Recently I ordered the “cheeky” sample set from Teapigs and got a small taste of a dozen of their teas. One of my favorites from the bunch was Apple & Cinnamon. When the weather gets cool, my apple and cinnamon consumption grows exponentially, (I mean, for breakfast I’m exclusively eating these apple pie overnight oats). And this tea is my new obsession for an herbal evening brew.
Apple & Cinnamon tea from Teapigs is fitting into my autumn menu perfectly. This herbal blend is all fruit and herbs, no rooibos or honeybush or decaf tea leaves. Lots of little yellow cubes of dry apples, sprigs of cinnamon, and blackberry leaves. The tea brews up a pale amber color, but is jam-packed with sweet, apple-pie flavors.
This tea does “apple spice” better than every limited edition snack-cakes or seasonal scented candles that are on the shelves this time of year. This brew is juicy and full of authentic, fresh apple flavors, with plenty of the spicy warmth of cinnamon sticks. My sample from Teapigs only included two tea bags so I’ll have to place an order for a big bag of loose leaf. I could see this tea being used as a healthier alternative to mulled apple cider, or used in baked goods to add a gentle apple spice infusion.
If you’re having trouble getting into the autumn season, brew a cup of this herbal tea and relax into your favorite sweater and get ready to watch the leaves change color. Don’t worry, this tea will keep you warm and comfy.
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Herbal
Where to Buy: Teapigs
Description:
Whether its in grandma’s pie, giant muffins or American pancakes nothing beats the flavour of sweet juicy apple with punchy cinnamon spice. It’s the perfect combination for a lovely fruity, punchy and spicy tea. Thanks go to the team at Olive and Bean, one of our lovely stockists in Newcastle who suggested this blend of apple and cinnamon.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Earl Grey Cider from 52Teas. . . .
The Earl and I have been buddies for a long time. He’s begun, gradually, over time, to let his guard down. This weekend, in fact, he invited me out camping.
“There’s going to be cider,” he said. “I’m going full Johnny Appleseed on this.”
“That’s rustic!” I said.
“The castle’s a little stuffy. I’m branching out,” he said.
“BRANCHING?” I said.
“I LOVE IT WHEN SOMEONE GETS MY PUNS,” he said.
After a long day of hiking around a charming English forest, we set up our tents for the night.
The following morning, he slow-simmered some tea over a small fire. He threw lemon peel into it, apple bits, and a tiny bit of bourbon extract (no alcohol!).
“What do you think?” he asked as I sipped. He was slouched forward, hands clasped. He looked nervous. I could see his knuckles standing out white against his clenched skin.
“I ADORE IT,” I said.
He settled back against a tree, smiling.
“The lemons! The bourbon! Who would have thought you could take your classic recipe and do something so new with it? This is rich, and sweet, but the original is still there, too. It’s like you dropped a sweet, sweet remix on that beat!” I cried.
He blushed.
“You took the tea less traveled — and that has made all the difference!” I said.
“Speaking of which, we are really lost,” he said. “And I hate the woods.”
“Don’t worry,” I said. “It’s 2017. We have GPS now.”
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: 52Teas
Description
This tea is not currently available but click below for teas that are.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Roasted Pumpkin Carrot Cake Houjicha from A Quarter To Tea. . .
So many pumpkin spice teas appear around this time of year, but most of them are just pumpkin spices and make no attempt to taste like pumpkin.
Here is a tea that offers the creaminess of pumpkin and carrot cake as well as the spices.
May I just begin by saying how happy I am that this has houjicha as the base instead of rooibos? So many of the fall spiced teas are built on rooibos that they are beginning to fall into the “avoid” category for me.
I made two steeps of this tea and drank the first plain. I thought I tasted clove at first, but it was actually ginger adding the kick beside the cinnamon. It is somewhat creamy but I don’t know that I taste anything I would identify as pumpkin or carrot. This is an older sample, though, so it may have been there when fresh. I am delighted to taste these spices without rooibos, though!
