoever – its just perfect on its own.
Now for the record, this is not my all time favorite from The English Tea Store as they carry a couple of my perma stash teas such as Angel’s Dream and Lady Londonderry, however this is a very lovely tea and I am so thankful to have tried it!
Jasmine Green Tea from Little Red Cup Tea Co.
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Green
Where to Buy: Little Red Cup Tea Co.
Tea Description:
Jasmine Green Tea comes in many styles – loose leaf, rolled into small balls, even hand-bound into large balls that open into a sort of tea-flower. We offer a fine, loose-leaf Jasmine Green Tea, one that produces a brew of a lovely yellow hue with a powerful jasmine scent. For us, Jasmine Green Tea is an all-day treat.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
I’ve had this tea for a little while now, having tried the other two teas that I acquired from Little Red Cup Tea Co., but hanging on to this one … why? I don’t know. Mostly I think because it was put in a place that I don’t normally go looking for tea, so it was sort of forgotten until I came across it the other day.
I think another reason I held off on trying this Jasmine Green tea is that I’m rather picky when it comes to Jasmine Tea. Yes, I love jasmine tea, and there are many jasmine teas out there that I’ve quite enjoyed. But, there are some jasmine teas that are just … not good. And given my impression of this company’s Bai Mu Dan, which was good, but not great, I was just a wee bit worried that my experience with the Jasmine tea might be equal to … or possibly worse than that experience. Interestingly enough, though, of the three teas that I’ve tried from this company (the other tea was this Keemun), this one has been the best!
The overall cup is actually quite pleasant, with a green tea base that is smooth and even a little bit creamy, with lovely notes of jasmine. The aroma – while soft – is quite intoxicating.
I very much enjoyed this jasmine. It reminds me of the jasmine teas that I’ve had at fine Chinese restaurants. The jasmine is not sharp or bitter, and the mouthfeel is soft and silky. And I love that this is a Fair Trade Certified, Organic tea. Overall, this tea makes for a truly lovely jasmine tea experience.