The second steep proved to be as colorful and as flavorful as the first. A friend who was drinking it with me said she couldn’t tell a difference between the two.
I decided to add milk and sugar to the second cup from the second steep (something I rarely do) because I think most people add them when they are using a flavored tea as a dessert replacement. I expected the milk to take the ginger down a notch but it really didn’t. Most teas could not handle milk on a second steep and still taste like the original.
So far, everything I have tried from A Quarter To Tea re-steeps brilliantly. This was no exception, and may be worth checking out if you are a ginger lover.
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Green
Where to Buy: A Quarter To Tea
Description
Roasted houjicha tea with autumn spices and the creaminess of pumpkin blended together with hints of vanilla cream, extra ginger and carrot for a pumpkin carrot cake experience sure to delight.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Pumpkin Pie Tea from Tupelo Honey Teas. . . .
Disclaimer: I did not add pumpkin puree to my tea. While I found the thought of doing so very intriguing, I simply did not have the time to run out and get some. However, I did add pumpkin flavored agave. So I am crossing my fingers and crossing my toes that I enjoy this blend without the recommended-by-the-company pumpkin puree! I will say that I was a little annoyed with the fact that there was no pumpkin flavor in this tea, but that you had to add pumpkin puree. I do find it creative, but not everyone has a chance to run out and get that and I wish that there had been some pumpkin flavoring in there or pumpkin pieces or something else other than relying on the customer to go out and get pumpkin puree.
That said, the smell of this tea was pumpkin pie spice. I could totally pick out that there were all those spices in there. I have made pumpkin pie a lot in my life (pumpkin is one of my favorites) and I can pick out the spice blend from a mile away. The steeped liquid- as soon as I smelled it its almost like I was transported back to my childhood on Thanksgiving morning. My mom baking pumpkin pie and apple pie, my childish excitement over the day ahead. Just yum!
So, I steeped this for about 4 minutes and added pumpkin flavored agave and a splash of milk. This tea really was a nice treat! It had quite an interesting flavor to it. Im now curious to use pumpkin puree. I did, however, enjoy the pumpkin agave although I may have added a little too much because it was slightly over-sweet, but that made it all the more like a dessert. The pumpkin pie spices were really delicious and the black tea was smooth and creamy. I think I was close to drinking pumpkin pie in a glass and if I had listened to the company’s recommendation of pumpkin puree and whipped cream it honestly would have been pie in a glass! This would be a wonderful fall treat. Definitely recommend!
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Tupelo Honey Teas
Description
This tea doesn’t appear to be current available but click below for blends that are.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Pumpkin Chai from David’s Tea
When seasons collide! Today I brewed up DAVIDsTEA’s Pumpkin Chai as an eggnog latte, combining a Fall favorite with a beloved holiday classic. The end result? Perfection!
Pumpkin Chai is one of the blends that people wait for each fall as it brings together both the Fall flavors of Pumpkin Spice and Chai. Add to that some caramel and you have a winner that people will buy year after year.
Brewed up as an eggnog latte, the sweet gooey caramel really shines. Underlying that is the creaminess of the eggnog that plays off the spices in the tea making for a decadent sugar and spice treat. Imagine a spiced bread pudding with a creamy vanilla-caramel icing. Awesome!
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Black Tea
Where to Buy: David’s Tea
Description
Let’s face it, the best thing about fall is pumpkin pie. And this spiced black tea is arguably just as delicious. It’s got all the warmth of cinnamon and cloves, plus the sweetness of caramel and pumpkin candy. For a true autumn treat, top it up with steamed milk and stir in a spoonful of brown sugar. It’ll make you wish it were fall all year round.
ingredients
Black tea, cinnamon, cloves, caramel (milk, sugar, glucose s yrup, butter, sorbitol, mono and diglycerides), carrot, lemon peel, pumpkin candies (sugar, rice flour, cottonseed oil, soybean oil, corn starch, gum arabic, cellulose gum, yellow 6, confectioner
